What's Been Happening ...

Upon my return from Gtown and being away for nearly 2.5wks I had to wait out at Point Ranch (where I was dropped by the bus) for Karanambu's Land Rover to come and pick me up....Ended up sitting on the side of the dirt road, covered in a healthy layer of dirt myself with multiple bags and boxes of supplies for around 6hrs...
Up at the ranch itself they had what we think is an Ocelot skin...was small and very soft...

What a waste...


The vaqueros (the local name for cowboys) were drinking what they said was a Brazilian "wine"...tasted pretty feral but the label made me laugh and laugh and laugh. So here you are boys

Enjoy ;)


By the time I got back the two new volunteers had been here for a week. Dominique (Dom) and Josh from New Orleans. Josh is a landscaper and Dom works at a zoo in N.O with North American River Otters. Her duties also involve work with the aquarium section, alligators and small monkeys! Pretty freaking cool...

I was gobsmacked when I saw the kids after being away for so long - they had grown so much and looked freaking huge! Especially Philip, he had not only gained some length but had really filled out and was looking quite muscly! Bel was looking rather big for her usual self haha...she was probably about the size Philip was when I arrived.
Here is a rather sweet 'sibling moment' :)

They stayed lying like that for quite a while


Before leaving Gtown I picked up a few treats for myself to have while being out at Kbu. Including granola bars (the american version of muesli bars), Wethers lollies and the most important of all! Behold

Makes me think of home :) God how I miss fresh milk for all that I wasn't drinking much of it by the time I left. All I've seen in Guyana in powdered...even in all the supermarkets...talk about depressing...


One morning Josh had taken Buddy down to the river whilst I finished up at the otter house. When I went down to join him he asked me to look at something to see if I could confirm his suspcicions...he showed me animal tracks...My jaw hit the ground and my eyes bulged out of my head! They weren't just any fresh animal tracks but Jaguar tracks!!!! They were super fresh too considering it'd been raining all morning until about 5-6am and they weren't washed away yet...We were down there at about 830-9am. Not only that but it's not like the tracks just showed the cat going along the river bank to the rivers edge for a drink and then going back...this cat had wandered ALL over the bank...it's tracks were literally everywhere...So Exciting! I was bouncing off the walls just about haha


Laying something next to tracks gives it scale for later reference/as proof.


We also found Capybara tracks right in one corner of the sandbank between the scrub and water

Perhaps the Jaguar was stalking it?


Showing part of the track it walked...


Another size comparison, this time with my hand just for fun


I made many discoveries on my return to Karanambu, one of which was that I had a Jigger or Chigoe Flea that had burrowed its way into my heel and was swollen with eggs. Girly, one of the staff here expertly removed it, in one piece. Pretty gross but kind of cool. No pain what so ever.
At first I just thought I had an extra deep crack in my heel as it was tender to press on but after I got back to Kbu and all the dead skin sloughed off I was left with this!


The flea leaves the hole open after it burrows in so it can breathe...

I took the needle from a 3mL syringe - we have plenty in the vet supplies. Was sterile and unused of course.

The first step is to pick back all the dead skin from around the flea - very carefully so as not to puncture it!

Next came cutting off all the dead skin

with a razor blade

Behold the pretzel position I was forced into to get it removed

Only because I wanted to watch while she did it haha!

Here is the flea all exposed

Pretty huge and pretty gross...

Careful, careful again

Gotta lift, pry, squeeze it out without bursting it!

The resulting hole after the Jigger was removed

Even grosser and bigger than the flea itself? Almost? It's now about a month later and the hole is still growing out...

The flea itself....the few white things you can see coming out the top are the eggs...

Pat said it was one of the biggest she'd ever seen and she was surprised it hadn't burst already...I think I'd had it in there for a while...woops
Over the next few days I also managed to pick up a few ticks...after removing them I find the spot always gets itchy...I still have marks from all 3 ticks I've had here so far :/
A week or two later I think it was I also ended up with conjunctivitis! I'd never had it before...it is very uncomfortable, especially when it was in my good eye! Blergh. Thankfully they had the right drops here to treat it.


