Global Disasters?

Me & Mariela Nieto straight from Buenos Aires, & me on my motorcycle.

Fun Fact No. 41: Papayas and Tables. That’s right folks, whatever it is that you need, be it papayas, tables, playing cards, pornos, yuca, you name it, there are people selling it door-to-door every day. It’s actually convenient, because just the other day we had some people over and we didn’t have enough chairs and a little kid was selling small wooden benches for about $1 a piece. We bought three.

Thank you all for your kind notes and emails. I really appreciate it. I didn’t share a lot of the crappy stuff that was going on along the way because I didn’t want to admit that I wasn’t having a good time, or that I really wasn’t happy here. But things are really changing and I am getting much better. Graciela and Cesar both come from shaman families, and they did some spiritual cleansings of the house, and it really made a difference. Plus just being in a beautiful house with great people has been so relaxing. I get to bed at a normal hour and I sleep a good 8 hours, something I was hard pressed to do in the other house. I miss the lake and the people in the other house, but I visit them every day.

My field work is also on the upswing. I got a great interview with a touring band the other day, completely by chance, and it got me thinking about other things. They say that your field work never turns out the way you planned and sure enough, it might just be taking a shortcut to a slightly different thesis. But it’s good – it’s opening my eyes to new possibilities and it’s making me think more.

On what has come to be the comical side (although it began as a traumatic headache), my motorcycle diaries continue. It turns out there’s an embargo on my motorcycle from 1997 that the original owner (a very, VERY unpleasant woman) never paid. I got fed up and went to the police. Sub-Official Lozano (a very handsome young man on the upside) is helping me straighten everything out. I’ve reported the jerk who took the commission on the sale, and it’ll most likely go to trial because he’s unresponsive, but I have two eye-witnesses, so it’s looking like I’ll win. It has really become funny, though, because more and more malarkey bubbles up. A curse? Perhaps. But I’ll beat it!

Not to scare anyone, but the end of the world is near. No, I haven’t started attending one of those nutty Pentecostal churches that litter the streets of Iquitos. But it didn’t rain here for 43 days in a row. Did I mention that I’m living in the heart of the Amazon? P.S., it’s supposed to rain here AT LEAST two times a week in the “dry” season, and we’re not even in the dry season yet. Decreasing water levels, overpopulation of certain fishes because they have nowhere to go combined with the fact that 98% of the Peruvian Amazon is either in contract or already sold to Big Petroleum companies are all signs that we’re going to hell in a handbasket. I’m not trying to depress you, although I’m sure you’re crying, but we’ve got issues folks. I’m going to need each and every one of you to write some letters and soon. I’ll get you the details.

On lighter notes, I saw the movie The Illusionist the other night. I really enjoyed it. Considering that the only movies that come to Iquitos tend to be crappy, I was pleasantly surprised.