Finally Photos!!!!!

I can finally share photos! I had to leave my hotel to upload these and since it was getting dark and I don´t care to be out alone in Quito when the sun has moved on, I uploaded what I could from the GVI CD that Flo and Natasha put together for the group. I will share more in time but here are a few! (Please note that I am very sleepy and am ging to bed. I have to be at the airport at 4:30 in the morning. If you are reading this, be sure to check back later for narratives about each photo. I haven´t proofread it either so please excuse any errors.)



Here is most of our group (the photographer accidentally cut some out of it) at a HUGE kapok tree. It is near the cuerandero´s (local shaman) house. From left to right: Abdon (the GVI Security Guard´s son), Tara, James, Mouse (in red), Flo (bent over), Elanor, Nikhil, Jenny (dressed like me), Me!, Brittany, Steph C., and Conor.

This was our dress-like-a-pirate day. Mouse and I were the only two to begin the day as pirates as the original plan called for. I normally did not go out in earrings and makeup!




Later in the evening, Brittany became a pirate, as did Conor. Here you see Conor and Mouse enjoying pizza and beer! (We were only allowed to drink on Saturday nights and there was a three beer limit per person.)

Back at the Kapok tree on Pirate Day! Featured in this photo are Natasha, Flo, Me, and Naomi.

Here we are at Hector´s Island receiving blow dart lessons. We started out by learning how to make the darts and then actually making them. During that time, he told us the different methods various tribes used for making the blow guns. After we made our darts, it was time to use them! He set up a target (an orange on a section of banana trunk) and we got to test our aim. Several of us (myself included) actually hit the post but no one (except Hector) hit the orange.

Here I am sitting alongside the Napo at Hector´s. I had been taking pictures of the monkey that was hanging out in the nearby trees.

Here are Flo and Nikhil (I think) picking the fruit of the cacao tree. Inside are the seeds used for making chocolate. I have photos documenting the process which I will post once I can upload from my camera. Essentially, you dry the seeds in the sun (you can suck on them first for a sweet experience if you´d like), toast them, shell them, grind them, and then you have the powder which is basically the same as the powder baking chocolate you can buy in the store!

Naomi is all for peace while I am content staring out the window of the ranchero. In the back row, you can see, or kinda see as it may be with a few, Steph T., Mouse, and Tara. In my row, Me, Elanor, and Jenny.

The ranchera was so uncomfortable. My left knee actually hurt for several days afterwards due to the cramped nature of the bus. It was about a four hour ride (if I remember correctly). Poor James is 6´2¨ and had it far worse than me!

The whole group at the cuerandero´s house. We sat around for a few minutes listening to the slightly distant chanting of his voice. Finally it was our turn so we took off our wellies and headed up into his lair. He came out wearing beads and a head ornament but his other clothes were modern - t-shirt and shorts (maybe pants). He also had a bundle of leaves in his hand. I think I wrote about to experience before but without much elaboration. Once we got there, he began a chant which lasted a few minutes and then we were called one at a time to sit in a chair. He then proceeded to blow smoke on us (from a cigar looking thing that had a sort of sweet smell) and then brushed away the evil spirits with the leaves. Once he removed them, he went over to the door and flicked the bundle of leaves, as if tossing out the evil. He then came back and did a little whistling thing for a bit and went over our body again with the leaves, as though he were giving us good to replace the evil he had removed. The majority of us left the place feeling totally relaxed. I suspect the sweet smelling smoke had something to do with it but it´s nice to believe that the lack of evil spirits in my body gave cause for the relaxation.

Me and the millipede! We had been out looking, well listening, for screaming pihas and stopped to take a snack break. We disturbed this little guy but decided to play with him anyway. It felt totally weird crawling around on my hand and arm. His legs/feet were really tough and there were a million of them just scurrying around! At first I was a little hesitant to touch him but finally decided it would be an interesting experience I might never have again. I ended up loving it!

