i've been home for just over a week now and settling into the routine, or more accurately, the chaos that is these two weeks before pete and i leave for patagonia.
i am processing the reverse culture shock i usually experience when returning from a developing country. it involves quite a bit of guilt for having so many nice things and living in such excess, and a considerable amount of effort to live more minimally and conserve/recycle/unplug the toaster between uses.
it is wonderful to see family and friends. i have taken advantage of my free weekend by hiking angel's rest and table mountain, and spending a day skiing at meadows with my dad and pete. we are in the midst of birthday celebrations this week (yes, i turn another year older on thrusday, bah!), and last minute patagonia preparations. and as if that isn't enough to keep me busy, it is match week and yesterday i received possibly the happiest email of my life thus far, letting me know "you have matched", so now i wait to hear where.
i feel so lucky, fortunate, blessed and privileged to be where I am today.
every travel adventure i have i cannot believe that i am allowed such an incredible, unforgettable experience. i have an intense appreciation for my good fortune or luck or whatever you want to call it and i love to remind myself how important it is to savor all of the good things in life and as for the other stuff, be like a duck, let is slide off of your back if you can, because life is too short to dwell on anything less than happiness....
thanks to everyone who read about my travels, it was a trip! and so fun to know that people back home could share it with me.
xo
linds
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
the travel part of travel
you know how i feel about this... the travel part of travel is the worst.
saturday evening a group of us headed to the airport around 7pm. our taxi we had "reserved" for the trip didn't show, which is a bummer because, when you have all of your belongings with you, it is nice to be certain you are with a legit/safe taxi driver. instead we hopped in a tiny unmarked taxi-ish colored car with a guy who the hostel staff assured us was legit.
first thing i did once we were all crammed in the car with our bags was establish a relationship with this guy. they say that is one of the best ways to avoid being robbed/attacked/whatever - make a connection. and so i struggled with my limited (though considerably improved) spanish and he actually turned out to be very nice, correcting my grammar and laughing at my attempts at communication (though, in my defense, he really did understand everything i tried to say to him, and he did not speak english).
the only shady part was when he stopped at a dark gas station in the middle of nowhere (which is possible when you're on a 1+ hour drive to the airport - the new airport is soooo far from quito!), got out, leaving his door wide open, and disappeared for awhile. lauren, trisa and i sat patiently in the car, our respective doors locked (which i'm sure would do a lot of good given that his was open and inviting people in), and debated if this was the part where he brings guys over to steal all of our stuff. fortunately this did not happen and eventually he returned and drove us the rest of the way to the airport - lucky? i will admit i was pretty darn worried while we waited, the epitome of sitting ducks. but all's well that ends well, right?
at the airport most of our group were lucky enough to get on a plane - slav and i (foolishly purchasing tickets home on sunday morning - because our course director was not clear that we would be done friday), tried to get on an earlier flight (fail) and attempted at least to get our bags checked and make it through security (no luck); it was all futile - fat chance accomplishing any such thing in a place like ecuador. american airlines had no established counter or designated employees and until the check-in window opened at 4am (it was about 8:30pm) we could do nothing.
we hunkered down in a corner for the night, expecting to get some decent sleep - wrong! within minutes of settling down, our bags piled in a corner and us laying in front of them, these two guys walked over. if you know me well, imagine the way i look at ice cream or cookies or good beer :) well this is how these guys were looking at us, or rather, our bags :( now i have a few thoughts to interject here. if i were going to rob tourists at the airport, i would definitely rob them when they arrive, carrying a considerable amount of $$ and all of their new travel gear. I would not rob the departing tourist, who inevitably has a bag full of dirty, disgusting clothes and a bunch of useless souvenirs, without a penny to their name. i wanted to explain this to the shady looking dudes standing over us. they were empty handed except for their cell phones, unusual for most who are traveling, especially in the international wing of the airport. yeah, it was pretty obvious these two were not here to hop a flight, and they were not being so discrete about their intentions. slav and i discussed this openly as they stood there and they soon wandered away, only minutes later replaced by an equally shady duo, who wandered over and like the first two, stood in front of us and blatantly eyed the bags we lay in front of... slav and i again discussed the situation. was their security here? would they harm us or just take our things? do you think they have weapons in their pockets? because again these two were empty handed aside from their flip phones.
when they strolled away the space before us was almost immediately occupied by two large men that mirrored the others only these guys were considerably bigger. ecuadorian men are short, and when i tower a head over them they are definitely less threatening. this was not the case with these two and with a glance at each other and no words, slav and i stood up, gathered our things, and headed over to the well-lit center of the airport right by the guy who checks boarding passes and passports to let people through to security. we stayed here the rest of the night and felt much safer - though after our earlier encounters there was no way i was sleeping, and so i spent the night reading until 4am when we were finally able to check bags and head through security to our gate. there we slept another 2 hours before boarding, which thankfully slav woke me for, because i was sleeping hard enough i was setting up to miss our flight. a two hour delay for fog or who knows what (this is the new airport, so new that when we flew into quito a month ago we flew into a different airport), and we were on our way to miami and home....
as a reminder here is the link to lo's blog she kept during the trip...
http://jardinedelosandes.blogspot.com/
saturday evening a group of us headed to the airport around 7pm. our taxi we had "reserved" for the trip didn't show, which is a bummer because, when you have all of your belongings with you, it is nice to be certain you are with a legit/safe taxi driver. instead we hopped in a tiny unmarked taxi-ish colored car with a guy who the hostel staff assured us was legit.
first thing i did once we were all crammed in the car with our bags was establish a relationship with this guy. they say that is one of the best ways to avoid being robbed/attacked/whatever - make a connection. and so i struggled with my limited (though considerably improved) spanish and he actually turned out to be very nice, correcting my grammar and laughing at my attempts at communication (though, in my defense, he really did understand everything i tried to say to him, and he did not speak english).
