Galapagos Islands, Day 1

Today was one of those awe-inspiring, pinch-me-I-can´t-believe-I´m-really-here kind of days.  Started out with a flight to the Galapagos Islands.  Ended up with giant tortoises.

The natural beauty of this place is something I´ve never before experienced.  We were greeted by crystal clear blue waters.

Lazy sea lions basked in the sun, which is not nearly as hot as the sun in the last two cities I´ve visited.  The humidity isn´t as bad, either.

Boarded our boat after several different types of transit (none of them tortoise, darn it) and it, too, was awesome.  Ate a nice lunch and then headed back to the main island, Santa Cruz, to check out the giant tortoises.  We saw 7 different ones.  They were so amazing, I cannot adequately describe them (I also am running out of time at the internet cafe...).  So, here are some pictures:

I love the eyes on this one.  It was the first we saw.

This turtle was talking to his bird friend.  "Hello, bird."  

This one was taking a mud bath.  Nothing like a day at the spa.

Tonight, we head north to a small island way north of the main one.  I won´t have internet access again for a good 5 days, so good-bye for now!

Patty

Backing up a bit

So, I feel like this blog is a bit random and that it jumps back and forth a lot, but such is life.  I´m going to post pictures of the mountains on my last post in just a minute, but before I do that, I want to post a couple of probably the only productive thing I did when I was in recovery mode in Iquitos, post illness.

I had met a group of gringoes from Tennessee at the hotel I was staying at the night before my Amazonian adventure began.  They were extremely nice from the getgo, and told me that they were all doctors, nurses, and dentists who were going to be putting on a free medical clinic in town.  I told them I thought that was a great thing to do, wished them luck, and then left for the jungle the next morning.  We all know how that ended up.  I finally started feeling like a human being again on about day 3, post-illness (or maybe it was 2, or 4- Iquitos for me was like a time warp anyway) and was out walking when I ran into the group again.  I greeted them and told them what had happened, as they were surprised to see me back in town.  They encouraged me to stop by their clinic the next morning if I was still experiencing any symptoms, so that night I figured I might as well do that, and, as long as I was there, I might as well help out a bit.

When I arrived, they were ecstatic to hear that I´d help out, and even more ecstatic to hear that I spoke Spanish.  They put me in triage, checking patients in, asking them about their symptoms (my medical Spanish is a bit shaky, but I THINK riñones are kidneys- if not, that one guy had the wrong organ removed....just kidding), asking them if they have any allergies to food or drugs, getting their name and age, and then having them sit down in the waiting room.  When I arrived a little before 9, there was a line going down the stairs, out the door of the church, and down the block.  Needless to say, it was chaos!  In the morning it was, at least.  My pictures were taken in the afternoon.  Anyway, we were on the second floor of this church, and the place got so crowded by midmorning that the floors started shaking.  I would be lying if I said I was not worried, as this is the same sort of feeling my mom experienced while sitting on the 35W bridge, just 2 hours before it collapsed.  Anyway, in the end, nothing collapsed, and many hundreds of people were helped by the fabulous doctors, dentists, and nurses at the clinic.  They had a separate area for dental cleaning, dental extraction (ouch), optometrist appointments, pharmacy, and general medical consult.  Some people came in complaining of things that had been problems for YEARS.  Things like dizziness, headaches, stomachaches, parasites, lack of vision, etc.  It was pretty intense.

I was doing some translating for a doctor at one point, who was working with a 70 year old woman, and she started talking about how much pain she´s in, and how she can´t see to be able to do anything around her house, and her family is all either dead or gone, and how she just wants to die.  Try translating something like that without crying!  Seriously, it was awful.  I was not prepared for anything like that.  We took her aside and did some counseling, and ended up in a group hug.  She reminded me a lot of my Grandma Zeunik, who recently passed away, which made the whole experience hit home that much more.  Her smile was just almost exactly like my Grandma´s.  And, despite the fact that she was decades younger than my grandma, she looked just as old.  The poverty a lot of these people are living in really ages them quickly, as well as, I suppose, the climate. 

So, in the end, I put in a day of work volunteering, and in exchange, they gave me all sorts of drugs.  New malaria drugs, drugs for nausea, and drugs to kill whatever parasites might accompany me home.  Score!

