Day 52 - Ketapang Borneo - Operation Blister and Spicy food magnum challenge

It was all go again today after breakfast. Jaye has developed some rather nasty blisters on his feet from the gum boots, plasters fail out here due to the constant sweating. Rebecca being a paramedic at home took my Audi medical kit (it's come in handy twice so far, so thanks Audi) to bandage his feet up. We all found this rather amusing so Aleta filmed it like it was an emergency situation, Vicky was commentating and Aleta was asking the patient and paramedic their thoughts, we were hysterical! 

Eventually we made it to work and the temperature was ever on the increase the walk up from the bus was grueling. We had a few little bits to tidy up at the island to enable the film crew to do a few last shots as they leave today. 

We lunches early then headed to varnish on mass. I don't think any of us wanted to go to the island this afternoon as it was just so hot. Vicky and I set up camp sat on the floor working in tandem varnishing the fence poles. Suddenly there was a call for our masks and the vets came out to retrieve an Orang in the cages we were working by. 

Feet away from them, I got some good shots, he was being walked to the vet clinic for a follow up after some tests such as TB so he can be released onto an island, that's why his eyes are swollen and there is a bold patch on his back where a tracker has been inserted. 

Although the afternoon was long at least it was in the shade and we finished off the fence posts for the island. We managed to finish early but were held back by Carmella for a group photo with the permanent staff here. 

Tonight was Nigel's last night so he treated us to dinner at a lovely waterside restaurant. I was set a double magnum challenge to eat the same as the other night here as it was hotter. Of course I accepted and completed even licking the plate clean. My face was on fire and I had lip and eyelid sweat but the magnum cooled it down after. 
                                        

Day 51 - Ketapang Borneo - Extreme heat and cementing

I managed to blag a lift with Kristi today on the bike which was lovely, a rare chance out here to feel positively cool, in a temperature sense.

We got to work early enabling us some wifi time while the others arrived, I was meant to be downloading some new tunes but the Internet cut out. 

Eventually after a few errands the others arrived and we set off. The film crew were in full force today so getting out to the island was a longer process than normal trying not to get in their way while carrying wood on your shoulders is not as easy as it sounds, especially as one guy was in the water filming upwards as we crossed the log bridge.

I opted for concrete today and had a helper, Katrina. As the poles are further and further down from our point it's taking longer in between loads so to fill out time we carried on with shifting some wood. The bruises are now starting to form on all our shoulders and I swear the wood gets heavier the more the day wears on. 

Lunch was smaller than yesterday and I heard a few moans as our lunch boxes were opened. Luckily we have some fussy eaters so I took one for the team and finished up theirs as well. I am also drinking over four litres of water a day and it's barely enough, it truly is the hottest place I have ever been let alone worked in. 

Afternoon was spent with more cement mixing and also small shots for the film crew like screwing nails in. It will be great to see when it all comes together. When I can tell you all I will let you know. 

Cementing was hard going and it hasn't rained during the day for a few days now so the temperature is rising, there is no shade either as we have to mix the cement and then carry it over the log. We did a few more loads of wood while we waited and then helped screw some more plugs in for the electric fence. It's amazing what we have achieved this week but I think it's finally taking it's till on the team we are all wilting very quickly. At least out spirits are still high how can they not be when we are doing this all for the ginger people. 

Unfortunately upon our arrival home we got the bad news that the puppy that inhabits logistics got run over today and died. It's a common reality here, and no surprise considering the way they all drive. 

I had my dinner and a Mandy and headed to the Internet cafe to finish uploading the rest of the pictures. Finally up to date which has lifted a huge weight of my shoulders it was starting to stress me out a bit considering there is nothing else out here to stress you hahaha 
                                     

Day 50 - Ketapang Borneo - Mandy Diving and cement mixing

It was all go before we even left the house this morning. I managed to drop my toothbrush in the Mandy! Winner. As it is a battery operated one it sank, quickly! I also needed to retrieve it before the battery disintegrated and poisoned my fellow lodgers. Much to their amusement I stripped off to my bra and dived in, I never found my toothbrush :(

On the bus to work today a local was holding up a snake so a few of the others got out to take a photo before we dropped Sarah off at the airport, she'll be back in a few days. The airport is tiny and as far as I am aware only uses little plans to fly to places like Jakarta. 

