Home.

I decided not to tell anything about my way over to Finland.
It was long and stressful.
Yet had good moments as well.
Felt like a hippie..


I am home now.
My true home.
One cannot believe how good I felt coming to this tiny flat in the middle of Turku.
It felt so easy, I felt almost ashamed.
Ashamed of being, in reality, a westerner, with a place to work at, a  heated apartment in the city, tap water of which warmth you can choose, all this stores with so much stuff in them, and money to buy that stuff.
And what is even luckier, a place to study at. For free.

Now I am enjoying a meal with cuscus, wok-veggies, broccoli, mushrooms, tomatoes, lentils, peas, chicken.
AH, versatility!!!

It will take ages to sort out my pictures and make them public.
As difficult as it is to tell my experiences.
Because I have at least 1200 photos and as many stories.

But hey,

now I am truly happy.

I, know better, to appreciate.

..heaven cont. 22.30 pm

...I almost got to share the bed with the cutest dog ever; Mariposa (butterfly).
She's lost because his owner is in a different village and she was created as a lapdog, not a jungle dog. She was teased by children today a lot; at my laps she got a chance to drift away to the dream world.

It's my last saturday in Peru. My stomach is full of good Italian spaghetti, minestrone soup, and welcome drink made of cat's claw, other herbs and rum. My mind is full of Elsiane and other music; we listened whole evening our iPods at Alex´s music player. So the night of Pampa Hermosa was filled with Iron Maiden, Block Party, Machinae Supremacy, Axium, Elsiane.. Before, at the lake watching the dance of Cocks-of-the-Rocks, we discussed the bad state of music in Peru. Alex had a CD-record store in Lima in the 90's, where he took all the new metal and rock from the States, but that died out because of piracy in the 2000´s.

Besides the good food and good chats with Alex, this night we also had a bonfire at the camp, like every saturday. The stars are competing with the light of the fire. 
Tomorrow, Alex told me, we are going to the sanctuary though we are not allowed. Just the two of us. He´s not been there in two months. This is going to be interesting.

Oh. My plans with biology studies are finally starting to clear out with me and this place is really helping with it. 

----

Holas desde el cielo. 14.10.2012

Lorenzo is feeling alone in the treetop; I can hear him.
My stomach is full of fresh vegetables, trout and potatoes, and home made lucuma ice cream.
I think I should pack, but I am just too tired and too happy. I hardly can hold the pen in my hand.

Alex and I woke up early today.

Pampa Hermosa was waiting for us.
It took us 2 hours to get to the place most magical.
I had an experience most unique.
With a huge dragonfly. (P.S. Look for Megaloprepus caerulatus!)
Fortunately I had Alex with me.
Otherwise I hardly could have believed my own eyes.

If Iquitos is my home in the city,
Pampa Hermosa will definitely be my home in the countryside.
In Peru.

Heaven. 13.10.12

At the mooment I really hope all my people in Finland are okay. And that I won`t die soon. Because I am in heaven right now and I am not sure why.

This morning I woke up without a stomach upset. Girl in a dream said to me I should wake up. And here I was, at 8 am. Listening the sounds of the nature as she had told me to in the dream.

After a breakfast of fruits and yucka, we went for a long hike to a sacred spot of the river and up to the mountain, Santa Lucia, where Alex`s brother has some coffee plants. Right next to it is the Sanctuary of Pampa Hermosa, where, at the moment, you are not allowed to go because the Peruvian government is doing a inventory of the flora & fauna.

We had profound conversatons with Alex, the son of the owners and my personal guide. We are going to enjoy some rock music this night. He`s amazing, he has really found his personal heaven here and I am througoutly lucky to share it.

This is really where a human being is supposed to be.

Highs of 25 degrees, lows of 18, humidity of the thousands of streams from the mountains, colibris, orchids, ferns, prehistoric plants.. and still, no mosquitos. What makes it even more perfect is the gourmè food of our lovely cook. Wow. After a 4 hour hike, you can only be so happy.

I do not know how to have a holiday. And now I`m having the 3 day vacation of my life. Gracias. Everyone, every people I care about, should get one chance to experience this.
The continuous sounds of the river. Tranquilo.
...

..to be continued. I have a flight to catch. See you, lovelies.

PHL 12.10.12

At the moment I`m watching a macaw eating a fruit on a tree next to the lodge. Tho mountains are cloudy, it`s raining, and few children are playing on the yard.

I feel cold and nauseous. I had luxurious breakfast here with a mother of a family. She`s from MYNAMAKI! You heard that right! She`s working here at Finnish Embassy. She`ll be here also until Sunday. It was strangely difficult to speak finnish after a month and a half plain spanish and english.

The bustrip was more comfortable I had thought. Transportes Junin has two floor busses with movies, really comfy bed-seats and trustworthy peruanos as passengers.

But I still didn`t manage to sleep well. Only couple of hours.
The drive here from the centere of Sam Ramon was long and beautiful. I got a new friend of my driver, Jonathan. The food here is rich and lots, compared to the Amazon.
Yes I`m very happy to pay tons on maoney for this short visit.

I want to move so much but my stomach thinks otherwise.

-------

(notes on the book: 12 de Octubre 1:41 PM La Catarata Sagrada - written by Alex)

Forgot to mention about yesterday. Israeli girl. Also from Cusco. Also sick. Also loves sushi. I`m glad we bumped into her.

And the bus last jnight. I was chatting with Caesar how I grew up with X-files. And in the buss, feeling as crappy as I did, guy next to mme started to watch interenting episode of x-files on his laptop. With english subtitles.

