La lluvia...Rain in the Amazon

El Otro Lado del Rio ( the other side of the river)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yA4bHCozULU&feature=related

 

I think my body may be changing.  I’m sitting here wearing a jacket, cold.  This morning, working on the deck with my computer, I was freezing.  The breeze that comes off the river can be surprisingly brisk, but today it was downright chilly.  I have a blanket in my room, tucked nicely on the top of the shelf.  I always wondered why anyone would need a blanket in the tropics.  Now I know.

The weather here in the Amazon basin is different at any given moment, and heaven help someone who doesn’t plan for the unexpected.  For example, I walked over to the high school the other day, sweating, trudging up and down the 1.5 k path.   I arrived at the office, accomplished what I had planned to do, expecting to come back right away, but it began to pour.  It didn’t stop. The students say if the rain comes in fast and hard, it will stop just as abruptly.  If it is a gentle constant rain, it could rain all day.  I waited, but it didn’t let up…and I hadn’t brought anything with me.  I was wearing my hiking boots, but not my rubber boots.  I had no rain jacket or poncho.  After waiting about two hours, I decided to try my luck in walking back.  The path is treacherous and slippery when wet walking up and down the steep muddy inclines, but I managed to get back, none the worse for wear except for my poor Keen boots.

Lately, I have been paying more attention to the clouds and their movements.  Living here, the weather becomes part of who you are. When I’m on the river, the huge expanse of sky is spectacular.  I love to gaze at the billowing white thunderheads decorating the azure sky… The weather moves in, and sheets of gray rain crisscross the sky almost daily.  Some days are cool, some tremendously hot with air so thick it beads on the walkway.

Everything always feels moist.  All my paper is limp, …my notebooks, limp.  My hair, limp.  When my next break comes, the people who have been here awhile recommend we take our computers with us so they have a chance to dry out. 

The weather has been beautiful the last two days.  I thought I would take advantage of the warm sun and set my poor Keens out to dry.  Again, it’s a planning thing.  Mother nature is trying to teach me to always be aware of her fickleness.  It started to rain, hard.  I made it back to my room.  Outside were my boots, where I had set them to dry, in the rain, with over one inch of standing water in the bottom. I’m learning.  Tomorrow I’m heading over to the high school in the early morning to teach at 8:00.  But I will be packing my poncho and rubber boots.  I know better now

Adjusting to the rhythm of daily life

It’s almost 6:oo pm…and I’m sitting on the deck watching the sunset. A nice breeze floats through the dining room, cooling everything off.   Everyone is relaxing, and I am alone on the deck enjoying this incredible sunset. I settled well into the rhythm of the day, especially considering today were my first two classes with my five enthusiastic students.  All went well, and everyone was eager to learn just about anything I had to offer. One young man suggested that I teach a sex education class…and I told him if he was serious, we could do it.  All the boys were thrilled.

Today I woke up early to morning sounds and ambled out to breakfast at about 6:45.  I was late, only to find out that when there are no tourists, there is no coffee, which is devastating for me.  The cook and I remedied the problem after a short discussion, but it looks as if breakfast is going to start at 6:30 for me. ..that is, if I want coffee. Rice is served with every meal, and I am thinking I need to cut down on what I eat.  The portions are huge and I can’t continue to eat this much. My pants are still loose, but they won’t stay that way!  But it’s difficult not to eat what is served….all the food is so flavorful ! Tonight is jungle pizza…with yucca, onions, mushrooms and salsa.  Should be good!

A few nights ago, the students put on a presentation of native dance for the tourists.  Everyone wore native garb made from natural rain forest materials.  The movements were mesmerizing and they all looked fantastic dancing to the Quichua music. But last night, we decided to have a little birthday celebration for one of the girls at the lodge.  Since there were no tourists, we had cake and danced about an hour to Reggaton, Cumbia, and Merengue.  I even got to dance a few, which was fun!  It is always fun to see kids be kids, laughing and interacting.  Lights were out at 10:00…no electricity….but it is the bewitching hour and all the students are supposed to be in their own rooms.  Things shut down pretty tight with the extreme darkness.   Last night, the full moon illuminated the evening, but most everyone is in his or her rooms by 9:30.  I usually go to bed around 10 or 10:30.  With no light in my room, I read with a headlamp…and if I’m lucky, I have Internet access, but usually not. The atmosphere is like a Spanish summer camp.  Ecu-voleyball is played regularly…pretty fast paced….and usually just guys.  It is volleyball played with a soccer ball.  Ouch.  One has to be careful to hit the ball right on. 

