Giant Water lilies- quick study

As we turned in the bend and the vines overhanging the water parted, an island of flat leaves appeared in the jungle before us. Well, not an island actually, although to look across the giant lily pads it seemed that with a simple step out of the river boat, one could walk across the pond as easily as the many cranes and frogs did. We paddled ourselves over the great greenery, as there was no trail through it, the thorns of their lipstick undersides scraping against the steel hull. We parked ourselves next to a closed blossom and proceeded to pull out the rum punch to sit and drink and wait for night to fall, when the blossom would open like a lantern of white in the twilight, cricket-heavy darkness.
I was so excited, I nearly fell out of the boat.