Did you get the letter I wrote but never sent?

*Old post that a wrote but never posted…**

Update time! Ok so its been a while since my last update so I will try to recap the best I can.

The week after the amazing snorkel trip I received a care package form home. Nestled in with the slim jims, easy Mac and American chocolate was a copy of “the Kite Runner” before too long, I was sucked into the compelling plot and I did nothing but sit and read for hours at a time only pulling my nose out of the book for bathroom breaks and meal times. On the third day I was nearly done with the book and was reading the last few chapters on the board walk The first bench I tried was to near the sea lions at low tide so it was loud and stinky. So with out losing my concentration I moved to the bench across the street! I finished the book 45 minutes later and when to grab my purse to leave only to realize that it was gone! A slow cold realization creped up on me that I must have left it on the other bench when I moved. I raced across the street and unfortunately the course was not there. Credit cards, my drivers license, my Ecuadorian ID, and my house keys where all lost. It was shocking at first but now I realize that it could have been a lot worse. Cards have been canceled, Keys have been replaced, things are getting back to normal. Looks like I got another travelers right of passage.

Ok, so the class from hell is long over and so is any sign if the tonsillitis that I had. The end of Evolutionary Analysis and the beginning of Spring break was celebrated by Pirate themed Booze cruise organized by our group. It was great fun, a few people had a bit “to much fun” towards the end of the ride, but other then that it was good times. I got home late/early and was quite content to pour myself into bed and sleep away the next day. However, I was awoken The end of the Booze cruise meant the begging of spring break of us. For most people spring break draws visions of topical beaches, big parties and lots of exposed skin. However, where do you go when you have been living in a popular spring break destination for the past month?! We dodged lost looking tourists and laid out on the beach soaking up the sun shine! It was nice to do nothing for a while, A few of the students went to Santa Cruse early, I stayed back on San Cristobal. On Saturday, I did a bit of running around tiring to get everything I needed for the impending week in Santa cruse. Saturday night I went out to Iguana Rock and did not quite dance off the tequila shots before going home. When I did arrive back to the house I realized that I did not have my keys and we locked out of the house. I attempted to sleep in the back of the house by the kitchen door until my host mom unlocked it at 6 am. I was able to sleep in my own bed for and hour before I had to be up and ready for a 2 hour boat ride to Santa Cruise. I don’t think there is a worse feeling then exhaustion and a hangover on a rocking boat. I took a motion sickness pill before boarding so I was able to keep everything down but just felt gross. Lesson learned- don’t drink before island hoping!

Santa Cruse is the most touristy of the islands, and also consequently the most wealthy. It was like the Disney version of Galapagos, the sea lions seemed to have been replaced by expensive souvenir shops. It was good to get off the island (and away from my crazy family) but I was a bit un impressed with Santa Cruise as a whole. However we did get to do a few interesting snorkel trips, at one site we saw a large white tipped shark, that was cool. I enjoy snorkeling, there really is a completely unseen world under the sea…and it is beautiful. We had classes in the Charles Darwin research station home of Lonely George “the rarest animal on earth.” This opened up some interesting discussions about raising animals in captivity and weather or not it is an appropriate or sustainable practice. While we where there, we saw presentations from the researches there and learned a little about their projects. There are many problems with attempting to blend a national park, a tourism industry and an artisan fishery into on very small cluster of islands. As beautiful as this place is, it’s far from perfect. One of the nice things about Santa Cruise was that it has been getting regular shipments of food and supplies form the main land. There where lots of fresh fruits and meats as well as chips, candy and paper goods. We had major meals provided but the school and with the exception of breakfast, the food was really good! They seemed to be having some electrical issues on the island. That was fine by me, it was nice to have a break from the bright lights and noise for a little. Twice while we where there the power cut out. Both times, it was at night, so I found a bench by the peer and watched the stars until the power came back on (about an hour later.) I saw 4 shooting stars and made up my own constellations, because I don’t know how to find the real ones.