The students are always active…and today I tried to explain how to play euchre.  Not knowing some of the card terminology in Spanish, it was challenging.  So far they have the idea of trump and cards played.  We haven’t worked with scoring yet…especially since I’ve never been sure of that myself.  Henri was already picking up some awesome strategy.

I can’t end the blog today without reflecting on our“nutria.”…the river otter.  Yacu is fast becoming everyone’s favorite.  We have now determined he is a he.  Growing so fast, he has added a few inches already.  We all take turns fishing for his breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the small pond on the property.  I can catch three or more fish within 10 minutes, and he grabs them with his tiny, webbed feet, and starts devouring them head first.  Our research on otters is a little disconcerting though.  These giant otters can grow up to 6 or more feet and weigh upward to 150 pounds.  Hopefully, he is one of the smaller types because we won’t be able to maintain his feeding schedule. …both types of otters are endangered. It is a joy to watch him play in the water, swimming as fast as lightening.  He loves to play and makes little happy noises when he is scratched behind his little cropped ears.

Ending now to finish watching this breathtakingly beautiful sunset.

Arriving at Yachana..My New Home

Is it Monday?  The days run together out here in the jungle.  We all arrived last Friday around 3:00 and started our orientation right away. It has been crazy here, especially since the students arrived around the same time.  The biggest undertaking we have had is trying to work a schedule for all of us.  The other four young teachers stay at the high school dorms…but I stay at the lodge in Casa Quest, a dormitory area with shared bathrooms, meant for backpackers who travel through the area.  We have electricity for about two hours in the morning, and then from about 7-10 p.m.  I have to remember to charge anything that needs to be charged. So far, I’ve been eating with the guests…but today all the guests left and we are alone…so I eat in the kitchen with my students. 

The grounds are beautiful with huge multi-colored flowers throughout the gardens.  I recognize some of these exquisite plants as house-plants in the states.  It has been raining quite a bit latejy, and I have to be careful as I walk the pathways…some are pretty slippery when wet.  We walked about 1 ½ kilometers to the high school yesterday and trekked up some fairly slippery, muddy hills.  The walking has been keeping me active and exhausted.  I’ve been eating three huge meals a day and  not gaining any weight…..probably losing. 

My job consists of being academic coordinator and lodge coordinator. Basically, I help the new teachers with their classes if needed.. (and they don’t need too much because they are all amazingly bright and perceptive.) I also work with the students at the lodge who are interning in tourism.  I do pullout classes to help them with their English in specific areas.  My major goal is to have them interact with the guests and to be able to promote themselves as the only student run ecolodge in the world….I have never seen adolescents work so hard in my life.working over a 12 hour day … never complaining… I have been working long hours myself …We do not have any days off during a three day period…working straight through a weekend….That’s why I can’t believe it’s Monday….Being on the equator, daylight is a 6:00…and then..right at 6:00…it’s dark. I have to be sure to write in some down time into my schedule because if I'm not careful, we can end up wearing many different hats....

Walking along a path at night is treacherous if one doesn’t carry a flashlight. ….Last night’s moon was awesome with unbelievably brilliant stars because of there being no ambient light.  We have to keep a careful watch for snakes that have curled up on the pathway to keep warm.

I’ve given up on my hair…it’s flat and without any sort of style…I’m hoping it grows quickly so I can put it into a sort of a ponytail to keep out of my face.  The weather has actually been rather cool some days..especially at night.  We all struggle a little with the chiggers, which can be irksome....,but I usually wear pants and boots which helps.  We wash our clothes by hand……but I'm just thrilled to have hot water!  Good fruits and vegetables and hot water….Life’s simple pleasures.  Oh..and internet… life doesn’t get much better.

