I’m a really bad travel blogger. I did write things down and I’ll slowly transfer them here. After three short days in Quito after Tiputini to hand in papers and give presentations on the research projects we did, we spent one week in the coast. We traveled six hours by bus to reach Lalo Loor, a dry forest reserve run by Ceiba. On our way to the reserve, we stopped at a fruit market to pick up fruit for the coming week. The reserve is owned by Lalo Loor, a dairy farmer and yogurt maker, who wanted to conserve the dry forest he owned. Lalo Loor makes wonderful yogurt that we got to eat most mornings for breakfasts. A large percentage of dry forest habitat has been lost in Ecuador and it is an ecosystem that needs conservation. The reserve is relatively small, but it is a nice place full of plants and animals including lots and lots of howler monkeys. We all stayed in a house where if one person woke up in the morning, everyone else did. It was quaint with no electricity and dry toilets, but it had a very large hammock house and that’s what’s important. One the second day we took a hike around the reserve. It was a lot easier to see animals here than in Tiputini. In one day alone we saw many howler monkeys, a few white-tailed trogons, and a blue-crowned motmot. The ecosystem is interesting and there were cacti as altitude increased. I also got my first good glimpse of the Pacific Ocean from a lookout point. The next day, we helped take baseline data for a water quality project Ceiba is trying to start in the communities around the reserve including Tabuga and Los Camerones. We went to a stream in Los Camerones and measured qualities of the water like velocity, depth, macroinvertebrates, and human impacts. At the stream I played catch with a little boy who lived nearby. Afterwards, his mom invited me and a few friends to take mangos from a tree in their yard. Later that night, there was a party in the town of Tabuga for the opening of the Three Forest Trails system that connects Lalo Loor and a two other reserves. We hopped in the back of the white pick-up truck and went to the small town of Tabuga. The entire town was at the party from kids to adults. There was a lot of dancing and cheap Ecuadorian beer, it was so much fun. The next day was a workday and everyone could do various things to help out the reserve and the neighboring communities. I helped clean up trash in the river that runs through Tabuga. We met some cute kids while doing this who helped us out. We also went to the school in Tabuga that Kara, a former peace corps volunteer started and currently works in. Later that day, we had a free afternoon so we decided to hike to the beach. The beach was a long, hot walk away, but seeing the ocean for the first time was worth it. We met a little boy along the way who said he was visiting Tabuga. He did not know how to swim so we tried to teach him. That night a few friends and I took a night hike and saw a kinkajou in the trees. The next day we traveled to Isla de la Corazon, which is a mangrove reserve. We traveled on a boat to see the mangroves and birds and also walked a little bit. On the way back, the traffic was stopped because the main route was closed due to Carnival and the alternate route had collapsed. While we waited for the traffic to continue, we played soccer outside of the bus. Life is easy on the coast. For our last day, we had a fun day. We first went to Archas de Amor, a beach to hang out and eat lunch. Then we went to Punta Prieta where we camped on the beach. Punta Prieta is possibly the most beautiful place in the world. The beach is so untouched and just gorgeous. We had a bonfire that night with a few sing-alongs and even my professors on guitar and violin. The trip to the coast was very fun. It was nice to meet many people and see local communities as well as many animals.

I’m back from my 3 week journey in the Amazon. It was a truly amazing experience to be in a world where you are just a small part in nature instead of nature being just a small part in your world. A lot has happened so I’ll try my best to summarize.

Traveling to Tiputini Biodiversity Station was an all day experience. Part of what makes Tiputini such a wonderful place its remoteness. The first leg of the four part journey was by plane. The ride was short, only 30 minutes, and full of turbulence since it was over the Eastern slope of the Andes. We arrived in Coca, a city in the Amazon that expanded from oil development, where we got our first taste of the humidity and heat. Then we went down the Río Napo, the largest tributary to the Amazon, for 2 hours. The river was wide and lined with rainforest. There was a point in the river were we could see an oil tower and flare in all of the green. It was hard sight to see. After the river, we took an open-air bus for 2 hours down the Maxus Road which was constructed by oil companies. We weren’t allowed to take pictures on the road and we had to go through security first. The final part of our journey was another boat ride, this time down the Tiputini. The Tiputini River is much windier and narrow than the Napo, kind of what you would expect a river in the Amazon to look like. We bird-watched as we traveled our way to the station. Then we arrived at the station and within a few minutes we saw our first monkeys!

TBS is home to the most species diversity on earth. It is a truly wonderful place. It sits on the Tiputini River and there are lots of well-maintained trails. The camp consisted of a kitchen and dining hall, comfy cabins, a hammock house, and a lab with library and classroom. The guides are knowledgeable and nice and the food was good. I ate more Oreos in the Amazon then I ever had in my life though because they always had cookies and fruit sitting out. We also had electricity for 6 hours every day and running water (that always ran out). I am so fortunate to have spent three weeks of my life there. While there we met other researchers as well as people from National Geographic and BBC. We were really privileged to be part of this amazing place.

