Thursday, February 19, 2009

Field Journal - Day Seven

Difongo
N03º28.754’
E024º17.699’

It’s just as well that we were delayed by the morning rain -- most of the local trackers were otherwise occupied by the harvest today so we wouldn’t have been able to get much done.

In fact, after the rain, there was a mass village exodus to the “fields”! A cold isolation crept over our tiny site, and with the cool brought on by the rain, Adam and I hid in our tent for warmth and shelter.

The sun did finally come out so we did some impromptu laundry, washing mostly just underpants using a tea mug filled with water (there are no big plastic buckets here) -- we are certainly not Hotele Mondeles!

We socialized a bit with the local chief, who were are living in extreme proximity to (orchestrated by Polycarpe to ensure our safety).

No one could believe that Adam and I are both Americans, though, because we look “so different”!! It was indeed a difficult sell, explaining that nearly EVERYONE in America looks different!

Oh, what a different perspective here!

With the rain cooling things down, the weather is now feeling perfect and balmy. Walking out to the “toilet” -- I surprised a group of guenons who chirped at me alarmedly throughout my pee.

What a life this is!

I’ve taught all our workers how to play Egyptian Rat Screw -- a card game whose skill I honed to perfection during rest periods at my all-girls’ school.

Simple enough to pick up, the guys really took to it and we’re enjoying our “rain delay” ... and waiting for Polycarpe to return so we can discover what he encountered!

And while we were in camp, another local man (the owner of the ONLY dog I’ve seen out here) said that there was yet another population of chimps about 15km out!

So, another verification mission and more excitement of potential discovery!!

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