Butterflies, rats, and snakes

1/27/08

I’m tired. Rode out to La Casa del Suiza (The Swiss House) in the Napo province yesterday and back today. Suffered through the infamous bonejarring journey over unpaved and pot-holed roads. When we did have paved roads they seem to have gone crazy on speed-bumps which just adds a ramp of sorts for the bus to launch off of. My but-cheeks are actually sore from clenching too much in an effort to stay in the seat and not be vaulted down the center aisle!

It was a short but beautiful trip. To get to the resort they took you in a motorized canoe about 15 minutes downriver from the “ferry landing”. The resort was on top of a bluff overlooking the Napo river with beautiful views of the surrounding jungle. Plenty of hammocks around to while away the hours and we went to a butterfly farm and jungle animal rehabilitation zoo as well.

1/28/08

Last night was close encounters of the lightening kind. For two hours I feared for my life through the most intense thunder/lightening storm I have ever witnessed. For two solid hours there was thunder and lightening about every 5 seconds. It was within 1 to 6 miles away this entire time (I know this because I was counting; one, one thousand KABOOM, one, KABOOM, one one KABOOM) I was afraid I was going to be electrocuted through my fishbowel windows and just fried up like eggs in the microwave.

Ate dinner with the HCJB school principal for the missionary kids. Margie and her husband are on the search for a rat trap. They have a large rat in their attic whose eating there bananas when they’re away. The last one her husband caught he gave to his pet boa who mistook him for the rat and bit his hand and then coiled around his arm and tried to squeeze the life out of him. He showed me the bite scars on the web of his left hand to prove it. Hmmm, think it may be time to get rid of that boa too….