Archive for the Cyanide in the wild Category

Do’s and Don’ts

Posted in Cyanide in the wild, Friends, Jellyfish and Uranium, Me, My two cents worth, Sri Lanka with tags , , , , , , , , , , on October 4, 2009 by The Puppeteer

What not to do when going on a Trek (through hell :P ).

DON’T wear sneakers!

SneakerDon’t be deceived by the image. These shoes aren’t designed for rough terrain. They’re no different from Sam Vimes’s cardboard sole shoes. Yeah sure, Sam likes it that way ’cause he can tell where he is just by feeling the cobblestones on the street, but when you’re legging it through a trail, and a rough one at that, the last thing you want is to feel the ground!

With sneakers on you’ll first feel EVEY single stone. A bit later each stone will feel like a sudden spark of electricity shooting up your foot. If you press on, eventually, your foot becomes numb. Yup, sneakers are a definite no-no! If you’ve got nothing else when taking on a trek, go buy yourself a proper pair of trekking shoes.

Do eat and get plenty of rest before your trek

You need to be charged up for it. ’nuff said.

Do take water and food along with you.

If you think you’ve got enough food and water, you haven’t. Take more. And then some…

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Do’s and Don’ts aside, I got a fair share of cuts, scratches, leech bites and bruises.

Got a cut on my wrist trying to fish for some mackerel… out of a tin can.  Yeah, alright that may not seem very ‘rough n’ tough’, but when there’s nothing else but can of jack mackerel, and 10 people share it right out of the can… THAT’S… ok, pure desperation caused by hunger. Heck, if we didn’t have that tin can we would have resorted to cannibalism and eaten each other by night fall.

The leeches weren’t too fond of me though. I had only two of the little blood suckers bite me. One at my ankle and the other on my clavicle (shoulder blade). St.Fallen and Little_Boy_Blue on the other hand… The leeches were drawn to them… possibly the effect of the weed in their blood :P

Here’s how leeches suck blood:

A blood sucking leech attaches itself to the skin of its victim using its suckers. It makes a small wound in the surface of its hosts skin using three serrated jaws just inside its mouth. It then releases saliva into the wound, which contains the anti-clotting agent called hirudin. This keeps the blood flowing freely. The saliva also contains a substance that blocks nerve transmission from the pain sensors in the skin, so that the victim does not notice its bites.

It may sound like something out of a horror flick but it’s fine. You don’t feel it. You’ve got nothing to worry about ’cause the only superficial blood vessels are your veins. So at the very most you’ll just have a bit of a scar for a few days.

And here’s the bruise I got after a buffalo pulled a Zinedine on me…

bruiseThe picture was taken this morning, it’s turned a ripe shade of deep purple now.

It was a crazy trek but the guys were awesome. All the rest of you girls should join them on their next adventure. You’ll be in safe hands :) I can vouch for that.

As for me, I’ll be sitting out the next one. My parents weren’t too pleased that I hadn’t kept them up to date every second of the day about where I was and whether I was still alive. So I’m going to have to wait for this to fizzle out before I can go anywhere with friends again :P

Ooooo the sun…

Posted in Cyanide in the wild, Me with tags , on December 23, 2008 by The Puppeteer

Nature isn’t my thing. I don’t get it. What’s the big deal with going out of your way to see the ruddy blooming sun rise?

Saturday evening-

A beaming pair of parents announced that we’re going to climb Adam’s Peak.

Now by “we” they meant “us”. Their offspring. Not them.

They seem to think that we should experience all the wonders the Island has to offer while we’re young and still able to.

We responded with blank expressions… a blink or two escaping us.

In my mind: “What??? I don’t want to go to the boondocks of the country! Straining myself is not my idea of a holiday!!! Argh! Nooooooooooooo!!!”

Sunday evening-

On the drive to the hotel I kept telling myself, “This is good. It’s just what I need. An escape, a distraction.” I forced a weak smile.

At the hotel we were informed that we have to be up and at the foot of mountain by 3am!!! “Bollocks” is all I could muster, I was tired! I scowled all the way into bed.

Monday 3:00 am-

Shrouded in warm clothing, we began the ascend. The guide led the way while my sis, li’l bro and I trailed close behind him like little ducklings.

It’s 6 km to the top… I had no idea how far that’s suppose to be. Hoping it wasn’t all that much I trudged up.

Now, I was under the impression we’d be walking through a pathway or flat ground on a grassy mountain. That’s how I had pictured it in my mind. And that, I can do. I can walk. I walk all the time. I’m no stranger to hiking.

But was I sourly mistaken. Adam’s Peak’s pathway is STEPS!!! Steep steps,  little steps, wide steps, broken wobbly rock steps, concrete steps, steps of earth, steps, steps and MORE STEPS!!!

Apparently there’s a technique to climbing steps… and a rhythm too… one that the guide demonstrated but I just couldn’t seem to get the hang of, or more accurately- In my foul mood couldn’t care less to even attempt it. I just proceeded lumbering up, my muscles wailing in pain and the maliciously nippy wind attacking my face.

“Grumble, grumble, grumble”. “Ouch”! “Oooooo” “Oow” Oow” “Oow”. Heave. “Huff! Huff! Huff!”

Most of the climb I was afraid my limbs would give away and buckle under me or worse yet, as the levels of oxygen reduced as I got closer to heaven, I’d lose consciousness, fall back and slide all the way down to the foot of the mountain in pieces!

Monday 6:00 am-

When I reached the top, the moment I saw the sun’s rays slicing through the dark, heavy clouds, I stopped cursing. I sat down, silent, as I watched breathless (both by the climb and and what I was witnessing) as the sun claimed the sky.

Who said nature isn’t my thing? Pfft!

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The shadow of the peak

The shadow of the peak

The bell you've got to ring when you make it to the top.

The bell you've got to ring when you make it to the top.