the only shady part was when he stopped at a dark gas station in the middle of nowhere (which is possible when you're on a 1+ hour drive to the airport - the new airport is soooo far from quito!), got out, leaving his door wide open, and disappeared for awhile. lauren, trisa and i sat patiently in the car, our respective doors locked (which i'm sure would do a lot of good given that his was open and inviting people in), and debated if this was the part where he brings guys over to steal all of our stuff. fortunately this did not happen and eventually he returned and drove us the rest of the way to the airport - lucky? i will admit i was pretty darn worried while we waited, the epitome of sitting ducks. but all's well that ends well, right?
at the airport most of our group were lucky enough to get on a plane - slav and i (foolishly purchasing tickets home on sunday morning - because our course director was not clear that we would be done friday), tried to get on an earlier flight (fail) and attempted at least to get our bags checked and make it through security (no luck); it was all futile - fat chance accomplishing any such thing in a place like ecuador. american airlines had no established counter or designated employees and until the check-in window opened at 4am (it was about 8:30pm) we could do nothing.
we hunkered down in a corner for the night, expecting to get some decent sleep - wrong! within minutes of settling down, our bags piled in a corner and us laying in front of them, these two guys walked over. if you know me well, imagine the way i look at ice cream or cookies or good beer :) well this is how these guys were looking at us, or rather, our bags :( now i have a few thoughts to interject here. if i were going to rob tourists at the airport, i would definitely rob them when they arrive, carrying a considerable amount of $$ and all of their new travel gear. I would not rob the departing tourist, who inevitably has a bag full of dirty, disgusting clothes and a bunch of useless souvenirs, without a penny to their name. i wanted to explain this to the shady looking dudes standing over us. they were empty handed except for their cell phones, unusual for most who are traveling, especially in the international wing of the airport. yeah, it was pretty obvious these two were not here to hop a flight, and they were not being so discrete about their intentions. slav and i discussed this openly as they stood there and they soon wandered away, only minutes later replaced by an equally shady duo, who wandered over and like the first two, stood in front of us and blatantly eyed the bags we lay in front of... slav and i again discussed the situation. was their security here? would they harm us or just take our things? do you think they have weapons in their pockets? because again these two were empty handed aside from their flip phones.
when they strolled away the space before us was almost immediately occupied by two large men that mirrored the others only these guys were considerably bigger. ecuadorian men are short, and when i tower a head over them they are definitely less threatening. this was not the case with these two and with a glance at each other and no words, slav and i stood up, gathered our things, and headed over to the well-lit center of the airport right by the guy who checks boarding passes and passports to let people through to security. we stayed here the rest of the night and felt much safer - though after our earlier encounters there was no way i was sleeping, and so i spent the night reading until 4am when we were finally able to check bags and head through security to our gate. there we slept another 2 hours before boarding, which thankfully slav woke me for, because i was sleeping hard enough i was setting up to miss our flight. a two hour delay for fog or who knows what (this is the new airport, so new that when we flew into quito a month ago we flew into a different airport), and we were on our way to miami and home....
as a reminder here is the link to lo's blog she kept during the trip...
http://jardinedelosandes.blogspot.com/
adios quito...
figured i'd better finish this thing off right...
our last 2 days in quito finally felt like vacation. we had our beautiful hostel as home base and all the time in the world, with very little scheduled (a farewell dinner with the group and a final "exam" friday eve, but that was about it).
we spent our mornings in the daylight restaurant drinking coffee and enjoying bread and eggs - always a big breakfast in ecuador... after digesting, lauren, anne and I took advantage of the side yard/garden and did workouts on friday and saturday.
repacking for the trip home proved to be a puzzle. i wanted to fit all of my souvenirs in my carry-on bags and threw everything else, dirty and haphazardly, into my one suitcase for checking. a lot of clothes stayed in ecuador as donations to the school (which advertised a program that distributed donated clothes to those with the most need). the day lauren and i walked to the school to drop off my bag of clothes it was closed, which we hadn't yet seen during our time in quito. so after debating whether or not i would be able to throw it over the fence topped by barbed wire topped by three layers of what appeared to be electric fence, i looked around (guaranteed appearing very suspicious to the nearby security guards eying me curiously), and flung the bag up and over the wall, just clearing the top wire. success! we hurried away before the bomb squad got called in...
grocery store runs for plane snacks and some final time in the market kept us occupied for a day. i bargained down to my last penny and even started including stationary and other random gifts I had brought along to give to gloria's "children" (until we found out they were older than us). my best trade involved a long list of random item: apple flavored chapstick (unused, obviously), a lanyard, like 5 pair of earrings, a wallet, a notebook, a cosmetic bag, and some other things i cannot remember + $7 in exchange for the most ridiculous souvenir i purchased - a fluffy alpaca stuffed animal made with real alpaca fur. anne and lo tried to talk me out of it but i couldnt leave ecuador without one! it is impossible to look at this thing without laughing, and no one can resist touching it - how could i not want one?!
we got mani pedis one of the days with almost every girl in the group. certainly more business than the place usually gets in a day, i would imagine, but they managed the crowd well and we eventually all left with pampered hands and toes (many hours later given that they only had two foot tubs for soaking). french tipped manicures and pedicures with brilliant designs on our toes were a total of $8 - cheap!! gotta love this place. the sanitary technique may have left a little to be desired but i'm almost 2 weeks out from mine as a write this and without complication so i can't complain. the other interesting thing is that of the 4 "women" who were doing our mani pedis, I am fairly certain that half of them were actually men - the beard poorly concealed by foundation is kind of a dead giveaway... and there is only so much you can do to cover up male bone structure; i always think the hands and wrists are a dead giveaway. but regardless of gender they were skilled and we had a great spa day getting the rainforest cleaned from under our nails and scrubbed off of our feet (it is amazing what a week in rainboots will do to your toes!).
our last 2 days in quito finally felt like vacation. we had our beautiful hostel as home base and all the time in the world, with very little scheduled (a farewell dinner with the group and a final "exam" friday eve, but that was about it).
