MUNGO EATS Latin America

This morning we left Puno and Peru behind.  We were in Peru for quite a while, about 6 weeks total.  That is the longest we have been in one country since Guatemala!

Apparently, leaving Peru is just as easy as entering Peru, minus the guys in sweat pants and the chickens running around the office.  It took us less than 5 minutes to check out of the country.  Speedy fast!  We got back to the van and the kids said “That’s it?”.  You see they are used to it taking hours!! It was almost as easy to get into Bolivia…almost.  Immigration was a breeze, walk in, stamp the passports, walk out.    We had to wait about 20 minutes for the customs guys to get back from their lunch, but as soon as they were back, we were processed quickly.  We then wandered around to see if we could find the agriculture office to check Mungo in.  We couldn’t see an office, so we asked some policemen standing at the gate if we needed papers for our perro to enter the country.  Unfortunately, the official misunderstood me and pointed back to Peru and said, “Peru is that way.”.  No…perro, not Peru!!!  Apparently, dogs don’t require paperwork to enter Bolivia.  The officer at the gate told us that we had to register our vehicle with the police though, and could we please proceed to the office over there.    Okay, no problem.  The officer wrote down our vehicle info and then we were asked to pay 10 soles, which we are pretty sure just went into the pockets of the cops.  We were not in the mood to argue, especially since there were a couple of Argentinians in the office when we first walked in, who were paying their little bribe.  If they could not talk their way out of a bribe, then it was unlikely we would be able to. 

We were finally done with our paperwork and went back to the gate to get let into the country.  This time there were no policemen standing by the gate.  We waited a while and then watched as another car weaseled it’s way through the semi-open gate.  Okay, I guess we can do that too, but the gate needs to be opened a little more.  So I jumped out, opened the gate, and let Kevin drive through.  Welcome to Bolivia!  Tonight we are in Copacabana, a little resort-ish sort of town on the edge of Lake Titicaca.  We only plan to be here for one night, then off to La Paz.  We checked out the basilica, that holds a famous statue, the Virgin of Copacabana.  Pilgrims flock by the thousands to see her, usually in February.  No pictures allowed in the church, so no picture of the Virgin (although, I am pretty sure I was the ONLY visitor that read the signs).  There was a group of people, dressed in very elaborate costumes, dancing in front of the church, not sure why.  They were twirling funny silver fish as they danced.

Here is a little coincidence.  When we came back from supper, there was a little note stuck on our windshield from the motorcycle boys we made tea for on our way to Machu Picchu.  Seems they are in this little town too.  I think they are following us.  You should never feed strays!!

To visit Machu Picchu, most people take the train to Aquas Calientes or hike the Inca Trail. The train ride to Aquas Calientes can start at Cusco, Urubamba, or Ollantaytambo; it all depends on how much time you have and how much you want to spend.

We did it a different way: drive to the hydroelectric plant near Santa Teresa and then follow the tracks the back way into Aquas Calientes:

View

Machu Picchu in a larger map

Well folks, I was hoping to be writing to you about the Uros Islands, the famous floating reed island of Lake Titicaca, which I was supposed to visit today, but my plans ended up  changing, on account of a certain hound!

The first night that we stayed in Puno, we stayed in a hostel.  It was okay, it was late, and it accepted our dog, so we stayed.  We started looking for another place to hang our hat for a few days, the following morning.  Our guide book gave us the name of a popular hostel, so we went in search of it.  For some reason though, no one answered the door to this hostel.  Luckily(?) there was another hostel next door, so we inquired there, got two rooms and moved in.  We were in the rooms for less than 5 minutes when the owner stormed in and asked us what the heck we were doing in his place with a dog?? (even though we told the receptionist we had a dog when we were enquiring about the rooms).  So the hunt was on again.  We passed a hotel, that looked pretty nice and thought we would try it for the heck of it, fully expecting a rejection.  It was a heck of a lot nicer than the hostel we were kicked out of, for it seemed about the same price.  They were fine with Mungo, and even gave us 2 special rooms, with a patio separating them, for Mungo to enjoy.  As we were parking our car in the garage, the young frontdesk clerk informed us that the rooms were $70.00/night each (not 70 soles, as we had assumed), so we were really paying 3 times as much as the yucky hostel that kicked us out.  Oh well, it was a beautiful hotel, they were willing to give Mungo a patio, we were parked and the trailer was unhitched, we were staying. 

