Holy S*&! I'm in the Amazon!

Two plane rides, one 4-hour delay, one boat ride and I'm now sitting in the middle of 2 million acres of untouched Amazon.

Everyone sitting down? They have internet.

I know, I know, hard to believe but satellites are a wonderful thing. I'm living with two other women and a long nosed bat, yes a bat, in a beautiful cabin overlooking a marsh (it's usually a lagoon but we're in the dry season)

I've been told my electronics have been cursed that's why I can't upload my photos right now, but should be able to do so when I get back to Quito. By no means am I in any position to question that.

The coffee is instant, the eggs were cold, the company is wonderful and this is defiantly an experience of a lifetime. Currently, and I mean as I type there is a board of directors meeting with the president of the whole nation. I honestly feel very honored to be on a first name basis with a man who has the responsibility of the preservation of his people and land on his shoulders.

Kapawi http://www.kapawi.com/ is an amazing place. Not only because it's nestled amongst almost 7000 Achuar people but the backdrop, visual and audio, of the Amazon is extremely impressive. Have you ever landed on a dirt airstrip? Well I can cross that off my list.

Back to the bat. Batty, as I call him, is small maybe 3 inches in length and 1 1/2 in width. Now I have not see his wingspan but I'm sure he gets bigger. I thought he was a baby but apparently he's full grown. Also, there a bats here that are 1 1/2 - 2 feet long (not counting wingspan). Yeah barf. Anyway, had to get over that or I was not going to sleep. I heart mosquito nets/anti bat nets.

From what I have been told, because of the change in the global environment, the predators of the bats in this area have reduced in number. Therefore, in recent times, the staff has seen an increase in bats throughout the area.

How can I explain that the bad decisions of millions of people thousands of miles away are causing the problem with the bats here? How can I explain that to myself. That my unrecycled bottle, the extra television in my house, the car I once owned, the plastic bag from my grocery store are all factors that has and will directly impact this land I'm standing in, these people who have opened their homes to me, and will threaten the peaceful lives they have lived for thousands of years.

I need to think about that for a while, and it is also exactly why I'm here, instead of doing something to perpetuate this behavior I'm here to help others change it. I am hear to help these people to better run their business.