Today has been magical. This place is amazing. The host is amazing.
We think so aliike of the higher, natural powers. And he treats me like a queen. Which is so, so so nice because I feel like shit physically.

He also loves Nightwish, has played in punk  rock band, loves dogsm loves the jungle.. BTW if I ever move to jungle, this is the place to be; no mosquitos!

Oh! Marika, the Finn, is old classmate of my best friend`s aunt. In San Ramon.  

THE WORST DAY EVER.

That is exactly what you get after
the most beautiful, unique, spectacular, memorable and meaningful 
weekend ever.

I have so much to say
so little time

I want to sleep
just sleep

(i have found my place)

I hope you are in good health. Love.

Cusco airport

The reality of cocaine smuggling is hitting my face here in the airport constantly. My luggage has been checked 3 times. I almost became friends with a police officer who did me a drug check with x-rays. He`s from Iquitos. Moment ago, a couple police officers wanted to see my passport and boarding pass here in the departures lobby. Yay for a woman travelling alone!

The attention is probably also because of my quite hippieish look. Yesterday in Cusco, I chatted a bit with a similar artesan they have in Iquitos. The travelline one. After I had said goodbye to him, a peruvian lady who was walking ahead of me, turned around and said "esta artesano con hablaste? mal! venda drugos"
hahah. worried.

----

Now I am in Lima. Internet cafe. With this cool dude called Caesar.

Guess what? This stupid girl apparently left her cellphone to Los Aticos in Cusco. YAY! :)

So no messages to me!

Besides, when I`ll be in San Ramon next morning, no contact to outer space in 3 days.


See ya. 

Cold Cusco

How was I so stupid that I didn't realize how much the altitude affects the temperature.
Days hot, nights freezing.

Last night I wasn't feeling too good. Now I feel like I generally feel at Finland. Tired, cold, bad.
The jungle suits me better. No problems there.

Yesterday.
I got a stomach bug from a soup I ate at Aguas Calientes; the train trip to Cusco wasn't the most pleasant.
I burned my face, didn't help with the nause.
I have got the flu thanks to the air conditionings of trains and planes.
And sleeping in rooms without heaters and thick walls is like back in old, wonderful Finland in the midwinter when there's -20 celsius degrees.

Anyhow, I am very lucky.
My room in the Hotel I am now supposed to be at had some bathroom issues,
so the owner of the hotel moved me to his soon-to-be homestay place.
I do not think I couldn't be freezing in more luxurious place.
Hot shower in the morning, what is that?
Ice cream from the freezer to help with my upset stomach last night?
The wife and the daughter of the owner are spoiling me to pieces.

But damn this cold. I was "sleeping" under 3 thick blankets with a heat bottle and this heating machine on, but nothing helped with my frozen bones.

Today,
Cusco. 
Peruvian Andes.
And the souveniers. Warm clothes.
I didn't realize the city is as it big as it is.

Yay, some cute guys from Toronto, came for breakfast too.
The other one is singer, the other graphic designer. Toronto <3

Machu Picchu

To be truthful, I really didn't know much about Inka culture. I just wanted to see the mountains when I reserved this trip. Now I am also awestruck. Fully awestruck. I am throughtoutly happy I wasted huge amount of money for the "mountains".

Now I wish I could teleport all my science people here, for even one time in their life to see this. I am sitting in the middle of the true civilization. An Inka University. Perfect in it's aims. In the honour of the God that exists in everything, a community created for knowledge. For the novelty. Not for families, labour, farmers, but the ones who know the most and the ones who will transfer the knowledge.

*Writing system, codes, people who interpret the codes...all destroyed by the Spaniards
*Use of granit, use of sand, wood and water for cutting them to smaller pieces, using the flocks for making the soil more permeable for water.
*Earthequake proof architecture
*Vegetarians, use of grains in which 100 g have proteins as much as 3 kilos of meat
 etc etc etc etc...

---

Now I am in a place where I probably am not allowed to be, but it has the best view and breeze and sounds of waterfalls. Came down from the ruins to check out the beautiful nature by myself. I am surrounded by high granit mountains covered by lush vegetation.

Thinking about Aguas Calientes and last night - I was missing Iquitos so much I hardly could sleep. In Iquitos, on the shores of Rio Amazonas, still exist the true Peruvian culture of sharing everything you have with the community. Yesterday I felt like a total outcast here, in this "civilized" place. Cleanliness, safety rules, high prices (45 soles for one pizza - compare to Mazan´s 3 soles of proper meal haha), English, M&M's in the shops, crumpy faced locals.. This morning, I was like a monkey, I was so amazed by all the things one breakfast table may include! I hadn´t eaten that various things in a month!

I miss Iquitos. The love, the simplicity, smiling faces, the fact that your favorite food or hot tap water is no important. The inka trail tourists here, travelling in groups and pairs, are faceless, they do not wan´t to bond, to the locals they are passbyers. To the locals, I am a passbyer. In the Amazon, no person is passed without a Buenos Tardes and Que tal's. Every each is worth of a hello.

I am proud to say that I have lived a month in the jungle city, and for that, the people I am with, matter more than how you hold your fork and a knife in a table.

PS. On this rocky riverside I´m sitting at, is growing tomatoes here and there. Cute. I think I burned my skin today, because in the morning I was wearing 4 layers of clothes and no sunscreen because it was FREEZING, yet at the midday the sun has been burning like in ol´ Iquitos.

Chau.

