jungle

so i spent the first day hiking up to the first waterfall and bathing in freezing cold water. on the way down we got to try various local liquors made from berries and other tropical fruits mixed with something similar to moonshine. Then we headed to a different lagoon to go swimming and kayaking. I accidentally stole someone's kayak. the next day we went to a different town that was having an Easter Celebration. so we got to check out an artisan fair with a lot of ceramics and wood work, a gastronomic fair were my friend any I ate probably six plates of food. Ceviche, fish grilled in a palm leaf, chicken grilled in a palm leaf, 2 plates of donuts, and flavored ice chips. We checked out a reenactment of the passion. Then went to check out the church. and 2 coffee shops. It was a lovely day as the streets were filled and others blocked off and completely painted with gorgeous images of Jesus. Oh and there was a castle a real castle in the middle of this little poor town a beautiful castle being built by some Italian guy, i do believe it is the only castle in all of Peru. The next day we traveled to the blue lagoon, we had to cross a river in a ferry that carried the cars and then headed on really muddy roads to the lagoon. then took a boat across the lagoon to our own private dock and hiked a little in the jungle saw a centipede that my friend did not realize was dangerous. had to keep my eyes on her because she likes to touch everything and rarely knows whether it could kill her or not. though i enjoyed her company a lot (Emma) because she is a spontaneous and sometimes brave character that loves traveling. so anyways we went swimming a bit and I did yoga on my dock and then a crazy rain storm rolled in for like 15 minutes and we were stuck in a cloud and the thunder seemingly vibrated the once tranquil lagoon and then it passed and the sun came back with strength and the lagoon was once again a strong sea blue. In the afternoon we took a walk to the next town, got picked up by a catering van to another town along the way, went back to hiking and then got picked up by a truck. By the time we were truly on our way it was already pretty late and the road was closed until six because of construction in which I thought one of the guys from the trucks waiting in line to pass was going to rip of this girl's head, then two other trucks wanted to pass and were stopped by two other guys standing in front of their cars. At six we continued saw a live viper that was then masterfully run over by a truck and picked up to be cooked for later. Once outside of the desired destination we ran into a 8 wheeler stuck in the mud trying to get up this hill which consequently blocked our path. so stuck again and the sun already set at six thirty we contemplated walking again though after realizing that neither of us had batteries for our small flash lights we waited for the truck to be pulled up the hill by ropes and twenty men. Man power better than wheel power. At 830 we finally got to the town and exhausted we showered and went to bed. Following morning we woke up early to hike two hours to another waterfall. It was muddy and one had to be very careful where they placed their foot so as not to slide down the hill. We took a guide because the senora at the hostel insisted it was necessary. it was thank you senora. we got to a river and had to cross it by foot because there was no bridge we had to then climb large rocks to get to the next pass. then came on great rock that we had to climb down to pass the river again. Emma fears falling I never thought i would get her to scale down but she did with some convincing then the guy said we had to swim across the river in a deeper part. but Emma did not want to again because she is not such a strong swimmer. with more coxing we got he across. I think at that point she hated me a little bit. crossing slippery rocks we finally got to a intensely falling waterfall. it was gorgeous. i only almost got sucked down the river once and only fell on the rocks once both i consider impressive for my clumsy nature. We hiked back another two hours and the guide was surprisingly more tired than us, I think it is because we walked at a faster rate and did not rest. We went to lunch and a downpour like the ocean falling out of the skies came down. the houses there are made out of palm trees and while it seems like water would get in they are perfectly tied together in a way that makes them resistant. Then another sketchy truck ride back to the city and we got into a taxi to head to the next and last town. This was like the capital of orchids so we first went to some sulfur baths, followed by hot springs, then to an orchid garden where i got to see 20 varieties of orchids naturally blossoming. The girl explained that in the garden they had over 200 varieties and in the department of Tarapoto there are 1500 varieties, she also explained that some only blossom once a year for about 2 weeks but others bloom more frequently but only for one day and at the end of the day the flower falls. This explains so much about my orchid fern that never blossomed again mom. Up the hill, followed the hummingbird garden which had like 20 different types of hummingbirds and we climbed into this three story natural tree house to observe. I wanted to live there favorite flower, favorite bird, sweet house in a garden looking over a city and mountains. At lunch I got to try fried ants, suckerfish soup, peanut soup, and fresh grape juice. Never drink concentrate again. the ants were neither good nor bad I think I did not like that they were fried because they had a sort of burnt thing about them. We headed to an orchid nursery and saw about 30 more varieties, parrots, bright toads, turtles, pythons, and crocs. Then to the botanical garden. As the night came we hung in hammocks conversing until the bats scared off Emma. Then onto the 12 hour bus ride that turned into the 24 hour bus ride because of a land slide that blocked off the highway in like 6 places. We had to wait so that the heavy machinery could basically push all the debris to form a new road. We would roll a few feet and then stop for an hour and a half and repeat. We got the idea would could walk to the closest town 2 hours away to get mobility. but then the bus started moving. then it stopped for another long time, so we got serious again and got our luggage out of storage and then ironically the bus started moving a kept moving. I think maybe the people on the bus thought that God loved the crazy gringas enough not to let them hike two hours on a questionable and filthy highway for two or three hours getting cat called by truck drivers. Gratefully my friend does carry pictures of Jesus in her bag and the virgin under her hat and incessantly prays. So we made it grabbed cow hearts grilled on a stick and got on the next and last bus for 3 more hours getting home at 10 pm. fell into bed and are now back to life again. safe, and sound as we could wish to be a little tired, brused, bitten, and sore, but that is what a great trip should be like.

events

excellent news i did in fact receive my once promised funding so the improved cookstoves will be built. thank goodness. did some trainings for the professors of the schools about nutrition. man there is a serious deficit of knowledge. i am glad i could help out and now they are going to start teaching nutrition and they have started recycling in the primary schools. saving trees. been nice dancing with my crew again we had our first presentation and it went ok. the first dance we did i totally got stage fright and forgot the moves. muh. the second we all kicked butt. and went super well. though getting back into a miniskirt still is not very comfortable for me. working with the moms about diarrea and the cold/flu. speaking of i am rocking a bad cold right now but it has to happen at least once a year right. then we had a girls leadership camp that i think went incredibly well. I taught about health relationships dont laugh yall. A friend told me those who cant do teach. So that should help girls pick better boyfriends or stay single. I also taught about how to go to the university. we had teams and competitions and my yellow team of super stars one it was exciting. they got medals. we acted out a soap opera at night for the girls which i co wrote and produced. hilarious. I also was the host of a dating show. i am thinking perhaps my calling was in television. busy trying to start teaching sex ed again with the help of girls in the school. and still fighting to recover at risk kids from malnourishment. I sent in my third year application so i should know by the end of may whether or not i got the position. on sunday it is the presidential elections here i know little about the canditates but am extremely excited that i will no longer have to see anymore propoganda or hear debates or their terrible promotional songs. i think i have forgotten what life was like here before politics got so big. the new president will be entering office in july. the economy here is getting bad partly because of droughts and partly because of strikes. at least in my site people are struggling, robberies are up out of necessity i assume, and prices are rising. hopefully things get under control some time sooner than later. I am shocked and poorly informed about what is happening in japan though i am rather curious what the domino effects should be in the rest of the world. here people think there should be an earthquake. in other places i have no idea but radioactive ocean sounds like a better name for a band than a reality no? anyways these are the things on my mind. hopefully you all are safe and well and prepared for a potential disaster always better to be prepared than screwed. k loves.