Jungle fun....

Dearest friends and followers of my crazy blog...I apologize for such a long delay between postings. I have finally come out of the "black hole" of Adopt-A-School and just now able to do something besides eat, sleep and breathe books and school supplies! The good news is that it was another successful year with much fun and hard work accomplished by all concerned. This year we had two weeks set aside for our volunteers, the first week to delivery the supplies then the second week with fresh volunteers to finish deliveries and do service projects. I have to send a "shout out" right now to all my volunteers from the first week: Ray, Erich, Mary, Noah, Joe, Jan, Deni, Kristin (especially!), Bonnie, Bev, Nancy, Sarah, Ron, Claire, Carla and my "bud", Michael! During the second week, our new group of volunteers assisted in the building of a mini-water treatment plant and a small, sustainable bakery in the village of Irlanda. We had quite the challenge in our work as it poured down rain for two days which created mud bogs in the midst of everything we were doing. But at the end of the week, we took this dirty, muddy river water one day and the next day turned it into clean, clear, tasteless drinking water which everyone in the village and our volunteer group shared in drinking together and celebrating. This was the 4th water plant built by CONAPAC and we will be building at least three more this year. As for the bakery, it was not quite completed as the bricklayer, who builds the oven, will need to come another day. But a great start was made and we hope to have bread baking there by the end of the month. Of course, another "shout out" to my second team of volunteers: Sally, Bill, Kristin #2, Stephanie, Mary Frances, and Claire and Carla, too!

Prior to the delivery week for AAS, by friend Bonnie Gornie from Michigan, came a few days early to stay with me in my apartment. It was the first time I've had family or friends come to visit me here and I was so delighted and so excited that I could hardly wait. Then poor Bonnie arrives the first day (Tuesday), gets settled in and we spend the day together catching up sitting in my beautiful garden. But that evening, about midnight, I woke up and proceeded to vomit and have endless diarreha for two days! So Bonnie, ever the trooper, not only helped me out at home but went to the office and handled my work for two days so that the AAS schedule, with all its 1,000 details, could continue on and be ready to go by 8:00 AM Saturday morning. Plus, Bonnie had been gracious enough to bring me some "comforts" from home and pack them along with other goodies that I had ordered on-line. She is a dear friend, willing to do so much for me. I truly couldn't move on with my stories until I thanked her here!

Among many memorable activities during the last month, a few stand out. The first day of our service project activities, as I said, was rainy and muddy. I really can't remember being that wet, dirty, tired and cold since I was a kid. At the end of the day, the sun finally peaked out and it began it warm up. Right now the Amazon River and all its tributaries are quite swollen and even higher this year than in most years past. Where we were working was in the village of Irlanda, although the village is about 1/4 mile off the Napo River, the water had reached all the way back to the edge of town. As we were leaving all dirty, muddy, sweaty and tired, I just couldn't stand it...I asked them to stop the boat (well, the dugout canoe) and I jumped in the water with all my clothes on. It was just wonderful...so refreshing and relaxing and silly and funny all at the same time. Many of the village kids joined in for the fun along with several others in our volunteer group. Finally, I got out and guess what? Those wonderful tourist, jungle clothes that everyone wears (and I really don't like), they had come completely clean and by the time we got back to the lodge, after riding on the boat for 20 minutes or so, they were dry, as well! And the final good news, I didn't encounter any piranhas!

Later in the week, we headed to the Canopy Walkway which is an experience unequaled in the rainforest! At a height of over 35 meters (115 feet) and extending for 500 meters (one-third of a mile), the Canopy Walkway provides a view of the rainforest from the treetops, the best vantage point for observing Amazon wildlife and vegetation. It is one of the longest in the world, as well. I have been to the walkway twice before but this time was the best. Not only was there just nine of us on the whole walkway, but half way through, it began to pour down rain. It was so beautiful to see the rain from this prospective and experience it through sight, sound and touch. As we moved along, of course, there was the most glorious rainbow in the distance and we all counted it was a most fortunate day.

Toward the end of the week, we headed back to Ceiba Tops, one of the Explorama Lodges. There on the hill as I came in, was Nemecio! Nemecio was one of my best English students last year and he was so kind to me when I lived at the lodge. After I left last May, he was laid off from Explorama and I found him working in a chicken place in Iquitos when I returned in November. He was hoping to get back to work for Explorama and finally he did. I asked him what he was doing--cleaning rooms, working in the kitchen? No! He is personally caring for and raising a baby tapir and a baby jungle deer for the owner of Explorama, Peter Jensen! The animals are only about three months old each but already getting aquainted with all the tourists. Nemecio has to feed them milk four times a day and then keep them busy roaming the paths and boardwalks of Ceiba Tops. The tapir is called Luchito and the follows Nemecio around like a dog. Nemecio is a master at the right whistle or sound Luchito makes and I imagine he'll be figuring out what works for Juanita, too (the baby deer)!

Well, my last story also involves animals but not my favorite kind. As I mentioned before, the river is quite high right now. I live very near the river in Iquitos and now and then I've seen rats in the yard. Well, two weeks ago, I woke up to a funny little scratching noise. I turned on the light expecting to see something OUTSIDE my screened window, but NO, the rat was inside! So I freaked and it freaked then ran out my bedroom door. I quickly opened the other doors of my house and closed my bedroom door. Since it was only about 4 AM, I finally fell back to sleep and it was gone in the morning. So, the next night, about 4 AM, what do I hear? The same little noise! I turned on the light and once again, another rat only this one was three times as big!!!!!! OMG...it ran under my bed, I got the broom, poked it and it ran out the door screeching all the way. (Now this is when I'd really like to have a man in the house!) But I handled it and decided to keep all the doors and windows closed and for the first time ever, simply turned on my air conditioning rather than my fans. This was just before Bonnie arrived so I didn't tell her exactly what kind of "critter" problem I had been having but I'm sure she guessed. Anyway, I got my landlord to do some reinforcement at the bottom of the screen so since then I've had no more midnight visits. Bottom line: Give me bats in the house, any day!!! When I returned from the deliveries to the office, what should I find but the whole office upside down. Turns out that all those rats we've been seeing and hearing in the office over the last several months had finally starting dying. However, they were dying in the walls which you can guess doesn't smell very good. So Pam made the executive decision to tear apart the walls and completely patch and rebuild them in cement. No more rats for the moment, now only drying cement and fresh paint soon on its way. :)

Well, gotta' go. Thank you, again, all of you who stay in touch with me and connect either by email or Facebook. I would be lost without you all and I appreciate each and every one of you! Have a great May :) PS I will be posting some photos on Facebook soon from the last couple of weeks so stay tuned.