More pictures from the jungle!

More pictures of Camp Leakey...

Well... today it seems that the computers are not so lazy and seems that they are working right, so I'll try to upload a few more pictures...

The first one, is the celebration of "La diada Nacional de Catalunya" (special day in Catalonia's tradicion). It was the 11-september (yes, I know... the same day than the twin towers in NY, but it's just a coincidence). Well... the morning of the 11-s I took my "senyera" (the name of my country's flag) and I left the team house looking for a funny picture with some orangutan.... and I've founded a youngmale called Samson. He's very friendly, and he was been playing a few moments with the flag, and that's one of the pictures that I have with him and the Senyera, celebrating "la diada Nacional de Catalunya".

The other pictures I took them from the Klotok (the riverboat), on the way to Camp Leakey. There is a lot of monkeys, birds, beautiful trees... everything is beautiful... You should come and see it!

Back from Camp Leakey!

Wow!

Too much emotions in a few days... what should explain first??...

First we went to the "Care Center", the place where the new orphan orangutans arrive to take care on it. They will be there till they'll be not less than 6 or 7 years old. There are a lots and lots of young orangutans that arrive everyday from everywhere. Is so sad... but afortunately they are people like Orangutan Foundation who takes care about them and work hard to try to release again once they are enoug strong and ready to try to live in the jungle (but near the foundation's guys). There, in Care Center, we've been able to touch and hold on baby orangutans... it's something amazing to feel how strong they hold you... it's a shame that they will never feel the touch and the protection of her mother again...

We've been 5 days in Camp Leakey, the place that Orangutan Foundation has in the middle of Tanjung Puting National Park, like a center to release orangutans. There you can found all the peace that the jungle offers, and also, a group of released orangutans who live in the area near the camp. Some of the orangutans are living in Camp Leakey, but another ones only can be seen from time to time (they are free, so only go to the camp when they want, and as less they go to the camp is a good new, because that means that they are enoug selfeficient to look for food by themselves..)

Well... I've seen lots of them. From the riverboat, at the camp, at the feeding platform... lots! I'm so happy!

One day, "Princess", living legend of Orangutan Foundation (she was the first orangutan who learns how to talk with humans trough symbols, pictures and signs with her hands). Well...Princess was near the Team House (were we've been living in Camp Leakey), and when nobody was taking care of the door, she goes in. She takes a bag from one of the volunteers andtry to hide. I try to take the bag frm her hands, and "during the battle", she bites my leg. I will survive, but I promise... she's really strong!! Just a couple of minuites before that she bites me, I took a picture with her (the one which our faces are really close...), and just after the bite, we were friends again. No problem. No regrets!!

The day before, walking on the camp, we meet Akhmet and Atlas (th baby). They were really quiet and, surprisingly, Atlas left the mother for a moment and try to touch mi foot. Just a moment later, he walks from her mother to my leg and give a kiss to the bruce that the day before Princess makes me with a bite! Something amazing!

Today, coming back from Cam,p Leakey, It has been raining a lot, and my backpack is now completely wet. All my clothes, my sleeping bag, my books... everything is wet. But... welcome to the jungle!!!

2nd week... gone! Tomorrow: Camp Leakey!!!

I would like to seem really happy, but I can't. I was really happy and hoping to sit down and write about all the things that had happened during the last days, but after trying for 3 hours to use a computer (... yes, 3 hours!!!!) I can't be really happy. I've tryed 7 diferent computers, but today there's a conspiracy against me and the USB ports to connect my cards to upload the pictures. Internet is used to be REALLY slow on this countries, but I was not expecting to have this kind of problems with the USB... Finally, after a long time trying, I've founded a computer that seems (for the moment seems...) that wants to work (fingers crossed...)





Well... I don't know exactly what to say... since I've arrived to Borneo, I think that today is the first day without rain. Normally ir rains a little bit every day. It's suposed that on this moment of the year the rains should'nt be usuals, but... that's life... welcome to the jungle!!! The river now is maybe 40cm upper than the day when we arrived to the working place (the "pondock"), but we're still dry... (we try to be dry... but there's no way to dry our laundry... there's a lot of humidity in the atmosphere and the clothes smels horrible!)





When we arrive at the pondock, (the pondock is like a big campsite tent, just a provisional place to live on while people is working near by building another house), there was a building done (where we are slipping now), and another with only the floor and the roof. Since we arrived, we've cemented the walls, start painting, and now we are doing the doors and windows. It's supposed to be finished before that was expected at the beguinning, so maybe (MAYBE), when this site will be completely finished we'll go for a couple of days to another place to make something there. We'll be very pleasured to go there, because Dan (our coordinator) tolds us that there we'll be able to walk a little bit (now all the area where we're living and working is nsurrounded by 40-80 cm of water...). There the river is enoug far and the site is enouh high (from the river level) to not to have problems with water. The most exciting thing isnt't that one... the best thing is that there are orangutans!!! Maybe a population of 20-30 orangutans living on the area, so we'll be working and maybe watching them at the same time... I really want it!

