4/28/15
The last two weeks have been so busy that I just haven’t had
time to write. I have a little time today, so I figured it was time for more
updates.
Working with the animals has been a phenomenal experience.
The German gal, Valentina, that had been working with the animals before I got
here decided to come back for a week, which has been great because she has been
able to show me the ropes. My first weekend we had a castration clinic. In
eight hours we fixed 35 animals! I was surprisingly unfazed by the surgeries. I
thought I would be bothered more.
On Monday we got an abandoned dog. We named him Baxter. He’s
about a year old. His personality is actually quite similar to Maddy’s, which
makes it easier for me to work with him. I understand his aggression and how to
work with it. On Tuesday we got him fixed, the vet we use likes us to help with
the procedures. Although I had been fine during the weekend clinic, this
experience was quite different and I actually had to sit down for a bit.
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| Kitty's Favorite Spot |
While at the vet, we found out they had a tiny kitten who
was waiting to be taken to his home the following weekend. We decided to take
him back to the volunteer house and care for him there. He was so tiny and
scared. He insisted on climbing onto my back and sitting on my neck and
shoulders. He was a sweetheart.
In the morning, we would get up, care for Baxter and the
kitty. Then we’d go to the beach. After that we’d have lunch, come back to the
volunteer house, walk Baxter again, and then let him and the kitty run around
for an hour or so. There is a herd of monkeys that hang out around the “office”
so we usually would watch them at this time. Then we’d go have an adventure and
come back in the evening to walk Baxter again. Then we would feed them dinner.
Some nights we would walk Baxter again around 8, but for the most part he was
pretty worn out by then.
Over the past two weeks, we have also gone on quite a few
adventures. I ride a bike now, which I haven’t done since 2007s bike disaster. Backstory—I
had a bike for a week in college…it didn’t go well, after running into a third
person in 3 days, I decided bike riding wasn’t my thing. Surprisingly, I’m
really enjoying having a bike as a mode of transportation. It only took like 4
days for me to remember how to ride one.
On my first day with a bike we went on a 4 km bike ride. We
were supposed to be going to Playa Preciosa. We took a wrong turn and may or
may not have ended up at a private beach, no one kicked us off, but we did have
to walk through a fence to get there and there were no people or structures to
be seen in either direction. It was
gorgeous. The water was a little bigger than I would have liked, but it felt
great. I did get caught in a bit of a riptide coming back in. I turned into
jelly, got knocked around a bit, got a head full of sand (it took me 3 days to
get all of the sand out of my hair), and then I was able to swim out.
Definitely need to remember to be more careful.
Two days later we went on a kayak tour. Valentina’s friend
is a kayak guide, so he took us out. We spent the first hour kayaking in the
ocean. It was much different than what I’m used to, much choppier than
mangroves, rivers, and lakes. My anxiety was also through the roof. I’m slowly
adjusting to the idea of being out on open water, but it’s a slow process. Then
we swam for a half hour. After that, we moved the kayaks into the mangroves and
kayaked through them. At the end of the
tour we kayaked back out to the ocean right as the sun was coming down. It was
stunning. We didn’t see any crocodiles (thank God!) but afterwards, our guide
took us to another part of the mangroves where the crocodiles hang out. There
was a family. One GIANT male, two females, a smaller male, and two babies. I
stayed pretty far back, but everyone else was able to get surprisingly close.
Another day we went swimming at the beach closer to town. I
got my first jelly fish sting. Luckily for me, it was from a loose tentacle, so
it wasn’t too bad. My leg got pretty swollen, but it was to be expected given
my physical reaction to stings, bites, etc. I took an antihistamine and I was
fine.
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| Taking a Break from Dancing |
Last weekend we did a fundraising thing at a hotel. After
that Valentina and I went out with a friend of hers who likes to dance. We
learned to Bachata, Merengue, Salsa, and a few other dances. I’m so
uncoordinated, I’m pretty sure I just stumbled around and attempted to move my
hips and count and not trip on my dress. It’s a little different here though.
Men get very touchy (rightfully so, the dances are very sensual), but it’s a
little overwhelming for me as I have not yet learned to tell them not to touch
me. There are a few very raunchy dances (similar to what we have back home)
that made me beyond uncomfortable. But as my language skills and dance skills
improve, I think I will really enjoy dancing.
Saturday morning, a friend took us out on his boat.
Valentina had never seen a dolphin and he wanted to find one for her.
Unfortunately, we didn’t see any. We did see flying fish. I even got in the
water and swam on a board behind the boat. I had a mask on so I could see under
water. The water was murky so I didn’t see much though. It’s so striking here,
just being in the boat looking as the water, the jungle, and the sky come
together is an intoxicating feeling. On Saturday night, there was a party and I
was actually invited. It was fun. I met a bunch more people. I learned how to
make fresh Pina Coladas. I ate FRESH sashimi (like it was alive less than 24
hours before). After that, we went out and did some more dancing. I got pretty
tired and decided to call it a night around 1 a.m.
Sunday we went out on the boat again, this time with a
mission: find Valentina Dolphins. Valentina and I got there early and hung out
on the boat in the harbor. We decided to see if we could do random yoga poses
on the edge of the boat. It was quite fun. Cielo, the three legged dog joined
us, and we were off. I actually think I’m slowly building some color (didn’t
even know that was possible), because I’m able to stay in the sun for longer
periods of time than I ever thought I could.
After about 2 hours, we went to a reef. We snorkeled around
and yet again, I didn’t even panic, sort of. We even saw fishies swimming
around. We saw lots of Dori fish. On our trip back to Puerto Jimenez, we
suddenly spotted Dolphins! We saw a bunch of bottlenose dolphins. They swam all
around our boat. I forgot how huge they are. Unfortunately my camera died after
two pictures. But hopefully I’m able to see more in the next six weeks. I tried
water skiing, but ended up inhaling a bunch of ocean water…much more stressful
than inhaling fresh water…and had to get back in the boat.
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| Weekend Boat Adventures |
The next few days were mostly spent caring for animals.
Sunday night we got a puppy that we had to take to the vet. He had a liquid
pouch that had developed in his hip. He also happened to only use 3 legs. We
took him to the vet on Monday. He drained the liquid pocket. Turns out he has
owners.
When we took him home they were very grateful. They also started
telling us that they want another dog. We suggested Baxter. We brought him over
there and they love him. They are taking him. They are very sweet people and
really love their dogs. We are taking him to his new forever home on Monday.
Although we still have a lot of dogs that need homes, this feel like a great
success!
Valentina left this morning, so I’m on my own taking care of
the animals right now. So far it’s gone well, but I know how important it is at
this point for me to work on my Spanish skills. I had kind of become reliant on
her to help me communicate. But now it’s time for me to learn.
The bugs have still not let up. I am covered in bug bites.
My poor legs look like I’ve contracted some form of virus or something. Even
today, I got out of the shower and coated myself in my usual layer of bug
spray. Then I put on pants (because it is raining and actually cool enough to
wear pants for once). I sat down and put my feet up for one minute and I now
have 3 bug bites on the bottom of my feet. On a positive note, since none of
the bug sprays I was using seemed to be working, I talked to some friends and
they told me they use a mixture of coconut oil, citronella, and water. I just
made it and we’ll see if that helps!
That is all of the updates for now. Until next time…
Love you!
-Al
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