It was THIIIISSSSS BIG!

Well….you know you’re popular when people write you complaining about your lack of blogging. So for all those who have been hanging on our words (you should probably put on a safety harness…)

NOTE: Mothers, mother's-in-laws, and all other concerned parties should read with caution


Here it goes:


So I went back to the roca (pronounced “jhosa”) (or farm) to give back some data, in the form of printed maps, that I had made based upon mapping exercises at several people’s farms (see previous blog postings).

Due to the nature of this post, it will take narrative form. Consider it an oral history entry…

So I’m on the farm (this is the context mind you) ((and NO it was not a dark stormy night!)) rather, it was a beautiful starry night, the kind we never see in the states unless we happen to be on a mountain or out in the desert….and I’m lying in the hammock, working on the computer….and Bernard (the father of the house that I’m staying in) tells me he’s going to go for a “walk in the woods”, and I’m thinking, ok he needs to hit the older not-so-little-boys room….and then he grabs his rifle…..and I’m like, well u never know what’s lurking in the “bathroom”…and then he’s like, “I’m going hunting”, and me being the silly starry eyed gringo is like, Cool! Hunting in the amazon! I want to go, hand me some war paint and a spear!

So we head out on the warpath into the forest. And yes, it’s a clear starry night…and we’re walking, and walking. And every once in a while Bernard stops to whisper something to me and point at the ground….and then all of a sudden he just ducks into the forest proper (we were on a pretty open trail before) ((just goes to show that language skills help, i.e. he probably had told me in that last whisper that he was going to go off on the track of a “tatu” (armadillo-see previous posts on breakfast foods to avoid, unless ur on the Amazon diet).

So he dips out (that’s colloquial for exited) into the forest, and I follow him….and we’re weaving around in the dark, he’s using his flashlight occasionally, and I’m using a cell phone…and then he stops…..

I know the suspense is so thick you could cut it with a spoon (they don’t use knives here, except…)

Anyways, so he bends down to the ground and points at this trail… and then he turns on his flashlight, and he’s kneeling, staring at the ground, but from the illumination of his flashlight I can see that there a giant snake curled on a branch about a foot from his face…!

And so I’m like….Bernard, um Bernard…Bernard COBRA!!!! (The word for snake I learned early on, as in are there any here?) COBRA!!!! COBRA!!!!! And he’s like “huh…oh!” and takes his machete out of its scabbard (not sure if that’s the technical term?) and promptly does an interpretation of texas chainsaw massacre meets Amazonian peasant….

Let’s just say the Amazonian peasant farmer (thankfully!!!) won!

Because as he then told me (when I asked) you only see poisonous ones at night!

Now, aren’t you glad I asked!

And next time you probably won’t be asking for a blog update will u?

Oh well, the next one’s good too, much more research oriented though…

Boring times I know…

(p.s. I went back the next day...and the snake was gone!) (ok so my tracking skills aren't the greatest, but YOU try finding where you were in the forest in the middle of the night..yes it was a clear night, but still!