Laundry

The Boot Rack at the Lodge


When I first met Jerome in Puerto Maldonado and had to share a room with him at the Rainforest Expeditions office, I detected a certain smell that was not pleasant. But it wasn’t the “you smell like you haven’t had a shower in a week” smell, it was something entirely different. Don’t get me wrong: that smell was a component, but there was something else in the air. I told him I thought he needed to do some laundry and he kind of chuckled and kept on doing whatever it was he was doing.



Fast forward about a week and a half, a couple of days aft. er I had arrived here at TRC, and MY clothes, and myself, presumably, smell exactly the same! I told one of the other researchers I was embarassed to be near other people, and she said not to worry about it. Everyone knows that guacamayeros smell this way.


The Jungle that Clothes Get Dirty In

I had a late morning this morning, having gotten up at 530am and nothing on the schedule till later, so I decided to do wash. Here they use this bar that looks like a bath bar but is a little bigger and really harsh. I took a cue from Dave and brought my rubber gloves, and am glad I did. It took an hour, and I hope it was worth it, but I won’t find out for a while as it rained today and it’s going to be a LONG time before these clothes are dry enough to wear, meaning the clothes I wore yesterday and today, and which are already smelling, are going to get more mileage on them before I get to feel civilized again…