Out oozed a thick, white latex. The fruits were from a large Chrysophyllum tree, a relative of the sapodilla. It was like some supercharged pear. But it was like smelling the juice of hundreds of pears, with a nuance of pineapple, coconut and a little floral note. Some of the most promising fragrances were those given off by resins that oozed from the bark of trees.
Resins are the source of many traditional perfumes, including frankincense and myrrh.
If you see a resin, you smell it. The most exciting resin came from a Calophyllum tree, a relative of the Asian beauty leaf which produces a strongly scented medicinal oil. Before the odour-seekers left the forest there was one other fragrance they were determined to capture. Montagne D'Ambre is famous for its waterfalls. The Grande Cascade drops some 80 metres from a green lake past lushly vegetated cliffs.