as i sit here, i can feel the muscles in my back and neck ache with every movement. it is a wonderful feeling, not because it reminds me of my ineptitude at athleticism, but rather it brings memories of TWO days of wakeboarding this week.
cruising down the river when it is too hot to do anything else... passing palm trees, lilypads and simple fishermen, taking the wakeboard for a rip... is pretty much paradise.
i could tell i wasn't in canada anymore when i jumped out of the boat and riki said "just don't stand. there's lots of those flat fish, you know, the ones that hurt??"
"stingrays?!" i reply, looking uneasily at the water while trying to appear very, very cool. "don't those things kill people? i mean, isn't that how steve irwin died?"
but the boys assured me that the stingrays here don't kill people, they only hurt. a lot.
phew.
after this, riki, went on to assure me that i didn't need to worry about stingrays, but...
"but what?" i ask in a high-pitched voice, trying to stare harder into the watery depths and discover my marine enemies.
"um, i'll tell you when you're done wakeboarding" he replies.
great.
so i discover after my wakeboard run (where i crossed the wake for the first time!!! ... only took me four years! keeps this up and i'll be doing backflips by the time i''m 102) that last year they found a boa constrictor in the river where we were. "no big deal, that's pretty rare", i was informed before they went on to tell me about the boa constrictor found in mercado cuatro where i was on saturday. rare? really?
and how bout them piranhas? daniel reassured me that they only bite once.
suddenly wakeboarding on the dirrrrty red seems so safe. i mean, all you'll get there is dead creatures and infections. but they don't bite...
on another note, i said my goodbyes at alto refugio on friday, a bit of a sad occasion. i got smooched a LOT (another reminder i'm not in canada), and everyone was so sweet and lovely. actually, all the people i've met so far in paraguay have been very welcoming and hospitable. what a wonderful culture that is based around sharing a common cup (or bombelia), kissing when you arrive and when you leave, and being generally "tranquilo".
i feel nothing but loved out here, and genuinely appreciate all the warm, friendly people i've met.
and now i'm off to siesta... or to bake a cake. we'll see.
hope all's well in canada.
idea: you could comment and let me know how it's all going where you are (hint hint wink)
love!