Bridge is out stop Send wine stop

House Sitters diary entry #53: It is the rainy season. Last night an incredibly powerful thunder and lightning storm dealt to a transformer and messed with power. This morning had some electricity coming in, but not enough to pump water through the system.  I must be judicious about which appliances I use. If I put the kettle on to boil the lights flash like a very budget homemade disco.

Grateful for a backup battery maintaining wifi.  I can work. If not, I get penalised (US $10 for every missed lesson)

Went to SuperMarket to get supplies including 12 litres of emergency water.  Luckily, I am mostly unfamiliar with the locals as I am somewhat… unwashed. No shower. No toilet.

UPDATE: Hooray! I found a tap in the garden that was routed to a different well. I can haul buckets to flush the toilet (gracias a Dios) and shower sailor-style.

SITREP: status- survivable, mostly comfortable.

My Pretty Turquoise Shower

 

 

House sitters diary entry #54:                                        The power situation remains the same. Between power surges and turning off all unnecessary breakers – I got enough water pumped through the system to have a shower. A very bracing, icy cold shower but I have clean hair! Hygiene attended to I can face the public again.  

Taking a  bus into town 40 minutes away the river is the highest I’ve even seen it. The bridge is covered by surging coffee coloured water. Most vehicles can’t pass. The bus made it through, probably by virtue of creating a massive bow-wave, as the water was up above the top of the wheels.  

 

Taken out of the (dirty) bus window. You can see where the edge of the road is and the water pouring off.

Returning home from town in the afternoon – the entire road has been blocked by men with guns. NOONE is getting across the bridge. Instead of easing during the day, the river level has risen taking out a local roadside restaurant and blocking 2 roads. I must get back home to the dogs. I want to take photos while I figure out what to do. The guard does not want to let me pass -I assure him… I am pretty desperate, but not loco, I will not be diving into the rushing floodwaters! There is another way back to the ranch, it is an hour long diversion and I will have to get back to town to figure out a way there. I begin walking the long, hot 7km. Luckily, a bus comes past. I don’t know where it’s going but figure we have to end up back in town. Bus heads off the main road and winds around the countryside. Beautiful cacti, wooden stick fences, lots of mud. Made it back to town and a bar I know. I need somewhere to wait as I tried to find someone to drive me. I ring 3 drivers before one says he can pick me up… but it won’t be for an hour. Cue -medicinal Mezcal and beer.  3 hours later I am back home to a pair of very happy dogs.

SITREP: Home safe, clean. Water – not hot, but running. Considering planting potatoes.

 

The bridge I usually cross is completely submerged (left)and the road to the next town is also under water (right)

On the left is a roadside taco stand in the morning… on the right is the same stand under about a 1.5m of floodwater

 

House sitters diary entry #55:

Another night of window-rattling thunder and 3 hours sitting on the floor with a dog under each arm. This morning there seems to be more power coming in and I can do a load of laundry and turn the freezers back on.  I cook lunch for the worker Jose-Manuel as he has been stuck here for 2 days without food from home and there is only one tiny shop with scant provisions -confectionary and soda etc. It is very quiet with big trucks and buses unable to use the road. The worker goes to check the bridge in the afternoon. There is no change. We siphon some petrol from an emergency stash into his truck so he can make it the long way home.  I will not be attending Tinder date.

 

 

UPDATE: I think it’s gonna be a while. Went down to check water level. Bridge has washed away. 

 

 

 

SITREP: Possible emergency situation arising. Wine levels dangerously low, approaching critical. 

On the bright side – new play area!

January Sucked, Welcome February 2018

So it’s been a while since I’ve posted and that’s ‘cos A) Been busy bro! In December I travelled from San Miguel de Allende to Playa Del Carmen with 2 pet sits over Christmas.

Christmas Stockings for ALL the dogs!

Christmas at the House of Seven Dogs

 

and B) kinda got a bit disillusioned with the Blogging-and-what’s-it-for thing.

I’ve been looking for a side hustle for the last little while and gathering information about remote work/earning potential. The more I started learning about social media monetizing opportunities – particularly Instagram and the manipulated algorithms that make accounts popular (and therefore able to earn $$$), the more put off I became. The idea that people create ‘pods’ and pledge to ‘like’ each others’ posts at the same time on a certain day – REGARDLESS of the content seems superficial and seriously cynical. More power to the people earning good coin doing this, but it’s not for me.  There are definitely digital remote opportunities out there that AREN’T superficial, or scammy (hello Multi-Level Marketing) I just haven’t found mine yet and this blog is not gonna be it.

So Whoohoooo 2018! NEW YEAR! Gonna be awesome I thought…then January.

***Sorry aunties*** BUT  F*@CK January!

A Litany of Bad Luck and Losses: 

NZ$2000 not really LOST but unexpectedly had to pay out for dental work

US$500 skimmed from my credit card – which I alerted the bank to less than 12 hours after it happened.