we spent our mornings in the daylight restaurant drinking coffee and enjoying bread and eggs - always a big breakfast in ecuador... after digesting, lauren, anne and I took advantage of the side yard/garden and did workouts on friday and saturday.
repacking for the trip home proved to be a puzzle. i wanted to fit all of my souvenirs in my carry-on bags and threw everything else, dirty and haphazardly, into my one suitcase for checking. a lot of clothes stayed in ecuador as donations to the school (which advertised a program that distributed donated clothes to those with the most need). the day lauren and i walked to the school to drop off my bag of clothes it was closed, which we hadn't yet seen during our time in quito. so after debating whether or not i would be able to throw it over the fence topped by barbed wire topped by three layers of what appeared to be electric fence, i looked around (guaranteed appearing very suspicious to the nearby security guards eying me curiously), and flung the bag up and over the wall, just clearing the top wire. success! we hurried away before the bomb squad got called in...
grocery store runs for plane snacks and some final time in the market kept us occupied for a day. i bargained down to my last penny and even started including stationary and other random gifts I had brought along to give to gloria's "children" (until we found out they were older than us). my best trade involved a long list of random item: apple flavored chapstick (unused, obviously), a lanyard, like 5 pair of earrings, a wallet, a notebook, a cosmetic bag, and some other things i cannot remember + $7 in exchange for the most ridiculous souvenir i purchased - a fluffy alpaca stuffed animal made with real alpaca fur. anne and lo tried to talk me out of it but i couldnt leave ecuador without one! it is impossible to look at this thing without laughing, and no one can resist touching it - how could i not want one?!
we got mani pedis one of the days with almost every girl in the group. certainly more business than the place usually gets in a day, i would imagine, but they managed the crowd well and we eventually all left with pampered hands and toes (many hours later given that they only had two foot tubs for soaking). french tipped manicures and pedicures with brilliant designs on our toes were a total of $8 - cheap!! gotta love this place. the sanitary technique may have left a little to be desired but i'm almost 2 weeks out from mine as a write this and without complication so i can't complain. the other interesting thing is that of the 4 "women" who were doing our mani pedis, I am fairly certain that half of them were actually men - the beard poorly concealed by foundation is kind of a dead giveaway... and there is only so much you can do to cover up male bone structure; i always think the hands and wrists are a dead giveaway. but regardless of gender they were skilled and we had a great spa day getting the rainforest cleaned from under our nails and scrubbed off of our feet (it is amazing what a week in rainboots will do to your toes!).
Saturday, March 2, 2013
but i dont wanna go...
sorry for the extra odd format on this one...
I think I am made for the rainforest.
being a pisces, I love
all of the rivers and water... yes, including the humidity.
and as an oregonian I have been acclimated to endless rain my
whole life (see: RAINforest). and fit the female stereotype
and always complain of being cold (reference: pete), which is
never an issue in the amazon - amazing!! raised on the
willamette, I love boats; the main means of amazonian
transportation, and I don't mind walking everywhere else.
finally, I happen to look pretty darn good in knee-high
galloshes. and so, for all of these reasons, I think I have
finally found my habitat - the rainforest. truly the only
issue I see is the whole bugs deal. me and bugs, we don't get
along so well. and bugs of all kinds and alarming sizes tend
to be overly plentiful in the rainforest. so I suppose I'll
hold onto the bug memories, particularly those of the large
spiders, just long enough that I willingly get on the bus and
don't run into the jungle to hide out until the rest of the
group leaves... dont worry ma, I'm writing this quito, so
they did get me on the bus, despite my reluctance.
our bus ride was one of those experiences I have mixed
feelings about. my plan was to sleep; which, not to brag
but, I am really good at - practically a professional given
that I can sleep almost anywhere these days (likely explained
by the chronic sleep deprivation that has come with my last 4
years of medical school). the problem with sleeping on this
bus was that the view from my window was impossible to look
away from... basically the entire drive until probably the 15
final minutes when we were in the city was too gorgeous to
miss for something as silly as sleep. dense jungle, with
endless interesting plants, turned to massive cliffs, somehow
still coated with plant life despite the vertical angles of
the mountainsides. we crossed rivers on bridges hardly fit to
walk across. we passed the waterfalls seen on our drive down,
and then some (after the recent downpours). I couldn't peel
my eyes away from the side of the road, always searching for
cows and horses and llamas tied up and grazing. I could spend
all day watching for the variety of mix breed stray dogs just
doin their thang in the villages and along side the road -
what freedom these dogs have, and for the most part they look
surprisingly healthy (though some, not as much, and it is not
an easy life for a dog here - if only amani realized how
terribly spoiled she is)... the river we followed for a good
portion of the drive was wild and angry, fueled by all of the
runoff... apparently this is a huge destination for kayakers,
but let me tell you, I couldnt be paid enough to get in that
water - that's just askin to die... that river looked mean...
but oh so beautiful.
we hit a little 'situation' around our halfway point. well a
few situations. one was that the bus ride was so insanely
windy, and our driver was driving like such a maniac (he must not be paid by the hour), that
half the bus was blue and on the verge of leaving their
breakfast on the side of the road. the other situation was
that, unluckily or not, after 3.5ish hours on the road, we
hit a traffic jam and came to a complete stop... in the middle of nowhere. apparently the
area is well known for landslides... lovely. we had actually
passed a few not long before. tons of mood spewed out into
the road, trees still standing upright, but considerably
transplanted from their origin of growth. our driver had
navigated these with little difficulty. he definitely
believes in the big car rule and would drive that bus just
about anywhere short of off the side of the cliff. his theory
appeared to be that if you honk, they will move. which
fortunately for us, seemed to work. but when we hit the
traffic jam, his honking just didn't do the trick. we were at
a standstill. he left us on the
bus and went to investigate. turns out there was a mudslide
ahead (what we didn't know at the time was that it was miles
ahead and we were at the end of a very long lineup of cars,
all impatiently waiting). our driver, upon his return,
started up the bus, cranked us into the oncoming traffic lane
(thankfully there was no oncoming traffic - I wouldnt put it
past him), and we drove up several miles until we came to the
other cars who had done the same thing. this was some serious
cheating!! but it did get us way ahead, and when you're on a
9 hour bus ride, you'll take what you can get.