One afternoon Buddy caught a turtle! Poor fella was making such frustrated sounds because he couldn't get at it haha. Girly then stole it off him, he certainly wasn't very impressed when it "disappeared". When Dom and Josh later inquired about the fate of the turtle, she said it got away but we are pretty certain she brought it back up to the staff kitchen and they cooked and ate it...

Come out turtle turtle


Just before Dom and Josh went back to the states we spent a morning at Caiman House, I got to see the pup that I have mentioned in a previous blog. It had been about a month after the first photo and she is looking much more like a pup, with fur and everything!

Her name is Mira. It was quite the challenge to take a good photo as every time I took a step back to line up the shot she would take a step forward so she could get another pat!


Bandit catching a big frog in the main house

he rolled it around on the ground first (he seems to do it to most of his food)


and then proceeded to eat it under the drinks table in front of all the guests...ever the charmer that he is...


For half the time Dom and Josh were here we only had 1-3 guests, they were here for around 2wks which was cool. They were great people and it was really nice to get to know them instead of the usual 1-2nights stay where often I don't even get a chance to learn their names. Here is a big group shot

In the back row from left to right is: Diane, Sandy (a close friend of D's from Dadenowa - a place down south), Shirley Ellis (a well known painter from England), Gerry, Derek Ellis (a keen birder and also a great sketcher), Polly (another close, old friend of D's and also an avid birder), Josh and Dom. The front row from left to right: Duane (from Dadenowa with Sandy, or should I say Sandy is with Duane haha, he's the Guyanese one) and yours truly.


Hanging in Gtown for a few days wit Dom and Josh before their return home - the month passed so quickly! Amongst other places we checked out the big wooden church which was lovely and cool inside. There was a steel drum band practicing and both Josh and I agreed that if more churches had steel drum bands the attendance ratings might increase :P


Inside of the church


Cool halo of light shot


Front of the church


I also walked Dom and Josh around Gtowns 'infamous' Starbroek Market, land marked by the giant clock (that I don't think works...)

....has anything and everything from underwear to fresh produce - veg, meat, fish to ripped dvds to shoes! Cool market to experience and wander around in though, never felt threatened or at risk in any way, even when I would walk around it alone.
However I was sensible about where I went, what I did and the vibe I gave off (confident and strong) and would walk everywhere as if I knew exactly where I was going (even when I didn't).

Needless to say it was a bummer to see everyone go - the guests Shirley, Derek and Polly and the volies Dom and Josh...they are all fantastic people that I hope to stay in contact with. I have been assured that anytime I visit London or the states that I have a couch to crash on which is the coolest :D

That's about it for this update....coming next - otter news!

Kaieteur Falls

I think part of the reason I've been so slack with my blog is the fact that I couldn't be bothered typing up the 'adventure' of Kaieteur Falls. However, exciting stuff is happening and coming on the horizon so I better get it updated so I can write about new stuff!

The morning before hiking up to K.F we were a few hours boat ride downriver at our previous nights camp. Our "guide" (useless) led us around and over some rapids...was pretty cool...I gathered serious man points by crossing them barefooted with my thongs clutched between my teeth :D


This was what I walked across (above the rapids, not below haha)


and this is me doing it!


The hike up was damn steep and pretty tough. A few kahjigahs were involved in the proccess but it was a cool trail through the jungle. At one point it was blocked by a maaassive tree that had fallen across the path so we had to bush bash our way up and around. I made the decision not to bring my columbia sneakers and instead put my faith in my KSO FiveFingers. I am so so glad that I did, they performed beautifully! Before that hike I hadn't worn them very much at all, maybe a few hours max. I hiked a steep, forest track that took about 3.5hrs with No Complaints what so ever = Freaking Awesome! Sooo comfy.