NZ$40 charged by ASB bank to courier a credit card to replace the skimmed one. The charges have been reversed after an email from me.

US$40 lost in commission at money exchange at airport (cashflow machines from NOW ON)

NZ$1000 (potentially more) lost after a video project (6 months in the works) falling over

US$36 lost because the volcano was erupting in Guatemala and internet failed during one of my online classes, resulting in a loss of a month’s bonus. DESPITE the fact that I bought a Guatemalan sim card and internet credit to avoid this … the credit ran out the night before my classes which were on my last day in the country.

AAAAAAAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!

BUT NOW it’s FANTASTIC, FABULOUS, FINANCIALLY FECUND FEBRUARY and I’m turning my $$$ luck around! 

ALSO though financially STINK there were some other wonderful things that happened in January. I returned to Guatemala for the second time to visit the kids at the orphanage where I lived for a year.  When they saw me they came running outside for hugs en masse. #BestFeelsEver.

I took some cardboard and stickers and other bits and pieces to glue and made greeting cards with the girls. As I exhaustedly congratulated myself on keeping six kids occupied without too much pinching, punching, snatching and bickering for at least a couple of hours… I checked the time. It had been 40 minutes.

Currently, I’m in Puebla.  Hanging out with my buddy Mickey who I met when I first came here in September. 

On The Road Again

After a year of living in Guatemala, I’ve managed to keep my gear down to the same two (too big) bags.  It was sad saying good-bye to the kids but I think I’d been psychologically gearing up for it for a while and it also all felt very unreal. Me and another volunteer, H, left the orphanage very early in the morning and caught the 6:15 chicken bus which nearly hurtled past us in the freezing darkness. Our year of experience paid off with a grand gesticulations making sure the bus stopped – and getting the ayudante (helper) to hurl our big backpacks up on to the roof.

We headed to Nicaragua but as it’s a 16 hour shuttle ride we decided to stop off on the way in El Tunco, El Salvador where I’d spent New Years. This place is a tranquil little bubble in an ever increasingly violent country. I was chatting to someone who’s lived and worked in El Salvador for the last 4 years and he told me he’s seen 7 decapitated bodies in the streets.  I also know of many tourists who have travelled the country, completely safely and loved it. However, I don’t think I’ll be heading to San Salvador (the dodgy capital) any time soon.

El Tunco is full of surfers and a few surf shops and a couple of bars. It was going off every night over new years but when H and I arrived it was much tamer. It’s the sort of place muso’s gather to jam, bringing their own ron (spanish for rum – one of my favourite words. Can you imagine all the Dad jokes about nights with Ron??!!!)  to the bar, whether the bar’s open or not, and you’re welcome to join. The only bugger is getting money out of the ATM’s . I could only get $100 US out at a time and a couple of aussie backpackers couldn’t get ANY money out at all. I ended up loaning them some money just to get them to León (happily they found me in León and returned it #keepthefaith #aussiekiwibros)

El Tunco has a beautiful black sand beach reminiscent of west coast beaches back home (NZ) and epic sunsets. We visited the caves down the end of the beach and partied it up with other tourists and locals.

After a couple of days at the beach H and I got on the shuttle for the rest of our trip to León Nicaragua. It was a long 11 hours crossing the border into and out of Honduras as the shortest route. At one border crossing our driver gathered up all our passports to do the border crossing biz for us, jumping out with the not very reassuring words ‘don’t get out of the shuttle it’s too dangerous’ …O… K….

We made it León but only stayed a couple of days. I will be returning there for my course later so we headed straight to Isla Omatepe in Lago Nicaragua. I can very clearly remember climbing one of the volcanoes of the 2 on the island about 16 or 17 years ago. It was really, REALLY hard. About 6-7 hours up and 5 down walking through Jurassic park-type giant palms.

ON the ferry approaching Omatepe Island – with me pointing to Vólcan Concepción, a very steep 1610m above sea level which I climbed once and have no desire to do again!

The wildlife here is AMAZING!  We found a sweet little house that the owner rented out to us three for  US $10 a night. The property is still being worked on and I reckon in a couple of years time anyone staying here will be paying at least five times that much! Sitting having a nice cold beer out the front of the house and some monkeys came to visit!  So far we’ve seen white-faced Capuchin monkeys, howler monkeys, beautiful blue and white birds with a long tail and one of those silly drooping feathers off the top of their head which can make even the most serious bird look like slightly stupid. Google says they’re probably Magpie Jays.  We also one very special neighbour… a tarantula.

 

I’ve been enjoying speaking Spanish and meeting Nicaraguan locals.  Interesting how very, very different Nica’s are from Guatemalans. AS  A GENERALISATION: Nicaraguans are way less likely to initiate conversations and smiles etc.  than Guatemalans but once you turn on the charm – speaking in Spanish, a compliment or two… you’re all good and part of the family.