A person around the lodge is able to see a variety of animals here..wandering in from the jungle.   I saw a huge hummingbird, about three sizes bigger than the ones in Indiana.  Yolanda, the parrot, loves to give her opinion about just about anything…and then there’s Yacu, the baby otter.  Yacu means water in Quiche. Someone brought her in two weeks ago from the market….rescued it from some woman trying to sell it…  Yacu lives in the pond close to the lodge   About 8 inches long, not including the tail, she follows anyone around.  She eats about three times a day and will definitely tell you when she is hungry.  She gnaws on your pant legs and bite fingers.  When that happens, someone has to get the fishing pole out and catch small bluegill looking fish to feed it…but beware! If anyone tries to take the fish away from her, she will bite hard and draw blood.  I’m thinking she might be something to reckon with when she grows to full size.   

Yacu’s very social and loves everyone…..but I’m worried that she’ll get stepped on because she is underfoot so much.  She is like a small puppy..with razor sharp teeth…and her head is almost shaped like a fuzzy shark head with tiny piecing eyes, tiny ears, and webbed feet.  She’s a heart-breaker…a real lover…When she reaches her four foot adult size, I wouldn’t want to tangle with her. 

The First Few Days....before Yachana

Before beginning my new adventure to Ecuador, I decided to visit friends near Orlando.  It was a great time, had by all, until I received an email notice from Delta that my flight to Miama had been canceled. In order to catch my flight to Ecuador, I ended up renting a car to drive to the Miami airport having to spend the night.   I met Ryan at the airport where we struggled with our many bags, all packed for the up-coming year.  Surprisingly, we packed fairly light considering it was for a year in the jungle, but the bags were still cumbersome and heavy. We both had tickets to Quito with Santa Barbara airlines, a Venezuelan company.  After standing in line for two hours, we finally arrived at the counter where we found out that the second leg to Quito had been canceled.   We had a choice..either to stay one more night in Miama, or stay in Venezuela and catch the next flight the following day to Quito.  We were both ready to move forward on our international adventure..so we decided to take the flight and deal with what Caracas had to offer when we landed. Having another stamp on the passport seemed the right thing to do...besides, the Miami hotels are expensive.

Our hotel near the Caracas airport turned out to be clean and cheap..only $55.00/night for both of us.  The fish dinner was cheap and delicious, and the locals were welcoming.  The hotel sported a nice little bar where the clientele treated us to great Venezuelan beer called Polar Ice.  Yum.  I was impressed with everyone's friendliness. I certainly was glad the Ryan was with me..and we seemed to weather whatever was thrown at us.  He was a trooper as far as being positive and super easy going..I couldn't have asked for a better travel partner. 

We headed out to the airport the following afternoon, about 12:00, to catch our flight at 5:00....but no.  It was another hurry up and wait.  We didn't get to leave Venezuela until about 8:30, arriving in Quito about 10:30. Ryan had made hostel reservations in Quito in the Mariscal and we took a taxi from the airport, anxiously looking forward to some rest after the long waits we had experienced with the Santa Barbara airlines...  The hostel turned out to be quite an experience for me...it was a hostel geared toward young 20 somethings....My room was a shared dorm for 6 people, mixed gals and guys, with a shared bathroom.  I was exhausted and found it difficult to fall asleep with one of my roomies snoring loudly most of the night.  Loud laughter and light filtered into my open window which made it especially difficult  for me to fall asleep....but all in all, it was an experience I wouldn't have given up for anything.  I met some absolutely fascinating people.  Many of the young people were spending a year traveling around the world.  Helen, a young Swedish woman, joined us when we visited La Capilla de Hombre which housed Guaysamin's art.  I recommend anyone to visit and view his work..his art with indigenous themes was more than powerful..it was magnetic..it pulled you from the inside...La capilla de hombre was also designed by the artist...and he wanted it to be a place of reflection.

After two days in Quito, spending a big bulk of time trying to get my volunteer visa, I was ready to head out to Yachana.  The other visiting teachers drove out 6 hours, but I flew.  It was 30 minutes from Quito to Coca..and then 3 hours by boat, upstream, to my new home, the Yachana Lodge...a place of learning.