I know what you´re thinking. Sure, we just returned from the couples retreat that I mentioned in a previous letter, so we should be running on a fresh set of spark plugs with a new look on life. Well, I´m not in the doghouse for bad behavior. Like so many dogs, I´m in the doghouse because I´m covered with… ticks!
click on the picture for a larger, more disgusting view of this single blade of grass
Apparently, cutting down all the jungle and turning it into pasture affects the ecology, so every dry season, which coincides with the only time to measure the lowest flow rate of spring water sources for aquaducts, all the pastures and everything that passes through gets covered in ticks; all shapes and sizes of ticks, ¨garrapatas¨ as they´re called here, literally ¨clawfeet.¨
This slick 2¨pvc pipe was lightly brushed against the blade of grass. Can you imagine how well they grab onto clothing? Maybe I will douse myself in kersosene next time.
One would think that ticks are dumb, but these here have figured out how to locate the most frequently used paths and congregate by the hundreds or even thousands on the tips of grass blades and twigs. When something touches the grotesque blobs of ticks, those on the outside latch on and they quickly disperse themselves over the object… or person. I´m quite certain that ticks must have evolved after creation because they are clearly minions of the devil. Enjoy the cold back home!
if this doesn´t get your mind off those nasty bloodsuckers, nothing will. Watermelon does taste better in a rubber ducky.
Colleen and Kalea arrived last night, and it´s so wonderful to be back together again. Kalea has a little more hair (and maybe I have a little less) and Colleen looks younger (what does that say about being away from me?) Our little neighbor, Luris, 4, can finally stop asking when Kalea will arrive, and we´ll do our best to settle in while I finish construction of the house. Thanks for all the words of encouragement during this challenging transition. And thank you Mom for not kidnapping your grandchild. We Love You and miss you already!
El Feo is an ´86 Mitsubishi Montero whose owner, an old Ecuadorian man, vowed sincerely that he couldn’t bear to get rid of the car, but his grown children were mistreating it and his leaky roof needed replacement. After several redundant office visits and 1 full day of bureaucratic nonsense, Nick and I were cruising out to the countryside, title in hand and the shrunken head still hanging in the rear window (really). El Feo has custom wiring. For instance, the bright/dim switch is of the old foot-operated style, yet is located about 12 inches under and left of the steering wheel next to 2 custom switches for the headlights and instrument panel lights. This means two things. 1) If the road is bumpy (most are) and your seatbelt locks, you cannot reach it. 2) If you miss the switch ever so slightly, you disable all the cars lights at full speed and terrify the family you’re hauling back from nighttime church service. Also, the electric locks function… at will… so the spare keys have come in handy. El Feo has very special fuel injectors such that any application of the throttle beyond the most gentle will shroud would-be pursuers in an impenetrable screen of black smoke (hoping to fix that soon). We’ve got 850 miles together under our belt and continue to burn more diesel than oil. I don’t like red cars, but this one is growing on me.
than die of dengue. In fact, most cases produce flu-like symptoms at their worst, and many people never show symptoms at all. A little knowledge and/or common sense will prevent you from contracting dengue and getting run over by a bus. I think I was lacking in both on that fateful day when I rushed to visit a friend’s dad in the public hospital [read: trashy area in downtown Panama City] and did not dress properly or take any measure to protect myself while going to a place where sick people congregate en masse. I’m sure that’s where I got it. The Aedes thrives in trashy, urban areas and is a real home-body, usually traveling 50 or 60 yards at most from where it hatches, so outbreaks are localized and preventative measures, like not leaving stagnant pools of water around your house, sleeping naked in alleyways, or engaging in mosquito farming, are very effective on the prevention end of things.