It’s also interesting meeting other travellers and enjoying the reign and rain of synchronicity and serendipity… and seeing how small the world can be! On the way to Omatepe from León we picked up a dude in another city… within five minutes found out he’s a South African who quit his career as an accountant… AND  is doing the same TEFL course as me – on the same actual dates.

Currently sitting on a terrace overlooking bountiful bushes of bouganvillea and a volcanic crater lake at Lago Apoyo just out of Granada. Cheers! love Vanessa 

Adios NPH Guatemala – Un Año Increible En Mi Vida

Outside the place I’ve been living and working and hanging out in for the last year

Goodbye NPH Guatemala – An Incredible Year In My Life

After being unable to write this blog for the last week here we go… it just seems to big and impossible to describe such a year of emotional intensity and high-highs and low-lows. I’m grateful I stayed the whole year when many, many times during the first 6 months I felt I couldn’t.  I don’t think I could have done it without the support of my friends and family. THANK YOU and another shout out to all of you who donated to my Givealittle campaign which helped me do some fun activities with the kids.

I’m sitting here in the freezing cold with a beanie on and a blanket wrapped around me, listening to a pentecostal church song echoing over the creek from the local village. Haven’t heard this one in a while… it could be I’m going to miss it.

 

Beautiful misty morning looking down towards volunteer and visitor houses

I WON’T MISS: fireworks at all hours of the night and day (not the pretty ones – just loud bangs – many – all in a row like machine gun fire. One night my room-mate and I both sat bolt upright eyes wide as at 4am on a week day morning… then looked at each other, sighed with relief that we weren’t under attack and went back to sleep.

I won’t miss living in a house with 8 other women (who have very different ideas on cleaning than me) and sharing a room. I NEED SOME ALONE TIME. Just being unable to find somewhere quiet and be alone after a long day was very taxing. I had an absolutely awesome room-mate who is a most excellent sleeper and didn’t mind at all when I’d lie awake for hours with insomnia and turn my lamp on to read.  In the last 3 months there’s just been 5 of us and it’s been SOOOOO much better. Most of the time there’s even clean dishes to use.

Our kitchen

We have a swing

I share with Isabel 🙂

I won’t miss being mocked, looked at like I’m an idiot, not being allowed to sit down to eat in the comedor because ‘someone’s sitting there!’ I won’t miss having to lock my office door even when I’m just going to the kitchen to get a glass of water because someone could come in and steal – anything and everything. I’ve had 2 USB’s stolen, money stolen from my handbag and one time, a bucket full of ALL (except what I was wearing) my underwear. I did eventually get it back – it was found under the church. A few pieces were slightly the worse for wear having been used for – oh, let’s just say ‘rags’? They went in the bin but I washed the rest – you can’t easily buy underwear here. I’m so thankful to some girls here who loaned me some bras to get me by and my good buddy back in NZ who went shopping for me and stashed new knickers under a magazine and lollies in a parcel that actually made it through!

I won’t miss beans for dinner … every night. AND I WILL miss beans for dinner… every night. There is a part of me that is soothed by the simplicity of the same meal at the same time.

I will miss looking up every day at the stunning volcanoes Acatenango and Fuego. Glorious in aspect against a sunrise, bright blue sky, sunset, moon rise. Fuego belting out molten lava high into the sky, leaving a dusting of ash over everything the next day. Or just contentedly puffing out clouds of smoke like a cigar connossieur.

Ash on Ash Wednesday

Volunteers de Alemana!

Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday

I will miss the cries of ‘TIA VANESSA’ from across the campo.

I will miss Smiley our street dog who would drop by to keep me company when I was working on my computer. How I wish we could have gotten her speyed – my very good friend here went on an epic mission and got 3 dogs neutered. Incredible – it’s not just a quick trip to the vets!

friendly visitors

I will miss some of the incredible volunteers who I admire so much. Who have bought so much of their life and skills and heart to this place.

SQUAD- NPHG 2017

me and Hailey

Suea, Etienne and I on Etiennes toga graduation/birthday party

I will miss some of the kids. A lot. Yesterday I visited the baby house and saw some of the kids that I hadn’t seen for nearly 2 months. My girls gave a cry of ‘Tia Vanessa’ and came running to me for a big hug. THAT is the SHIZZLE. That is why I came here. I think I had expectations of achieving ‘things’. Change, instigating programmes… I don’t know. I was disappointed about not doing these things half way through the year. Now I know that it’s all about sowing small seeds that I may not get to see grow… but that I trust I helped to nurture.

I’ve achieved making kids laugh. I’ve achieved comforting scared kids. I’ve achieved showing kids big love. I think I’m happy with that.

 

 

Clinic Rotation – working with the babies!