The boat ride back to San Cristobal was made far more exciting by a sighting of a large school of bottle nosed dolphins. Danny spotted then jumping in the distance and as we got closer, the dolphins came right up to the boat to investigate. With in minuses we where surrounded by a school of 50-75!. They came so close that one point I could have reached out and touched them. It was truly amazing, they are so fast they swam next to the boat easily keeping pace with our chugging engine. It was fascinating to hear their excited clicks and squeals and see them glide just under the waters surface. As we left their territory one by one the dolphins departed like aquatic military planes breaking formation. As I watched them leap from the water with the setting sun in the background, I thought to my self, “So long, and thanks for the fish!”

Field Trip Friday

There is a pattern here that we have all fallen into. We tolerate being stuck in classes Monday though Thursday and then we get to go someplace amazing on Friday. Today was no exception. This morning after breakfast we loaded all of our gear into a boat and headed out for a day of snorkeling at some of the best places on the island!

First we stopped at “the 5 fingers” which was this hand shaped rock formation that I none to many species of birds. Our Guide pointed out each one to us and spoke about how each one may have come to the island, it was interesting. I These where boobies and frigate birds and endemic sea loins. The sun was warm and it was the prefect start to an amazing day. Next we went an area that is known to have high quantities of frigate bird nests. We saw the males getting ready to mate by puffing up their gullets. The male with the largest gullet gets the girl!

Next it was off to ‘kicker rock’ a large rock formation that is shaped a bit like a boot. This area has deep water and is a santuarey for many different types of fish. It is so serene to be in the water and watch all the life just floating around. At one point our guide took us between the two rocks and there 30 feet below us we saw a huge hammer head shark prowling….. It was so cool. However, the waves where really choppy and it was hard to move about in the water. I got tired easily and I was getting water in my mask. It was a very challenging adventure and I was happy to be back on the boat.

After lunch on the boat, we got to walk around Playa Grande, at gorgeous beach in th other side of the island. The water was warm and clear with very little waves and the sand was soft and white. On the horizon I could see clouds rolling over the highlands and Frigate birds swooping and diving over head. It was just beautiful, one of the more breath taking places I have ever been. We took a sort walk around the beach and our guide pointed out various plants and a turtle nesting sight. I am sure that he has the most amazing job ever…take people to cool places and show them neat things, I could do that! After our walk we had some free time to swim and lay out in the sun…it was heaven.

After the beach we got back onto the boat and where taken too Isle de Lobos (Sea Lion island). This little cove has the ideal conditions for raising sea lions and so there where many playful pups diving in the water and checking us out as we snorkeled by. Also, there where huge sting rays and hundreds of little fish that swam together in a tight glittery school. It was very calm and clear to it was easy to swim and see lots of different things, I hope that I get the opportunity to go back!

Back at the university now, I will finish this and then go to dinner, hoping for chicken…but we will most likely have fish. After dinner I will go back home, (still no sign of my host family) Shower, and then go out for some ‘fine ales’ and dancing!

A very rough weekend

**This is a copy of an E-mail send to my sister, it serves as a good update**

>  So as it turns out this trip is a bit less of a
> vacation then I thought it would be. But now that I
> am feeling better I can put things back in to
> perspective. It is still beautiful here and there
> are still things that surprise and amaze me out this
> island. As much as i miss the comforts of home It
> will be hard to leave this place.
>
> So I had a rough weekend, I had been sick on and off
> since getting here almost a month ago. The fever was
> new and making life really difficult I had heard
> many horror stories about the clinic here and was
> reluctant to go. However, after nearly throwing up
> on my professors shoes on Friday, I asked Cortney
> the trip director to take me to see a doctor.  He
> looked in my mouth and decided that I had
> tonsillitis, and that I needed 30cc of penicillin in
> my behind! I was none to thrilled about this news
> and proceeded to have a bit of  melt down after the
> first round. to make matters worse, we where having
> power outages on the island on Friday so there was
> no way to contact home and tell people what was
> going on. When i finally did find a working cabina
> (international phone) I proceeded to freak out over
> the phone.
>
> My housing is a bit...interesting. My family has up
> and left me for what they said was a week...but that
> was 10days ago. its not as bad as it sounds because
> don't really talk with them much anyway because of
> the language barrier. My biggest concern is that my
> room is next to the shop and has the big coolers
> facing my wall.  On a normal day its not so bad, but
> when you have a high fever and are just hopeing to
> sleep it off its pretty miserable. However, at night
> it cools off out side and so my room goes down to a
> normal temperature so its not too bad.
>
> lets see what else...im in a new class that is
> pretty challenging, Evolution. I suppose there is no
> better place to study that then here but it does not
> make the concept any easier to comprehend,  its a
> lot of biology terms that  i have not heard before.
> The Prof. is nice and seems to enjoy his work so
> that makes the class bearable. I am hoping that this
> week will be a little better now that don't feel
> sick anymore.
> 