Guayaquil, Ecuador- Day 1

Today I left the jungle town of Iquitos for the hustling, bustling city of Guayaquil, Ecuador.  I can´t say I was too sad to say good-bye to Iquitos- I´d spent plenty of time stuck there, and was ready to move on to the next leg of my journey.
My flight to Lima (where I had a layover) was spectacular.  We flew right over the Andes mountains, and I was like a kid in a candy store.  I snapped picture after picture after picture, and just when I thought it couldn´t get any more spectacular, it did.  Some mountain tops stretched so high that they were covered in snow- I couldn´t help but wish that I could just drop out of the plane on a snowboard and shred the nar.  (Joke.)

I rush rush rushed to my next flight after collecting my travel bag and then re-checking it in (this was an international flight, so that was necessary) and found out that it was delayed by 2 hours.  Everyone in the gate area stood up and got in line as if they were going to board.  I was totally confused.  I overheard an airline worker telling another person that they were offering meal vouchers for the two restaurants in the area.  My ears, of course, perked up.  "What?!  Free food?!"  I took my place in line and got my meal voucher, despite the fact that I had just polished off leftover veggie pizza from the night before.  (Side note: I am back to eating real food after subsisting on crackers and granola bars for the past several days since my illness.)
Because the restaurant for which they gave us a voucher was very busy, they asked that I sit at a table with three other people.  No problem!  Always happy to actually talk to a human being and maybe even make a friend.  I ate with a newly married Italian couple on their honeymoon and a Peruvian woman who´s on her way to New York City right now.  Dan, I gave her your digits, as she´ll be in Chicago on Sunday- expect a call!
The flight to Guayaquil was awesome- TV screen on the back of every seat (again!).  Watched a couple TV shows (not enough time for a movie, unfortunately) and had a small cup of wine...from a BOTTLE.  I was impressed.  LAN has proven to be a classy airline.
Arrived in Guayaquil a couple hours late, but my ride was still there waiting for me.  He (thankfully) had gotten the message that my flight was delayed and so there was no problem.  Stopped off at the travel agency, paid for my upcoming Galapagos Islands tour in cash...gulp...and proceeded to the hotel.  It´s nice!  Nicer than some places I´ve stayed, anyway.  Okay, so the pillow is covered in plastic and the bed is a bit hard.  It looks like a miniature version of Parque Guell in Barcelona.  Beautiful tiles everywhere, narrow, winding staircases.
Having precious few minutes to spare before it got dark, I set out for some food.  I walked along the main avenue, and after much deliberation, decided to branch out and eat at Pizza Hut.  Another veggie pizza.  But, it´s safe, it´s big enough that I´ll have leftovers for tomorrow, and it was conveniently located.
Tomorrow, I´ll hit the town and walk along the river.  Apparently there´s some cool stuff there.  For now, I should get back to my hotel.  It´s getting dark, and that plastic pillow protector needs somebody to keep it warm tonight.

Monkeys and spiders and caterpillars- oh my!

Because my last blog post was a bit of a Debbie Downer, I thought I´d use my excess of free time today to post about the magical experience that was my Amazonian adventure- the part before I was reduced to a mumbling, fumbling, helpless, formless blob. 

The adventure started out with a boat ride up the Amazon River.  I was astonished by how low to the water the boat was, and had to get used to feeling like we could sink at any moment, if the boat turned or if a big enough wave came along.  Aboard was only me, another woman who lives in a village up river about an hour, and the driver.  I was wide-eyed as we cruised by miles and miles of dense jungle, with tiny villages dotting the shore lines periodically.  We passed many canoes with men fishing or children in them, and not once did we slow down.  I figured they must be used to a little wake.  Or at least I hope so.

We stopped by the other passenger´s hometown to drop her off, and the driver took a 10 minute break.  He told me I could come up, too, but not having to go to the bathroom and not wanting to just leave all of my stuff on the boat (or carry it with me, for that matter), I opted to just stay on board.  There was a group of people and small children sitting on the dock, just hanging out, so we shared a few a few greetings, etc., but mostly they just wanted to stare at me.  I caught a glimpse of a boy fishing, and he actually pulled in a pretty good-sized fish.  It looked a lot like a shark to me, but it obviously wasn´t.  He was so proud as he reeled that thing in!