Hi5 for Vibrams KSO (Keep Stuff Out) FiveFingers

The humidity combined with the physical exertion made it look like Ana and I had been standing under a shower instead of hiking haha. However the crazy Italian Stefi just looked like she'd been for a jog around the park! Apparently Italians don't sweat like normal people . . .


...somewhat of a height difference, not helped that I was on the top of a slight slope...but still Stefi is short haha ;)

The falls themselves are absolutely awesome! That first night we arrived at the top of K.F we all bathed in the river under the near full moon less than 50m from falls themselves = wicked experience.


Kaieteur Falls



When looking outwards from the falls, this picture was taken looking to the left. Different lookouts were situated along the stretch of cliff. I love the giant moss covered rocks below

The next day after cruising around the different lookouts and taking lots of pictures we decided to do our feral laundry in the river. Was classic to see the looks on visitors (that fly in for a quick look) faces when they saw these 3 chicks calmly doing their laundry under the trees near the drop of Kaieteur Falls hahaha!

We got to see lots of cool stuff (aside from the breath taking view, that no matter how many times I looked at it, was always beautiful) like the Golden Frog which lives in bromiliads (a type of giant palm thing) near Kaieteur Falls and isn't found anywhere else in the world. It is tiny and very cute.


Also very hard to photograph!

There were also the hundreds (at least) of swifts that sleep in a cave behind the falls - one can see them coming and going at dawn and dusk. Orange hawks could be seen cruising the skys waiting to dive down on the swifts which are their prey. Yet another breath taking sight as they fly with amazing agility in these huge clouds. We also went hunting for the Cock-of-the-Rock - a beautiful exotic bird. We managed to spot it twice, albiet briefly and with no photos.
We also got to see Macaws flying around and nearby the falls a few times which was super cool.


Yours truely with the falls behind me


and again me, but this time the view behind me is the view seen when standing atop the falls and looking out down the river!

If you ever get curious about the whole experience I'd be more than happy to tell you over a beer or few :)

oh and this

is Steve
both Steve and the Golden Frog are of similar size - maybe as big as the first joint of your finger = tiny! not even an inch long

MIA Shenanigans

Right...now that I've been "Missing in Action" for nearly two months I figure it's time to sit down and update this blog, ugh! So much happened just before, during the trip to Gtown and Kaieteur Falls with Stefi and Ana I have to gather my energy just to type about it!

The last few days in Karanambu for Stefi and Ana were a lot of fun, extra boat trips, swimming in the river with Bud and Caiman catching!
For one, we 3 finally made it for a weekend to the village of Yupukari and stayed at Caiman House - it was lovely, the set up there is awesome. The first time we tried to all get there for the weekend Stefi because so seriously ill that we thought she malaria (she didn't luckily) and a few days later Ana was also struck down. The weekend that we did finally go Stefi was sick again but determined, even throwing up over the side of the boat on the way wasn't going to stop her!

Upon arrival we were greeted by our usual Caiman House mates Nando, Mike and Jess. We also got to meet one of the owners of C.H, an american woman, Alice. She had heard that we were coming and knew that Stefi was a vet and so presented her with a completely skeletal, emaciated puppy that had be brought to her. Stefi was barely able to sit upright on the couch but thankfully I knew what needed to be done and helped her do it. We gave the pup a small amount of food and then I gave it a few sub-cutaneous injections of saline solution to help rehydrate it (Stefi was passed out in bed by this stage). That was my first encounter with a dog in that poor condition, completely emaciated, could just about see the whole skeleton, it had practically no fur, was swarming in fleas and had a decent collection of ticks too.
WARNING: Following picture may upset some people . . .


It was amazing to see the improvement with each spoonful of food (we fed it a mixture of cooked rice mixed with a bit of powdered milk). By the end of the weekend it was already starting to wander around and act like a bit of a puppy. I haven't seen it in roughly a month but I'm about to head to Yupukari and Caiman House today (28/04) so I will give an update when I get back if it's still there.


One afternoon Stefi and I were down at the river with Buddy and 3 of the boys Denton, Devon and Martin. They were having a ball running about the sanbank and swimming, they also proceeded to show off when we pulled out our cameras by doing forward flips into the river! I was impressed haha because I have no hope of doing that!