When we made it to work I joined Kristi and Leo's team for some fence post building. I volunteered for cementing which is actually quite therapeutic. We mix the sand, gravel and cement by hand and it was a chance to sort out my 'twat tan'. Such named by northerner Jules for a ridiculous tan line. I managed to get one on my forehead from wearing my cap back to front in an effort to save my neck! 

After two litres of water I was ready for lunch my tummy was making noises. It filled a hole but I was still hungry heading back out to do more cement. Luckily they were not ready for some so I managed to sit and update the last few days blog :) 

The sun wasn't out this afternoon which was a bonus and I cracked on with the mixing, I have even managed to scale the log with a bucket in each hand. We managed 285 meters of fencing today what a great achievement. I was absolutely shattered but hopefully this will aid my sleep tonight. As the internet is still not working at home and most people don't use the cafe we got to stay late at work and use theirs so today this is where this blog ends.
                              
                               

Day 49 - Ketapang Borneo - Laughter and successful blogging

Today started like any other apart from Jules was not joining us she hadn't slept well so we left her at home to relax. We made our way to work, me reading hunger games which is addictive, I am so glad I have mastered reading on the move makes travelling a lot more fun. 

Upon our arrival we were split into three groups, bridges, fence or varnishing, I was on bridges but Vicky wanted to swap so I ended up on varnishing. I was quite thankful for this as the sun was beating down and it enabled me to get some shade. Lisa, Jaye and I did a sterling job if I may say so myself we were blasting through it. 

Lunch was disappointing today and I am really struggling with portion size, you work so hard you feel you want to stuff your face but in reality what you get at least gets you through to dinner. 

I managed to get into the bridge team for the afternoon. Just Rebecca, Noël and I which was nice. As soon as we arrived though the heavens opened not as much as yesterday but enough to soak us! Whilst it rained we carried logs to the next bridge and when it subsided we set to uggerbuggering them in, Noël, being a comedian at home is so funny, and me being me I can't help but mock Rebecca. By the end I had stomach ache from laughing so much but at least we had also been productive. 

I was shattered on the journey home but knew the Internet cafe called to get the photos up. I wolfed down dinner as if it was my last supper and walked down to the cafe, I wanted to get there before prayer time when it normally closes. It was working great and I was on a roll, in between talking to a local on google translate next to me. Before long it had been three hours and it started to slow so I gave up with 7days still to add photos too.

I got in to find most people had dispersed. I managed to have a Mandy and retire to bed thinking sleep was inevitable. How wrong I was after reading my book for a few hours I still couldn't sleep, I think I drifted off at midnight.
                                        

Day 48 - Ketapang Borneo - Building bridges in the rain

With a current shortage of milk in the whole of Ketapang, I have resorted to eggy bread for breakfast. It seems to keep me partially full till lunchtime. It started to rain before we left this morning so we left the buckets out to catch rain water which we uses to wash our clothes as it is actually clear rather than the water out of the Mandy or the tap. 

The order of the day was bridge completion and hole digging for the electric fence posts, which will surround the island as a deterrent. I opted for bridge duty as I haven't actually seen one through to completion yet. Helen, Aleta, Noel and I set off tools in hand. We all got into a great rhythm and nailed most of the boards on. We even won a magnum challenge. 

Each day Noel sets a magnum challenge, so we have had first person to bleed from and injury, first person to cry walking over precarious logs etc... In return we get a magnum ice cream on the way home from work. Today's challenge was to get 22 foot boards down by the time Noel cycled back to logistics to pick up some spanners. We managed 23! 

