Since I last was able to update, I have basically been wet. Soooo much rain. I think I had mentioned it in my last post, but the rain continued – and kept continuing! And the major topic of conversation were the state of ones feet and guess the fungus. Being wet for days on end results in some pretty nasty feet – some call it trench foot, or foot rot, but what I like to call funky monkey feet. I didn’t get it as bad as many people but I did need to take a day off to let my feet dry out and then spent a week on paracetamol so that I could walk without being in pain! My feet are almost healed now, and as I THINK the wet season has finallllllly ended (about a month late!), I think they should be fine by the time I leave here! But unfortunately, my purple wellies have seen the end of their life – the coral/limestone in the forest has completely destroyed them and now they are for “style” only as they have holes all in the bottom so as soon as I step in water I get wet and I will be retiring them when I leave Sulawesi!
I spent 2 weeks in the forest, at the camp called La Pago, where the “wild” monkeys live. It was a beautiful camp, and was the first time I felt like I was actually in a true rain forest. It took us about 2 hours to walk to the camp on the Friday and we stayed there until the following Wednesday, then went back on the Friday again until Wednesday. There were so many things to see in the forest here, so no matter if you were just sitting around waiting for the monkeys to re-emerge, or running to find shelter in the heavy downpour, you would always see something crawling or flying around, or flailing about trying to grab hold of you. I have been leeched now more times than I would like to count, and have developed a quite effective way of removal – by rolling them up into balls and flicking them quite far! Among the other creepy crawlies, there were mock vipers (mildly venomous – but will probably just make you fall asleep for an hour or so), froggies and toads of all different colours and sizes, and spiders, which are not all that big here (although there are a few big ones!), but amazing colours like neon blue or neon orange. But the most exciting so far has been a pit viper. Quite dangerous, but not fatal. Just sitting on a tree buttress along a path and one of my students and guides had already stepped over it when I noticed it! It was a juvenile so it was an amazing bright green colour! Unfortunately, I have no pictures of all the fun things I saw in La Pago as my camera batteries died as soon as I got there, so picture-less for the entire last week.
I’ve also learned how to make the local style of jewellery here, out of rattan stems. So after the first week of getting bracelets and rings made for me by my guides and other Indonesians at the camp, I spent my evenings of my last week in La Pago making bracelets and rings for my guides and others! It was a good way to keep busy as there really wasn’t anything else going on.
Nights in the hammock were so nice, I really enjoyed it a lot. Decided to go sans-mosquito net and so it was so nice to be able to wake up and see all the trees straight away, and not be tucked away in a claustrophobic little coffin. And being out in the middle of nowhere also meant it was quiet – oh so quiet, which made waking up at 5 quite a challenge, since in the village roosters and dogs and cats and trucks are at full volume by that time.
Back to the village for party night and birthday!!!!
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