In Galapagos

Well for those of you that don’t know already I have made it to the Galapagos islands. I am staying on the island of San Cristobal the oldest of the archipelago and the only one with fresh water. My first impressions of this place are that it is absolutely beautiful! I am sitting at the university now and across the coble stone street from me I can see the crystal blue ocean sparkling in the sun light. I will be going swimming as soon as I finish this post. I think I am going to enjoy living on this island. One of the first signs of wild life we saw on the island where large blubbering sea lions. These fat blobs lounge on the beaches, park benches and boats all over the island. When you are swimming you have to be careful not to get to close because they will try to play with you by nipping at your fins…Because humans do not have fins it can be pretty pain full it have your arm of leg bitten by the 300 pound beast. They are cute but they make the most horrible noises its like a never ending belching party at a frat house!

Down the road a bit from the university s the Malecon (the board walk and tourist district) The board walk is pretty with little shops and cafes. I learned very quickly to not buy form the tourist shops because two blocks up from the pier I can usually find the same thing for much less. However the community uses the boardwalk too, I have seen out door concerts and movies (Finding Nemo in Spanish) that they set up for the locals to enjoy. I feel very safe here everyone is friendly and is very patient with m at I muddle my way though the language barrier. I have picked up a lot of Spanish since coming here, mostly little words and phrases but drawing pictures and flailing go a remarkably long way. I few of the locals speak English well so it is refreshing to talk to them.

Walking away from the pier, up the road two blocks and across from the giant stature of pink flamingos you will find my little house. I am living with an older couple and their daughter who is my age. The daughter speaks English fairly well and the parents do not speak English at all. It is hard to really bond with people who you cant talk with so I do not feel very close to them, I hope I can find some way to get to know them better. My family owns a small convenience store in front of the house, that I walk through every time I come home. The Daughter also owns an internet café down on the malecon (good brownies).

About a half mile from my house is the best dance club on the island Iguana Rock. On the weekend this place gets really busy and everyone dances and drinks. It is so much fun! Salsa Dancing is a big thing here and I am thankful for all the dancing I did when I was in high schoool or else I could never keep up with some of the guys. I love to dance and flirt, its great fun. So that’s a basic tour of the developed areas of this island. The rest is mostly untouched forest and mangroves.

I got here at the beginning of the month and right away we started into a new class. This time it was Botany, exploring the endemic and introduced plants of the Galapagos. I thought that it would be boring and a challenge to memorize a bunch of different plants, but it was actually pretty interesting, our professor was crazy and made the class fun. We went on a few day trips around the island to look at endemic plants and last week we went on the camping trip from hell into the highlands.