Train Ollantaytambo Aguas Calientes, 7.30 pm.

Talking with a 27-year old Brazilian jurist who has always dreamed about travelling to the ruins. We had chips and chocolate as snacks. That´s what I´ve been mostly eating to day. And cake.
Me and he connect and are amazed by the world.

My way here to this train almost caused me a stroke; not because of altitude but because of my plane from Lima to Cusco, which was 2 hours late!! When I got to the airport at 5pm, we had exactly two hours time to drive to the train in Ollantaytumbo which was leaving in 2 hours at 7pm.  In the ticket it said you had to be at the station at 18;30 pm, otherwise you could not board, but thank god this is Peru..
Thank god, because otherwise all my plans would have changed and money wasted.
From now on, I won´t ever again use travel services to organize my trips, I´ll just go and see by myself! Too nervewrecking otherwise.

(BTW, Thanks for Mick and Jack at the Lima airport for intenting to help me out with organising my stuff, in case you read this! :) Luck for hiking! )

Black coffee with sugar 8.10.

Getting ready for high altitudes. Heard coffee is good for that. Great excuse to enjoy it better than ever before.

I am on my way from Iquitos to Lima.
Let's see.
Some of my friends have been hearing notions about "enamorado" here.
I'll clarify.

Three weeks ago, something happened and I ended up knowing one of the most good hearted persons in the world.
Two persons in one package.. Amazonas, a poser, son of shaman, entertainer, Don Juan, el Joven.
And Criss, one with the nature type of artesan who embrazes everyone he meets and knows most of the artesans and other human beings in Iquitos, who love live and live it for its' sake. Doesn´t eat meat, doesn´t smoke, drink alchohol; only Ayahuasca.

He was my second "perro", followed me around, loved me, made me one with Iquitos. Yesterday I made food with him, bought lots of souveniers from his amazing friends and enjoyed the last rays of the sunset with him the way no one can imagine.

This morning he accompanied me to the airport. Lots of memories to caress, "regalos" giving me luck in the future, and which is most important, I feel like someone is securing my back no matter where I will be and what I will do. Tengo suerte, tengo amor. (or is this thanks to ayahuasca, do not know.)

But do not be fooled, these people didn't take good care of me; I did myself.
That is what I have learned, and that will stay with me forever.
I can imagine, for a blond, western girl of a young age, alone in a culture of machos, everyone after your money (and ass!), to get in the trouble fairly easily. But it's all in the mind. I am glad I have a strong "NO" by nature, which has been in good use here.

Criss taught me lots of the "Basics".
Thank him. <3

Mazán, last day.

Mi amigo is back.
I was missing him.
A lot. The dog.

It's killing hot. Horrible. Absolutely horrible.  I´ve been boiling since I got from work. Ugh.
I sit at the boulevard.

(The village crazy is at me again. Trying to stick fresh fishes at my face. Oh why did my amigo go back to eat?? I need his security control! Fortunately I can handle all kinds of crazy people..)

I worked hard today and almost saw a "parto". Unfortunately the mother had papilloma virus and apparently HIV too, and she wasn't exactly due yet, so she was sent to Iquitos.

(AH, new crazy person! Fun. I think they are just drunk. "I am not here". And alike in Finland, no one comes to help a woman in trouble.)

I am determined to sit here in the boulevard until it starts to rain. I don't care when people are whistling, drunk talking, staring at this skinny girl with too much curly hair.

What a lovely wind. Storm is getting closer.

Today at work the nurses asked why I am with a guy who wears feather earrings. Hahah.
I made a card for them today and bought tons of candy.

Yesterday was mostly spent in a course for health care professional. It was about nutrition, yay my fave subject! I was amazed how little the nurses knew about it though. They didn´t even know the difference with margarine and butter.

I like this place, but I'd rather live in Canada. And work in Finland.

5/6.10.2012

At midnight. Lots of dancing. I was happy to meet this 42-year old company owner called Mitch, from Oklahoma. He came here to hide from the world and party, and I wanted to dance on my last night = good combination. He was, of course hitting on me all the time. But at least he spoke english and bought me drinks. Too much spanish talking drunk Don Juans for this day. I got to dance a lot with his translator, who was so cute.

Beautiful night. Bats, stars, frogs, moon. Mitch was trying to make me forget Criss because he has been hitting on his cousin in Iquitos. Hahah. Also he's like the 10th guy saying I´m crazy travelling alone. Like he might kidnap me. But here I am, in my room, had lots of fun and now will sleep. :) Men.

6.10.2012

I was trying to leave very subtle way from the village, but didn´t manage. I was going to just throw the candy and card to the hospital. But it turned out to be a 2 hour coffee session with lots of photos with the staff, and them having fun because I couldn´t understand a word they were talking about me. :) Peruano style!

rest of the time here.

Mazan.

Iquitos.

Lima.

Cusco.

Lima.

San Ramon.

Lima.

Iquitos.

Finland.


I´ll get back with Mazan and everything when I have more privacy.

:)

a las siete cinquenta y cinco

Que mas. Nothing new in Mazan.  Same insecurities. Same strengths. Same desires.

I am hoping to see “una parto” this week at the health center because I have never seen one, but I doubt it is going to happen. Because they usually happen at night but I work only in the mornings. And no one can call my cell.

This day

Thursday

Friday

Saturday back to Iquitos. How I love thee and thou laundry and varying dishes! And the life. Life!

I have had d company here. Helped me to feel less bored and more loved.

I feel so lucky, and I always ponder the same question. Why me?