After lunch we chose to go back to the island as we were on a role. Just as we crossed the log onto the island the heavens opened. There was nothing we could do but battle on. Suddenly it stopped but you could see it raining still the other side of the moat. Like a wall of water. I looked up and noticed another wall headed straight for us, you can see it coming and it's loud. 

By the time we made it to the bridge we had been working on we were drenched, we had to keep emptying our boots out. My waterproof eventually gave up and stopped working as it was just so heavy. There wasn't really much we could do but ride it out so we sat there in the rain waiting. Noel headed back to get bin bags to put the stuff in so we could get it back to camp dry including the generator.

After about half an hour Noël returned and the rain stopped. It's amazing how quickly you start to dry once you get back into working. I managed to drop a board corner first on Aleta's toe, hopefully it won't bruise too much. We did a bit more uggerbuggering, drilling and securing bolts before we realised how late it was. However, we we're determined to board this bridge to so we set to it. Eventually we let work at 17:30. It was a long day.

Due to the weather my evening consisted of a shower and hair wash and some washing! Living the dream :)

Day 47 - Ketapang Borneo - Blog fails and films

So with the first six working days here complete, today was our day off. A few of the group woke to hangovers, I felt fine thank goodness. After some breakfast and a coffee some of the girls headed to the market with Kristi, some went back to bed and I decided to use the peace and quiet to read my book, my 9th so far this trip! 

Before long I was bored and getting restless so I decided to head down to the cafe and work out this blog photo thing! I plugged my phone into the PC and uploaded directly. Sounds simple but after two hours I had achieved completion on two days and uploaded 8 photos! Ahhhhhh so I am going to do a bit every so often working back from the start. So keep checking back, I think I got to day 11. I vented my frustrations on TSL as both Mel and Beau were online. Sorry guys :) 

A local guy got chatting with me using the power of google translate. Thank god because my Indonesian is none existent. I can say thank you, white person, crazy and very good. But that isn't going to get me far. He told me about a Chinese restaurant in town that sells pork noodles. I haven't eaten pork in months, I need pork in my life! 

Jules came and rescued me for lunch, otherwise I think I may have ended up being there all day screaming at the blog! We had food in a little place a few doors down. It was a bit challenging to say the least, we got half a chicken each and some rice, not what we asked for. Eventually fried rice turned up which was delicious. 

Upon our return to the house we put the hobbit on the DVD player and all laid down on the floor as there is no sofa. I drifted in and out of sleep throughout, for those that know me this is fairly common. Afterwards we headed to a nice restaurant for some dinner. I ordered something with beef in and it was so hot it made me cry and come out in an epic face sweat, by the time we got back it was way passed bedtime so we all crashed out.
                                      

Day 46 - Ketapang Borneo - Wheel Barrows have multiple purposes

There was a storm last night and we woke to heavy rainfall. It still shocks me every time just the shear amount of water that falls from the sky here. The waterproofs came out and we headed to the bus. Vicky and Nigel had headed out first on the moped and before long we passed them broken down on the side of the road, in their ponchos looking rather sorry for themselves. Noel managed to get it going and drove the rest of the way with us following behind. Rather him than me in the rain. 

Due to the weather we got to do enrichment this morning. More sewing of sacks. We made about 20 which was a great team effort. When it stopped raining we prepared to go back to the island. As we were doing so the film crew were lining up to shoot the babies being taken to school in their wheel barrows. Something we don't normally get to see. It was so funny. Lots of little orange balls of fluff loaded in, some tying to escape out, grabbing the cameramans leg. I imagine that's what would happen if you put a bunch of super agile toddlers in a wheel barrow and told them to sit still.

Once the coast was clear we split into two and the group I was in headed off to the island again. It's great to see with a constant effort how the bridge takes shape. We had a bit more uggerbuggering to do and then bolting supporting beams in place. Jules was lacking energy and I wasn't far behind even though it wasn't sunny, but it was humid due to the rain. 

