Birding Despite Disability

No photos today…. cannot upload them. A group of 40 Europeans arrived yesterday from off the Amazon and have joined us here in this small hotel. Our bandwidth is getting attenuated.

Email from the State Department today! Emphasis mine…

Event:  IMPORTANT: The last repatriation flight from Cusco is tomorrow, April 3.  We expect the last regularly scheduled charter flight to depart Peru on April 5.  We will continue to facilitate daily travel and coordinate flights to repatriate Americans from all corners of Peru through April 5.  U.S. Citizens who remain in Peru beyond that date should continue to shelter in place.

A few days ago the message was: “nobody will be left behind.” They have stopped saying anything like that. Egads.

When I was a kid, we had an expression for someone in a situation like this. They were said to be “Screwed, Blued, and Tattooed.” (Or was it “Screwed, Blue, and Tattooed?”)

They have three days left (no flights today). They have averaged 300 to 500 people per day. There are  well over 1000 Americans left. This is going to be a real nail-biter.

When we arrived at the Iquitos airport on the morning of March 14, there were airport officials in the arrival hall that warned us about a serious risk of viral infection, and that we needed to be extra cautious.

They were not talking about COVID-19, but about the mosquito-borne Dengue fever. This area is a Dengue hotspot.

We told them we were prepared. We always use permethrin-treated clothing when birding anywhere with insects. Not fool-proof but very effective.

Dengue can be mild or fatal. A common symptom is a high fever. Symptoms may not show up for seven days after a bite, and may last up to ten days.

Crossing our fingers on this one too, because if either of us has a fever, when that day finally comes when they come get us, having a fever could be problematic.