11/12

This morning is incredibly loud.  I awoke to some beautiful yellow birds outside my room. They are loud and very proud at 4:30 a.m. They almost sound like a synthesizer or an alarm.  Man they are beautiful though. 


















I am out of bed and think to myself, “What you got for me today jungle? “  The bats are also up at this hour.  I walk down the corridor from my bed to the dining hall and the bats fly right at my face and dodge at the last minute.  This is not scary, rather very captivating that an animal with poor sight can, using its sonar capabilities, turn on a dime so quickly and miss your face by mere inches.  It is a beautiful dance between them and the bugs with dramatic turns and fluid change in direction.  Breakfast is killer good, with very helpful instant coffee.  Now I say instant coffee, but this is instant coffee from Peru which is pretty darn good.  It’s so exciting that we even get coffee!  I have time to sit and respect the rainforest before breakfast at 8:00 a.m.  As soon as we can, we eat and head to the village of Esperanza where the local hospital resides.  The water is low, so the normal 30-minute boat ride into the village takes just about two hours.  


















Although it is absolutely breathtaking the entire time, this does take away from time we could spend in the hospital.  My mission is to figure out what needs to be done here to help this population the most.  After frantically grabbing my camera in an attempt to try and possibly capture one picture of the overwhelmingly diverse wildlife here, we arrive at the village.  There are wooden steps at the base of the river that lead up to the village.  At first glance, I see the outline of a village along the bank of the river with grass roofs, on columns 3 meters high, and open aired rooms.  Second glance is pure gold!!!!  In the middle of the village is a futbol (soccer for gringos) field! Oh this makes me so happy.  Apparently, every night, the villagers come together to play soccer and wager on the games.  I already love Peru; this just makes the experience so much better. 














Well done Esperanza, you’ve got some good priorities.  Once we arrive at the hospital, Dolly the director, Dr. Bee, Dik, and I find about 15 or so women and 20 or so kids waiting for us at the hospital door.  Dr. Bee will see the patient while Dik and I organize the pharmacy and hand out antibiotics.  The pharmacy is in slight disarray with  boxes and things on the floor and lots of shelf space.  I figure, we could build some more shelves and get some things off the floor, and help organize things a little better.  At 5:00 pm, when it’s getting dark, we gather our things and head back to the lodge.  Half way down the river, it is pitch black!  Our boat driver did an amazing job at seeing in the dark.  After a few minutes, our eyes adjust and the moon becomes our wonderful guide along the river.

 We arrive at our port and all of us are ready for some grub and a shower.  It was cold!!  Nonetheless it is refreshing.  Dinner BBQ is soo good oh my gosh.  On the menu is BBQ Piranha, fried plantains that I absolutely have to put in the corn soup because it's a briliant combo, and some vegetables with a lime and salt topping.  Coffee and cake finish the meal off perfectly.  I head back to the WiFi room, which let’s you send text messages.  So I say hello and I love you to the mom and head to bed.  What’s up jungle life, you’re pretty sweet.