Last days, also happened 2 important things... The first one, I that I have finally found a good book for me! Is the first time that I have finished a book in my life (I promise... the first time without missing pages or chapters...). The book talks about the global economy (I know... souds boring, but it isn't!!!) It's called "Economia liberal per a no economistes i no liberals", and the author is Xavier Sala i Martin (you can read some about him on his site http://www.columbia.edu/~xs23/Indexmuppet.htm I'm sure you'll agree most of the things he says in any of his articles!!! Enjoy it! The second thing is related to an special girl who received some flowers the other day... ;)

Tomorrow I'll go finally to Camp Leakey: the paradise inside the paradise! Finally I'll see orangutans again! I've been here for two weeks and I haven't seen any of them. A few monkeys from the riverboat, a few birds and thousands of insects!, but no orangutans for the moment. Tomorrow finally I'll see them again!. I hope next time I'll write again on this blog I'll be able to show you a few pictures of them... will be amazing... I promise!!!

Well... I've lost a lot of time trying to found a computer to write this, and now I have no more time to write. I hope next week my "internet experience" will be better... I mean "normal".





Have fun!

More pictures...

First week on paradise!

The first week has gone! Now just remaining 5 weeks on paradise...

I'm very glad to see that all the members of my team looks very nice. We are 12 volunteers, a coordinator (with girlfriend), 4 indonesian carpenters and Ibu Opit, the kitchen's queen!!! There's 3 couples on the group, but at the beguinning it seems not a problem. All the people on the group has been adapted perfectly to the jungle's conditions, and all of us are really happy (and that's really good!). We've been all the week cementing, sawing, chiseling... and looks that it will still be the same one or two more weeks... It has been raining everyday. Sometimes just a minutes, sometimes all day and all night long... but it's fine. By chance, we are working under the roof, because another volunteers before us start building the place where we are living and working now. When it will be finished, Orangutan Foundation will use this houses like a base camp on the jungle to start reintroducing young orangutans to the jungle. At the moment there's no orangutans there, but when it will be finished, a group of indonesian people will come here to live in and taking care (just a little bit) of the orphan orangutans that will live on this jungle on the future. Now this orangutans are on the care center, waiting to be enough adults to live "by their own" (at the beguinning will be impossible, because all of them have been living in cages in the care center since the moment that someone kill her mother. Killing her mother, the baby orangutan will never learn all the information that the old generations of orangutans habe been teaching generation after generation... information like what's good to eat and what is dangerous, when eat something and when not to eat it... or, for example, something as simple as "never touch a snake". This kind of knowledges the orphan baby orangutans will have to learn it bi his own, but it's the only way. There cannot be schools for orangutans... of course!

In this camp, indonesian people will give them a little bit of food every day, and also, the kind of basic medical assistance (just in case) and a few "human care"that they need, because they have been living with humans since become orphans, and provably now we are the most similar to "her mother", and it would be a litthe bit depressing for them lo let them by his own in the middle of nowere, alones... so the best way is let them free but with the possibility of human contact if they want... just the same that I saw in Camp Leakey last year... (and I'm really waiting to see and live again...)

Well... provably next week I'll have another rest day, to come again to the internet cafe and show you some of my pictures. For the moment, I think will be a little bit boring just see people working or playing cards, but the best pictures will come soon... Camp Leakey's waiting!!!

Also, I'll try to show more pictures with me... (I can't promise...)

Have fun!

I hope to be able to come here on the future, and see again this build finished and with some orangutans around it.

Tomorrow's the day!

We're so excited. Tomorrow's the jungle's day!

Normally on the first week of the programme, the volunteers spend a few days in Camp Leakey (the real paradise on the earth is here, into the Borneo's jungle... a place surrounded by the jungle. No cars, no motorbikes, no noises... only the sound of the jungle, the sound of the heaven. I've been there last year, and i'm so excited and frustrated at the same time (because I was expecting to go there tomorrow... not in 2 or 3 weeks...) But "no problem, my friend!".

Today we went to Yayorin. Yayorin is an indonesian NGO who try to teach the local comunities in sustainable ways of farming, and teaching them how to live in harmony with the environment, trying to avoid de constantly destruction of the jungle. Yayorin's people is a very friendly and smily people. It's nice to hear them talking. I was in Yayorin last year, and now I can ensure that they has grow a lot in just one year. It's good to see that a lot of small efforts can make a dream come true.

Tomorrow morning, after breakfast, we'll take a klotoc (typical indonesian riverboat) and we'll go to our next weeks home... in the middle of the paradise... under the heatest sun and the heaviest rain... that's the place I want to go, that's the place I would like to share with you... it's something magic. I have no words to explain how powerfull the jungle is inside me. Will wou want to come with me next year?