Lunch couldn't come soon enough. We all lost track of time as no facilitators came to get us so I think we may have had a rather long lunch today but it was well needed to get us through the afternoon. Helen and I joined Lisa and we ventured up to Kevin's cage to rectify the damage caused by another orang break in! Because it is in the jungle I got bitten so much but again worth every bite to be so close to an amazing bird of prey. He really is beautiful.

We did a bit of clearing of some chopped Langland (a native grass/weed) this stuff is the Bain of my life out here it grows so fast and gives your skin a skank rash when freshly cut! Once the pile was complete I decided to jump on it face first like a bail of hay. Petty fun if I. Ah say so myself and also comfy. 

Managed to squeeze a bit of internet cafe in after work hoping to catch my mum but she was busy :( hopefully tomorrow. Then it was time to shower and get ready for a party. Carmella the lady who started the project with International Animal Rescue in Indonesia invited us all to her house. Leo also came as he arrived earlier today.

It was great fun, lots of beer and another BBQ in a wheelbarrow. Their Mandy was so clean with crystal clear water, it's amazing how we all got excited about this! Rebecca and I called it a night at midnight, with the others eventually getting in at 3am.

Day 45 - Ketapang Borneo - more bridges and farming

We were all ready to go in record time today but Noel and Lisa had headed into town to run some errands. It took longer then they predicted and proved challenging to ask for a new uggerbugger handle. Eventually they arrived home and we made our way to work. When we got there Harry and Dadi (the two local maintenance guys) were busy with their machetes carvings handles for the uggerbugger. Such skilled work, they looked beautiful after completion. 

I opted for the Island this morning forgoing an early lunch for a late one. We put the new uggerbugger to the test and drilled a few holes, another bridge was taking shape. It was all going too well until the generator ran out of fuel. Luckily the others were coming to relieve us for lunch so we managed to send them a text to tell them to bring some.

Everyone thought the lunch was nice today but I wasn't convinced it was to mild for me, I like a bit of spice with my rice. When our hour was up we went to the farm with Kristi. It's rally taking shape now and we just had a few more paths to clear, sand and gravel. Definitely got my mojo back after having felt ill for a few days. I was suitably knackered when I got home, and made it to about 8 before I crashed out.
                           

Day 44 - Ketapang Borneo - Film crews and broken uggerbuggers

  

This morning everyone was feeling better apart from Vicky who stayed home. I got a ride on the moped to work with Kristi. We had to stop for fuel which was an adventure in itself. The queue was of epic proportions. Once we made it through it was a smooth ride to work. You get a totally different perspective of the journey. I even managed to video the ride for a bit. When we arrived at the centre we managed to hitch a ride on the back of a delivery truck up to logistics! Sweet! 

Today we all headed to the island, we need to get another few bridges and a feeding platform completed before the release at the end of the month. All the pieces of wood we had varnished had to be moved. I decided to start a trend of carrying the wood across the log bridge instead of doing a chain. It was entertaining to say the least. Once we got it over that we had a 10 minute trek (yes I timed it) down to the other end and back until it was all there. 

When we had nearly finished the film crew (sorry I can't tell you who or what for just yet) arrived to do some filming of us hard at work. Not our finest moments covered in dirt and sweat. We were all released for lunch only to be called back so more filming could be completed. Eventually we got to lunch and wifi was enabled, I even managed to update this blog! 

Again we were up at the island for the afternoon, after a short bit of filming the ugger bugger disintegrated so all we could was put the plumb lines in for tomorrow. Early finish today thank god as we were all a bit burnt. I managed to blag a lift on the moped again and we stopped off at the donut shop on route. 

After dinner I headed to the Internet cafe at the end of the road to try and upload the photos. Not as easy as it sounds, if anyone has any ideas so I don't have to email them to the iPad, let google snatch them up then upload them to the blog it would be greatly appreciated.