Marsgrl200's travel blogs:
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The Plague!!
Entry 8 of 10 | show all | print this entry |
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Yesterday was not fun. After a full breakfast, we headed up the mountain to clear an area of weeds. The area was an area they were working on reforesting, but the grass and weeds had grown so high that they were blocking the light to some of the important trees. The grass was as high as our waists in some areas. We got started clearing the area - some people using the machete's to cut the grass while the others used the hoe's to clear the ground around the important trees. I started out using the hoe. After clearing about two trees, I had this bad cramp in my stomach. I figured it was just a cramp from working so hard and that it would go away. A few trees later, I switched to working with a machete, thinking that might help take away the cramp. I worked with the machete for a bit, cutting the grass, which was very fun, but very hard work. If I had to cut my grass like that at home, I don't think it would get done. It's amazing how much we take technology for granted back home. Cutting grass the hard way makes me appreciate lawn mowers so much more.
So after working with the machete for a bit, I felt like I was either going to puke or pass out. I stopped and rested for a bit and drank lots of water, thinking I was just overheated from the sun. Kayla had gotten heat stroke on Tuesday and had thrown up, so I figured it was the same thing. After cooling down though, I still felt pretty bad. Even worse, I felt horrible that everyone was working so hard and I was standing idle. I can't stand being idle when I know I should be working. Eventually, I started working again, taking short breaks every three swings or so of the machete. After lunch, I took some Tylenol hoping it would make me feel better. After our lunch break, most people went back to the field to continue clearing it, but I still didn't feel well, so me and three other girls (Jenna, Ashley and Lindsay) stayed and sifted bamboo in order to get the smallest fibers for the worms.
I felt a little better then, since I was sitting in the shade not doing much physical activity. Once everyone returned from the field, another volunteer, Veronica, showed us how to make paper. Veronica is from Austria and has been here for about a year. Looks wise, she is the epitome of a hippy. She is absolutely gorgeous though - at least in my opinion. So she showed us how to make paper out of different fibers, and we learned a bit about her. Her last day at the reserve was today, and she has a plane ticket back to Austria on July 1st. The problem though is that she has fallen in love here. She told us that she has been with many guys who were all nice, but that she has never felt this way about anyone before. The way she talked about her boyfriend, you could tell she is head over heels in love. :-) It's so cute.
After making a regular sheet of paper and a paper shaped like a heart, I went and hung out with the rest of the group. I still didn't feel 100% good, but it wasn't too bad. After dinner though, I felt horrible. But I stayed up because we were scheduled to have a group discussion. Not long after dinner, David came out of his room and threw up all over the porch. He hadn't felt well after dinner and had gone to lay down. Ashley wasn't feeling very well either, so Nuno decided to postpone the group discussion to today. I was feeling awful at this point, and went straight to bed. Nuno and Capri brought me a plastic bag and the salad bowl just in case I got sick during the night. And oh, what a horrible night it was. I manged to fall asleep, but the only thing I could dream about was throwing up. My stomach felt like it was rotting from the inside, and I had a terrible headache. I woke up around 12 or 1 to go to the bathroom. I walked around outside for a bit, hoping it would help bring stuff up. Eventually I went back to bed. I woke up again around 2 or 3 and grabbed the salad bowl and plastic bag. Icky. After emptying my stomach, I went to the bathroom again to dispose of the plastic bag and to clean up the salad bowl. I brushed my teeth and was finally able to fall asleep. When I woke up in the morning, that horrible feeling in my stomach was back. Frances gave me some anti-parasite pills that smelt like oregano and Nuno told me to stay in bed all day. So I did until lunch time.
Semi-quick interjection here - about the Alto Choco dogs. There are two dogs that always live up here by the cabins. Their names are Rum and Coke (Cola). Rum is a cream color and Cola is black and brown. I'm not sure exactly what kind of dogs they are (maybe labs?) or which one is the boy and which the girl. They are so cute together though, the way they always run around and play together. Rum is more aggressive than Cola, hates being tied up and tends to bite a bit (not really in a hurting way though, just for attention). Both of them can be a bit annoying at times though, barking at random times during the night and almost always at 6am on the dot. Last night though was the sweetest those two dogs have ever been, especially Rum. The first time I got up last night, Rum followed me all the way to the bathroom, waited outside, followed me back and then paced with me on the porch. When I stood at the edge of the porch for a while, Rum sat down beside me and rubbed his head against my hand. Normally, s/he would bite my hand to get me to pet him, but last night he just nudged my hand with his head. When I went back into the room, he started scratching at the door and crying. The second time I got up to clean myself up, both Rum and Cola followed me to and from the bathroom. :-) Such nice dogs. There are two other reserve dogs - Binky and Jorge. Binky is definitely the dominant one of all the reserve dogs, and often starts fights with the other dogs to maintain his dominance. He's very gentle
with people though and lets Roberto climb all over him. Binky and Jorge live in the house at the beginning of the reserve (Milton's house), but come up here a lot with Ines, Milton and Roberto. Jorge is the cutest little dog ever! He's not like any dog I've ever seen in the US. I would take him home with me in a heartbeat. He's so gentle and quiet - surprising considering his background. They found him wandering the reserve on his own, killing random forest animals to survive. For a wild dog, he doesn't seem wild at all.
So that semi-quick interjection was semi-long. Anyways... at lunch time, I finally got out of bed. I felt a little better, but not much. Ashley still wasn't feeling well and had been in bed all morning too. Neither of us were well enough to eat, so we sat in the hammocks together. Yesterday, Veronica was telling me about this thing called Reike. It was some kind of meditation/healing technique that uses touch to transfer energy. She said she could do it for me today if I was interested, so after everyone had lunch, she came up to me and asked if I wanted to do it. I was definitely interested in learning about it, and was feeling so bad that I thought what the heck - it might actually work and make me feel better. So she got her supplies and we came into my room to do it.
I laid down on the bed and she began. I don't remember exactly what she did because I was so relaxed and my mind free from thoughts. I know she burnt some incense, used massage oil on her hands, and touched me on my head, shoulders, hips, knees and feet. She also massaged my third eye, placed a rectangular shaped stone there, placed circular shaped stones in the palms of my hands and a small pebble on my stomach. She also covered my
feet with a silk sheet. When I arose, I felt SO much better. It was amazing. She said I should still rest my body though, to fully heal from the sickness, so I spent the rest of the afternoon hammocking with Ashley.
Once everyone got back from working in the field again, I went and took a nice long hot shower. That made me feel even better. But soon, I wasn't feeling well again. I had a granola bar for dinner, and then sat around the fire with everyone to listen to Veronica and her boyfriend play the guitar and recorder. Veronica is definitely an amazing person.
She had a cauldron bubbling over the fire of Chai Tea, and served some to everyone. She said it would make us feel better, since Capri and Lindsay started feeling bad today too. I felt much better after drinking some of the tea, and feel almost back to 100% laying here in bed writing this. I feel bad for missing out on work today, but it had to be done. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be back to normal and ready to head to Otavalo for the weekend. Hopefully no one else gets sick. We all think it's probably from the water, since almost all our water comes from the river. Who knows.
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