they eventually opened the road and we made it through. another hour of driving and we stopped for a lunch break. this place, Gina's, was crawling with kayakers, in their broke down vans with their dreads, totally fitting the long time traveler stereotype - they were living the dream. this restaurant was known for its trout and everyone in the group seemed to order it a different way. they were all delish, despite the fact that your fish was served, head and all, which I felt a little bad about...
the rest of the bus ride was more beautiful landscapes and crazy rainbows and interesting clouds and then this section that looked exactly how I imagine new zealand looks... straight out of lord of the rings. I drained my camera battery taking so many photos out the window :)
in quito we checked into our hostel - the most amazing one in quito as far as I'm concerned. the side patio is gorgeous and the rooms are clean with comfy beds and the shower was hot! yeah I'll admit I missed hot showers. feeling finally clean and more importantly dry for the first time in a week I began to unpack. I was amazed that everything in my backpack, even clothes I never took out in the rainforest, was soaking wet!! that humidity is something else, certainly nothing I'm accustomed to having grown up in oregon.... aside from being dizzy all night (either from the bus ride or returning to such altitude, or a combination of both) I felt great and slept like a baby in my fluffy white bed feeling totally spoiled :)
I think I am made for the rainforest.
being a pisces, I love
all of the rivers and water... yes, including the humidity.
and as an oregonian I have been acclimated to endless rain my
whole life (see: RAINforest). and fit the female stereotype
and always complain of being cold (reference: pete), which is
never an issue in the amazon - amazing!! raised on the
willamette, I love boats; the main means of amazonian
transportation, and I don't mind walking everywhere else.
finally, I happen to look pretty darn good in knee-high
galloshes. and so, for all of these reasons, I think I have
finally found my habitat - the rainforest. truly the only
issue I see is the whole bugs deal. me and bugs, we don't get
along so well. and bugs of all kinds and alarming sizes tend
to be overly plentiful in the rainforest. so I suppose I'll
hold onto the bug memories, particularly those of the large
spiders, just long enough that I willingly get on the bus and
don't run into the jungle to hide out until the rest of the
group leaves... dont worry ma, I'm writing this quito, so
they did get me on the bus, despite my reluctance.
our bus ride was one of those experiences I have mixed
feelings about. my plan was to sleep; which, not to brag
but, I am really good at - practically a professional given
that I can sleep almost anywhere these days (likely explained
by the chronic sleep deprivation that has come with my last 4
years of medical school). the problem with sleeping on this
bus was that the view from my window was impossible to look
away from... basically the entire drive until probably the 15
final minutes when we were in the city was too gorgeous to
miss for something as silly as sleep. dense jungle, with
endless interesting plants, turned to massive cliffs, somehow
still coated with plant life despite the vertical angles of
the mountainsides. we crossed rivers on bridges hardly fit to
walk across. we passed the waterfalls seen on our drive down,
and then some (after the recent downpours). I couldn't peel
my eyes away from the side of the road, always searching for
cows and horses and llamas tied up and grazing. I could spend
all day watching for the variety of mix breed stray dogs just
doin their thang in the villages and along side the road -
what freedom these dogs have, and for the most part they look
surprisingly healthy (though some, not as much, and it is not
an easy life for a dog here - if only amani realized how
terribly spoiled she is)... the river we followed for a good
portion of the drive was wild and angry, fueled by all of the
runoff... apparently this is a huge destination for kayakers,
but let me tell you, I couldnt be paid enough to get in that
water - that's just askin to die... that river looked mean...
but oh so beautiful.
we hit a little 'situation' around our halfway point. well a
few situations. one was that the bus ride was so insanely
windy, and our driver was driving like such a maniac (he must not be paid by the hour), that
half the bus was blue and on the verge of leaving their
breakfast on the side of the road. the other situation was
that, unluckily or not, after 3.5ish hours on the road, we
hit a traffic jam and came to a complete stop... in the middle of nowhere. apparently the
area is well known for landslides... lovely. we had actually
passed a few not long before. tons of mood spewed out into
the road, trees still standing upright, but considerably
transplanted from their origin of growth. our driver had
navigated these with little difficulty. he definitely
believes in the big car rule and would drive that bus just
about anywhere short of off the side of the cliff. his theory
appeared to be that if you honk, they will move. which
fortunately for us, seemed to work. but when we hit the
traffic jam, his honking just didn't do the trick. we were at
a standstill. he left us on the
bus and went to investigate. turns out there was a mudslide
ahead (what we didn't know at the time was that it was miles
ahead and we were at the end of a very long lineup of cars,
all impatiently waiting). our driver, upon his return,
started up the bus, cranked us into the oncoming traffic lane
(thankfully there was no oncoming traffic - I wouldnt put it
past him), and we drove up several miles until we came to the
other cars who had done the same thing. this was some serious
cheating!! but it did get us way ahead, and when you're on a
9 hour bus ride, you'll take what you can get.
they eventually opened the road and we made it through. another hour of driving and we stopped for a lunch break. this place, Gina's, was crawling with kayakers, in their broke down vans with their dreads, totally fitting the long time traveler stereotype - they were living the dream. this restaurant was known for its trout and everyone in the group seemed to order it a different way. they were all delish, despite the fact that your fish was served, head and all, which I felt a little bad about...
