My last few days at the park were spent training two new Israeli guys, Tomer & Idor to walk safely with Sonko. It now seems an age away that Helen & I were here in the rainy season before Sonko moved cage, and when he was having issues in going home at the end of his day (sometimes leaving us out in the jungle till 9pm in the darkness and the rain) For a quick second I wish I was walking Sonko when he was only a happy cat, but then I realise that you've got to take the rough with the smooth in order to fully appreciate life. Those days were amongst the hardest I have ever had to conquer, but I stuck with it and that made my relationship with Sonko even more special.
Leaving the park was much more painful then I envisaged, quite literally! On my last work day I woke with a pain in my sternum which by the time I had eaten breakfast was getting to a stage where it was difficult to breath deeply. All the same I climbed up the mountain path to Sonko's cage tensing my muscles on the way up as it seemed to help with the pain. As I arrived Tomer & Idor were standing by Sonko's cage and he wouldn't come out (he has never done this to me before, he always wants to come out of his cage) But when he saw me he came out. Looks like he was waiting for me to arrive! Aw so sweet! Once I was there I realised that I wouldn't be able to walk Sonko for the first walk because of the pain so sent Tomer & Idor by themselves (it had been four days of training and about time they did this alone) They lasted about 20 seconds when Idor fell and wacked his knee and Sonko jumped Tomer, they called for me and I jumped out of the hammock and was there in moments. I ran to help Tomer who was behind a tree. Sonko took one look at me and meowed! He was a little excited seeing Tomer all by himself and jumped him, but now with someone else (me) there too he quickly calmed down. Idor turned up behind us a few moments later in a bit of pain (welcome to the jungle boy!) So I walked with them both up to Candy Cane junction and down to the first creak where Sonko is usually much more relaxed. They carried on and I took a shortcut back to the cage (the rest of loop 1) where sat in the hammock waiting for the guys to return.
They returned at around 2pm but the pain by this point had gotten worse so I had to lay the last walk out as well. I am truely sad for this :( By the time they returned I was having trouble breathing and was in a lot of pain. The Ocelot walker Alize always passes nearby on her way out of the jungle at the same time as we finish up for the day so I called for her to wait for me as I genuinely needed help (I actually didn't know how I would get out) Every step hurt like hell! Alize took my rucksack and followed close by on what is usually a 10 minute run across a hill and down what we call 'The Mountain' then down 'Frenchmans Hill' till we reach the bird enclosure. This took around 30 minutes and took every ounce of strength in my body & soul. By the time I got to the vets I was ready to pass out. Nelly was the first person I encountered (she works with the vets) she took one look at me and went to get help. The vets took one look at me and went to get a car to take me to the hospital. Frank (the volunteer coordinator) and Luis (one of the vets) came with me.
At the hospital we had to pay them before they would look at me, and then they took some blood to check for any infections. After they gave me a lovely sedative and asked me for a stool sample to check for parasites. After around 4 hours in the hospital they returned with an answer that I had parasites and gave me a prescription for some tablets. Luis through it away and gave me some proper tablets form his surgery. I was still in a lot of pain but had calmed down a lot. the following day the pain had not really let up so I decided to leave early to Santa Cruz where they have proper hospitals. I left that morning and arrived at a hospital in Santa Cruz around six hours later where after I paid them some money they gave me a similar prescription but intravenously and I started to feel better.
I spent two days in a wonderful Santa Cruz hostel surrounded by great people, hammocks, toucans and better food. Then I was to embark on two six hour flights to get to San Francisco. It wasn't terrible but I wasn't able to eat anything on either flight, however the flight attendants were very nice and caring. I arrived in San Francisco just before midnight, quite excited, a little thinner with no appetite.
Please stay tuned, the next part of this story will be typed up tomorrow :D
Showing posts with label Parque Machia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Parque Machia. Show all posts
Sunday, 8 May 2011
Sunday, 20 February 2011
Dianry Of A Puma Walker, in the dark, in the rain forest, attached to an unhappy pissed off puma...
My last blog entry was wipped three days ago when the power in the town went down after a biblical thunderstorm. But I´m back with a head full of adventure so read on!
