post elephant

We left the camp on Monday morning and spent the day with a group, feeding elephants, and bathing elephants and seeing the devastation the logging camp and riding the elephant can cause. One of the rescued elephants had a back foot blown off with a land mind. The meals at the camp were terrific. At 6pm the others left and the four of us stayed to have the evening meal and watch the sun go down on the camp. We shared some beer and talked. There would be no four people I would have rather spent the time with at the camp. They had it a little messed up and thought that Dan and his wife were staying, so they put a mattress on the floor and I slept on the floor with Anne and Sheila in the bed and Dan in his own lodging. We said good night about 9:30 and then laid and listened to the dogs howl and the figs drop like bombs on the roof. I got up about 10:30 that night to use the luv... (bad thing about beer).. well there is bamboo polls that make up the flooring covered by thatching.. there is no short way to make a quiet run. I must say, I have only had to perch on a foot standing toilet a few times... my knees are pretty good, but that is a challenge. The entire time is spent wondering if your pants are out of the way and how wet your ankles are going to get. (Sasha.. we finely talked your mom in to a try.. she did well and was very proud - she thinks of you often.. and interestingly....Joe Arena.. my bunk friend with the elephants is the wife of the photog judge for the fest.... small world). Anyway.. I am coming to the best part of the elephants...in the morning.. the four of us and a family from Denmark (whom Anne the Swedish dentist could talk with) took a walk. We walked with blinded elephant.. (yes.. blinded by a handler) and her companion and the little Hope elephant.. the adolescent. We started off down the road and ended up in the forest.. walking up the mountain being led by the blind elephant.. who swings her trunk to know where to walk... I took gobs of pictures.. but it was spiritual... after our walk.. we returned for lunch and more feeding.. by this time I had touch the hair on the ear and looked into those magnificent eyes. words can not say what that was like.. The bad part of the camp was we never did find a towel.. so we returned to shower and enjoy some great food at our lodging. I managed to spend some money and get some remembrances for my back home buddies. It takes about $100 to feel the elephants a day... they only digest 40% of the food.. so the vegetation is very good.... well .. my turn to write is over.. this is a much easier place to write but still not the best. Glad you are making some sense of this .. this is the first keyboard that is not Thai letters. Sawatee Ka... b