the rest of the bus ride was more beautiful landscapes and crazy rainbows and interesting clouds and then this section that looked exactly how I imagine new zealand looks... straight out of lord of the rings. I drained my camera battery taking so many photos out the window :)
in quito we checked into our hostel - the most amazing one in quito as far as I'm concerned. the side patio is gorgeous and the rooms are clean with comfy beds and the shower was hot! yeah I'll admit I missed hot showers. feeling finally clean and more importantly dry for the first time in a week I began to unpack. I was amazed that everything in my backpack, even clothes I never took out in the rainforest, was soaking wet!! that humidity is something else, certainly nothing I'm accustomed to having grown up in oregon.... aside from being dizzy all night (either from the bus ride or returning to such altitude, or a combination of both) I felt great and slept like a baby in my fluffy white bed feeling totally spoiled :)
vanilla filled chocolate donuts
where were we...? i remember just starting to tell you about our rafting excursion down the branch of the amazon river. it was comical to see 9 gringos and 1 ecuadorian floating on 9 black tire tubes tied together haphazardly. jenny, lo and and i were relaxing in the canoe, which drifted down the river behind the tubes, engine off. it was reminiscent of summers in oregon, when we would pile into inflatable rafts and tubes and make our way down the clackamas river, trying to stay cool in oregon's version of summer heat.
my seasons are all thrown off here. i see instagram posts of the snopocalypse that hit the east coast a while back, and hear stories from my family and pete of epic days skiing hood. but in the amazon it is always 70 something and so humid it feels like you're breathing underwater. the humidity is so intense i could easily be convinced the temp is pushing 100F. it cools slightly when it rains, but the air gets even heavier with moisture and i am not sure it is worth the trade off. overall, though, i like the weather - it is nice to be warm always and my skin never needs lotion like it does in oregon. and if you're really desperate to cool down you can always retreat to the icy showers - freezing 24/7 :)
after our "tubing" (or more accurately floating) excursion we headed back to the lodge. lo, anne, leah and i decided to hike back to the lookout in the jungle for the sunset. we set off covered in bugspray and sporting our muck boots (the only two essentials needed in this rainforest). we passed a futbal game on a cement block surrounded by swamp after the recent rains. when the ball went rolling off into a marsh near the trail we walked on, the closest player, sporting his converse futbal shoes, reluctantly stared at it, clearly contemplating if it was worth the sacrifice of his clean, dry shoes. i thought he might kiss me when i tromped over, mid calf deep in mud, picked up the ball, and tossed it to him. such is life in the rainforest.
we wandered through a small village on our way to the trail. chickens cleared the path as we passed. children gawked and some managed a tentative "hola", which we returned enthusiastically. the number of wipe out close calls was more than statistically should have been possible without someone actually falling - muck boots: great for keeping the mud off, terrible for traction.
we eventually made it to the lookout, sweating so profusely my clothes were drenched and i was dripping - this seems to be a trend of the amazon. it is so gorgeous here photos dont do it justice. we decided to head back before the actual sunset, dependent on the lingering daylight without our trusty leader, robert. we retreated back to the resort that used to be the eco lodge until it was recently sold. this place is beyond words.... let me try... a massive deck jutting out of the jungle and overlooking the river and rainforest. bats swoop around eating up insects (which makes me very happy) in the dusky hours of sunset and the clouds glow a spectrum of pinks, oranges and reds. as we stood there taking in the beauty we were approached by a man. we instinctively "hola"-ed him, and he responded in english... an american? no, obviously a canadian after a few minutes of speaking with him....
he is one of the coordinators for the program: free the children (apparently started by a 12 year old boy), that gives high schoolers the opportunity to travel to amazing places around the world and do volunteer work and experience areas in the world they might otherwise not have the luxury to travel to. he listed a handful of amazing places in africa and se asia where they also have program bases. they are the ones who bought the lodge from this guy, douglas, who was in some debt and looking to build a different lodge across the river - which is in process now. it is all a little confusing but this is what i gather of the situation. either way this guy talked to us some about his program and asked what we were doing here and it was fun to share and learn... boy do i wish i could have gone to a "camp" like that when i was in high school!!
he did say it is a ton of work to maintain a wood eco lodge in the jungle because the place is constantly trying to digest itself. that is the job of the jungle. maybe this is a well-known fact but the rainforest soil is super nutrient poor - and if you cut down the insane number of plants that are able to grow on every square foot here, you end up with soil so awful you cant grow crops - which is one of the reasons it makes no sense to destroy the jungle for farming. the reason the rainforest grows so wild despite nutrient poor soil is because it provides it's own nutrients. the leaves and biomatter that fall from the plants decomposes rapidly into detritus and that is the nutrient matter that the plants use to grow like they're on steroids. hence, the jungle's job is to digest, rapidly, even the eco lodge, and anything else built here. this poor guy said it feels like he is replacing boards and planks daily - a lot of work to keep up with the rainforest.
we said our goodbyes and continued home. the chickens we had passed on our way out where now half dead and laying in their own blood on the deck of a small shack, where a woman stood, blood-stained hands, ready to prepare dinner. the line between pets and dinner here is very foggy... the futbol game was still going on. the sunset kept getting better as we walked and i couldnt help but keep stopping to take photos. there are these nests here that are like 5 feet long and the shape of a baseball in a tube stock (?) so that the opening is at the very top and the nest with the eggs is at the very bottom - this serves great protection from animals. the tucan is really only animal with a beak long enough to get down in there but they are so narrow that the tucan's beak often will get stuck. robert says if we see one of these nests on the ground often you will find tucan bones stuck in the opening... i just thought of that because there were many of these nests on our walk home and they are so interesting.
after dinner we were entertained by the high school students with a show and dance. they were in traditional clothing and showed us how they prepared meals and then did this awesome dance where they create their music and beat with the beads dangling from everything they wear, just by swaying their bodies back and fourth. it was super cool. once they finished they went to change, the spanish r&b music came on, and the real dance party began. it was total chaos. a bunch of high school students and us. lo and i could only watch and clap along, we were exhausted and soon retreated to our room to fall asleep to the sound of that gangnam song - what must the jungle animals think about all of this?! :)
ok, gotta run, but i will blog about our trip back to quito and our last few days in the city when i can...