Walking the puma consists of one of us with a five meter rope round our waists and attached to the collar of the puma. So where he goes you have to go, although he has a route (7 kilmometres) through the jungle to take and he (usually sticks to it) However there are some Bolivian workmen building him a new cage and they walk past his cage on the way up which stresses him no end (which explains his behavour in the next few paragraphs)
February 16th
Walking the puma today was Helen and Sebastien, today is his last day (I am his replacement) I follow for the day and try to find my ´jungle feet´, it´s a lot more hilly then I thought it would be. Sonko is so beautiful!!
February 17th
Now that Sebastien has gone it´s just Helen and I and I got my first opportunity to take the lead with Sonko. He was fine at first but once we were on the homeward stretch he became a little nervouse (simply didn´t want to go home) and I got jumped. He first swipped for me with one (massive) paw (and missed) then with the other and caught me round the neck (luckily his claws weren´t out) Helen pulled him down but he jumped her too getting both paws up by her head. This was one pissed off unhappy cat! We got him down and he calmed after that. My heart was in my mouth beating like a freight train! We got him home soon after. I hope tomorrow he will be easier to take out.
February 18th
Today everyone helped in bringing up new matterials for Sonko´s new cage, however this stressed him out as too many people walked by his cage so we were unable to take him out for a walk. Instead we did some trail clearing with machetes.
February 19th
Seeing as Sonko hadn´t been out yesterday at all we knew today would be a difficult day, we just didn´t imagine quite how difficult it could get....We finally got Sonko walking at 11am (Helen was on cord) but didn´t get very far before he had his first sleep, four hours later he moved around two meters and slept some more, this continued for the whole day, at 6pm we realised that it seemed we would still be in the jungle after dark (not the greatest place to be at night I assure you) and with only one headtorch between Helen and I things were about to get tricky.
Plan A:
Tie him to a tree so we could go and get help and more torches but he was on to us like a shot the minute I removed our emergency cord from my waits (nothing gets past this cat) Sonko rolled onto his back and grabbed Helens legs digging in with his claws and hissed! I came round the side and pulled his collar round to get him off, he jumped me and clawed me too, nothing too serious but he was certainly not playing.
Plan B
We have got to get him home, but that was the last place he wanted to go. We pleaded with him till we were blue in the face. Just as it became dark the heavens opened like only Bolivian rain can do and we were under what felt like a waterfall (Our puma hates the rain as it creates white noise so he can´t hear anything coming up to him, and he hates getting his feet wet!) Now we are in the dark with one headtorch, making our emergency cooing sound hoping someone can hear us so they can send help as Sonko was being stubborn and going nowhere. After around an hour (and an entire rendition on ´99 Bottles of Beer on The Wall´ we heard a return emergency call from our cooing into the pitch black. Help was on the way! What a relief! It took Keith around 40 minutes to get to us and once Sonko saw him he wanted to chase, this made getting home much easier....Not for me though, I gave my headtorch to Helen (she was attached to the puma so needed it more then I did) so I had to wait there for them to come back, in the pitch black, by myself with crazy noises all around me for 30 minutes, I will never forget those thirty minutes. I could hear monkeys getting closer and strange rumblings and fumblings all around...But! I wasn´t eaten (well only by the mosquitos) And we arrived home by 10pm! A late night around here that´s for sure and a crazy evening in the jungle.
February 20th
Sonko was a much happier cat today. We took him out of his cage at 10am (I was on cord) and we walked through the jungle for around two hours. Sonko then had a little snooze....Around six hours. Helen and I chatted of our love for food and what we missed from back home and everything else inbetween. Sonko was still a little grumpy about having to go home but we made it back to his cage by 7pm just as it got dark and 2.5 hours earlier then yesterday, and as we walked back we bumped into the search party coming up to make sure we were OK. That was a nice feeling, they really look out for everyone here :D Today was my first full day on cord (being attached to Sonko with a five meter rope) and I loved every minute of it. He came to me for affection and whre he puts his head down for some stroking. Such a different cat to yesterday, what a beautiful experience.
Things I´m missing:
My family and friends
Real cheese
Hot showers (my bathroom got cold water yesterday for the first time!)
My bed
Scariest things in the rainforest:
Bullet ants http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraponera I´ve seen a nest of over a hundred!
Muddy drops over 2 metres deep
Wasps nests
The darkness after 7pm!!!
A puma jumping you, that´s not for the faint hearted!
