The Butterfly is Dead

Tuesday night was my first Pilates lesson. When we lived in California, Ron and I would go to Pilates twice a week. It was offered at our gym. We were good about being active then. After some investigating, I found a Pilates class in English, but the instructor was waiting to form a small group before starting out. 

When I arrived, I learned that I was the only student. One woman could only start on Thursday while another next Tuesday. The cost for ten lessons is 18,000 Huf, but one private lesson is over 3,000 Huf. I hit the exercise lottery! Of course, having developed an allergy to exercise, I did offer to wait for the others or maybe wait until she enrolled ten more. She was adamant about starting right away. 

One of the precepts with Pilates is to control your core strength through your abdominal muscles. The first command is to pull your stomach in as if your belly button were touching your back. I knew this from the past, but had forgotten. Now, the only way my belly button is ever going to meet my back is with the help of an archeologist, a pick-axe, and a whole lot of patience. I did the best I could under the circumstances, a mantra I learned well from my mother. She repeated it with every unpleasant life event anyone dared to reminiscence about in her presence. 

I am on the mat, following instructions. Keep the belly button in, make room for a butterfly to live in the space created there. The instructor was impressed with some of my hip movements and the ability to raise my legs in the air. I almost shared that these are muscle memory movements from trying to squeeze my body into pants that have apparently shrunk over time. There must be too much humidity in our wardrobe. All of the movement of trying to stuff too much sausage meat into an uncooperative casing was finally paying off. She loved the way I was able to twist and turn. All of the time I am tugging, pulling, stretching, flinging, and god knows what else, I was trying to avoid looking at the wall to wall mirrors that are showing this video of a tall fat guy in a loose gym suit making foolish movements. My instructor is giving breathing instructions like a coxswain in a rowing competition. "On this movement, breathe in, hold it and now release the breath as you return to regular posture. All the while, you are keeping your belly button pulled into your back, giving room for the butterfly to live."

In an upright or on my back position, this was too bad. It was when I had to turn on my stomach that the troubles started. Arms along your side, keep your belly button tucked in, lift your hips in the air, making a hole for the butterfly to live safely. She is still trying valiantly to pace my breathing, but I am huffing and puffing like an old steam engine that is ready to pull an overload of passenger cars up a mountain. Finally, she realized that we were out of sync. She said just keep your own pace. My own pace would have been alleviated with an oxygen mask in place, but who wants to look like a wimp on their first day of school?

By the end of the lesson, I felt energized, pleased with myself, thoroughly pleased with my instructor, and ready to return on Thursday, if I am allowed. Unfortunately, the butterfly never had a chance. It was smashed beyond recognition.

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Skyrail in the Rainforest and Kuranda Railroad - Cairns

Another day, another tour. Today we set out for the Rainforest Skyrail Cableway and Kuranda Railway. Once again, Andrew drove us to the resort to catch our shuttle, but then ran back home to transport all of the others to the airport. We will be the only guests for the rest of our stay.

The shuttle arrived promptly with a family of five on it and within twenty minutes had us at the boarding station for the Rainforest Skyrail. We had tickets for 10:15, but arrived at 9:50 and thought we had to wait it out. However, there was no one waiting in line, so they let us on early. We had a whole gondola to ourselves. The Skyrail Cableway is 7.5 km (4.66 miles). It glides just above the rainforest canopy; each tower was put in by helicopter so as not to disturb the environment. Swiss engineers were called in to design the system, which was completed in 1995 after one year of construction. Tower six is the tallest at 40.5 meters or 133 feet. There are 114 gondolas.

After boarding it took about fifteen minutes to reach the Red Peak station, the highest point on the cableway at 545 meters or 1,788 feet high, where you get out and explore the rainforest at this point along boardwalks. Umbrellas are provided for those who did not think to bring one. A guide met us and offered us a free walking tour as he pointed out a number of trees and facts about them and this area of the rainforest in general. He was quite impressive with his knowledge. After he completed his tour, we were free to roam the area before boarding another gondola to the next section.

In another fifteen minutes of hovering over this incredible site of millions of trees and plants, we arrived at the Barron Falls Station where again we were able to walk around a boardwalk to see and read about various plants and trees. At this station is the Rainforest Interpretation Center where there are a number of displays on the rainforest and its inhabitants both animal and vegetative. We learned that Australia's rainforests are the oldest continually surviving rainforests one earth, dating back 120 million years. This rainforest occupies 900,000 hectares. Australia's rainforests have 2,800 plant species, of which 380 are considered threatened. Seven hundred of them are not found anywhere else in the world.

Also calling the rainforest home is the Southern Carrowary, the largest flightless bird of Australia, two types of tree kangaroos, the primitive Musky Rat kangaroo, the largest butterfly of the continent, the Cairns Birdwing. There are three lookouts that provide a great view of Barron Gorge and Falls. We spent a good deal of time wandering here, before boarding another gondola for the balance of the journey.