i head back to portland tomo!! wish me safe travels and give me a call sunday if you're bored, i'll have lots of layover time...
xo
my seasons are all thrown off here. i see instagram posts of the snopocalypse that hit the east coast a while back, and hear stories from my family and pete of epic days skiing hood. but in the amazon it is always 70 something and so humid it feels like you're breathing underwater. the humidity is so intense i could easily be convinced the temp is pushing 100F. it cools slightly when it rains, but the air gets even heavier with moisture and i am not sure it is worth the trade off. overall, though, i like the weather - it is nice to be warm always and my skin never needs lotion like it does in oregon. and if you're really desperate to cool down you can always retreat to the icy showers - freezing 24/7 :)
after our "tubing" (or more accurately floating) excursion we headed back to the lodge. lo, anne, leah and i decided to hike back to the lookout in the jungle for the sunset. we set off covered in bugspray and sporting our muck boots (the only two essentials needed in this rainforest). we passed a futbal game on a cement block surrounded by swamp after the recent rains. when the ball went rolling off into a marsh near the trail we walked on, the closest player, sporting his converse futbal shoes, reluctantly stared at it, clearly contemplating if it was worth the sacrifice of his clean, dry shoes. i thought he might kiss me when i tromped over, mid calf deep in mud, picked up the ball, and tossed it to him. such is life in the rainforest.
we wandered through a small village on our way to the trail. chickens cleared the path as we passed. children gawked and some managed a tentative "hola", which we returned enthusiastically. the number of wipe out close calls was more than statistically should have been possible without someone actually falling - muck boots: great for keeping the mud off, terrible for traction.
we eventually made it to the lookout, sweating so profusely my clothes were drenched and i was dripping - this seems to be a trend of the amazon. it is so gorgeous here photos dont do it justice. we decided to head back before the actual sunset, dependent on the lingering daylight without our trusty leader, robert. we retreated back to the resort that used to be the eco lodge until it was recently sold. this place is beyond words.... let me try... a massive deck jutting out of the jungle and overlooking the river and rainforest. bats swoop around eating up insects (which makes me very happy) in the dusky hours of sunset and the clouds glow a spectrum of pinks, oranges and reds. as we stood there taking in the beauty we were approached by a man. we instinctively "hola"-ed him, and he responded in english... an american? no, obviously a canadian after a few minutes of speaking with him....
he is one of the coordinators for the program: free the children (apparently started by a 12 year old boy), that gives high schoolers the opportunity to travel to amazing places around the world and do volunteer work and experience areas in the world they might otherwise not have the luxury to travel to. he listed a handful of amazing places in africa and se asia where they also have program bases. they are the ones who bought the lodge from this guy, douglas, who was in some debt and looking to build a different lodge across the river - which is in process now. it is all a little confusing but this is what i gather of the situation. either way this guy talked to us some about his program and asked what we were doing here and it was fun to share and learn... boy do i wish i could have gone to a "camp" like that when i was in high school!!
he did say it is a ton of work to maintain a wood eco lodge in the jungle because the place is constantly trying to digest itself. that is the job of the jungle. maybe this is a well-known fact but the rainforest soil is super nutrient poor - and if you cut down the insane number of plants that are able to grow on every square foot here, you end up with soil so awful you cant grow crops - which is one of the reasons it makes no sense to destroy the jungle for farming. the reason the rainforest grows so wild despite nutrient poor soil is because it provides it's own nutrients. the leaves and biomatter that fall from the plants decomposes rapidly into detritus and that is the nutrient matter that the plants use to grow like they're on steroids. hence, the jungle's job is to digest, rapidly, even the eco lodge, and anything else built here. this poor guy said it feels like he is replacing boards and planks daily - a lot of work to keep up with the rainforest.
we said our goodbyes and continued home. the chickens we had passed on our way out where now half dead and laying in their own blood on the deck of a small shack, where a woman stood, blood-stained hands, ready to prepare dinner. the line between pets and dinner here is very foggy... the futbol game was still going on. the sunset kept getting better as we walked and i couldnt help but keep stopping to take photos. there are these nests here that are like 5 feet long and the shape of a baseball in a tube stock (?) so that the opening is at the very top and the nest with the eggs is at the very bottom - this serves great protection from animals. the tucan is really only animal with a beak long enough to get down in there but they are so narrow that the tucan's beak often will get stuck. robert says if we see one of these nests on the ground often you will find tucan bones stuck in the opening... i just thought of that because there were many of these nests on our walk home and they are so interesting.
after dinner we were entertained by the high school students with a show and dance. they were in traditional clothing and showed us how they prepared meals and then did this awesome dance where they create their music and beat with the beads dangling from everything they wear, just by swaying their bodies back and fourth. it was super cool. once they finished they went to change, the spanish r&b music came on, and the real dance party began. it was total chaos. a bunch of high school students and us. lo and i could only watch and clap along, we were exhausted and soon retreated to our room to fall asleep to the sound of that gangnam song - what must the jungle animals think about all of this?! :)
ok, gotta run, but i will blog about our trip back to quito and our last few days in the city when i can...
i head back to portland tomo!! wish me safe travels and give me a call sunday if you're bored, i'll have lots of layover time...
xo
Thursday, February 28, 2013
day 4 in the amazon
dr. W headed back to quito for some ambiguous "business" and
left us to our own devices these next couple of days (which
is actually nice because 1. we are in very competent hands
with Robert around, and 2. though he does a lot to make this
trip work, overall everything is more difficult and less
efficient with dr. W around)... our brigade was a close was
walk today after a particularly short boat ride, just
downstream and across the river. it went really smoothly,
everyone has figured out their place and we powered through
60 something patients by noon (only about a dozen less than
our day prior, and in a couple hours' less time). it really
does feel like we make a difference here too, which is great.