Hanging out at the comedor. I can´t be certain but judging by the items scattered around, I´d say this was right after our weekly supply of vegetables, fruits, and other food items arrived. We´d have to walk down the stairs to port with our packs empty. We´d then fill them up and bring the provisions back to camp. I don´t know why but there are no wellies hanging up. Those little posts under the comedor are where we´d hang our wellies upside-down after using them. This allowed them to dry or simply air-out without scorpions and other bugs finding their was into them. Wellies are not allowed in the cabin or on the walks as they tend to be rather muddy which is why it is peculiar that there are none hanging even though there are several EMs clearly not wearing them. I guess this could have been taken as soon as we arrived at camp for the first time. I actually think that makes the most sense. Now that I look, the packs have covers on them as they did for transport. It must be the first moments in camp.

First Aid training. I´m holding Steph T.´s head in place as we move her on to the gurney. She had a spinal injury and we had to save her without causing any further damage! I am proud to say she had a full recovery with no residual effects and went on to record many more screaming pihas!

Here we are on a hike. I am in the khaki shirt second from the end of the line. I´m not sure exactly where we are though.

My favorite of all the activities!!! This is how we did our amphibian surveys. We´d wear our head torches and some would carry torches in their hands as well and we´d walk through the water in search of frogs or other cool things! You can see the water could get quite deep at times. We weren´t usually this grouped together. It must have been one of the earlier walks when we were still scared of splitting up a bit! I loved this so much that I think I went on most every one, even if I wasn´t on the schedule to! I´m going to miss them more than anything (aside from just the friends I made there).

This is just off the Ridge Trail overlooking the road. A couple of years ago someone decided to put a road through the reserve, completely fragmenting it. The road connects Coca and Tena and apparently it was much needed as before that there was no direct route between the two towns. So, if ever you see a road in these photos, you know what it is. In this picture, Flo, Brittany, Me, and Steph C. (I think) are heading out with Steph T. in search of screaming pihas. This was the day I we first went way off the trail and I got to use the compass to navigate our way back to the trail.

Brittany with a

Hypsiboas calcarata (or Hyla depending on your source) a.k.a. the convict tree frog due to the stripes on his sides and legs. Sadly, this convict was on death row as are many of the frogs we catch. I think I explained before how we need to get their DNA for research purposes so we collect them (no more than a total of 10 per species throughout entire project, not each expedition), euthanize them, then collect the tissues needed (thigh muscle and liver). Then they are tagged and carefully arranged on a flat surface where they will undergo rigormortis. Once they are ready, they are placed in formaldehyde.

Three monkeys, you know the rest!

Morpho Man!!! Conor quickly became the thing of legends with his butterfly catching capabilities. It is confirmed rumor that he caught FIVE morphos in ONE day! WOW!!! What an amazing guy! The picture is actually pretty cool too. He is at the cascada. When we were there on our last photo walk, there were either several blue morphos flying around or one or two that kept circling around. They are the most stunning butterflies ever! I found it hard to capture them on camera though, at least when they are fluttering around. If I actually got them in the image, they appear as a blue blob.

Ridge Trail again but this time the photo was taken from the road, looking up at us. It´s actually quite a long drop to the road.

One of our many canoe rides. I don´t know if I clarified that they are motorized canoes. Apparently there has been some misunderstanding on that part. I liked the canoe rides! They were very cool and relaxing (when I wasn´t worried we were going to capsize). Canoes are the main source of transportation (aside from feet, of course) along the Napo. Due to the large number of canoes and pollution of the water, there are no river dolphins or manatees in this section of the river.

Flo at Yachana Lodge overlooking the Napo. We´d go to the lodge weekly to take our recycling. While there, we´d take a little break and hang out there and maybe have a cold soda or something. Then, it was off to Mondaña for our weekly football match!