Our boat stopped a couple more times, for reasons I still don´t understand.  Eventually, we turned off onto a tributary and were soon cruising right along with a giant flock of common and great egrets.  It was like something out of a Disney movie.  I felt like freaking Poccahontas.  I almost broke out in the song "Just around the river bend," but, figuring that I would automatically be labeled as loca, I held back. 

Finally, three hours after our boat ride began, we pulled up to the Muyuna Lodge.  I was welcomed with a cold, tropical drink (some sort of fruit smoothie) and shown to my bungalow.  It was amazing.  Bungalow after bungalow was connected by elevated wooden walkways.  Tropical plants surrounded the place, and the sounds of the jungle surrounded us.  I was so looking forward to spending the next 5 days in this magical place.  Here are some shots of my digs:

I was blown away by how nice everything was, how welcoming the workers were, and how remote the lodge really was.  I had lunch in the dining bungalow with a big group of people from California, Australia, and England, all of whom were leaving right after lunch.  They had fabulous things to say about all the great adventures they had had, and this just made me even more excited to get going in my exploration of the jungle.

My guide, Larissa, told me to meet her back in the main lodge in half an hour, to be sure to wear my rain boots, long sleeves and long pants, and plenty of insect repellent.  When I arrived, she checked me over and insisted that I tuck my pants into my rain boots.  Figuring the animals wouldn´t care if I looked nerdy, I did as she told me.  It was a good thing I did, because it wasn´t long before we were wading through mud that was shin-deep.  Mud that I could scarcely walk through.  At times it was like walking through quicksand.  Though the trek was muddy, buggy, and hot (understatement of the century!), it was all totally, 100% worth it. 

Throughout the course of our 3 or so hour walk, we saw 5 different monkeys.  This blew my mind, as the only place I´d seen monkeys prior to this was the zoo.  It was crazy to see them in their natural habitat, playing happily in the treetops.  Here, a pygmy monkey, the smallest monkey of all, clings to a tree.  Larissa did a fabulous job of hearing the monkeys in the distance.  She would stop on a dime, look up in the direction of a sound she heard, say "Be veeeeery quiet" and then proceed to make sounds that would attract them to us.  It was unreal.

Here, another pygmy monkey (called "leoncito" or "little lion" in Spanish because of the mane-like hair around their head) peeks at us from a tree.  He was a playful one, scurrying around the tree to hide from us, peeking out at us, running around and around the tree, and seeming to enjoy himself immensely.  We also saw a dusky titi monkey, but just for a brief moment.  I wasn´t able to get a picture of it.           In addition to monkeys, we saw many different fungi, which are beautiful here, and were even more prevalent than usual because the area that we were hiking had been completely underwater the previous week.

This was probably my favorite fungus (which sounds weird, I know).  I thought it was a flower at first, but Larissa informed me that it was actually fungus. 

This was another pretty cool fungus, called the pork ear mushroom.  It´s really flimsy to the touch, just like a pig´s ear  would be.                                                                                    Larissa informed me that generally, if something is brightly colored in nature, it´s probably poisonous.  These fungi, for example, are not.  However, we did see some other kinds that were.  Here´s an example of a poisonous mushroom and a poisonous caterpillar (or calerpitter, as my nephew Luke says):

In addition to animals and fungi, we saw quite a few impressive trees.  Here are a couple of my favorites.

On the left, a spiny trunked palm tree.  Do not mess with this one.  On the right, a giant ficus tree.           Later, Larissa pointed out scars on a rubber tree from over 100 years ago.  Iquitos and the Amazon jungle in general were hot spots during the rubber boom from 1879-1912. 

The only reason we can think of that this tree was spared is that it was too small back in the day to warrant cutting down.  Then the rubber boom subsided, and it continued to grow.  It now stands proud and tall, almost mocking the men who dared consider cutting it down so many years ago.    

Although my time in the rainforest was cut short, I came out of the experience with a tremendous respect for all that it has to offer.  From controlling the jet streams which affect our weather patterns, to housing millions of species of plants, animals, insects, and fungi, to providing a tranquil getaway for us human beings caught in the hustle and bustle of our busy lives, this is certainly a sacred place.  I hope I make it back someday, and I hope that a bad case of the Itis does not follow me there next time.