For now I bid you all goodnight and wish you a fantastic week! I will be spending it walking my puma xx
Walking the puma consists of one of us with a five meter rope round our waists and attached to the collar of the puma. So where he goes you have to go, although he has a route (7 kilmometres) through the jungle to take and he (usually sticks to it) However there are some Bolivian workmen building him a new cage and they walk past his cage on the way up which stresses him no end (which explains his behavour in the next few paragraphs)
February 16th
Walking the puma today was Helen and Sebastien, today is his last day (I am his replacement) I follow for the day and try to find my ´jungle feet´, it´s a lot more hilly then I thought it would be. Sonko is so beautiful!!
February 17th
Now that Sebastien has gone it´s just Helen and I and I got my first opportunity to take the lead with Sonko. He was fine at first but once we were on the homeward stretch he became a little nervouse (simply didn´t want to go home) and I got jumped. He first swipped for me with one (massive) paw (and missed) then with the other and caught me round the neck (luckily his claws weren´t out) Helen pulled him down but he jumped her too getting both paws up by her head. This was one pissed off unhappy cat! We got him down and he calmed after that. My heart was in my mouth beating like a freight train! We got him home soon after. I hope tomorrow he will be easier to take out.
February 18th
Today everyone helped in bringing up new matterials for Sonko´s new cage, however this stressed him out as too many people walked by his cage so we were unable to take him out for a walk. Instead we did some trail clearing with machetes.
February 19th
Seeing as Sonko hadn´t been out yesterday at all we knew today would be a difficult day, we just didn´t imagine quite how difficult it could get....We finally got Sonko walking at 11am (Helen was on cord) but didn´t get very far before he had his first sleep, four hours later he moved around two meters and slept some more, this continued for the whole day, at 6pm we realised that it seemed we would still be in the jungle after dark (not the greatest place to be at night I assure you) and with only one headtorch between Helen and I things were about to get tricky.
Plan A:
Tie him to a tree so we could go and get help and more torches but he was on to us like a shot the minute I removed our emergency cord from my waits (nothing gets past this cat) Sonko rolled onto his back and grabbed Helens legs digging in with his claws and hissed! I came round the side and pulled his collar round to get him off, he jumped me and clawed me too, nothing too serious but he was certainly not playing.
Plan B
We have got to get him home, but that was the last place he wanted to go. We pleaded with him till we were blue in the face. Just as it became dark the heavens opened like only Bolivian rain can do and we were under what felt like a waterfall (Our puma hates the rain as it creates white noise so he can´t hear anything coming up to him, and he hates getting his feet wet!) Now we are in the dark with one headtorch, making our emergency cooing sound hoping someone can hear us so they can send help as Sonko was being stubborn and going nowhere. After around an hour (and an entire rendition on ´99 Bottles of Beer on The Wall´ we heard a return emergency call from our cooing into the pitch black. Help was on the way! What a relief! It took Keith around 40 minutes to get to us and once Sonko saw him he wanted to chase, this made getting home much easier....Not for me though, I gave my headtorch to Helen (she was attached to the puma so needed it more then I did) so I had to wait there for them to come back, in the pitch black, by myself with crazy noises all around me for 30 minutes, I will never forget those thirty minutes. I could hear monkeys getting closer and strange rumblings and fumblings all around...But! I wasn´t eaten (well only by the mosquitos) And we arrived home by 10pm! A late night around here that´s for sure and a crazy evening in the jungle.
February 20th
Sonko was a much happier cat today. We took him out of his cage at 10am (I was on cord) and we walked through the jungle for around two hours. Sonko then had a little snooze....Around six hours. Helen and I chatted of our love for food and what we missed from back home and everything else inbetween. Sonko was still a little grumpy about having to go home but we made it back to his cage by 7pm just as it got dark and 2.5 hours earlier then yesterday, and as we walked back we bumped into the search party coming up to make sure we were OK. That was a nice feeling, they really look out for everyone here :D Today was my first full day on cord (being attached to Sonko with a five meter rope) and I loved every minute of it. He came to me for affection and whre he puts his head down for some stroking. Such a different cat to yesterday, what a beautiful experience.
Things I´m missing:
My family and friends
Real cheese
Hot showers (my bathroom got cold water yesterday for the first time!)