At the health center I haven´t been feeling too lucky though. It´s because I am new, my behavior is different, I don´t understand, and understand even less in exhaustion and stress. But it´s ok. The feeling when I am not trusted in is just always so overwhelming. Others may think you´re stupid foreigner and you are not able to explain otherwise.

These days here I have been missing Finland more and more all the time. Yesterday, since my companion came here without warning, to brighten up my day, I felt extremely lonely and full of homesickness. Hahah not expected outcome for surprise? Tired and annoyd. So much, so soon, so different. This night I was in Turku, it was autumn. I had thin stockins on, thick jacket, and I bought  nokkosleipaa from Kauppatori.

I quite like the feelings I am going through. They make me see what´s important and how I behave.

P.S. One of the things I absolutely hate in this world is of not being listened. Not being appreciated so that my wants were heard.

P.P.S. Peruanos use plastic bags as mugs. And wash their hands with soap trillion times per day at the health clinic. And do not want me to use my sanitizing gel.

P.P.S I think I have gotten used to eat 3 heavy meals a day, the latest at 8 pm. Rice and fat, I am hungry!

P.P.P.S. Just met lovely doctor from Lima who is staying in Mazan for tomorrow. See you at the clinic. :)

I am sitting at the hotel at someone´s computer. No idea who he is.

I just managed to make the boys here to buy gasoline for the generator only so that i would get internet connection.
Much to bear for a Finnish, modest girl.

I was following today how the nurse i was working with pulled a horrible nail out of this old woman´s toe. And when i am worried about patients, they say "it´s normal". And my spanish is crap in the mornings, better in the afternoons.  But i did manage to understand most of the dirty talk my coworkers were explaining to each others. I did ask is there much of  depressed people in Peru; they replied in one voice "No, we have sex all the time!" :D No wonder Peruvians usually ask on our first meeting, am I married.

What else? I have a dog here who loves me. I think it´s sent by my "amigo". He followed me on my first day here for so long.like a security guard. Even though I haven´t given him anything (besides the alligator bone yesterday) he always comes to say hello to me.

This morning I drank coffee first time in 2 months. We had our last day of the strike and not much to do. Girls decided to bring a cettle of cafe con leche and we drank lots with pan. So good.

Many guys I´ve been talking to here have been asking from me, am i not scared, being a single woman here? Because they would. But i am not. Not single bit. I trust my instincts with people. And I am so damn timid in the end. Always.

People are nice and i saw lots of fruits at the market today.
Shopping soon that is!

I am a bit scared of tomorrow because the strike will be over and they will have tons of patients.

note to self: RNs here get 2100 soles per month/ medicos 3200 soles.
The family of a patient need to buy every day the medications and care equipment, without they won´t get treatment. If they do not have family, oh noes.
*Suero antibotrópico polivalente
*Rifampicina
*Pirazinamida

First proper day at the health center of Mazan.

Only couple of doctors (the ones who can say in English "i do not really speak English) knows why I am there, so my day has been mostly discovering tasks I could do and nurses I could follow. In the morning I found out that “registered nurses” here do mostly parental care, neonatal care, preventive care – much of the stuff that community health nurses do in Finland. And which I haven´t done much. Also, they really haven’t had much nurse volunteers, only medical students, and my place is not really with doctors either.  Also, they are organizing a nationwide strike for health care workers today, tomorrow and Thursday, so only the emergency works and people who are coming really far away are taken in. That means that today, I found my place from the emergency room  and worked with “technical nurses” (here they give out meds, put cannules, take blood pressures etc.). Today rest of the staff in the center was mostly meeting because of the strike. I got to work with babies, toddlers, TBS patients, wounds…  Here the nurses work for 6 hours, but even though the days is short, at least to me, today, it felt like forever, because the nurses really do not take pauses meanwhile  and working in this heat is generally quite draining. Also, when I am drained – no habla espanol bleah – and no matter how many times I repeat myself I feel like I am not being understood.

Like one might expect, all the care procedures are very different than in Finland, because here  they are always lacking equipment and hygiene is not the most important thing in this environment. Same cannules are being used many times if they aren´t inserted well, for cleaning wounds they just drop peroxide on them,  TBS patients do not have closed rooms, equipment is hardly never washed in any way when going to a different patients… “Back to basics”.

I just had my bath in the bathroom with no water. They are using, alike in other villages, a big tank on which the water will drop from the shower WHEN it is available. You also use the same water for flushing the toilet.

After work I was of course starving at 1 pm so I went to have cheap local lunch, which here always means rice, meat and potatoes (the same goes for dinner though). I managed to find bananas and tomatoes for snacks, but oh boy, I wish they would sell the same tasteful fruits in the markets that are growing in their yards…

It´s a very hot day and I am boiling. J

Mazan

Feeling like at home. En la casa.
Listening monotone English at the background - must be Canadians.
A bit drunk thanks to my new one-night translator friends.
Next day - first in the health clinic - soon to sleep.

Peru. I trust in  these people.
I trust myself?

My weekend was full of amor,
I feel like I really am guarded by natural spirits.

I am too relaxed now to be nervous about tomorrow,
I will probably experience it in the morning.

Bien pueblo.

Internet connection en las noches.

uuh, I start liking this country, maybe a litte too much? :)

lodge.

The past few days I´ve spent in area between Pacaya-Samiria national reserve and Tamshiyacu conservation area. I cannot remember the name of the river since I do not have my notes with me. The area was of Amazon Refugee Wildlife Conservation center. The area is full of birds, of which species I`ll add later on! Every place you lay your eyes on, is full of life.