Naomi not looking very happy. I actually think she was having a very serious conversation with the bird, or possibly a stare down with him. There´s no telling with Naomi! This was one of the birds we netted, banded, and processed. They were released unharmed with a nice little ¨bracelet¨ each time!

James and the little girl at Hector´s Island ( I can´t remember her name). She was the daughter of the teacher that was there. Funny picture!!!

Waiting on dinner at H.I. Left to right: Naomi, Elanor, Me, Jenny, and Conor. Note that Conor has his journal (not to be confused with a diary). He was always writing in that thing! He´d tell us stories about how years, centuries from now, people were going to read it. He even has plans to validate it with his thumb print once he´s filled it up. There were rare occasions when he´d read us excerpts from it. It was quite amusing!

Me and a cute, I mean adorable (cute isn´t a good word according to Conor) manakin we netted, banded, and processed. By processed I mean we measured it, noted several different things such as feather wear, molting, brood patch, etc. All was recorded along with the band number, and then the bird was released.

ARRRGGGHHHH!!!! A group picture of Pirate Night. Many of the lesser pirates had already removed their pirate attire. Back row left to right: Nikhil, James, Jenny, and Tara. Others from close front left to right: Abdon, Steph T., Susan, Flo, Jenny, Steph C., Naomi, Me, Conor, Brittany, Elanor, and Natasha.

The Beginning of the End

Well, the end has begun. Our schedule has dramatically changed, leaving more time for getting things finished up and packing. This morning we did a photo walk. It was 5 1/2 hours of almost constant hiking up and down, all through the reserve. We got to see the laguna in daylight (we went there during sat. camp to do an amphibian survey at night), hiked some trails I had not yet been on, and we ended at the cascada and went for a swim! I finally got a picture of the most common dart frog here, the sanguine dart frog.

It was a really nice hike, but I always enjoy walking through the forest. We didn't see much wildlife aside from different bugs but the various plants are an amazing sight in themselves. I can't get over the diversity on one tree. I haven't counted the number of different species on one tree but I can imagine the number would be shocking.

It was a rough hike with all of the hills and we really didn't stop too much - just two real breaks. But when we finally got to the cascada and jumped into the cool water, it was all worth it. I have photos! However, after the swim, it was a long hike uphill, a steep hill. I had already finished off my water (close to two liters) and the hike up nearly finished me off. By the time I got back to camp, my head was pounding. I drank lots of Gatorade but the headache wouldn't go away. Now, over six hours later, it is still here, pounding away. I tried to take a nap but it didn't help. I am about to call it a night. Of course I have to go take my cold shower first. Then I get to go sleep in my bed with the six-inch roaches (literally) hanging out on the back side of the bed post right by my head. Fortunately they can't get into my bed. Thank goodness for mosquito nets! It doesn't keep the pestering, biting sand flies away but it will keep the big bugs away. I have tried to chase them away but they keep coming back. I only have three more nights to share with them so I guess I'll survive.

I hope my husband is reading this because I want him to know that I am sorry I haven't called. Yesterday I was super busy until after dark and today my headache kept me from making to steep trek up to the tower. I am actually using the camp's wi-fi signal for the Internet, saving me money and sparing me the hike up there. Even though we have the Internet here, we still don't have a phone signal. So, Russ, please know I love and miss you. Please give the boys my love and lots of hugs and kisses. I'll try to call tomorrow.

To Conor's parents: He was happy to hear from you guys and was smiling from ear to ear while reading it. We all got a kick out of the info. you shared! Thanks!

Well, I need to remove my eyes from this screen as I believe it is making the headache worse. I'll try to write tomorrow but for now it' Good Night!