everyone is so appreciative. arguably my favorite part is
handing out all of the goodies to the kiddos. I wish airlines
were less strict about baggage prices for checking donated
supplies... with our brigade successfully complete we headed
back to home base for an afternoon of eye exams for the high
schoolers living with us at the lodge, followed by tubing in
the river!! of all things :)
we took the canoe upstream a while, and thankfully with the
weather cooperating, 9 of our group members hopped in 9 tire
tubes all tied together, and began the float downriver, with
robert (naturally) as their ever-competent river guide. lo,
jenny and I chillaxed in the canoe, the designated
photographers.
ok this is wayyy too much for one evening, i need to stop and get some sleep, but there is more to come from amazonian adventures so keep a look out! and i havent proofed anything so i really apologize - feel free to make corrections if you´d like ;)
miss you all, cant believe i´m home in 3 days!!
left us to our own devices these next couple of days (which
is actually nice because 1. we are in very competent hands
with Robert around, and 2. though he does a lot to make this
trip work, overall everything is more difficult and less
efficient with dr. W around)... our brigade was a close was
walk today after a particularly short boat ride, just
downstream and across the river. it went really smoothly,
everyone has figured out their place and we powered through
60 something patients by noon (only about a dozen less than
our day prior, and in a couple hours' less time). it really
does feel like we make a difference here too, which is great.
everyone is so appreciative. arguably my favorite part is
handing out all of the goodies to the kiddos. I wish airlines
were less strict about baggage prices for checking donated
supplies... with our brigade successfully complete we headed
back to home base for an afternoon of eye exams for the high
schoolers living with us at the lodge, followed by tubing in
the river!! of all things :)
we took the canoe upstream a while, and thankfully with the
weather cooperating, 9 of our group members hopped in 9 tire
tubes all tied together, and began the float downriver, with
robert (naturally) as their ever-competent river guide. lo,
jenny and I chillaxed in the canoe, the designated
photographers.
ok this is wayyy too much for one evening, i need to stop and get some sleep, but there is more to come from amazonian adventures so keep a look out! and i havent proofed anything so i really apologize - feel free to make corrections if you´d like ;)
miss you all, cant believe i´m home in 3 days!!
grubs: they taste like bacon
lunch was at 4 pm and we were starving. after, I dropped into
a post-prandial coma, barely making it from the hammock to my
bed, lulled to sleep by my full belly and the rain on the tin
roof... anne thankfully woke me up in time for our evening
activity - some traditional cooking! I volunteered to help
with the first part and was brought up with julie and liz to
prepare the chicken. just a slab of meat that I can guarantee
was running around earlier that day, a little salt, and a
leaf they call 'stone leaf' which is fire resistant and
sounds like plastic when you bend it then snap it straight.
we wrapped the chicken up in the traditional way and tied the
end tight. Robert put these in the small fire burning under
the shelter where we eat all of our meals - it was still
pouring rain.
next a surprise - rachel offered to open the leaf that
contained something "kind of like chocolate" according to
Robert, when I told him that would be my favorite surprise.
everyone gave Rachel space as she unfolded the leaf because
given what we've seen here we were assuming it was going to
be a tarantula or worse (tho at the moment I couldn't tell
you what would be worse than a tarantula)... but rather than
something leaping out at us, when she splayed open the
massive leaf, all we saw was wiggly, slimy, fat... grubs!!
weevel larvae. I am talking exactly like the grubs that
tamone and pumba munch on in the lion king. they are like two
inches long and half as fat and paristalsing just like bowel,
their bodies rippling them forward as they make their slow
escape off of the leaf - no luck. Robert picks one up to
demonstrate... "you have to grab it behind the head at the
'neck' so it can't turn around and bite you". bite me?!! sure
enough these guys have big pincher jaws!! Robert says "to eat
them, you have to bite them first". eat them how?! alive?!!
what do you mean bite them first...? robert takes the porky
little guy, sticks the dark head far back between his molars
and bites down - we all hear the crunch of the hard
exoskeleton of the head between robert's teeth and the
squirming pale body goes sort of limp... sort of... it is
like the chicken with the head cut off scenario, the grub
still has a little squirm left in him. Robert sticks the
whole thing in his mouth as shocked and dismayed sounds of
disgust erupt from those of us watching. this is a delicacy
here, a special treat, and Robert is not training for fear
factor, he likes it!! he'd eat the whole pile if he didn't
have to share with us.
"it is like oysters" I hear him say. no it is not, I think to
myself, wishing oysters really were tonight's treat and
missing the east coast oysters pete and I had in mystic...
who wants to try one alive? three of the girls in the group
were intrigued and daring enough to give it a go... I was not
among them, my stomach is still turning just writing this.
they selected their victims, picked them up as instructed and
in a moment of courage, clamped down on the head like they
had been shown. they all stood there for a moment with the
'what have I gotten myself into' look on their faces, and
then, with even more bravery, put the whole slimy gooey thing
in their mouths and attempted to chew. now this part was more
funny than gross because there was a lot of hopping and arm
flapping and squealing to assist the chewing process, and if
you saw the pus-oid (resembling pus) white cream that came
out of these guys, you would jump and arm flap too... one of
the girls had spontaneous chocking fits 4 times between chews
and we were certain she was gonna spew - but with the help of
their chaser (a salt covered lemon, of all things), she got
it down. even with pressure from the group, no one else, not
even the boys, would dare eat one alive. so we moved onto the
cooked option. I helped skewer the grubs, because clearly I
was not brave enough to eat them. one skewer through the
neck, the other through the tail, you just need to crush
their heads first so they stop squirming and the skewering is
easier. a little salt and lemon, and we set them over the
fire, assured that once cooked they would taste just like
bacon :)
in the meantime our chicken was done and I was endlessly
impressed by my meat cooking abilities given that I've been a
vegetarian for the 12 years antes de recently. that was the
best chicken I have ever had; get me some stone leaf back in
the states and I will cook you some chicken!! our final food
was heart of palm, which robert had gotten for us and cut
down to the leaf, which doesn't look like a leaf at, but
tastes delicious - very tender and a flavor I cannot compare
to anything I have eaten before.