What made the camping trip so bad? We started out at a volunteer organization for the eradication of invasive plants. That was not bad at all, it was really interesting to see what they where doing and we got to help out a tiny bit too! One bad thing though was these little flies that would bite your skin and make you bleed, they also made the skin ich like crazy! After some time at jutune satcha, we whent to our camp site and set up the tents, for some reason my tent did not have a proper fly, something that will become more important later. There was a massive party back down on the coast and many of us where disappointed the have to miss it until Jenni suggested that we take call a cab to come get us and then ride back with them I the morning. So 12 of us all loaded into the back of a taxi and went to one of the biggest parties in the Galapagos. There where live bands, street food and plenty of beer! It was fun until all the creepy locals began to come out. I was dancing close to the stage when Katie tells me that there was a guy who wanted to meet me where she was with her current boy. I follow her back and land in the arms of this creep who I danced with once at Igguna and had been avoiding ever since. I gave him a few minutes of my time and then did my best to lose him again. Lucky in a crowd that size it was easy to do. At about 3am it started to rain and that was my cue to head home and get a whole 4 hours of sleep before going back up to the highlands. The rain had not quit when I woke up again, nor had the music from the party…both seemed to have gone on all night. By the time I walked the short distance from my house to the meeting place I was soaked. We got up to the camp site in time for breakfast and then we where off on a two hour hike in the pouring rain though the miconia forest…a forest f stunted trees. We crossed a dam where the island gets its fresh water, it was interesting to learn that San Cristobal is the only island with a fresh water supply. As the rain fell the terrain became slippery and several people including the professor ended up covered in mud. It was bad. Most of us where pretty punchy from the night before and that just made the hike even worse. We got back to camp soaking wet and hungry. After lunch and a change of cloths we where back out to the Galapagra, a rehab center for turtles, that was almost interesting except it turns out that turtles don’t like the rain anymore then people do. So there where not many out. Back to camp, I am out of dry clothes at this point so we all just sit in the dining hall and watch movies in Spanish until dinner. After dinner, I was exhausted and headed to my tent for bed. However, upon entering I realize there was a small leak that led to a puddle right where my blanket had been. So I attempted to sleep on the ground with the dry half of the blanket….it was pretty miserable. The next morning there was a plan to go cut Mora (invasive blackberry), but we protested so much that we just came home after looking at the 3 windmills that provide 50% of the power to the island. They where interesting, I like wind mills and its got to see a move toward alternative energy here. We arrived home at noon and I was asleep in a dry bed by 12:30..and did not wake up until dinner time.

Two days after returning home from camping we had our final for botany and then we said good bye to our professor. Its amazing how quickly time moves here. The professors become our trip leaders, tour guides and care takers when we go on feald trips. It realy puts them in a different light, I like that. Hugo was amazing and I will think of him each time I read about endemic plants of the Galapagos.

Censo/Rio bamba/Cotopaxi

Day 1 (February 1)

We got back from the Amazon and had our last formal day of classes in Quito. As a class, we decided to use our final session as a review for the final. The review went well but I had so much to do before the end of this module. I had a research paper, a case study and a presentation to prepare for on top of reviewing for the final, I was beginning to feel overwhelmed. Sitting in the dark hallway franticly typing my paper and preparing for a very late night of studying I got an E-mail that tomorrow's class (the final) was canceled! Instead of class, we needed to take our passports to the immigration office and get our censos. The censo is the official ID for no non- natives and with out it we can not enter the islands. Up until this point our passports where with the lawyer getting a special stamp… When dealing with the Ecuadorian government, everything takes a little bit longer then expected. This is because they are currently re writing their constitution so there are literally no rules for how things need to be run. I brought the required documents to the official at the front desk, he barely glanced at the paper work and handed me my ID card in a matter of minutes. However, my friend Megan, who had the exact same documents as I did spent two hours fling out additional forms! It was a nightmare.

After that mess we got back to the hotel, began packing both for Rio Baba and the Galapagos as we had less then 24 hours upon coming back before leaving again. That night I also finished writing my paper, sent it to the proof, and made a power point before going to bed. Overall, it was a very productive day.

Day 2 (February 2)

The next morning we loaded on to the bus for a 3 hour drive up to the highlands. I used this time to read the article and take a few notes. When I did look out the window, I saw amazing patchworks of farm land on the sides of mountains. Women dressed in colorful alpaca scarves and dresses walking bony cattle across the road often stopped and waved as the large bus roared by their humble cement houses. It amazing to see how little these people lived on. It made me begin to evaluate the things that I take for granted in my own life.

We arrive at the school and where greeted by an exuberant gut named Dave who showed us around campus. This school like the one in Quito has a culinary program; however, their focus is on pastries, deserts and chocolate. We where led into the bakery and where allowed to sample anything we wanted. I tried some heavenly truffles and a bit of cake. Yum!