All went well until we returned from supper.  When we leave Mungo in a hotel room, we leave him in his kennel, so that he is calmer and is less likely to wreck anything.  The kids let him out of his kennel and he decided to pee on the floor.  YIKES!!  Okay, it was a laminate floor and we cleaned it thoroughly and all was fine.  I wasn’t really sure why he peed.  It was a little late, but really, Mungo has a bladder of steel, he has held his urine for 15 hours before, and not even been in a rush to pee. (I don’t make him do this regularly, but he has).  It was after 9 pm, the time of his usual “last of the night pee”, so we just went to bed.  Our bed, by the way, was a HUGE king sized thing, with a super comfy mattress, and a nice down duvet…LUXURY!  It was so big, there was even room for a large hound on  it!  Well, imagine my horror when I awoke 2 HOURS later, with the down duvet TOTALLY SOAKED with dog urine.    NOOOOO!!!!  Can’t hide that, can’t clean that up on my own, have to confess to that sin.  So I strip the bed, throw Mungo in his kennel, and get dressed so that I can trek down to the van and find some antibiotics to give him, assuming that he has a bladder infection.

We had booked tickets to visit the Uros and other surrounding islands, and we were supposed to be ready to go at 7am.  We were to return at 5 pm.  This meant that Mungo would have to hold his pee for at least 10-11 hours.  That is not going to happen with a bladder infection.  I didn’t sleep a wink all night.  I knew that I would not be visiting the islands, but also I was dreading having to speak to someone in the morning about my very naughty dog!!!!  In Spanish!!

Morning (5:30 am), came very, very early.  We got Mungo out for a pee,and he really didn’t seem terribly distressed, but I also discovered that he had peed in his crate overnight.  Great!  I gave him another dose of antibiotics and then waited for a manger to come into work, so that I could give her the bad news.  That was a fun chat!!  Actually, she was very nice and calm about it and said she would find out if the quilt could be cleaned or had to be replaced.  My plan was to take Mungo out every 2 hours or so, and hopefully avoid any further accidents, while we waited for the antibiotics to work their “magic”.  The problem was, as we were walking about, Mungo seemed to get worse, not better.  He started urinating more and more frequently, and seemed more and more uncomfortable.  GREAT!  The antibiotics did not seem to be doing the trick.  I decided to try to track down a vet and see if we could do a few basic tests (a urinalysis would be nice).  However, it would seem that was out of the question.  Apparently, no one is willing to pay for that type of testing in Puno, Peru, so it does not exist.  This is something that I could do myself, without the help of a lab, if I was at home.  The vet didn’t even own a microscope!!  Okay, so we switched to plan B.  If the drugs were not really helping and he was getting worse, might as well add a second drug or switch from one drug to the next.  Good plan!  So I buy a second drug, and as I am paying for it, Mungo decided to yack in the vet store (really it wasn’t an office).  It was a little warm out, he had been walking in the sun, maybe he was a little overheated?  I don’t know, I take my pills and head out the door. 

I only went a little ways before I decided to give him the second drug.  There!  Start working your “magic” second drug.  It was not to be though.  Shortly after giving him the second drug, he yacked it up as well.  GREAT!  Now there is no drug in his system AND he is starting to pee blood!!!   Stupid dog!!!  so back to the vets we go.  The first vet, did not really foster a lot of confidence, so I stopped at the next clinic up the road, three or four doors down.  This guy acts a little more like a real vet.  He actually takes a history, and “kind of” examines Mungo, although he never did get close to his head (despite my reassurances that he does not bite).  He decided to give Mungo an injection of wonder drug number two, that he can’t yack up.  Good plan!  He has to go borrow some syringes from his neighbour though, ran out of his own it seems.  By the way, Mungo throws up 3 more times in his office.  We also decide to give him an antiinflammatory injection and one to address the barfing (which I now attribute to a reaction with drug number one).  I administer drug number two and three because the vet is worried that Mungo will bite him.  Now I have a barfing dog, that can’t walk more than 3 steps without squatting to pee (yes, my boy dog squats!).  I ask the vet if Mungo can stay overnight in the “clinic”, but I am told, that there are no cages, and if he was to keep Mungo overnight, he would have to keep him at his house, which he is reluctant to do, because he might bite his children!!  HE DOESN’T BITE!  By the way, three injections an exam, and a consultation set me back about $15 US.  You couldn’t even buy a bag of treats from a clinic in Calgary for that!

