Early this morning I got my fortune read in Coca leaves by a very old Cholita who lives in the nearby village of San Pedro. Meeting her and her son, and hanging out in their home was a lot more interesting then the fortune itself. They live in a one-room building about the size of a dining room, elevated off the ground about five feet or so. The son was sleeping on the floor when we arrived, he didn’t have a mattress but was wrapped in some blankets. The home didn’t have any functioning lights or running water that I saw. We sat in what was mostly dark with light coming in through the open door. Most striking was a massive crack in the wall that I could see a lot of sun through.

My fortune teller spoke mostly Ayamara so we had to have her son translate for us (not a young man himself). His mouth was black and toothless from Coca and a lack of any real dental hygiene.* He mumbled like his gums were made of well cooked carrots and I need another translator to get my fortune. They told me I will be really lucky in the next five years, not bad.

*(This is a real problem in the region, there are plenty of students on campus missing many teeth. I was told that having a full set here is so rare that most people think us volunteers just have really good dentures. A lot of people have false teeth lined with gold, they remind me of GRILLZ as made famous by rappers a couple years ago. If unfamiliar with this fad please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grill_(jewelry) ).

We visited their neighbors who are good friends with another volunteer (Hugh the associate director of the college). They live much better but still very simply in comparison to me in the volunteer house. They had a refrigerator which may or may not have worked, multiple rooms, and even a pig (temporary pet).

Afterwards we hiked up a nearby mountain. We got to see a lot of the plant life a little closer than we usually do. All the following pictures depict the kinds of things I see and traverse regularly. The trail was really steep, and even though it has only rained a few times since I have been here it was very wet. I live in what is called a “cloud forest” which is a relatively unique ecosystem that receives most of its moisture from the direct contact is receives from clouds daily. It isn’t uncommon to see clouds sitting on a hillside like cotton balls rubbed into thick carpet.

The tallest tree in this picture is really interesting. The inside is typically filled with ants that protect it from other insects and harmful plants. If it gets cut down the ants have been known to attack people.

I thought this leaf was wild. I think I overheard someone say the bumps were seed spores, don’t hold me to that. Either way they are neat.

I like this picture because it sort of shows just how thick and lush this area can be. I don’t carry a machete but if I spent more time in the woods I probably would. We saw three monkeys this morning in a similar area. They were silhouetted and reminded me a lot of squirrels. I’m told they are very rare; two weeks ago I saw a bigger one.

Thanks everyone,

SALUDOS
-andy