Unfortunately, as much as I would have liked to explore the city, we had a bunch of class work to finish. It was a challenge to sit in another classroom and watch presentations when there was a whole new city outside. One presentation sticks out in my mind as being interesting, A woman cam in a spoke to up about the status of the indigous women in the community and her efforts to combat domestic violence. Something like 60% of the indigenous women experience domestic violence, but it is a part of their culture and so it is a hard to find the line between intervention and changing the way of life for these people to be “more civilized”.

After 2 long hours of presentations, we had a wonderful lunch and went back upstairs to participate in a language exchange with some of the locals. One of the more programs that the school offers is English classes and so the school wanted to give their student and chance to practice their English and us a chance to practice our Spanish. I have a great respect for anyone that can speak two languages…the kids did extremely well. And I…I need much more practice. I am going to pick up as much as I can while I am on the island.

After the meet and greet we all loaded back on to the bus and whet deeper into the highlands to a base camp for one of he highest peaks in Ecuador. The base camp was a hostel style hotel in the middle of an indigenous farming community. Because of the altitude, it was considerably colder then the temperature I had been enjoying in weeks previous. I was thankful for the big sweatshirt and genes that to brought with me. By the time, we go to the base camp the sun was beginning to set and there was a cold drizzle beginning to come down. We took a short tour of the farms looking at the alpaca and sheep that they sheer and use the wool to make hats and sweaters. It was amazing to see how these people get by on so little. We had a big dinner of my favorite potato soup and a lamb chop (most likely from that farm we just saw). About halfway though the dinner the power went out and so we ate dinner in the dark and I studded for the final in candle light. After about two hours the power did come back on which gave me a chance to brush my teeth and jump into bed. It was so cold in the lodge that I could see my breath as I walked about the cabin. I was thankful for the two big alpaca blankets that where on my bed.

Day 3 (February 3)

At 7:00 the next morning we where given a huge breakfast of local eggs, fresh fruit, bread, hot chocolate, tea and juice. The warm drinks did wonders for taking the chill out of my system. Once we where sufficiently stuffed we packed up all of our thinks and began the days hike. We walked for about an hour in the arid regain of the highlands climbing ever higher. We where 11,000 feet above sea level so there was much less oxygen. I was very easily winded. The sky was over cast and so even when we reached the summit you could not see much down below. According to our guide, on a clear day it is possible to see the ocean.

We came back down the same way we went up and got on to the bus that took us to another base camp where we hung out for a little bit and sipped cinnamon tea until Carlos, the professor, announced that it was time to take the final. I had been studying for a while, but I was tired from the walk and feeling a little goofy from the altitude, so it was a bit of a challenge to focus on the task. Luckily the exam was pretty easy so I think I did well. We ate lunch at the base camp and then went out rock climbing. I tried it but it was so cold that I could not feel my fingers, so I did not get very far. I spent the reset of the time waling around and just enjoying being out of Quito.

After everyone had a chance at rock climbing, we left the highlands and headed to a hotel back in the center of rio bamba. The hotel was amazing compared to the loge we stayed in the night before. Big comfy beds and best of all….. a warm shower! It was the best shower I have had since arriving in Ecuador. This week is a holiday that is celebrated across south America known as carnival. It is the same concept as Marti Gras, sin as much as you can before ash Wednesday. There was a carnival party at the school and so a few of us went to check it out. Upon walking into the gym where the party was held it felt a bit like a high school dance…with lots of alcohol. We did not stay to long, we where tired and there was more traveling to do tomorrow.

Day 4 (February 4)

Light breakfast (good coffee) before getting back on the bus and going to Cotopaxi an active volcano. We all took pictures of a pretty crater lake. On the way to lunch, we saw wild horses in the distance and beautiful mountain ranges. When we pulled in to the base camp, we saw several horses in a corral and we asked our guild if we could ride instead of go on another hike. So, over lunch our guide worked arrangements to get all of us settled up we went horse back riding though the mountain range. The horse I had ha a lot of spunk to it and really wanted to run, it took a lot of pulling to get him under control at first, but once I was able to get him under control it was an amazing experience that I will not soon forget.