Life in the JungILL

Well, my Amazonian adventure of 5 days and 4 nights ended up being cut short by 4 days and 3 nights.  I spent more time in transit from Iquitos to Muyuna Lodge (3 hours up the Amazon River) than I did in the rainforest.  On the evening of the 18th, I started to feel queasy and told my tour guide, Larissa, about it.  We had just finished a 3 hour hike through the Amazon which was AMAZING.  I will post pictures later.  I told her that it was probably no big deal, but that I just had an overall sick feeling.  She pointed out the nearest bathroom in case I needed it.  I said I was sure I would be okay.  Ten minutes later I was calling Uncle Ralph on the big white phone in my bungalow's bathroom.  I proceeded to puke every 20-30 minutes for the next 14 hours.  They tried giving me a pill to stop the puking, but it lasted less than 5 minutes in my stomach before I puked it up.  They tried having me rub Vicks Vapo Rub on my stomach (not sure why), drink Gatorade, drink some nasty, thick, anise-flavored substance like PediaSure or PediaLite, but absolutely nothing was working.  I asked my tour guide, who had suddenly become my personal caregiver, if she could at least bring me a three-toed sloth to keep me company through the night.  She just laughed.  I wasn´t kidding.  Her bungalow was right next to mine, so she would wake up every time she heard me puke (it was quite loud, but I couldn´t help it) and come over to check on me.  She got very little sleep that night, which I feel horrible about. 
Thoughts started running through my mind, i.e. how I was going to get the medical attention I apparently needed.  I was three hours away from the nearest city, a small town accessible only by plane or boat.  I could not even fathom getting up to go to the bathroom, much less getting up to walk down to the boat to get out of there.  I was weaker than I´ve ever been, and wanted nothing more than to be back home.  I asked about the possibility of helicoptering me to Iquitos.  Again, they thought I was joking. 
By the next morning, realizing that I was showing no signs of improvement, they packed up all my stuff for me and practically carried me down to the boat.  They had prepared a bed with a mattress and pillow in between seats of the boat, and I lay there the entire trip.  They covered me with a blanket, and it was really quite comfortable.  Thank God I did not get seasick, because that would have resulted in even more vomiting. 
About 30 minutes into the trip (or something- I wasn't quite coherent at that point), it started raining (this is the rainforest, after all).  They covered me completely with a tarp, and, laying there in the enclosure, I couldn't help but feel like I was laying in a coffin.  It was a terrible feeling.  Some time later, the police stopped our boat.  The people from the lodge told them what they were doing.  Probably suspecting them of drug trafficking, the police asked for evidence.  The lodge workers pulled the tarp up and I gazed at them with sickly eyes and gaunt face.  The moment the police saw me, they waved us on.  Although I hadn't looked in a mirror in a while, I could tell by their reaction that I wasn't looking too hot. 
Another boat (a speed boat, which would get me into town faster) met up with us eventually, and I transferred over to it.  Realizing that time was of the essence, I tried making this transfer on my own.  Bad idea.  With such poor motor control, stepping from one boat to the other resulted in pushing the two away from each other.  I looked down to see nothing but Amazon River below me, complete with piranhas and black caiman.  Fortunately I was pulled onto the speed boat by whoever had been driving it.  Uf-duh.  
Finally we arrived to the shore of Iquitos, and then the insurmountable task of climbing about 4 flights of stairs.  I had to stop three times on the way, despite help from a man from the lodge.  It was like climbing the Spanish Steps in Italy- crowded, with everyone staring at la gringa who obviously was not doing well.  Finally made it up the stairs, was taken to the emergency room, and all sorts of samples were taken from me.  They gave me an IV as I was severely dehydrated, and also a sedative (which was TOTALLY unnecessary, as I was already almost completely out of it).  Stayed there for I don´t know how many hours, sleeping most of the time.  Was awoken by the doctor coming in to tell me, "I have good news.  There's nothing wrong with you."  HA!  Funny.  I was too weak and sedated to tell him how I really felt about that news, so I just went back to sleep.  Trying to get me to get up from that bed and go out to the van was like Mission: Impossible.  Then, on the way back to the hostal, they kept trying to make me drink that thick, nasy, anise-flavored liquid when all I wanted was water.  Finally made it up to the hostal room, and barely even remember falling into bed and conking out for the next however many hours. 
Today, I´m feeling a bit more like a human being.  I´m still exhausted, and my body aches all over from puking so many times.  But, I made it out of the jungle alive, and I will now be a lot more careful about what I eat and drink. 
The people from the lodge were total saints to take care of me as well as they did.  Seriously, my life and all of my possessions were in their hands for a while, and they did a fabulous job of taking care of everything.  They continue to check up on me at the hostal and do whatever it is that I need to have done for me.  I´m lucky!  Hopefully the rest of this trip brings better health.  I hope you´re all doing well.