Cleansing Souls, the Ecuadorian Football Experience, and the Elusive Sloth

I know I said I would try to write more often and I don't seem to have done that. Hopefully I can make up for it now. It's about 8:00 pm and I have no obligations until 6:00 am tomorrow. Hopefully it won't take that long to update things. I will have pictures up when I get to Quito on Friday or Saturday. I have so much to share. It will be easier just to post pictures and tell about the adventures associated with them. Plus, I'll have a real keyboardcin Quito which will make typing easier. Of course, looking over my last post, I don't know if that helps my typing. I found so many errors but didn't take the time to correct them. I figure anyone who reads it will get the point.

Today was fun! A small group of us went over to Mondana to play football with the local students, a traditional for Sundays here. I really don't think I'd ever really played too much football (unless you count my son's soccer practice last year). However, here I've done it several times and really enjoyed it. Of course you put a few "gringos" up against a few 15-18 year-old Ecuadorian boys (some much younger and a few older) and you get quite the comedy! It's actually a very fun-spirited match and we usually get at least one Ecuadorian on our team, usually Robert, the student that joined us for a while at the beginning of the expedition (I'll tell you more about Robert later - he's a remarkable person!). However, today we got his brother who was almost just as good. It was fun to watch them go against each other. They all are so good! Even the little seven-year-olds playing barefoot make us look bad. Brittany (an EM from Canada)) is really good. We actually have several good players, me not being one of them. I have had a few miraculous plays though. But we're all having fun which is the point. The field is right along the edge of the Napo, but about seven feet above it. The ball has a bad habit of getting kicked over the edge and going straight into the strong currents of the river. It's crucial to the game that the ball be retrieved as quickly as possible, meaning whoever is closest must jump down to the banks below and get the ball before it gets swept away. I was one of the lucky ones today. There is no time to doddle so I went in, shoes and all! But, I saved the ball! I was realitivelt lucky though, i only got my shoes and pant legs wet up to about the knee. The last time we played, Conor (another EM from Canada) jumped in, got drenched from head to toe, AND nearly got swept away himself, the current being so strong that it took a lot of effort to get out! We got a good laugh out of it. Another challenge we face on the field are the chicks. There are chickens running around everywhere and many have chicks. The little guys seem to want to play with us. Of course, that's not possible. I always fear we're going to trample them. So, we just shoo them away or pick them up and place them somewhere safe.

Yesterday we had an exceptional cultural experience! We took a trip to see the cuerandero (I might have mispelled that). He's the village medicine man. He cleansed our bodies of evil spirits. It was a very relaxing experience. It involved a lot of smoke being blown on us and leaves flapping around. The description really does not do it justice. It was actually very mind-opening. After we each had the ritual performaned on us individually, we went to a HUGE kapok tree. I can't wait to share that picture! The whole group is inside the rim of one of the buttresses! I hope I stated that correctly. Then we got to swing from some of the vines hanging from it! My camera decided to die at that moment but Flo (an EM from France) took a picture of me swinging! Very exciting stuff in my personal opinion! It's almost magical to get to experience all of the things I've been teaching my students about for years, things I've been dreaming about for the majority of my life! I can't thank Fund For Teachers enough for this experience. I still can't believe I'm here! Of course, I have less than a week here and I'm actually trying to figure out a way to get back here next summer, if not sooner. The only reason I want to get home is to be with my family, especially Royce and Joey. Of course I'm totally missing my husband, too. I'm seriously ready to pack everyone up and move here. I would give up most everything at home to come live here, doing things like I'm doing here now - living in the way that I am now (no electricity or hotwater, very few of the comforts of modern life, etc.). I knew I'd like it here but I had no idea I'd fall so deeply in love with it. I just want to see everything there is to see and five weeks just isn't enough time. I actually don't think there could ever be enough time to see it all. It's always changing and if you look just a little bit closer, there's something else hiding there. When we're out doing mist netting or some other thing, I've constantly got my binoculars out, looking into the tree tops, just looking. For what, I don't really know. Everything, I guess! I just don't want to miss anything!

