JC was rather amazed by the hotel and the rope bridges that seemed to go from the building's roof deeper into the rainforest as he and Animalia Ambassadoria disembarked from the ferry that had taken them from Manaus to the converted hotel at Vilcabamba. He'd heard a lot about it from Sophie as one of the first new colonies that was being created, but this was his first time seeing it. The others were also very impressed by it as they looked at the building. When they'd first visited the building it was still in the process of being cleaned up and built up. This included a lot of landscaping work to clean up the lawn area and make things less dangerous with regard to possible predators coming out of the rainforest or the river to deal with any guests.
Now, Vilcabamba wasn't as much of a tourist site in the way that Mieni was. Most of the residents at Vilcabamba lived there full time and that the building and other attached residences in the tree tops lived there full time. It allowed for many to work with Manaus with regards to local fishing and with Horizon and the Brazilian government with regards to conserving nature and many of the animal species that called the Amazon home. The thing that drew most of the "tourists" to Vilcabamba was the archeological site further inland and the studies on the tribe also lived there. It was something that could be an attraction that went beyond the Animalians, themselves.
"Yeah... it is amazing," Abby chuckled down to JC, "They've managed an awful lot to get this place up and running... with clean windows, decks, and light colors to reflect away heat."
"Though I wouldn't know about all the bug spray," Malice grumbled from a side and shook her head for a moment.
"At least the sprays that have been developed don't require you to have to take a bath to keep your fur clean," Sophie commented, "that's a plus."
"Not to mention that it'll keep many of those biting flies and mosquitos away," Roland added, "I'm sure no one wants to spend their summer scratching at bug bites."
Samson was the first to nod in agreement to that. He could remember the various treatments and pills that the Browns had bought and paid for to help keep him healthy and free from fleas and ticks. Though things like flies and mosquitos were a bit different and before being uplifted, he'd often stayed with many of the other horses the Browns owned in that they'd all be able to use their tails as something to get those biting insects away. The bug repellant that had been developed for Animalia worked quite well. It included the main ingredients that were used in other sprays, like OFF, but it'd also included bits that wouldn't make it super greasy or sticky, which was big for Animalians with fur and feathers... and particularly long fur or feathers. It had proved to be a big thing where tropical diseases were common, and with keeping pests away, Animalians did like it.
They then looked out to see Cranio and Mandibula coming out from the front doors and walking toward the group as they gathered on the lawn area in the front of the hotel at Vilcabamba. Cranio was soon welcoming some of the other guests while Mandibula approached the members of Animalia Ambassadoria.
"Hello to all of you," Mandibula spoke politely, "You've come to see the improvements we've made, correct?"
"Yes," Travis nodded, "we may film some stuff later... but right now... it may simply be more interesting just to look around and see what you've upgraded since we were last here."
"Of course," Mandibula nodded, "I'll escort you to your rooms and then I can show you around... as we have done a lot to improve things since you were last here."
They all nodded and followed Mandibula in. As they walked toward the hotel, Mandibula looked over her shoulder as she lead them in. She soon asked a question as she lead them along.
"How is Melbourne?" Mandibula asked, "we haven't seen him here for quite some time."
"He's doing well as far as we know," Sophie answered as they followed Mandibula into the hotel and noted the cool breeze that came from the vents in the ceiling. They all noted the hardwood floors and other refurbishments in the lobby area. And with the glass being clean, the windows into the lobby and at the back end also allowed for plenty of light. Sophie focused her eyes forward through a window in the back door and could see a wooden path that had been set up that lead to the dig site that was near the Vilcabamba hotel building. She noted that it had also been cleared to a degree to let the archeologists walk with some degree of safety. "I think he's been kept quite busy with some of the archeological digs along with the new colony in Egypt as well."
"And when this is done... he will return home?" Mandibula asked.
"I think so... though, I really can't say where he considers "home" to be," Roger commented, "especially as he has a relatives who plan to get married sometime in the Summer in Australia."
