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!