Homesick

Day 14, Monday, July 24 Yesterday was spent lounging around the Toucan restaurant, reading and chatting. Also went to pick up a pair of pants, tshirt and pullover from Sandra, and will pick up the rest today or tomorrow. We waited while Sandra’s boy Edwin had to crawl through a window to get inside as they had evidently dropped the key to the padlock while out walking. At Jenny’s house, music from the movie Superman came through the open front door. We gathered our gear and our packed dinners and headed up to our transect, number 3. it was a steep walk up to the site, followed by a steep hike down into the jungle that was especially brutal to return from. Today I feel a bit like I did on Saturday, on the verge of cracking a bit. Tired, weak, homesick, missing andre and the dogs, wanting so much to be with them tomorrow. I am comforted to know I have reached the halfway point, and although it has not flown by, it has moved past. The hiking is just so hard, and the bed is like sleeping on a slab of concrete, a couple boards and a foam pad. After all of the hiking last night a thunderstorm began to move in. there was quite a lot of lightning and thunder crashed right on top of our heads. We walked quickly down the steep road to Buenos Aires. Then a fine mist of fog settled in and it became quite difficult to see. We continued to hurry along. About the time we reached the Toucan restaurant, the clouds unleashed a downpour. Aside from my upper half that was fairly protected by my waterproof jacket, I was drenched. Cold and wet again. Today I am tired and feel like I haven’t slept for days. I think about Andre, my dogs, the dog park, my family and friends, listening to NPR in the mornings, starting my day with a Starbucks coffee, how much I’m going to enjoy watching the Phoenix Suns this basketball season, my IKEA bed, shopping at IKEA, cycling, hanging out again at the dogpark, these are the thoughts that have comforted me when the minutes have passed like long traffic lights.