Little Joys...

Lately I’ve been thinking about the things which bring me pleasure while living here:

* Getting a letter in the mail from my Rotary Club at my house--Not only is getting mail the rarest of treats, this was the first piece of mail I actually received at the house!
* Eating a bowl of Wheat Chex (or any cereal) which a friend just brought me from the States.
* Getting a phone call from in the middle of the day at the office by anyone from home.
* Having exact change for the mototaxi.
* When the Internet is working fast enough to download You Tube or other video.
* Heavy rain at night so it drowns out the loud music being played in the discos.
* Having my 3rd round of chiggers be much less difficult than the first two.
* Finding the beer in my fridge to be very, very cold.
* Immediately catching a motokar when I step outside into the pouring rain.
* Realizing that the “cockroaches” I found coming into my house this past week were really June bugs. Somehow that was much more comforting and emotionally manageable—go figure?
* A cloudy day—something I never thought I would hope for after living more than 50 years in Michigan—but truly a blessing as it remains warm but not so unbearably hot.
* Not having a telephone at my desk which means I don't get interrupted often.
* Of course, the ultimate is finding lots of personal email each day when I open my account!

As many of you know, I work for CONAPAC but we share just about everything with Explorama Tours. In fact, my desk is right in the reservations office of Explorama so I’m in the middle of a lot of activity. Pam receives all the email inquiries made in English. Often, she gets some crazy questions by prospective guests. Here are few which I thought were quite funny. (For those of you who've been here before, you will appreciate the humor in these requests better than some of you who have not yet visited.)

* One man inquired about the possibility of taking a bike ride in the jungle. He wasn’t sure if he could bring his own bike or could rent one while he was here.
* One customer spent days corresponding back and forth with Pam about her trip to the lodge. She had all kinds of questions but somewhere along the way, forgot to mention she has a severe allergy to bananas! She brought it up after her trip was planned; airline tickets bought and rooms booked and pay for. Her allergy went so far as to include having reactions from anything made or cut on a cutting board that previously was used to prepare bananas. It seems to me the last place someone with this kind of problem would like to travel is anywhere near the Equator! As you can imagine every single day includes the use and preparation of bananas and plantains in the lodge kitchens. And everywhere she goes she will encounter this! But Explorama went out and bought new cutting boards for each lodge and put her name on it so there would be not confusion!
* Often Pam gets inquiries from vegans. Explorama’s daily menus always include a broad range of food items which should meet everyone’s needs. But vegans still aren’t satisfied. When you ask them what they can eat, they can only tell you what they can’t eat. They can never quite tell you what they will eat so that we can attempt to meet their needs.
* We had one group bringing down students on a fixed budget. They were going to be helping with community service projects in the rain forest. The group leader asked us if there a nice restaurant near the villages to eat, preferably buffet style, that their group can have lunch?
* One couple guest was having some kind of anniversary. They paid the staff to share in their champagne toast. Apparently, just the two of them wasn’t enough.
* There are often folks who want to come and take walks in the rainforest alone. This is never advisable or permitted but none the less, they often feel strongly that they can handle it. The rainforest is not a place to wander alone!
* One guest wanted to know many stairs are there in the rainforest? We’re still not sure what that was about!

I hope you’re all enjoying the birth of summer this weekend. For those Dad’s out there, enjoy your day. They make a bit of a production about Father’s Day here, too. Dads are dads all over the world! Much love and warm greetings to the fathers in my life--my Dad, stepdad, brother, Rick, cousins, friends--I love you all!