Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Hola!
I´ve just landed in Peru and am still at Lima airport. Catheriné`s flight lands in about 1.5 hours so i have some time to kill. Luckily Í`ve found some internet away from the harressment of the vying taxi drivers. So maybe this time I´ll be able to catch up with my blog entirely.... mmmmm, it never seems to happen like that!
Thursday 4th December:
This was my last working day at Jatun Sacha. Thursday is personal projects day... my project was to clear a trail that leads from Jatun Sacha up to the Miconia forest and to make it with signs. I have a pic of the sign I made for the forest... not sure if i´ve uploaded it yet but ´`m pretty proud of the sign making skills myself and Bec displayed! The hike is up hill and pretty tough. I was scared as the book I had been reading the night before is about man-eating beasts in the Amazon that come out of the mist. Well the cloud was low and so we were in the mist with not much visibilty. Negro (the dog) decided to walk the trail with us and kept jumping out of the trees making me jump! It´s a strange sensation being in low cloud like that... you can see it moving in waves all around and sometimes it clears suddenly and then you look up a minute later and you can`t see a thing again. The Miconia forest is not a tall and daunting as it sounds. Miconia trees are endemic to the Galapagos and as they grow on higher ground they are not coated in mora. I learnt to be able to distinguish a Miconia tree as the veins on the leaves run lengthways from tip to stem.
As that was my last evening a cake was made for me. Catherine and Matt made a chocolate cake... v tasty but of course I think mine`s nicer!
Friday 4th December:
Fridays at the camp are caminando days (walking). This week we walked to a waterfall about 1.5hours away from camp. It was a sunny day and so I was persuaded to get into the plunge pool. Katherine and I and a few others (including Cesear and Miguel who run the show) went in in all our clothes... including wellies. It was soooo much fun. The downside of the wellies is that they fill up and then you start sinking. There are some good pics of us all in the waterfall and swimming.
I fell over on the way home and added to my collection of bruises.No lasting damage!
On friday afternoon we went to port..me with all my stuff. I said my goodbyes to the station and most importantly to my hammocks. Forgot to say bye to the dogs but I think they´ll get over it. The rest of the volunteers also came to port so we had pizza and a night out. We were staying at a hostel called the yellow house that has a flat roof. So the night out involved the americans teaching us how to play beer pong... it involves beer, and you guessed it... a ping pong ball! Kind of fun but my ai is rubbish so I ended up drinking a lot.
Saturday 6th December:
After breakfast I made it very hung over to the beach. And this is the bit you´ve all been waiting for... the sea lion bite!
I decided to go in the water on my own as the sea lions were not in the water and and big papa was asleep. Everyone was watching me go in because nothing else was going on. As I was in an adolescent lion decided he wanted to play and swam in circles around me jumping out of the water and generally scaring the s*** out of me. I freaked out and screamed a bit and tried to get out but the tide was pulling me back in. So it continued to try and make me play and bit me on the leg.... it was quite gentle but still left a mark. In a way it was like a labrador wanting desperatly to play. Now the whole beach was laughing heartily. I made it back to my towel, laughed hysterically for 2 seconds and then burst into hysterical tears. So now I am officially scared of sea lions! The next day i was tempted back into the water only to have half of my group dive down and bite me to try and make me scream again. I am such a wuss!
That night we all went for lobster at a local resturant. It was only $6 and divine! I thought I`d have a quiet night but my group was invited to a fiesta... what could i do!?
The fiesta was a a babies christening at a house outside of town. To start with it was all a bit embarassing because no one was talking. But after a while the beer started to flow and they insisted that the gringos dance. So I ended up dancing in the middle of a room surrounded by old ladies sitting around the edge (with all of the old men outside). I`m pretty sure we were invited just for the entertainment! At the end when we tried to leave the family produced a pigs tail and chased Katherine and I around the room with it and then insisted that some of our group danced with it!!!!! The party was great though and we were made to feel so at home. What a friendly bunch.
Saturday 7th December
It was raining in the morning but not hard so Katherine, Bec and Chris went to hire kayaks on the beach. We paddled around the coast to a rocky bay below frigate bird hill. On the was out it was really pleasant. I overcame some of my sealion fear and got in the water. Katherine and I managed to get out of our kayak without disgracing ourselves.... We climbed the hill and saw sharkes in the water from the view point... the water is incredibly clear. On the way back into the boat we weren`t so graceful. I just could not get in and kept on being bashed against the rocks by the tide.... yet more bruises!
When we finally got back to the neach, this time against the current I was so relieved. That night i dreamt i was being chased by he papa sea lion and I was defending myself with a saucepan.... hehehe
That night the volunteers went back to the station and I stayed in port..... It was sad :( When I got back to my room KLatherine had left me presents.... presents always cheer me up!
On monday and then tuesday morning it was raining heavily in port... it never rains... disaster as this was meant to be my beach holiday! I watched some rubbish american films in my room and read my book. V boring.
However the weather cleared on tuesday lunch time and I made it back to the beach. Tina, who lives in port invited me and some others for dinner at her amazihng flat that overlooks the sealions (and the sea).
I flew back to Quito on wednesday and went out for dinner with Carmen last night. This morining I did a bit a sightseeing up to the teleferico in Quito. It is a cable car that goes up to 4100m in the andes. I really noticed the altitude!
Got to go now and see if I can find Catherine (notice Katherine (Jatun Sacha) and Catherine (Croydon) are spelt differently so you can always know who I`m talking about. Welcome to my world of Catherines!!!!!
- comments