The first day was spent by getting to the lodge. The evening we wandered in the forest, and my guide told me about the medical plants and insects.... introduced me the penis-tree (yay) and almost said too late for me not to pick up a stick insects that was very poisonous. I fell in love with a bird called horned screamer. The next night i couldn´t brush my teeth because there was two brown, big spiders in my sink.

Next day was our first to try to look for the shaman after we had done a bird excursion by the river in the morning. That shaman-visit failed, so we kayaked to a "lake". Kayaking does no good for my instabile joints.... in the meanwhile, we stopped by one riverside and my guide went to catch me a sloth!! So cute! The sloth that is. We were walking so long in the thick forest... we also came by a sloth killed probablly by a jaguar.

When we got to the lake, we started  to set up our camp. Washed ourselves a bit, made a fire etc. Later on we net fished in the river and got couple of fishes. Most of the time I was saying to the guide "that is illegal in Finland...are you sure it`s ok?" :D Most of the time I was saying to myself "fuck this shit" because moving around in a rainforest is not too easy, and i was disappointed i paid so much money for no electricity, no shaman, no food... and because my guide was just trying to hit on me all the time.

Next morning was beautiful, wow! And my guide was sorry for his behavior.. So when we finally had kayaked back to the regfugee center, he offered me a new plan, we could try to find a shaman afer lunch from two villages. Before lunch I caught my lunch. I got at least 6 wolf fishes with a hook, but we didn´t take but the biggest one. Muy rico! Wolf fishes do not have much bones, it`s all meat.

The second village we went to look for shaman was so beautiful, it was surrounded by fruit trees, coffee bushes, corn, rice, bean fields... they had everything! They had also very old ayahuasca vine. But no shaman. Shaman was in Napo. The second village had a shaman but no Ayacuasha. The village was even more beautiful than the second one. Since we were lacking time, we decided we will stay at the village for the night and head to Napo the following day. We stayed at my guide`s friends. We got food, a place to sleep at and i got to chat with my age guy who wanted to be a nurse too, but he hadn´t had money but for one semester in Napo... he was quite blue because there´s no work in the village, and he wanted out.

The next night I didn´t sleep almost at all, because my guide insisted me to wake up at 4 am and go for a walk around "beautiful morning". I hadn´t slept, because I was laying on the floor with one sheet and to these bones that´s a tad bit too little cushions. I couldn´t think, so at 4 am I turned down my guide´s proposal and crawled in one free hammock in the room and tried to make my nest there. Slept for 2 hours until the family started to et up.

The villagers had very common "bathrooms", an elevated structure with a hole, under it all the exctrement, and very close a tank of "pure water" in the ground which was used for washing up. The home where my guide prepared our morning eggs had some parakeets as pets, so cute. Peruvian love animals, too bad usually they don´t live too long because of all the paracites.

The final day we were on our way to Napo. Stopped by on a sand island on the crossroads of three different rivers. There we had a good chat about everything with my guide. I think I also managed to let him know that his english is very bad and he has to practise more so he won´t give any false information for the tourists. :D

It´s going to be a hoooooot day again. Cusco planning.

el bosque

Buenos tardes. Antihistamines bought for the hundreds of horsefly and  mosquito bites that are burning my joints. Showered. Got clothes to the laundry. Met cool people. Had cute emails. Annoyed by the deadly slow internet. Yet happy.

Imagine.

-You are told you need to hike 9 kilometres in a burning sun to get to the boat which is supposed to take you to the forest. You haven`t had breakfast. This is all thanks to motortaxi strike.

-You find out you are supposed to be 4 days alone with a guy who is literally the sleaziest guy on earth.

-There is no electricity at the lodges because it has broken down 3 days before.

-There is one dirty towel in your bathroom and no soap

-The biggest expectation you had for the trip was to meet a shaman, and you looked from 3 different villages and no one was available

-You are left in the jungle by yourself at times since you didn`t notice which path your horny, yet quick guide did take. When you ask him what he will do if a poisonous spider bites you, he says "no problemo, me aydarte". Como??

-Your guide is supposed to know all of the forest, but he obviously speaks even worse english than you speak spanish. All he can say is "a beaaaautiful colors!" and ask about your religion, if you as liberal as he is.

-You don`t get enough food. 

-You are literally eaten alive by the horseflies and mosquitos even though you don`t stop spraying 100 % DEET all over you,
-Daily, you kayak for hours in the sun beecause the company has no but one boat with a motor.

-And you PAID lots of this?! 

Imagine.

+The first guide who take you to the boat was the cutest and most intellligent ever, and you got the most special breakfast at the jungle. Ice cream tree-fruits and a meal at the local`s house because you gave the mother of the family some painkillers and Voltaren.

+Amazingly magical and beautiful nature. 

+Healthy food, often prepared by your sleazy guide. Freshly caught piranhas and spagetti in the middle of Amazon. 

+Since your horny guide was sorry for the way he didn`t stop begging for sex while you were supposed to sleep with him under the same mosquito net in the middle of the Amazon ("is it possible? me in the jungle for 10 days without a woman? please? Si? No? is it possible? si?), he offered to find you a shaman no matter what.

+You didn`t find a shaman but you found good time with the local people at a very nice village and felt very welcomed and pampered.
+You got your arm muscles better because of all that kayaking.

+You got to teach your "english speaking guide" English for 3 hours in your boat way back to Nauta.

