154 Correspondances comme un roman The following morning, we leave Gilberto’s house in the afternoon for the Rio Cueiras, and we decide to explore a narrow igarapé that connects the Cueiras with the Rio Negro. Yellow pollen shimmers on the water’s surface with an occasional ray of sun that flters through the trees. We pass an arapari tree ladened with Brassavola and Scuticaria orchids. The scent of apples and tea flls the air, intensifying as the day grows warmer. As we pass under giant mungubeira trees forming arches above us, I can almost touch the roots of philodendrons growing on their canopies. After this, we reach a clearing with a group of dead trees, similar to those Mee portrayed full of orchids. A violet Cattleya orchid is holding on just at the top, but most of the branches have been colonized by vanilla-scented anthuriums. Among the anthuriums, we spot a Dichaea orchid, hanging down like a miniature accordion. « Margaret’s paintings with a forest background were most certainly a conscious attempt to place fowers into their native habitats, » explains Tony Morrison, who edited Mee’s diaries and joined her on the moonfower expedition. « Her talent was a combination of being an accomplished draftsperson plus her ability to match colors accurately, just by looking at a plant. Before reaching Manaus, we stop by a tiny farmplanted with açaï palms full of Galeandra orchids. It’s very hot Fromager géant (Bombax munguba). Giant mungubeira (Bombax munguba). Orchidées Brassavola. Brassavola orchids. and we welcome a cool glass of tart cupuaçu juice, a relative of cacao. Then we jump into the canoe for the fnal time. I haven’t been on land much for the last few days and now realize I haven’t missed it. Nor does a lizard skipping across the water, as it chases after a spider alongside our canoe. I wonder if I will ever see a moonfower again, but mainly I know that all the fowers I have seen in Anavilhanas are still there in small part because of Mee’s efforts to preserve them. « I know my death will not be the end of my work, » Mee said during her last visit to the Amazon. « Wherever I go, I will try to infuence those who are destroying our planet, so the earth will have a chance to survive. » |