Now I am not sure what to do.  I can’t really go back to the hotel.  Mungo would never even make it through the lobby without squatting.  My only option is to go hang out in the van, wait for the drugs to kick in and hope he gets better.  It was a long walk to the van with Mr. Squatty Yacky pants, let me tell you. 

But, I think he is feeling better.  He has only urinated one in the past 3 hours, has not thrown up once, so the drugs must be helping.  I called him a stupid dog, but really I feel terribly bad for him.  I have had a bladder infection and it is just plain painful!!  Then add to the problem a reaction to antibiotics…Poor guy!!  It was so frustrating to know what I would do if I was back home, and to have so little control of things on the road.  Everyday, I am more and more grateful for what I have left behind!!!

We left Cusco today.  We were planning on leaving today anyway, the chores were all done and we had seen what we wanted to see.  Truthfully though, even if we weren’t planning to leave today, we likely would have left anyway.  I said that it was raining a lot in Cusco, but last night surpassed all other rain.  The grassy lawn of the campsite was submerged under a couple of inches of rain and we had resorted to walking around in the rain in bare feet because squishy footwear is just no fun to walk around in.  We were happy once more that we had four wheel drive, otherwise getting out of the yard would have been difficult.  So, as we left Cusco, we were bemoaning the fact that the campground was in such poor shape.  Half an hour later, we felt guilty for complaining. 

As we left the city, we were stopped on the highway for about 1/2 an hour.  We assumed that there was another mudslide, or water on the road.  We did not expect to find a full out flood.  There was water on the road.

There was water in the fields.

There was water in the ditches.

And there was water in peoples houses, so much so that several houses had collapsed.  The residents saved what little they could from their homes and headed for higher ground.

And  we were complaining about wet shoes!!!!  Makes you feel awfully bad!

As we left the valleys, we started to see precipitation of another kind…snow!

Remember, we have seen snow in Ecuador and Peru, but this time it was close enough to touch.  And the kids insisted that  we did stop and touch it.  Yep, South American snow feels just like North American snow!

Makes a great snowball too!

Tonight we are in Puno, on the shores of Lake Titicaca.  We got into town late, so tomorrow we will start exploring. 

    Jup liro reeto kezen irutenteekreidirutenfasek irutenteekreidirutenmits irutenteekreidiruten witen Noznoseish.  Scrat(Sean sop jup) insid stort grapodig.  Jup liro pravia babsif, kezjupen!  Kog, teg, sot, lom, ors, gof, arm, zek, jup, guj, kez, gol, bos, erm, oop, som, narc, bor, pous, rew, guh, kov, wox, xow, poy, bew.  Stit!  Terlisan jup lirosef pravia fis degiv yoqris.  Kijed.

I TASTE LIKE CHICKEN

I can count to nine hundred ninety-nine million nine hundred ninety-nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine in Noznoseish.  We(Sean and I) made this language.  I can do the alphabet! A, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z.  Yes!  But I can’t do it very fast.  Yet.

   I did this because I was bored and because Sean and I wanted to be able to talk in code with me.  Now he doesn’t know it as well as I do.  He just asks me how to say certain things when he wants to say something in Noznoseish.  Like at supper yesterday, “How do you say ‘octopus’ in Noznoseish?”.  For anyone who cares to know, it is “raseto”.  Then Sean said “Jup kobles rasetos”.  “I will eat octopi”.