My bed
Scariest things in the rainforest:
Bullet ants http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraponera I´ve seen a nest of over a hundred!
Muddy drops over 2 metres deep
Wasps nests
The darkness after 7pm!!!
A puma jumping you, that´s not for the faint hearted!
For now I bid you all goodnight and wish you a fantastic week! I will be spending it walking my puma xx
Sunday, 13 February 2011
Thunderstorms over my head and the very real fact that I gots me a puma!
My first night at Parque Machia was certainly a memorable one. I was finally shown to a room after dark once all the volunteer coordinators had finished work and after our induction. It has a double bed, smells a bit of damp and for now has no running water (none of the rooms do as a water pipe has broken somewhere in the jungle) But, apart from that I have a place to call home for the next 9 weeks and I am happy for that.
What I am even happier for is the fact that I found out that I will indeed be looking after and walking a puma! His name is Sonko, it means ´Heart´ in Quechua. Sonko´s volunteer is called Helen, a really nice and chatty Scottish girl who has spent a lot of time with Sonko, and now it seems she´s stuck with me too! lol! My first day was spent following Helen & Sebastien (who is leaving in 4 days) and trying to keep up. Sonko walks one of three trails daily and today we did the shortest one.....Which utterly killed me, I feel as f I´ve been running around the jungle all day in the rain.......which I have! Up steep hills and down muddy banks. We started at 8am and got back around 4pm. Around three hours of that was spent standing around chatting as Sonko wanted to rest. However when we carried on I admit that I found it tough. But tough in a way that a good workout at the gym is tough. Now I´m feeling on top of the world and cannot wait for tomorrow!
Oh and I just found oats and honey in the local shop so that´s breakfast sorted! Although pretty much the best food in all of Bolivia is genuinely found at Machia (they have a vegetarian restaurant, sooo yummy!!)
Within the next few days I will take the lead for Sonko with Helen behind me, that will be a big test in balls and stamina. I hope my body can cope with this intense workout (very happy I took arnica with me)
Oh yeah I almost forgot to tell you about my first night sleep. It was all going so well untill 3am when the heavens opens (I think litterally!) and the mother of all thunderstorms broke out right over my bedroom. I´ve never heard cracking so loudly, never! The flash and bang at the same time, it hit a roof top on the building next to mine, I was actually scared.
Ok so enough ramblings from me, tomorrow I will be back in the rainforest in the rain with a puma trying to keep up! I wish you all a happy valentines day (tomorrow all the girls are cooking for the guys and we have to buy them booze) Fun times ahead!
Paul xx
What I am even happier for is the fact that I found out that I will indeed be looking after and walking a puma! His name is Sonko, it means ´Heart´ in Quechua. Sonko´s volunteer is called Helen, a really nice and chatty Scottish girl who has spent a lot of time with Sonko, and now it seems she´s stuck with me too! lol! My first day was spent following Helen & Sebastien (who is leaving in 4 days) and trying to keep up. Sonko walks one of three trails daily and today we did the shortest one.....Which utterly killed me, I feel as f I´ve been running around the jungle all day in the rain.......which I have! Up steep hills and down muddy banks. We started at 8am and got back around 4pm. Around three hours of that was spent standing around chatting as Sonko wanted to rest. However when we carried on I admit that I found it tough. But tough in a way that a good workout at the gym is tough. Now I´m feeling on top of the world and cannot wait for tomorrow!
Oh and I just found oats and honey in the local shop so that´s breakfast sorted! Although pretty much the best food in all of Bolivia is genuinely found at Machia (they have a vegetarian restaurant, sooo yummy!!)
Within the next few days I will take the lead for Sonko with Helen behind me, that will be a big test in balls and stamina. I hope my body can cope with this intense workout (very happy I took arnica with me)
Oh yeah I almost forgot to tell you about my first night sleep. It was all going so well untill 3am when the heavens opens (I think litterally!) and the mother of all thunderstorms broke out right over my bedroom. I´ve never heard cracking so loudly, never! The flash and bang at the same time, it hit a roof top on the building next to mine, I was actually scared.
Ok so enough ramblings from me, tomorrow I will be back in the rainforest in the rain with a puma trying to keep up! I wish you all a happy valentines day (tomorrow all the girls are cooking for the guys and we have to buy them booze) Fun times ahead!
Paul xx
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