November 11, 2007
From SATA-Peru-2007
I awoke today, like every other day here, to the sounds of the jungle. I have found my alarm clock to be almost useless here because every morning the howler monkeys, birds and insects suffice to wake me up. Today was our day off and it started with a nice breakfast of oatmeal and what I will call for lack of a better name french toast. The morning activities where napping and lingering around the breakfast table chatting and drinking delicious chocolate Milo. By noontime though we had lined up a game of football: the motoristas (representing Peru) vs. us and Reynaldo (representing the US and the Matisgenka nation respectively). Reynaldo's cackling laughter erupted after each goal that we scored and served to roundly demoralize the opposition. Meanwhile while we were balling the other half of our group had gone with Glenn to see a nearby mammal claylick, there they saw some Jaguar tracks... MONTSONSORI!
After the game we all headed for the creek for a swim with the pirhannas, caimans and giant annacondas. We were latter joined by Manu and Varun, star swimmers of Venezuela and Conn. College respectively. As we were swimming back up the creek the rain pelted down and we were, as the popular song by the artist I can't remember goes, swimming in the rain! Definitely a highlight of the day, we headed for dinner refreshed and only slightly itchy.
PS The Mosquitos here posses savage intelect and are quite adept at attacking out of the view and reach of their prey. Glenn Shepard, highly skilled linguist and anthropologist, believes this to be the result of the mosquitos millenia of experience with monkeys.
exciting new artist: Brett Denan