+Your Spanish got way better because you were literally forced to use it.
+You learned from the Peruvian culture so much more when you were sitting on a beach with your guide, talking about relationships.

We are amigos now, I bought him a beer and we shared a huge cup of ice cream, soon going to the cine since it`s only 4 soles por las Jueves. 

I hope I soon can write a bit more precise blog, when I get a connection which doesn`t break in every 5 minutes. :)

con mucha verdura, por favor!

Manatees today.

Maybe volunteering on later this week.

My friend has been studying the manatees for his thesis, 

and now I`m in love with those vacas marinas as well.

I managed to find moderately satisfying meal of vegetables today. 

Era muy difícil encontrarle.

Y muy caro.

Me encanta la comer de Finlandia ahora.

or something.

I ate suri yesterday. Tasted like chicken. 

What else?

Oh, back to the bosque tomorrow for 4 days.

Writer`s block.

Alejandro... 

12/9/2012

The birthday of two of most important people in my life.

We just left the village I absolutely loved.
It was on a side river of Napo.
Last village we set our clinic up.
Pienso que mi español es muy mal todavia.
I hate spoken languages, why everything cannot just be written on notes, why there`s no mind reading machines..

Sidenote: It was interesting to notice at the football match yesterday that when Peru had a goal, the people got crazily happy, but when Argentina made a goal, I almost saw no reaction whatsoever. Like, when there`s good happening, it`s a reason to celebrate, but on misfortune there is no need to dwell on more.

I like that.

(lol, the boat just got stuck on the ground of Napo and all the plates fell on the floor!)

.....

13/09/2012

The last night on the boat.

I have been feeling absolutely lonely today.

I drew a card for the staff and we bought a box of choloates for them.

Left it at the boat`s fridge for them to find in the morning.

There was an italian guy at the riverside.

Building up the bonfire our staff had set up.

Luis thought he was very unpolite because he hardly answered to his questions.

He thought all italians must be like that.

Girls tries to explain him that he was "a loner".

Few minutes later I was playing the maracas`with the italiano, and calling the spirits.

Rest of the group were dancing to Abba beside the bonfire.

I felt once again at home in myself.

He helped me to gain my own power.

It`s hard when no one asks "how are you" since they have gotten used to your silence. 

=======

That`s about of the boat excursion.

Now I`m listening an american playing beautiful songs with his guitar on the inner yard and waiting to see my new biologist friend who will teach me spanish.

Bueno.

Today.

Now, I like to be in contact with the rest of the world, but it seems like an endless current of new and new and new things to look for online. Email there, message there, look for that number, wait for this reply, durr.. at this moment I`d like to be back in the Amazon middle of nowhere.

I have much to plan.
I am going to spend 24.9.-8.10. in the Mazan village,
otherwise all is open.

I was wandering around Belèn market this morning.
That was quite something.
The smells of the fishes, dead tortoises, boiled eggs, tobacco leaves..
I found a breakfast stop just after the market place.
I saw lots of veggies but got into my plate only rice, spaghetti and potatoes. And a chicken leg.
The local style for triplecarbohydrates is interesting.

On the way back, I bumped into a familiar face, Jimmy.
He`s a tourist guide who knows Luis (Luis says he`s a big liar)
and all of the people in this city I had to face him again. Hahah.
"Essi! Don`t you remember my name?"

I had so much fun yesterday.
We were having farewell party at Musmuqui and Noa Disco.
Musmuqui is this bar crowded by students and you can get the strangest of drinks there.
I also met there a guy, who is from Iquitos. He had a crush on me.. he`s over 190 cm tall, called Palo.
Of all people there, he`s the last one you could imagine to be a Peruvian.

I had crazy dancing at Noa and felt like a trophy wife.

Now. Planning!!! :)

9/9/2012

Estoy cansada. Quizás tengo hambre.
We were just fishing for piranhas for three hours.
I don`t like the local style of keeping the fish alive untile cooking them; slow, choking death.
And those damn fishes had so hard skin I couldn`t do a scratch on them.

I has a headache. I got two piranhas. Only two! Baby ones!

This villages` kids love us.
Essi! Alice! Farhan! Pobre Sahmaian!
Naomi, one of the british girls, is requesting my drawings.
That feels quite weird to me.

The clinic was fun today. Though I was almost made to diagnose things all the time and I don`t do that.
Me`s no doctor dammit.

Yesterday we didn`t do much.
It was sunday so we just swam a bit, ate a lot.
Also, this town called "Atuncocha" was having a football match for 4 different villages
Women had their own teams and men their own.
Mixed teams from same age groups played against each others. Friendly matches.
The winner got 40 soles and pride.
It was fun to watch.
Lots of flying ants though.

The villagers were playing music so late though that we thought most of them would have been at the clinic today complaining headaches :)

Only martes and miercoles of the boat still, then the villagers have to be without until December. :(

...

10/9/2012

Hubesperanza. That`s the village we`re at now. 

It`s very cute. 

Very calm. 

Only silent children and loud birds.

I just washed lots of clothes in the river, having the washing done on the speedboat. This morning we were at a village called Huanana. I gave at least 70 patients their anti-parasite pills and measured their weights, heights, and "cinturas". 

This little village even smells good. 

As I was finishing the washing of my boots,

a little girl from the village cam on the boat and started to follow me around.

Her dog`s name is Princesa.

I keep on asking questions from her. Luis was sitting next to me a moment ago and he repeated my questions, to me the girl just smiled but to Luis she also responded. Normal here.

This village has some inspiring qualities.

