An Unforsweatable Experience
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Welcome back to another edition of The Excitable Artist…
Hello from deepest, darkest Peru! It’s been a while since we last spoke and I'm currently reporting to you from a lodge in the middle of the Amazon Rainforest that took us 12 hours to reach (a total of 1 bus and 2 boats!)
Not all of us are born for sunny climates, some of us were designed to exist in shaded forest glades…. taking me to a hot country is like taking a giraffe to the Antarctic - it just doesn't make sense (and, quite frankly, is animal cruelty). But I married a Mediterranean man who's soul goal in life is to seek out the sun at any given time (we always have to walk on the sunny side of the street when in Edinburgh) so, here I am in the tropical rainforest. If you need to find me, I'll be the one deep under a wide brim hat wearing 3 layers of sun cream and clutching 2 bottles of bug spray.
Before we entered the Amazon, I asked Alfredo, a local Peruvian who works for the reserve, “Is there anything we need to buy before tomorrow? What about a mosquito net hat?” Alfredo squinted at me intensely before saying “No…. You will look like such a tourist”
“Oh, well, we wouldn't want that…” I think to myself, as I clutch my hat and suncream bottle even tighter to my chest…
Yes, it’s an unusual newsletter this week, typed out on my phone as I swat bugs from my ears and try not to get distracted by the calls of the howler monkeys which sound like lions off in the distance. Please excuse any and all typos and enjoy the below…
Having an Amazon time
On the long boat journey up the Amazon River to Tapiche Reserve, Juan napped for an hour, woke up and had the audacity to immediately see a pink dolphin which I, having been vigorously on watch during his sleep, managed to miss. Clearly on a roll for spotting wildlife, he managed to punch me squarely on the nose in his excitement to show me something he'd seen on my side of the boat. I gave him a half hearted thumbs up whilst I clutched my face. All going well so far…
When we finally arrived, we took a little walk around the local area to stretch our legs and get better acquainted with the local mosquito population. Returning, I took off my gum boots (wellies) and Juan joked “check your shoes before you put them back on!”
Dear readers, I did not check my shoes.
30 minutes later after finally getting fed up of feeling what I thought was a hole at the end of my trainer, I pulled it off and shook it upside down only to have A VERY LARGE spider fall out. The size of a Brazil nut.
It was dead (luckily for me/unluckily for him). He lost the fight with my toe. How I didn't get bitten I have no idea…
But we love it here. If you're interested in a true Amazon experience away from the tourist traps then look up Tapiche Reserve - it's well worth a visit! It's an ethical experience, our guide has an encyclopedic knowledge and they're big on preserving the wildlife and not intruding on them. I wish the mosquitos offered us the same respect.
Monkeys!
Pet Portraits
Who is this good boy? Well, this is Captain - a mountain dog that we named after he joined us on our group trek through the Peruvian Mountain Range ‘Huayhuash’. Captain did the entire 3 day hike with us, swapping between walking with us and another group of trekers and for that he absolutely deserves a portrait. If you follow me on Instagram look out for it coming soon…
If you're interested in your own pet portrait, I am sporadically on emails whilst I'm away! Apologies for any and all delays, I'll be properly back on form around 9th Feb.
Online Workshops
These will be returning! I hope to teach you how to paint a cat as I know loads of you are interested in pets… we’ll also be doing some fun wildlife inspired by my trip so expect things like hummingbirds to come up soon!
If you're not on my workshop mailing list, email me at hello@toriratcliffe-art.co.uk to request to be added and that way you'll get an email off me when the next one goes up.
Obviously I'm not with the dogs…
…so here is Spud in a wig from new year for your eyes to enjoy.
Well that was quite a higgldy-piggldy (that's the first time in my life I've ever written that out) newsletter, but I hope you enjoyed my efforts!
Hopefully you're now reassured that I am alive and well… so long as we ignore Juan's punch-to-the-face and the whole spider-in-the-shoe debacle.
I'll be back to work properly on 10th feb but until then…. Adiós!
Pulled an old one out the hat. The conjoined twins!