Once we all dismounted it was back on the bus to drive part of the way up Cotopaxi clouds had rolled in and it was starting to rain. I fell asleep on the bus ride up there when I did wake up we where surrounded in the thickest fog I had ever seen, and then I realized we where so high up that we where inside a cloud! I could not see a foot in front of me, I don’t know how our driver did not manage to drive us right of a cliff! It was pretty eerie.

Out of the clouds, down from the mountains, past the indigenous women and children taking the livestock home from the fields. Back to the loud dirty and the hotel that I had called home for the last month. I was tired and feeling a little sick from all the changes in altitude. When we finally got back to Quito it was dark, Fernando the guy who lovingly served us dinner each night was waiting for us. This guy truly loved his job was so happy to serve us dinner. ***out of context: I remember the first weekend that we had free we where unsure if dinner was covered by the school or not so we all went out for a big dinner. However, upon coming back to the hotel Fernando was waiting for us with the door open and pouring us freshly made juice. Not of us had the heart to tell him that we had just ate, so we ate again…it was like not telling mom that you where coming home for dinner…so guilty*** I will miss him. After dinner I came on line just to tell people I was still alive, and then spent the rest of the time before bed making sure I had everything packed because the very next morning we would be leaving for Galapagos.

Amazon and back (January 28-31)

Day 1 (January 28th)

The last weeks have been crazy, and the madness is going to continue well into next week. I figure that I had better take a moment to blog before I forget all that has happened. On Friday January 28th, we go up at 6am to take a bus to the air port for a half hour flight to Cocas. It was the shortest flight I had ever been on. In the 30 minutes that we where up in the air the flight attendants manages to pass out news papers, drinks and pastries and come by with the trash can before touching back down. It was quite a spectacle! Landing in Coco’s we took a “bus” to a near by port for the next leg of our adventure. The Bus reminded me of the cattle trucks that used in Mexico, only with seats. The dock was connected to a hotel with bathrooms which we all wanted to take advantage of. While we where waiting a squirrel monkey came down form the rafters to say hello. I took plenty of pictures of this first glimpse of “wild” life! On to the boat, we went with hunter orange life jackets and all of our gear. I manage to sit up front in hopes of soaking up some of the Ecuadorian sun, but I ended up just soaking up most of the river! By the end of the 2 hours, I was soaking wet. Besides that, the trip was beautiful! Everything so green and there where many birds flying over head. However, we also passed many completely bare patches and saw sites of oil drilling. It put the reasoning for why I am here into perspective.

The Amazon is being destroyed at a rate of several football fields an hour. Seeing what I saw on the river, it is easy to think that the forest is an unlimited resource. However, it’s not unlimited and there is so much left to be discovered it is scary that it is being destroyed at such and alarming rate. It was an impression that will stay with me for a long time. The main resource that it causing so much degradation is the oil that is underneath the rich soil. Hundreds of hectars of land, many with indigenous tribes have been destroyed because of large companies like Shell coming in and drilling. It is estimated that the Amazon has 57billoin dollars worth of oil. This is enough oil to sustain North America for 13 days.

The next leg of our trip was back on another cattle truck down a dirt road where we bumped and bounced for another two hours. The ride was loud and dirty but we passed houses of indigenous people, so that was interesting to see. From the bus, it was on to another boat for the final leg of our journey. The cannel for this list part was much more narrow and we where able to see turtles and caimans (small alligators) along the river bank; it was also less disturbed as it is part of a large national park. Scarlet macaws flew over head and monkeys shook branches as we passed by. It was something out of a movie, just unreal that a place this beautiful exists in real life.

At 4:00pm after traveling all day, we finally reached the Tiputini Biodiversity Station. It is a fully furnished research station complete with wireless internet and a full kitchen. We went to our assigned cabins and I took a nap before heading down to dinner. For dinner, we had a large plate of beans and rice (one of my favorites) with fresh mango juice. It was just the think I needed after a long day of travel. An interesting thing about the dining hall is that it is completely open with no screens or doors. At night, the insects would be attracted to the light and the bats would come in and eat the bugs! It was a little alarming the first time that it happened, but it was really cool. After dinner, we played a short game of cards before heading to bed.