I just drew an elephant for Naomi and started fishing catfish from the boat with our dentist.

Two of the things I have enjoyed doing when I was younger, but which were killed by the "adult life".

The village is preparing to see the Peru - Argentina match today. 

I am excited tough it`s the only night we`re supposed to go to bed early. 

...

Just got back from the football match.

It`s half time, time to go to sleep.

In the flood rotten school

in the middle of sweaty Peruvians

Kids watching in the front

sitting on the floor

Older in the back

Everyone staring at this little box with bad quality image, next to it this huge subwoofer to get the best volume out of the match.

Moths were intrigued by the light of the TV.

Every once in a while

a bat flied in from the ceiling and got a bit lost.

When we came back on the deck of the boat

beautiful milkyway in the sky.

8/9/2012

Oh we were hiking in the amazonian forest last night!
My stomach hated the stumbling in the jungle, but my mind loved it.
But I was surprised how few things we saw since I am so accustomed to see so many creatures in Finland, yet here everything seemed to be hiding.
Saw few spiders, a swamp snake that can kill you in 24-hours, and quite a few different species of tree frogs and few stick insects.

We heard that the locals get 10 soles for one killed alligator at the Belen market, and the fish we eat like daily at the boat, is so rare in U.S. that people pay thousands of dollars to have it! Funny little world.

Oh the dentist, Adam, said to me(in spanish of course)
that I need to follow my heart and to decide if I want to be a nurse or a biologist.
Huh, so hard!!
Animal rescue?

...

Crazy! It`s quarter to 12 in the night.

We just finished an evening of dancing around a bonfire the guys set up on the riverside of Napo. I keep on having these very old, deep buried feelings of being an outkast, when watching happy and funny and talkative girls singing songs aloud, since we`re lacking music. Since I am not able to be alike, I ust concentrate on watching the stars, fishes jumping at the dark river, and dancing. 

Gosh I love dancing. I have been sitting still for almost three  days doing nothing and almost slit my wrists open already. Idle is deadly. But I did do a drawing though. Idle is also creative.

I was working today though, yay! And because of that, I got fever a bit in the afternoon again, terrible stomach ache and diarrea. But after dinner the girls`Ciprocin had started to work and my stomach didn`t scream in pain when I noticed food around. Ah, food. 

At the moment, 6 weeks seems to be a long, long time. I apparently do not like the boat life, maybe that`s it. I heard from Emerson that Mazan is a good town. 

Tomorrow is sunday. Day off. Fishing. Orlando? Late breakfast.

Buenas noches.

Ahora es el dia de tormenta

It`s 42+ degrees in the sun.
We are literally melting away.
None of us either could sleep last night, because of a thunder storm that had winds so fast it`s hard to even imagine.
We were anchored for the night next to a sand island in the middle of Amazon.
When the storm started and you looked outside,
you saw a desert of soft sand, thunder clouds touching the ground, and a rain so heavy it got through easily by our boat`s ceiling.

I mostly feel like vomiting and having diarrea. Nauseous. But nothing comes out.
I also have massive headache which won`t go away.
The nausea has ups and downs.
It started in the night.
I had also little bit of fever this morning so I couldn`t do much when we stopped at the first village.
Now we just got to the second one.

..apparently this village didn`t need other help but an asthmapipe which was made up by the doctor and the staff member. Of a water bottle and tape. Now this kind of medicine I like!

I was so hungry, I ate, had diarrea and now the fever is rising again.

Buenas noches.

....

7/9/2012

Listening Blood Brothers by Iron Maiden and watching the girls chat about the books they`re reading.

This sounds so good.

I was playing with Canada`s (the village we`re at now) little dog a moment ago

and putting a baby tree boa to a tree when a flock of children were following me.

Every each of them so cute.

I was so very sick this morning.

Had fever of almost 39 degrees.

But fortunately I am surrounded by soon-to-be-doctors and I feel so much better now.

Though I was feeling unnecessarily guilty this morning when I was laying at the deck in the hammoc, feeling like shit.

Because the staff on the boat didn`t seem to understand why I wasn`t working in the deadly heat like the others.

But in the afternoon after lunch I was feeling much better and got to check in few patients still. 

...

4/9/2012

Peruvian beer at 6.30 pm after I got rid of this 5 days of tormenting constipation. yes I said it! We`re sitting in the boat and listening "one way ticket" from Luis`music player. He dreams about living in Europe.

This was the first day of work.
Enjoyed.
Felt really useless and frustrated sometimes, but at least it was only me, not the patients.

There was crazy lot of ill children and we were about to get craxy with the endless amount of families bursting into the school we were having the clinic at. I got to give a lecture for the young guys, whom tooth were being pulled out by our dentist (who was having his "office" at the sunny terrace of the school). Muy joven!

Now we`re just hanging out and waiting the dinner so we can do a bit of a night excursion on the River.

I like peruvian mint beer. Strange.
Well they don`t have ciders. I suggested importing them to Luis, who hates beer as much as I do.

...

5/9/2012 `You might as well deal with it`

Luis likes Justin Bieber. Fun.

We had UNBELIEVABLE time yesterday at the river at night.
Milkyway.
Thousands of sounds.
Bats, frogs, huge moths and few birds.
We were embraced by the environment.
We drove the little boat up the river Napo quite a while and drifted back.
Then we were driven in the middle of Amazon,.
Saw a huge, naranja moon rising behind the palm trees.
Sunsets and -rises, and moon sets and rises happen here in minutes, almost in seconds, so we were lucky.
And the warm breeze.
<3

When we drove back to the boat, the girls noticed something on Naomis back.
It was huge spider. They almost jumped from the speedboat! It was probably in the boat in the first place, though Luis says it probably dropped from the trees when we pulled to the riverside to see a frog. Huge, poisonous spider. You could imagine none of us fell asleep too easily.