For the first three days we split up in groups to do some of the activities Tiputini has to offer. The first day my group went to the canopy tower for sunset. From the tower we could see a lot of beautiful birds and spider monkeys as well as the rainforest canopy. The canopy is breathtaking. After the tower we went on a hike with our guide José. He had us chew a plant for one minute without telling us why. As the minute was approaching, he started cracking up- the plant had turned our mouths blue. That night we had an activity where our professors left us alone in the rainforest for an hour. I really liked this opportunity, there are a lot of things you see and think about when you are alone in the forest. Later that night, we were given a presentation about the trap cameras set up to capture photos of some of the animals living at Tiputini. We saw pictures of jaguars, monkeys, dogs, and deer.

The weirdest part of the trip also happened on the second night: a few of the cabins were robbed (luckily not mine). It’s still so weird to me because we were isolated from civilization. There nearest people were 2 hours by boat and even then it was a group of indigenous people. Apparently nothing like this has ever happened before. The most plausible explanation was that some indigenous people had robbed us. This still seems so bizarre to me because we were so far away. My prevailing theory is that a monkey did it and we are going to see one listening to an ipod on the trap cameras. It was actually a pretty scary experience because the rainforest is so dark and full of noises at night. There was also a feeling of isolation since we had no way to leave and that someone was out there. The scaredness went away quickly but my friend Grace and I shared a bed together that night with our arms linked and headlamps on.

The next day we had a teaching hike around some of the trails, since I’m still technically in school. Actually we had lecture everyday for two hours. We ate some lemon ants, which are aptly named. That afternoon we started day one of a two day insect project where were sampled and identified bugs. The next day, my group went to the canopy walkway which was a bridge system through the canopy. We were able to see some cool animals up there, my favorite being the red-and-green macaws. We had an amazing view of a pair for a while. In the afternoon, we finished our bug project. While working on our project we had lots of monkeys go by overhead as well as some scarlet macaws. That night, I saw some amazing army ants who were moving their colony through the cabin of a researcher. The ants had made a bridge out of ants. They build there bivouac out of other ants, what crazy organization.

On Friday, we had a free afternoon so a few of us hiked to the lake on the grounds. We all crammed into a tiny canoe that was barely afloat. From the lake we were able to see many pretty birds like yellow-rumped caciques, hoatzins, and a rufescent tiger heron. We also saw a huge caiman!

The next day we took our first float down the river in the morning on a boat. There are a lot of things you can see from the river. We went past a salt-lick where a lot of parrots go. There were so many parrots. We also were lucky enough to see some pink river dolphins. Then, we swam/floated down the river with life jackets. Yeah, the pirana/electric eel/caiman/anaconda infested water. Actually we swam in the river almost everyday to escape the heat, but floating down the river was really peaceful and fun. In the afternoon we did a study on trees and it started raining. Later that night we took another boat ride. We saw a few animals including some capybara and a little caiman.

The next few days were spent doing work and teaching hikes. We saw a lot of interesting animals including tortoises and leaf cutter ants. There are so many amazing birds and cute monkeys too. One of the days, there was a two-toed sloth on a trail near camp after breakfast. We watched him for so long before he realized we were there. He was so ungraceful on land but in the trees he moved so quickly.

For the next week, we worked on group research projects. It was nice to be able to do research independently. My group studied the response of a type of ant that defends its host tree to different threats. Needless to say, I got stung a lot. The ants we studied have a very painful sting, second only to the bullet ants who can temporarily paralyze you. The worst was when I had an ant down my shirt- ouch! I’m not going to be afraid of bee stings anymore.

During the project days, we had a few other activities planned. One morning we went mist netting, which is a very thin net used to catch birds flying through. We caught some very pretty birds including a wire-tailed manakin, who is so funny looking. I also got to hold a bird, which was a childhood goal of mine (although a mist net is more efficient at catching a bird than a sand bucket). The little bird was so warm and its heart was beating so fast. We also went on a night hike and saw some scary looking spiders and a cute little night monkey. We also stood in the forest, silent, with our lights off- your imagination really runs wild. We also took a float on the boat before sunrise. It was beautiful to see dawn turn into sunrise on the river. We saw a pygmy marmoset, the world’s smallest primate and a tapir swimming (I got a nice picture of its butt running back into the forest). During one of the afternoons, my group and I took a long hike. We saw one peccary and I was scared for my life. I thought there was going to be a pack nearby but there wasn’t. Also, we saw some red titi monkeys and golden mantled tamarinds on camp. We were so close to them and were able to watch them for a while. The red titi monkeys were a pair and they were playing and nuzzling… so cute.