Mandibula slowly nodded and they were lead up to the upper floors where many of the spaces for guests at Vilcabamba were placed. These rooms were arranged more like hotel rooms than many of the other rooms at Vilcabamba's main building, which were done more like apartments. They were placed on the south side of the building, where they got less sun as some of the larger nearby trees were able to provide some shade and they were arranged in a way that made them placed as though they were for a family vacation with two queen sized beds per room. JC, Pauline, Abby, and Samson were put in the first room, Sophie, Roland, Jessica, and Roger in the second, and then Sarah, Travis, Malice, and Simon in the third.
"Well... the halls look rather nice," Jessica commented as she came out from her room, "though won't you be worried about anyone slipping on wet wood or tile?"
"That is a risk," Mandibula admitted, "but by the same token... if we left the floors carpeted, we'd have increased costs for machinery and equipment to keep the carpet clean. In this, what we have will be easier to keep clean, I think."
The others soon nodded as they looked down the hallway. The doors were fresh and the wood polished with brass numbers to allow guests and residents to know who's room was who's. The walls were also covered with wall paper that was carried a fairly classical theme to it, but was kept in light and soft colors, likely to help the building cool in Brazil's intense heat. All of them could also see that the wallpaper was firmly secured to the wall and wasn't hanging limp as it was during their first visit.
"So, what would you like to see first?" Mandibula asked, "as we have updated a lot."
There were a few smiles, though the answer Mandibula got varied. Sophie, Roland, JC, and Pauline wanted to look at some of the tree top villages that had been built for the various tropical bird Animalians that made up much of Vilcabamba's population. Mandibula could guess as to why, in that Sophie and Roland, who were now Dinotopians and very different from when Mandibula had last seen them, would want to be where they could easily fly and maneuver through the tree canopy. Of course many pterosaurs were more than capable of taking off from the ground with ease and didn't rely on trees or cliffs to get the speed needed to get into the air, but that wasn't something that Mandibula knew and that Animalia Ambassadoria probably didn't have time given their itinerary and schedule.
JC and Pauline though were very interested in it for that reason. While both found they could take off from the ground, it wasn't quite as easy as before they were uplifted from African Grey Parrots to Microraptor Dinotopians. The biggest thing that they'd found was that at lower speeds, they'd found with their four wings, they actually had a very slow stall speed, making gliding very easy and limiting any and all powered flight for minor course adjustments and so on. Seeing the treetop village would enable them more practice at that, and would also enable them to interact with some other Animalians that had been mundane parrots before they were uplifted.
Malice, Jessica, Roger were a bit interested in the archeological site and the things being done to protect it from those that would be potential threats to the artifacts being found and catalogued. There was some question as to whether Malice was actually interested in the science/history that the site presented or was simply interested in digging in the dirt. Most of the rest were fairly content just to look around at everything that was new, though Abby and Sarah did wonder on the larger structures that were supposedly added for larger Animalians. The rooms in the main hotel were at the same level they'd been during their last visit, and had fixed up nice, but they also knew that the Dinotopians were in a league all their own. In terms of height and weight, Andrew and Jen made the largest Theropod Dinotopians in Rex and Regina look tiny by comparison. And from the reports from Animalia, even the structures for Elephants and Giraffes weren't completely comfortable for the Dinotopians. Simon added a question regarding the restaurant that was attached to the Vilcabamba, but he was also pretty willing to go along and see a bit of everything.
And they did get a look at everything, and what they saw proved impressive. Vilcabamba was well cleaned up after the years of disrepair, and that was actually the most impressive thing that they found. It made for good ventilation and site that would have the potential to attract tourists, though that would of course come with the issue of those trying too hard to impress Animalians. They had put in a modest gym for exercise needs and an entertainment area where a group could watch television, though for the moment, most there were following the World Cup. The pool area had cleaned up and now had pristine clear water in it and a soft netting over it in order to keep bugs out.
The treetop village was also found to be bright and beautiful with many bright colors. While the rope bridges and villages weren't actually in the very top of the trees, as they needed sturdy branches to support the weight of the houses. Samson and Abby followed along the path from the ground and noted many of those that were residents there also seemed to be very eager to meet Sophie and Roland as well as JC and Pauline. It was something looked quite well and after a year of the establishment of the colony of Vilcabamba and in a position where they wouldn't have the easy logistical access that Lyre and even Mieni had, the colony in Brazil looked very good.