At the end, we disembarked in the village of Kuranda. Very touristy, it is souvenir shops and restaurants galore. We had train tickets for the railroad going back down at 3:30, the last train of the day. There are only two of them and the earlier one is at 2:00. We went to the butterfly sanctuary to spend some time. We hesitated at the $16.00 entry fee per person, but once in, realized it was well worth the money. There are over 2,000 butterflies of various species at any given time. After ten minutes in we were offered a free guided tour. Our guide explained the details of half a dozen different breeds of butterflies, their life stages, their sex life, colorations, and so on. The amount of information was incredible, but the beauty of the Ulysses butterfly with its vibrant blue wings outshone anything she had to say. Two of them landed on her chest. She was wearing a white t-shirt with a Ulysses butterfly on it. There is also a large green species that I cannot recall the name of that was an incredible emerald green. At the end of the tour in the butterfly area, she took us into the museum to show us butterflies of the world. Mother nature is quite the artist. Some had wings that when opened looked like snake heads to thwart their enemies.

We really ran through the village concerned about missing the train, but actually arrived with almost three quarters of an hour to spare. With assigned seats on the railway, we boarded. The seating is cushioned bench type seating with four seats across from four seats across. We were on the end with the aisle, not providing the best views. No air conditioning made it hot and steamy, so everyone opened every window in the car, but as the female conductor came through, she closed them all again. The ride is twenty-one miles long, but takes one hour and forty-five minutes to complete. It is considered one of the most scenic rail journeys in the world and would be if we had seats that did not look out on rock sidings. We passed through Barron Gorge National Park passing gorges and waterfalls on the way. It rises to a height of 1,076 feet and makes its way through fifteen tunnels before concluding the trip. It was built by hand in the late 1880s taking five years to complete through the work of 1, 500 men working on the construction. The steam engine was retired two years ago along with some of the romance of the trip.

We took it all the way to Cairns where we thought we would have dinner and avoid another take-out menu dinner. The rain was coming in sheets here too, so we tried staying under awnings as much as possible. As we walked, we noticed the sky was littered with the bats we saw hanging from the trees on our last time here. At dusk they were flying the friendly skies looking for their meals. At times, sections of the sky were black with bats.

Not being able to decide where to eat, we wandered into one of the street markets. In the back was a food court, so Ron had fish and chips and I had Chinese. We had fifteen minutes to catch our bus, so we ran for it otherwise the next one would not be for another hour.

After fifteen minutes on the bus, the driver pulled over and told us he was letting all of us out in the rain. We had to board the bus behind him. The back bus took a different route than we were used to and for a few minutes we thought we were in trouble. When Ron asked the driver, he explained he was a local route, not an express, so there would be more stops. Trying to find our stop in the dark is challenging, but each driver has been patient enough to drive slowly when we think it is approaching.

By the evening now, it is pouring rain in buckets, but still that pool is calling out to us and the water is warm. It would be rude to decline such a gracious offer.

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Shop Until We Drop For a Cause

No temples, no tuk-tuks waiting, we wandered over to the Blue Pumpkin for breakfast and to finish our Internet work. We were lucky enough to find a table on the patio right next to an electric outlet. Strangely, I checked our Bank of America account and there was no record of the $299.48 being deducted that they sent me the alert on. Maybe this is one battle I will not have to battle when we return. The other interesting thing was that when Ron used his ATM card, even though he put in he wanted to deduct the money from our checking account, the money actually was taken from his B of A credit card as a cash advance. I was able to pay the bill immediately so they could not get any interest charges tacked on. We will have to fix this matter when we return. There is something about knowing you have to go back to fight bank battles that puts a crimp in a vacation. Perhaps the Internet is not the blessing we believe it is.

We set today aside as a day for shopping and possibly a massage. There was absolutely nothing we wanted to buy in Malaysia and we do love to add trinkets from our trips to our apartment. Not only do we love being surrounded by the memories, but each and every bed and breakfast guest loves seeing the things we have acquired from various trips. Sometimes, it is creates an opportunity to share travel ideas for them and for us, too.

Being both of us were former social workers, we were drawn to the craft centers that had a social justice underlying theme. We found a craft training center where children are tested for talents and then are given apprenticeships in various cultural crafts such as silk weaving and wood or stone carving. We did a tour of the school annex here in Siem Reap; the main school is in Phnom Penh. We were able to see students carving, sanding, creating lithographs, and so on. There is a gift shop on the premises.

Another shop we found was run for the Cambodian disabled who had learned crafts. This shop sold their goods. We found a coconut teapot to add to our teapot collection. Along the way, we found some fun t-shirts with the Khmer language on it, not one I would like to try learning. We picked up some pillow covers to replace some old ones we have. Then of course, we found some small gifts for friends.

Neither the disabled nor elderly receive any governmental funds, making life difficult for them to survive. One of the schools started with the craft training programs is one dedicated to deaf children. As the sign said, they are ostracized here and this is a way for them to fend for themselves economically.

We had read about the Butterfly Café that is surrounded by mesh and there are varieties of butterflies flitting all around. There is a double door to keep them from getting out. We went for a drink after finding it across the river and off of the beaten track. For the hour we sat there, we saw three butterflies. Guess it is not the season and the workers did not speak enough English to question them. It was disappointing, but an interesting concept.