We actually saw a sloth the other day! I asked about them our first week and was told it was nearly impossible to see them, only one expedition before us had seen one and that was because they had a guide visiting the reserve (GVI's camp here is the field station of the Yachana Reserve) and took a group out for a night walk. Apparently he spotted some flowers from the canopy on the ground, a sign of sloth activity, and called the sloth. After a bit, he emerged from the canopy. So, that was a very rare treat. Well, we had one of the students from the high school, Juanaro (probably mispelled), visiting and he spotted it in a tree. We got lots of pictures so I will share them soon!

We also got to see our first puma! It was actually pretty terrifying. Conor was standing there just looking for frogs and suddenly this huge cat pounced on him. They say they can minimize the scarring but his left eye might not regain full use. Just kidding! We haven't seen a puma and Conor is 100% intact. He just wanted me to write that for his parents. It seems as though they found my blog while searching the web for info on GVI. So to Conor's parents, I offer my apologies, from one parent to another, in giving you what I am sure was quite a fright for a second there. I am actually excited that you were able to find this and us it as an information source for your son's life. Conor is keeping us all amused with his extraordinary storytelling skills and life experiences. I'll be sure to include pictures of him when I finally get the means to do so. I also promise never to write false information about him again!

Well, I have literally been tapping away on this miniscule keyboard for an hour and a half now. I need to get to bed soon so I will end this entry. Ooohhhh, I just realized I might be able to add photos as early as Thursday when we arrive in Tena. Ick, that just reminds me of how fast time is flying by and my adventure is ending. So sad! Oh well, I have done and seen more in this past month than I have in years. This has been a super amazing time and I can't wait to elaborate more and share photos. But for now, I'm going to bed. Goodnight!

Fast Update from Coca

Wow! Time is flying! I can´t believe that I have less than two weeks left. It makes me kinda sad but I REALLY miss my family. If I didn´t have my family to go home to, I am afraid I would just have to stay here. I have really become quite fine with the lack of electricity and hot water. Now when I see a huge spider or bug, I just ignore it (if it´s one I´ve seen before), grab my camera, or ask someone more knowledgable about such things what it is. Things still catch me off guard and startle me from time to time and I did have a minor heart attack after nearly being attacked by a trantula before Tara trapped it and moved it away from our room. Oh and then I guess I did freak out over the coral snake (identity technically unconfirmed but matched descriptions) afer spending several minutes just inches from it trying to identify it (I learned that the little rhyme we were taught [red and yellow, blah blah blah] doesn´t necessarily hold true here).

We just left Hector´s Island after a weekend of fun (and work) and have a short time here in Coca (about 45 more minutes before I head out to lunch) before taking a very long drive by Ranchero (a very tiny bus built for little people) back to camp (or close to it). To get to Hector´s Island we took a two hour canoe trip down the Napo to Coca where Hector met us and we switched canoes and took another 45 minute ride to his island. Hector has this island that he has turned into a refuge of sorts for indigenous animals, primarillary monkeys. Instead of keeping them in a zoo or facility with cages, he brings then to his island where they can be free but safe due to the boundries of the island. I will go into more detail when I am not limited on time. We helped create a Capybara habitat there where we cleared out a small part of a lower area where they can have lots of water. It was thick forest and we went in with a bunch of machetes and cleared out the brush and a few of the smaller trees. I hated to chop so much but it wasn´t that huge of an area and the Capybaras need a place for living and breeding. I found out I can weild a pretty mean machete! I didn´t know I had it in me! Of course now my arms are sore. We also learned how to make one of those traps that when you step in it, it tightens around the ankle and catches the victim, we made blow darts and learned to shoot them, we practiced using a spear, learned to weave a basket, learned about (and tasted) the edible foods in the forest, and so much more.

Well, I have just realized I need to get some shopping done before lunch. I must go. I will try my best to write more often. It is just so hard to find time, we keep so busy! I do have so much to share. I still have to tell about carrying potato bags full of rocks the size of my head from the river up a hill.

I´ll be in touch!