The Cat That Died In Puerto Lopez and Was Resurrected Later That Night or Erin´s Ill-Fated Trip to Puerto Lopez that Underwent a Revival at Night

"Look underneath the house there
Find the few living things
Rotting fast in their sleep of the dead"

While working at the orphanage, I took a break on the advice of Carolina, a local biologist (the same woman who owns the land around the orphanage and preserves it for the monkeys) and went to Peurto Lopez. Puerto Lopez is located in Machalilla National Park, which is one of the largest remaining areas of coastal forest. While riding on the bus with Carolina, she was able to tell me all about the land and wildlife of the park, as well as the efforts to protect the park from poachers and other damage. She encouraged me to take a tour out to Isla de la Plata the next day. Isla de la Plata is often referred to as "the poor man´s Galapagos" in guide books, but Carolina explained that it deserves its own credit. Unlike the Galapagos, it is the only place where all three species of boobie (blue footed, red footed and white) exist together.

I left the orphanage in a hurry in order to catch the next bus to Puerto Lopez, therefore I did a very poor job of packing the small back pack I took with me. I made it to Puerto Lopez without a hat, a long sleeve shirt, or a swim suit. When I realized this, I wondered a little if I am really capable of traveling down here or if I have just had good luck so far. I also thought of a few other miscellaneous items I needed and I needed to sign up for a tour to the island. Once I got to my hostel, I set out to take care of these errands -- or at least attempt to. Upon leaving my otherwise pleasant hostel, I noticed a pretty white cat sleeping in the outdoor common area. I bent down to pet the cat, and when I did, the cat didn´t move. I stood up and watched the cat, but didn´t see it breath. I had several thoughts at that point: "eww, I touched a dead cat," "this hostel would be pretty nice if only someone would move the dead cat," and "the poor owners. . . maybe they don´t know their cat is dead." The cat became a metaphor for how the rest of my evening went.

First, I was unable to find a tour that was actually leaving the next day. Then I had to go to four or five different stores to find what would be common items in the States -- a black pen, ear plugs, face soap and something to take care of the strange heat rash I had developed upon arriving at the coast. I didn´t even attempt to deal with my lack of clothing. I have noticed that I become rather mercurial being in a foreign country. For example, when I attempted to mail a package from Latacunga, I had multiple problems finding a box, finding tape and getting the post office to agree to mail the package-- during this fiasco, I would go from being totally hopeless, to ridiculously proud that I did something as simple as buy tape. After I successfully mailed the package it felt like I had won the lotto. I had similar mood swings while attempting to run errands in Puerto Lopez. Eventually, however, I found some of the items I needed and found out that I could probably add on to a tour more successfully in the morning. All of a sudden, my night got a lot better with just a little luck and success. Fittingly, when I got back to the hostel at the end of the night, the cat (whom I had passed several times and was still dead for the whole afternoon and evening) was magically resurrected! I kid not. It was now a totally normal standing, moving, meowing cat now that the sun had gone down. Seems like the night was looking up for both of us. Maybe the sun was as hard on the cat as it has been on me.

In the morning I succeeded in joining a tour to Isla de la Plata. It was definitely worth the trip. I even met two other students from UW in the group! How strange. But not as strange as meeting a girl in Baños who grew up in Moscow, Idaho.

I tried for a Sufjan-esque title for you Conor.