The third to last day was a study day for our field exam the next day. I feel like I have learned so much. I’m able to identify a lot of plants, bugs, and animals now as well as explain their ecological role. Our last day was a “fun day” to do whatever we wanted. I woke up early and watched the sunrise from the tower. It was crazy to hear the forest waking up. It started as soon as the sky was slightly bright. Also, a few saki monkeys came in the tree next to us. The noticed us and the last monkey stood up on his two legs and growled at us. After the tower, I took a long hike. Then, we had our final river float both in the boat and with our life jackets. It was a good fun day.

Living in the Amazon was a life-changing experience. The world is so complex and we rarely get a chance to see this. I am so lucky to have had this opportunity and I can’t even begin to explain the ways this trip has shaped me so far.

Lots and lots of photos to come.

This was my first weekend in Quito in awhile and I got to spend some quality time with family. On Saturday, my host family went out to lunch family friends. We went to probably my favorite restaurant thus far. It was a seafood restaurant. Everyone had huge plates of shrimp and bowls of various seafood. I had the best ceviche ever. There house ají was so good too. Then I just walked around Quito with my brother and the family friends around my age. Later that night I went out with friends from class in the Mariscal (aka Gringolandia) which is an area filled with restaurants and bars. On Sunday, I went to watch the Liga de Quito vs. Barcelona fútbol game at my uncle’s house. His TV wasn’t working so we went to the house of my great aunt’s son (I have no idea what that relationship is called) and there was a lot of (very extended) family there. We watched the game and Liga won 3-0. Then we stayed there for awhile and ate lunch. I can’t remember the name of the dish but I was told about five times that it was a traditional dish of Ecuador and it was very good.

Tomorrow, bright and early, I leave for Tiputini. The travel starts with a plane ride over the eastern slope of the Andes, then a boat ride down the Río Napo, then by bus, then another boat on the Río Tiputini. I will be living and learning in the Amazon until the 25th. I am so excited. The Amazon Rainforest is one of the most biodiverse places in the world and Tiputini sits in the most biodiverse part of the Amazon because of its proximity to the equator. I won’t have internet for 3 weeks, which will be liberating, so needless to say no blog posts for a while but when I come back there will be lots of photos.

Antisana continued

Antisana

Cayambe-Coca & Papallacta

Polylepis Forest

This past weekend we went on two day trips to different páramo sites. The páramo is an ecosytem found in the neotropics at high altitudes. It is located above the treeline and below the uninhabitable permanent snow line. I’ve never seen an ecosystem like it in my life! Ecuador is so incredibly diverse that I can go to beaches of the Pacific Ocean, the Amazon, cloud forests, dry forests, the Galápagos, and the cold páramo in my time here.

On Friday our main destination was Cayambe-Coca Ecological Reserve, but we made a few stops along the way. Along the way our professors stopped at a stand to buy us all empanadas. I am loving these bus rides. The empanadas had a cheese filling and sugar on top. Sounds weird, but they were delicious. We made our first stop at Polylepis forest on the side of the road. Polylepis are the only tree that grows above the treeline. They are twisty and have bark like layers of paper.

Then, we went upwards! On our bus ride we had coca tea which contains cocaine. It is used to help offset altitude sickness. Once we made it to the top we were at over 14,000 feet. So crazy! The view from the top was gorgeous and the plants were unlike any I’ve seen before. They have to have such crazy adaptations to survive in this cold but very sunny environment. The ground was covered with little rosette cushion plants that squished when you walked on them. After exploring a bit, we went down to do a field experiment. Unfortunately it started hailing then raining when we were data collecting. It was pretty miserable but also rewarding. Also there was a light at the end of the tunnel: hot springs! We went to Papallacta where there are natural hot springs. Going in the water after a long freezing day was so nice! They had some pools that were nice and warm, some that were scalding hot, and others that were freezing including a river running by. It was fun to jump back and forth between them.

On Saturday, we went to Antisana Ecological Reserve. We went bird watching and were able to see a lot of birds. We ate our lunch by Laguna La Mica which supplies Quito with a lot of its water. It was so chilly outside! Then we finished collecting data for our experiment. Luckily it was sunny and warm so it was a lot more fun than the day before. We saw some horses too! Also, by the end of the day the clouds were moved so we could see the volcano Antisana. It is crazy to think how high up were that we could be so close to a snow-capped volcano on the equator.

This week I finished up my classes at USFQ. I had a Spanish exam on Thursday and a Biology quiz today. After the quiz we went to Parque La Carolina in downtown Quito. It’s nice to be done with this portion but I have gotten used to my routine of commuting to Cumbayá. It also means it’s already been a month which is crazy because that means I only have four and a half left! At this moment I can’t imagine leaving, ever.

It looks a lot less steep than it was! Watch it all (click the arrow), so funny :)

El Pahuma Day 3: Upper Cloud Forest & Yumbo Trail