Ron had read about a massage service offered by blind massage therapists. They have been specially trained in order to support themselves. We found a couple of places advertising this service, but went to the one in the guide. Ron opted for a massage, while I waited outside. They do have seeing people taking the money. He said it was a lot of acupressure type massage where she seemed to be checking for auras. He could ‘feel’ her hand gliding over his body until she felt something and then stopped and massaged that area. For $7.00 for an hour, you cannot beat it and it is helping those trying to help themselves.

We have been in and out of the hotel room all day, dropping off things and then taking off yet again. It has been a fun day with little bags of goodies piling up, but finding space for it in the luggage and then the weight concern will be another story. As Scarlett O’Hara said “I will worry about that tomorrow.”

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Mother Memory

My mother loved butterflies; she had them all over. One day in April, she was on my mind quite often during the day and this appeared on a pillow in our living room.

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Kookerboom Forest

Today was an early wakeup day for everyone at 6:00 am. We have communal showers here, men on one side and women on the other. I showered last night, though the only people I would have had to share with would be Ron and Hans, but I avoided the rush. I appreciate my private time with a hot shower. We need to be on the road by 7:00.

After traveling through the Kalahari, our first stop is the Kokerboom forest of strange trees, called the quiver trees ( http://www.encounter.co.za/article/88.html). The bushmen would cut through their hard bark and use the spongy inside for quivers for their arrows. For the trees to survive, they have to grow tall enough that animals cannot eat their leaves. If their leaves are eaten, the tree dies. Contradictorily, the tree is very slow growing, so it is almost impossible for the trees to survive, but some do. The trees we are walking amongst are 150 to 200 years old. It took us four hours to reach this forest, but it was pretty amazing.

Within this forest, there was one bush that was delectable to butterflies. It was loaded with them, making the bush look like a Christmas tree with twinkle lights on it as the butterflies flapped their wings open and closed. They were white with a black streak on each wing. Interspersed were a couple of orange ones, but different from Monarch butterflies.

John and Bruce found a slow leak on yet another tire and they tried getting the other spare off to replace it. We all stood by the bathrooms in the Quiver tree forest in the shade while they slaved away, but to no avail. The spare was rusted on and would not budge with all of their yanking, pulling, and banging. They even tried pouring a can of Coca-Cola on it since rumors have always said it will remove rust. It did not in our allotted time period, so either we are too impatient or it is indeed a myth.

When the consensus was that the tire was not going to get fixed at this afternoon stop, we drove the next three hours at a slower speed, finally causing the tire to actually go flat. We pulled up to the side of the road and Bruce put up an overhang on the side of the truck giving some shade and he fixed lunch. When life gives you lemons, make lunch with them. We ate, the crew worked on the truck’s tire yet again. Regardless of their stamina, patience and ideas, the tire was not about to be removed after their constant struggles for an hour’s time.

While this was happening, Doris started to develop some reactions to the Malaria medications and needed some medical attention. Bruce told us we would have to make a diversion to get her medical care, but none of us care about that, we were more concerned about Doris. We were forced to drive with one bad tire, but it sounded like John was having a difficult time getting the truck into first gear. We thought it would be about an hour to get to a clinic, but it was more like two with our impeded mobility due to the tire. We finally pulled up to a Wimpy’s service center, where we were dropped off. Bruce called the hospital and arranged a ride for Doris. While we were snacking and relaxing in air conditioning, the garage was able to fix the tire and Doris was driven back to meet us. It is now close to 5:00 and the overcast sky that we have had all day is getting darker, threatening an impending storm is nearby. There was a photo on the wall of Wimpy’s that showed the flood they had one year ago. Half of Wimpy’s was under water. We are supposedly only 20 km from our resting place for this evening.

An hour and a half later, we were on the road again; we stopped in a small Namibian town with a Spar supermarket. This really surprised me that here in Africa, in this small village of 2,000 people, they would have a Spar with scanners at the check outs like in Budapest and other European cities. What was even more shocking was to see a restaurant with “Belaton Hungarian Take Away Food”.

Our schedule has gone askew from the itinerary a bit due to the different circumstances that had not been planned for. We are at our accommodation near the dam, where we are again four to a cottage and we are sharing with Jean and Omo. We work well together and this is a good arrangement, hopefully for all of us, if we have to share at all. This cottage is really basic, though it has two bedrooms and each has two beds, the kitchen has no supplies at all. The bathroom is without toilet paper and none of us have any, so we had to yell for Bruce to come to our rescue. We seemed to be the unlucky ones; all the other cabins are supplied with it.

Dinner was at Bruce’s cabin, where we sat around and talked for some time after dinner. When we walked back to our cabin, it was black out. It was difficult to see each other walking side by side. We had forgotten our flashlights in the suitcases, like forgetting an umbrella when rain is predicted. We minced our way back, taking small steps, not to trip and fall. As we were approaching our cabin, we heard rustling sounds followed by clomping. Our hearts beat faster, and Ron yelled “Hello”, but nothing responded back. The sounds continued and we forced our steps faster and faster to our door. As we put the key in the lock and were about to turn it, we heard “Have a good night” from the security guard who was walking by.

Today’s mileage was 450 km totaling 1440 km thus far.

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