....

Today, village called Siete de Julio.

El viernes

Strange to be back in the city.
City!
No wonder my professors love this place, this must feel like home when you`ve been weeks in the middle of the forest, doing research in the middle of countless insects, in old moldy clothes with sweat dripping off from your neck, and fresh water is a stuff of dreams..

We came back from the river in the morning, in a nice homely weather, about +28 degrees, rainy and a bit windy (quite chilly that is!). So strange to be back, like home, browsing internet, buying water from a store, sleeping in not smelly sheets... and when your legs tickle, it IS your imagination and not one of the hundreds of inscets.. strange. And the water that comes from the shower is actually not that sticky one straight from the Amazon. Luxury.

I have written diary every day, but I do not know how to start.
Maybe with the first day.
At the moment I am a bit ignorant of the rest of my visit.
Devon, where are you...

---------------------------

2/9/2012

Sitting on the deck of our boat.

First morning in the Amazon, it`s 7 am.

Woke up to the yell of a cuckoo in the 5 am.

We`re staying at the moment in Yanamoto, Luis`(our spanish translator) aunts frontier.

We came here yesterday at 6 pm, to taste and buy liquer they make of a lian (firewater). I really do not know why we aren`t yet moving to Napo.

Here`s only 4 personnel at the moment.  Soon a doctor will reach us with a speed boat from Iquitos. Until then, here`s a six of us "students", the dentist who apparently likes to clean up too (Jose Adam), a guy who fixes and knows everything (Emerson), the cook (Danillo) and the captain (Eugenio).

Some kind of  black bird is making the loudest and weirdest sounds at the tree next to the boat.

Yesterday we mostly sat around, ate and panicked with learning medical spanish. I still have no clue what we actually will do at the clinics, time will tell.

... 

3/9/2012

Work is finally starting. 

I hope I won`t get used to this culture

because I am afraid I won`t get anything done anymore then.

We waited for  the doctor yesterday until 5 pm. She was supposed to come at 9 am.

It`s the culture differences which create a little bit frustration (already).

You are asking so many  times per day

what we`re doing tomorrow

and you getalways ì do not know`or `do not worry about tomorrow, why are you worried by that?`

Then, when tomorrow comes,

you very suddenly get commands about things you are supposed to do right away.

Being a person who likes to use her time efficiently, that`s a bit too little perpaparation time for the future.

Now it`s 7.30 am and appaently we are leaving from the village of cute kids of none of which we helped in any way yesterday. Here the daily rhythm goes by the sun. Because the doctor came after 5 pm, to them there was no point of doing any clinic stuff anymore (the sun sets at 6 pm).

Yesterday we just sorted out a crazy pile of medicines to boxes, of most the staff members have messed up alread, while looking for something specific they need to know if the doctor needs.

Hurray for structure.. 

con helado

Stuffed with overly huge and way overly sweet pancake.
It's fun to be in a totally different culture because the only thing you can expect is to have something not expected.
No means yes, left means right.

We had crazy evening yesterday.
I quite didn't wait to get new facebook friends with my first night in the town.
It was so beautiful... the riverside was full of people,dancing capoeira, having plays, festival food, noise, music, happy faces, kids all over the place. The birds were singing, the full moon was shining brightly over Amazon.

I slept so well.

There's a march of hundreds of army men at the Plaza at this moment.
Wondering if it's a habit for los domingos or are we just lucky.

People are muy agradable.

The nature keeps on overwhelming me constantly.
So much, so much everything.
Even the indoor garden in the hotel is full of so many different species.
And I wonder how many different insects were bothering us last night.

Now I'm just getting anxious again,
work work work. :)

I have no clue when I'll get to the internets again,
so hasta la pròxima vez!

Surrealista

Here I am.
Sitting in front of a computer
the same Matti Salo& Ilari Saaksjarvi have used many times
the motorbikes running on the street
wandering soon to the city with a Londoner called Elizabeth,
a medical student who apparently knows even less spanish than I do.

Landed on the airport of Iquitos
about an hour ago
almost hyperventilated or cried, cannot be sure which one more
when I saw the never ending rainforest for the first time
and the uncomprehensible heat just swallowed me into its' caress
and I saw huge, colourful butterflies gathering on trees of dirty streets.

3+4+4+12+4+1,5 hours
that's how long it took me to sit me on this chair,
and that's how many thoughts it created in my mind.

I was so nervous,
but when I landed to Lima
all seemed so right!

Tomorrow,
we leave at 10 am to our quest...
Until then, this unbelievable town will have to tell us what is it about.

Leaving.

This exist though I am the worst reporter ever.
I try to do my best.

Where to start?
I had a dilemma, Finnish or English, I thought I have to go with the majority who can understand this.

Short.

I'm going to be at a river boat for two weeks, then in a village called Mazan for four.

Watch this.
http://vimeo.com/12923493
(..to me though the narrator sounds a bit suspicious. hih.)

More of the basic information for our work
http://www.aidjoy.org/docs/medcap-manual.pdf

And the things I've desperately tried to fix into my head
http://www.practicingspanish.com/index.html

Agh! Now I have to hurry! More update later! Let's see when!

Hasta luego!!!!!!

:)