Today, I wanted to share some more shots from my adventures on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea. One of the many reasons I enjoyed my time in the field was the opportunity to explore the rainforest. With my friends and fellow students by my side, I immersed myself in its enormity and stately solitude. We were awestruck by the most glorious sensory overload imaginable. Fortunately, there was no need for conversation in those moments. We were all tuned in to our common surroundings, and we had plenty of time to chat about our experiences when we re-convened at camp in the evenings.

While we explored, we walked in silence, watching and listening for all of the elusive animals at our feet and above our heads. We let ourselves be completely absorbed by the forest, and that meant not being afraid to get soaked, catch a few leaves in our hair, or get caked with mud from head to toe. I may have missed countless million dollar shots of endangered species, the shutter closing a fraction of a second too early or too late, but I was simply happy to be witnessing those brief glimpses of majestic primates and technicolor birds with my own eyes. My favorite pictures captured the quiet, candid moments we shared on our adventures, lost in the sheer bliss of exploring seemingly uncharted territory together.

This post is a response to this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge, Earth.