at this point the grubs were ready and most of us were
mentally prepared to give them a try... I thought about
passing. in the skewering process we had left a puddle of
black goo on the table that was anything but appetizing.
ultimately I gave in and munched a grub in true lion king
fashion... and.... and... oh wow that really does taste like
bacon!!! who wouldve thought!!?
now the thing about the grubs is that getting them isn't
easy. not only is there a grub season, but there is a
designated grub guy. you want grubs, you call grub guy, who
supposedly keeps track of the fallen or downed palm trees,
which is where the weevil lays her eggs. the grubs gotta grow
for about 3 months to get to the size they were this eve.
sounds like a lot of work to eat larvae. what is less work,
is this thing everyone does here that is apparently an
ecuadorian deal. I think I've mentioned we have soup with
almost every meal, even in the hot and humid rainforest. well
sometimes with the sopa they have popcorn to put in it, and
it is so delish!! how did I not think of this before?! def
bringing that back to the u.s. :)
a post-prandial coma, barely making it from the hammock to my
bed, lulled to sleep by my full belly and the rain on the tin
roof... anne thankfully woke me up in time for our evening
activity - some traditional cooking! I volunteered to help
with the first part and was brought up with julie and liz to
prepare the chicken. just a slab of meat that I can guarantee
was running around earlier that day, a little salt, and a
leaf they call 'stone leaf' which is fire resistant and
sounds like plastic when you bend it then snap it straight.
we wrapped the chicken up in the traditional way and tied the
end tight. Robert put these in the small fire burning under
the shelter where we eat all of our meals - it was still
pouring rain.
next a surprise - rachel offered to open the leaf that
contained something "kind of like chocolate" according to
Robert, when I told him that would be my favorite surprise.
everyone gave Rachel space as she unfolded the leaf because
given what we've seen here we were assuming it was going to
be a tarantula or worse (tho at the moment I couldn't tell
you what would be worse than a tarantula)... but rather than
something leaping out at us, when she splayed open the
massive leaf, all we saw was wiggly, slimy, fat... grubs!!
weevel larvae. I am talking exactly like the grubs that
tamone and pumba munch on in the lion king. they are like two
inches long and half as fat and paristalsing just like bowel,
their bodies rippling them forward as they make their slow
escape off of the leaf - no luck. Robert picks one up to
demonstrate... "you have to grab it behind the head at the
'neck' so it can't turn around and bite you". bite me?!! sure
enough these guys have big pincher jaws!! Robert says "to eat
them, you have to bite them first". eat them how?! alive?!!
what do you mean bite them first...? robert takes the porky
little guy, sticks the dark head far back between his molars
and bites down - we all hear the crunch of the hard
exoskeleton of the head between robert's teeth and the
squirming pale body goes sort of limp... sort of... it is
like the chicken with the head cut off scenario, the grub
still has a little squirm left in him. Robert sticks the
whole thing in his mouth as shocked and dismayed sounds of
disgust erupt from those of us watching. this is a delicacy
here, a special treat, and Robert is not training for fear
factor, he likes it!! he'd eat the whole pile if he didn't
have to share with us.
"it is like oysters" I hear him say. no it is not, I think to
myself, wishing oysters really were tonight's treat and
missing the east coast oysters pete and I had in mystic...
who wants to try one alive? three of the girls in the group
were intrigued and daring enough to give it a go... I was not
among them, my stomach is still turning just writing this.
they selected their victims, picked them up as instructed and
in a moment of courage, clamped down on the head like they
had been shown. they all stood there for a moment with the
'what have I gotten myself into' look on their faces, and
then, with even more bravery, put the whole slimy gooey thing
in their mouths and attempted to chew. now this part was more
funny than gross because there was a lot of hopping and arm
flapping and squealing to assist the chewing process, and if
you saw the pus-oid (resembling pus) white cream that came
out of these guys, you would jump and arm flap too... one of
the girls had spontaneous chocking fits 4 times between chews
and we were certain she was gonna spew - but with the help of
their chaser (a salt covered lemon, of all things), she got
it down. even with pressure from the group, no one else, not
even the boys, would dare eat one alive. so we moved onto the
cooked option. I helped skewer the grubs, because clearly I
was not brave enough to eat them. one skewer through the
neck, the other through the tail, you just need to crush
their heads first so they stop squirming and the skewering is
easier. a little salt and lemon, and we set them over the
fire, assured that once cooked they would taste just like
bacon :)
in the meantime our chicken was done and I was endlessly
impressed by my meat cooking abilities given that I've been a
vegetarian for the 12 years antes de recently. that was the
best chicken I have ever had; get me some stone leaf back in
the states and I will cook you some chicken!! our final food
was heart of palm, which robert had gotten for us and cut
down to the leaf, which doesn't look like a leaf at, but
tastes delicious - very tender and a flavor I cannot compare
to anything I have eaten before.
at this point the grubs were ready and most of us were
mentally prepared to give them a try... I thought about
passing. in the skewering process we had left a puddle of
black goo on the table that was anything but appetizing.
ultimately I gave in and munched a grub in true lion king
fashion... and.... and... oh wow that really does taste like
bacon!!! who wouldve thought!!?
now the thing about the grubs is that getting them isn't
easy. not only is there a grub season, but there is a
designated grub guy. you want grubs, you call grub guy, who
supposedly keeps track of the fallen or downed palm trees,
which is where the weevil lays her eggs. the grubs gotta grow
for about 3 months to get to the size they were this eve.
sounds like a lot of work to eat larvae. what is less work,
is this thing everyone does here that is apparently an
ecuadorian deal. I think I've mentioned we have soup with
almost every meal, even in the hot and humid rainforest. well
sometimes with the sopa they have popcorn to put in it, and
it is so delish!! how did I not think of this before?! def
bringing that back to the u.s. :)
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