Marcos checked out the spoon wood that came from the stream, and he says he isn’t sure what kind it is, but if it’s the bad toxic one, apparently it isn’t that bad. If it burns, the smoke makes your eyes water (and it smokes a lot, apparently), but once dried most of the toxic properties are gone. So, we’re all still hoping for a second opinion and I am feeling more optimistic about it.We have a lot of that wood cut up, ready to burn… we’ll have to wait and see what others have to say about it. Marcos says there are a few kinds of wood that look similar.
Another dung beetle!
And more flying wonders...
Yesterday Jess, Maggie, and I hiked up the stream quite a ways to find a swimming hole Jess remembered from the last time she was here (a couple of years ago). She came soon after Kim and Marcelo had moved here, and the kitchen had only just been built. Our trek yesterday was the first time I have ever hiked naked, and it was so fun- it was sunny and warm, and we were walking up the stream in the cool.
It seems to be the easiest way to get around- by hiking up the stream bed itself. After mudding more of the house today, I was covered in little mud splotches (I learned that the word for polkadots is lunacitas) from the impact of the mud balls as we throw them at the house. They splatter into place, and then we use the heel of our hand to smoosh it all flat and upward, encouraging it to stick to the wall. In order to do this, we first have to “paint” the wall with mud (to make a good surface for sticking), and then we throw mud on, from the bottom upward, smooshing every now and then until it’s a good first layer. We let that dry a bit, stipple it with polka dots with our fingers (so the next layers have something to cling to), and then leave it for the next round (which will be in three days).
Coop, making our daily bread:
And our second attempt at queso cremoso... which also did not work. It was delicious anyway, but the texture was like parmesan floating in liquid. Oops.
We didn’t get Tuesday off this week because it’s carnival and everything was closed. Instead, we get tomorrow and Friday off- a whole two days in a row!
Marcelo, manning the fire:
I’ve been trying to decide whether I should make a big trip somewhere, like Posadas or the Jesuit ruins in Saint Ignatio, but I have been having a hard time motivating to do it because I feel tired. We have been working hard, and it has been hot in the daytimes and chilly at night. We haven’t had rain since the day we left for Iguazu, and I think we would all be excited for the change of pace if we did. But still, it has been lovely here. 
It’s feeling really different between the change of the seasons and the change in interns, and I feel like we’re beginning to find our way and congeal a bit more as a group. I’m glad for that, but it’s still strange to have two such different experiences side-by-side. I like the challenge of it. I feel like I am being given the chance to learn a lot about myself in relation to other people, and for that I am grateful.
If you want peanut butter, you're going to have to fight these ladies for it. Watch out! They're cute but feisty!
Lulu has decided that one of her favorite places to sit is on the camp fire circle... which is pretty cute.
Oh my gosh, the pizza everyone made tonight was insanely good! I hope we have it every day. Spectacular in every way! It's a good thing we made enough dough for 8 pizzas!
Merriment at dinner...
and our diligent oven master:
I had to snap this cake photo quickly; it disappeared so fast!
And after our amazing fiesta there was much singing and music playing around the fire. No fiesta in the jungle would be complete without it!
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