Day 1: Travel day

Have you ever been on a flight which starts out with people throwing their arms up, roller coaster style, and shrieking with delight when the pilot puts the pedal to the metal, and ends up with people applauding uproariously upon touchdown?  I hadn´t until yesterday, when I made the final leg of my journey to Lima, Peru.  I looked to the girl sitting next to me, and said, "This is going to be awesome."

The flight itself was amazing.  I had the good fortune of sitting next to Leah, a super nice med student at Loyola, who was actually interested in talking to me (or at least faked it well) and was equally excited for her journey.  They actually FED us (what a concept!)...not once, but TWICE.  A snack around 10:30 PM before we made our final descent was the perfect thing to top off a tiring day of travel and hold me over until 5:40 the next morning when I would board another plane for Iquitos.  And, they gave us a complimentary drink.  Leah was very appreciative of a generous pour of boxed wine.

I, on the other hand, got really excited about the food (I know- you´re shocked).  The flight attendant, being the boisterous and jovial guy that he is, gave us each an extra dessert.  Score!

We landed in Lima and (fortunately) made it through customs.  My luggage arrived safely, but the same could not be said for that of Leah or Mike, her friend that she had met while waiting at the gate in Atlanta.  We waited around for a while, but ultimately discovered that they would have to wait until tonight to get their luggage from Chicago.  Hopefully they did! Here they express their true feelings about their luggage being lost.

Eamonn and I hung out for a while in the Lima airport, took advantage of exotic establishments like Starbucks, and finally said our good-byes after admiring the collection of sharp objects at the security checkpoint.

On the flight to Iquitos, the man sitting next to me asked me if I was going to Iquitos for the cock fighting festivities as part of the Fiesta de San Juan.  Ummm...no.  Unfortunately I´ll be in a lodge three hours up the Amazon river by the time that festival starts.  Shucks.

Got off the plane and it´s really true that the Guns ´N Roses song "Welcome to the Jungle" starts blaring the second you step off the plane.  Well, at least it did in my head.  The heat and humidity hit you like a ton of bricks.  It´s hotter and more humid here than anywhere else I´ve ever been.  And, as I was reminded by a clerk today, this is their winter.  Ha!  A far cry from Minnesnowta. 

My concerns about nobody being there to pick me up from the airport were totally unfounded.  There were, in fact, two people waiting to pick me up.  One from the lodge, one from the hotel.  I went with the one from the hotel after reminding the lodge guy that I wouldn´t be going there until the following day.  He was there to pick up other people, anyway, so it wasn´t a big deal.

Rode in the back of a van with a bunch of Peruvian men, all of whom spoke rapid fire Spanish and all but ignored me.  I was fine with this, as my brain was half mush after not sleeping for 28 hours.  I took in the city scene, watched as motorized bikes blazed past each other, and was reminded of traffic in China.  Towards the end, though, two guys did strike up a conversation with me and turned out to be extremely nice.

Slept for a couple hours, had lunch at a cafe overlooking the Amazon River, took care of some miscelaneous business and explored the city, then went back to sleep for a couple more hours.  

Headlamp

 

Well hello there!  I'm wearing my new headlamp.  What do you think???

WOW!  SENSATIONAL!!!  IT LOOKS FANTASTIC!!!

Oh, why thank you!  That is very sweet of you to say that.

Body Language Video

Alright, so this has nothing to do with my trip to Peru or Ecuador, but I will inevitably end up referencing the Body Language Video at some point in this blog.  You might learn something new, like the many uses of the middle finger.  

Ummm...no.  I will not be turning off the fun before leaving the room.  In fact, I will be taking the fun with me.