Clinic week: There are three rotations and my group (2 girls from Netherlands and One English) started our work in the clinic with the youngest Orangutan’s at Sepilok; seven Orangs aged from 1 to 2 -3 years old.
Peanut, Beedo Beedo and Tunduo are the smallest babies aged just over a year old.  Beryl, is a wee bit older – she’s my adopted Orangutan. Chiquita is 2, and the boys Gelison and Boogie Boy are just a bit over 2 yrs. They all have very different characters and are all adorable even when they’re being a naughty.It’s been a fantastic week getting to know the babies… and falling just a little bit in love with them.

Every day we start at 8 am – and it’s hot – probably about 36 degrees and extremely humid.
We scrub up, put on gloves and masks to prevent us catching any germs of them and vice versa. Two of us make up the milk, while the other two make up a basket of food.

As soon as the babies hear people around, they start crying. Their cry is a very high-pitched whistling. Almost like a sort of bird call and it can get really loud and piercing when they’re really upset.
The Orang’s smell like  wet sheep (but not as strong) crossed with a wet dog.  Although that might not sound very nice. The associations I have with it makes it a lovely smell- kind of like cow poo or horse stables.

We take the babies to another outdoor area and then clean their night cages. When you unlock the door to their cage the Orang’s lunge at you in their excitement to get out of their cages, but they always reach for your hand or an arm and latch on. After cleaning the clinic – removing old food and poo, we hose the cages then scrub them all, then hose them again, squeegee the floor then spray entire area with disinfectant. Very sweaty work.

We and the rangers are constantly in and out of kitchen, food storage and enclosure. Everything has locks and grills to stop the released-but-not-keen to-go-too-far Orangutans out. The one occasion you might just slide a grill across and not lock it (- because you’re going back in that room in just a minute) will be the time that Bella will quietly slide the grill across and with her super long arms (adults can have an arm span of around 6 foot) and snake her her hand around the corner and make off with a bottle of Ajax.

Or Michelle or Selamat will sneak into the food store and make off with a bunch of bananas.

It was pouring down with rain, so I wore my poncho to work and carefully hung it up out-of-the-way beside the door.
As I was cleaning the cages I heard a yelling kerfuffle (- this happens pretty regularly, as Orangs get into places they’re not supposed to be… it’s a bit of mad house.) Ibritina, the vet nurse, then told me that Ann had taken off with my poncho – as I looked up and saw her on the roof holding the poncho over her head – I really couldn’t begrudge her.Later the babies dragged it into their cage and beryl pulled a piece with her hands, her feet and her mouth then punched a whole in the middle with her finger. She then put it over head and then pulled her arms through like a little waterproof tutu!

Another time Selamat snuck into the kitchen and seized one of the made up baby bottles.  I ran after him and managed to avoid getting bitten as I wrestled it off him with the help of another ranger. SUCCESS! Got it back off him. However,  cunningly using the chaos as distraction… little Rosa made her way into the kitchen.  I walked in on a very guilty looking ape holding a bottle in each hand and both of her feet, taking rapid swigs out of each in turn.  You could see her calculating how long she had before we reached her and she’d have to drop the bottles and bail.

Chikita as a baby… she’s quite a bit bigger now

After the cleaning’s done, and if it’s sunny, we start training. We hold the hands of the older Orangutans and walk them down to an area with a lake, a pagoda and some ropes leading to bigger trees.
Chiquita’s a bit lazy and doesn’t like climbing. Found out that she was found when she was very young just three months old and the ranger had to bottle feed her every 2 hours until she was old enough to live at the rehabilitation centre. It explains her affection for people – she loves getting attention instead of climbing into the trees.
Boogie boy is always off and away to the shopping tree (shopping – cos it’s got so much choice!)
When the Orang’s don’t climb and sit on the ground, we have to grab their arms and hand them on the rope or a tree. Then we have to yell ‘Nike Nike’ = climb in Malay.

Chiquita kept climbing down but I suggested we just ignore her because it becomes a game. She sat on an old stump, glancing over to us to see if we were watching her. She then took some of the crumbling wood from the stump and put it on her head… When we didn’t do anything, she brushed it all off.  I went down to pick her up for the gazillionth time and couldn’t resist.
She was lying on the ground, so I tickled her under the arm just like a person then when she tried to get my hand away from her underarm, I tickled her tummy and back and forth. She had her mouth open in a big grin… then I stopped and pulled some bit of wood out of her hair. She turned from a mischievous little ape biting and trying not to climb… into a docile little angel. As I was grooming her she looked into my eyes.. The depth of her big brown eyes just made me melt. Oh yes, they’re charming in the extreme.

One day Boogie Boy didn’t even come in for lunch. We left him up the shopping tree.  If they’re confident enough to stay out for a couple of hours that’s ok. It is all about getting them back to the trees.