Day 2 (January 29^th)

Wake up was at 6:00 weather you liked it or not. The howler monkeys would begin making noise and wake up everyone else in the jungle humans and animals alike. It is a really odd sound sort of a cross between a barking dog and manic laughter. Breakfast was at 6:30 and them we broke into groups for our fist guided trek into the Amazon. I was so excited to get out there that I quickly became annoyed with my group member fro not being ready. Finally after several trips back to the cabin and several ounces of bug spray we where off! Immediately into the hike, our guide found a huge bug clinging onto a tree. It was so well hidden that it took me a long time to see it even though he was pointing right at it. There are designated trails I Tiputini that we stayed on the best we could but it did not make the hike very easy. We trekked there water and mud, over log brigs and under 500 year old tree branches. It was amazing to see all the different plants. Some plants are used to treat different ailments and others can cause them. Our guide seemed very knowledgeable about the different uses of the plants, it was interesting. Despite and endless amounts of plants and animals that we encountered, the walks where very challenging and I came home after each one muddy and dripping in sweat. It was after the first walk that I enjoyed the best cold shower ever.

After lunch, it was off to another hike in the forest, this time to a lagoon. The lagoon was home to all sorts of birds and bats. The little canoe that we where in was so wobbly in the water that I thought for sure we where going to tip into the murky green water. However, we did not tip. Instead, we saw about 20 different species of birds of all different shapes and colors hidden in the brush the lined the lagoon. After the lagoon, we climbed a rickety observation tower to get a view from above the canopy. It was beautiful and a very clear day so you could see quite far. Dinner and a lecture about the studies that have been conducted at the research station followed the hike and then it was off t bed and to prepare to do it all again in the morning.

Day 3 (January 30^th )

Woken up by more monkeys. The 3^rd hike was just as intense as the others but frequent sightings of monkeys and toucans made it bearable. We came back and took a quick dip in that Amazon River to cool off. The river is silty and so it has the color of chocolate milk. It was a bit scary at first going in for the first time knowing that piranhas lived in the waters. However, after the hike I was to hot and dirty to care! The cool water felt amazing. Lunch time again and then off into the jungle for our final time. We did a canopy walk that reminded me of the high ropes courses that I used to do at summer camp. The view form above the canopy was neat, just an endless sea of green. Sometimes, birds and butterflies would dart out and there where tons off bugs that very quickly found us. I took some great pictures from up there. That night after diner, we all got into one of the boats and went exploring the Amazon River in the dark! One of the head researchers brought his spotlight and he was able to find lots of Caymans and frogs along the bank. It was neat to see all the creatures, but it was very peaceful. Since there is no civilization for many miles, there was no light pollution, the stars where amazing.

Day 4 (January 31^st )

Another big travel day. We must leave the jungle just the same way we came; boat bus, boat, plane. It was a bit depressing to leave the jungle, I felt that there was so much more to see and discover, I could spend a whole term in Tiputini and still have more to learn, it is a place that not many people get to see in their life time and I was very fortunate to spend any time there at all. On the way back home between the second boat ride and the final plane ride back to Quito, we had a 4 hour layover in Coca. We stayed at this odd hotel near the river with a swimming pool, and a snack bar. After a soda and an ice cream, I decided to go exploring. As I walk around the property, I saw an area that contained little dishes of rotting fruit. It did not take me long to discover why there where there because before my eyes a small squirrel monkey jumped down from the tree and began eating the fruit. Like a typical tourist, I whipped out my camera just as 3 others joined him. These monkeys had no fear of people and so I was able to get close. I was joined by a few of my class mates; we sat under their tree and watched them play. Eventually they came down to investigate us! One monkey came right up to me and started digging though my purse and even tried to steal my Oreos! I am so glad that Megan got picture of that.

After we had enough of the monkeys, it was time to finish our journey back to Quito. Tired, dirty and excused we found our way back to the hotel and got instructions for the next phase of our journey…Rio Bamba, and then to GALAPAGOS!

so much to do....

So much is going on right now...I have half a post written about my adventures in the amazon and I need to start a new one about the Rio Bama trip that I just got back from. on top of that i am going to the islands tomorrow and I don't know when I will be on line next

There will be another BIG post from me soon...but tonight I need sleep.