Here we have Denton or Devon caught mid flip - they are first cousins but are almost the same age and very very similar looking - more like brothers, and as such I am forever getting them mixed up!

The boys then proceeded to show off one step further by running up to the cliffs above the water pump and leaping off. Stefi and I took one look at each other and simultaneously said "Should we?", after questioning the boys multiple times about whether the water was deep enough for us we decided to go for it. It was hell of a lot of fun and an adrenalin rush! We have some great videos from it but unfortunately the net connection here isn't fast enough so those will have to wait until we meet up for a beer or some cake (I'm distracted with the thoughts of cake because there is a birthday today = cake!). Having my Olympus Tough camera which can get wet was a bonus, especially when I decided to go up to the cliff and take a video of myself leaping off and splashing into the river haha.


Stefi took this for me - it is definitely a favourite photo of mine, talk about Batman Skills on SHAZAAM!

*distracting whislte* I may or may not have just snuck into the kitchen to steal a cookie and peek at the cake cooling on the bench...

There were plenty more shenanigans down at the river such as

playing caiman


and doing the proverbial monkey climbing up this lone, dead, branchless tree


Here I am eating a snack with Bud, Martin is chilling in the background and Denton is being cheeky and mimicking me!


Throwing Martin off my shoulders like dad used to do with us down at the beach :)


Is it a plane? is it a beaver? Can it even fly?


Bel munching on some afternoon tea


Me chilling with ma homey Bud in lockup ;)


That night Stefi, Ana, myself and a few guests went out with the team from Caiman House to go Caiman catching - very cool stuff! The guys caught 2 caimain, the first one was an average sized male and the second would've been quite a catch except he wasn't in very good condition, you could see quite clearly that it was underweight.


Freshly caught caiman using a noose, Ash is taping its snout shut.


Measuring the head. You can see that the caiman has practically no jowls which is an indicator of health and weight. Big crocodilians in their prime and or in zoos will have big jowls and the base of their tail will be nice and plump and fat - these are their two main fat storage areas.


What're you looking at?


Very smooth and quite soft in a way...


Trussed up like a christmas turkey and getting weighed


WHOOSH! and he was out of there!

What a great night with not only Caiman catching but we also had a great gathering with all of the 'home team' as well as the good friends we've made at Caiman House. There was lots of great food, laughs and good times. Group photo time!


From left to right in the back row: Pat, Mike, Ana, Stefi, Jess, Diane, Ash (being a cheeky bugger) and then myself, Fernando and Gerry in the front row.


The next day it was time for fair wells, goodbyes and our 12-13hr bus trip to Georgetown. This was my first "real" bus trip as it were - dirt roads, no suspension, air con is the windows open and the bus zooming along. As "real" bus rides go I am quite aware that despite it's length this one is pretty cruisey. Yes at the end of it my kidneys had been shaken hard enough to create a Shaken Martini for the toughest of tough James Bond fans, my spinal cord was no longer attached to my brain and I had an inch thick coating of dust everywhere and on everything, there were no screaming, crying or vomiting children, no pooping livestock and plenty of seats to go round.


Here is our transport to cross the wide and briskly flowing river


Well I guess it's time to grab a cold coke and pull up a seat for a while...


Trying to catch a few winks - suddenly crashed (as in I was very tired and had a nap - not as in the bus ran off the road - it didn't...thankfully), but it was very hard to nap as before every sharp blind corner the bus driver would lay on the horn to warn any incoming traffic...did I mention the horn was very loud and very shrill...oh and there were A Lot of sharp blind corners on the way to Gtown...

The few days we had in Gtown before and after Kaieteur Falls we spent doing plenty of walking, exploring and gorging on yummy food such as pizza :P We also frequented a bar with our own lunch - corn chips, salsa and a block of cheese. They didn't mind because we were 3 charming young ladies (haha!) who spent hours there drinking many of their beers ;)


Good times at Windies