Homeward Bound

Highlights from the past few weeks:

Going for groceries

Today Daniel and I went to Piñas to buy groceries. This is the second time we have done so, and I believe it is an adventure worth telling.

At times the reserve here feels secluded - surrounded by forest, birds, and other critters with a rare unfamiliar face. In reality, we are not that far from civilization as the highway is close enough to hear cars go by sometimes. Today, was a lesson in how far we really are here. To get groceries, we left the reserve walking down the hill into the river gorge. The river is small but swift - not big enough to get a kayak down unless maybe after a torrential downpour - but big enough to need a bridge (log) to cross. The walk to the river is a casual 15 minute downhill mudskate. After crossing the river, that's when the fun begins - at times the hike up the other side of the gorge is the equivalent of a 5.7 solo climb except with gaucho boots instead of climbing shoes and mud instead of chalk. When we got to the top, after 45 minutes of slipping and sliding and climbing sections of the trail 2 or 3 times, we both changed our shirts and our shoes, only to soak the second shirt with sweat almost as quickly. Then we waited. We waited for 30 minutes or so for a bus to pass so that we could get a ride into Piñas. Once in Piñas, we had a list of groceries to buy, but there are no grocery stores in Piñas, only tents with fruit, tents with vegetables, stores with unidentifiable meat products lining the walls, and then the occasional quick-stop type store with chips, rice, milk, soap, etc. So Daniel and I, with our list of 2 weeks worth of groceries began wandering up and down the street bargaining with people in various tents for fruits and veggies. With our backpacks full and our arms fuller, we each had an ice cream before finding a camioneta to take us back to the reserve in order to avoid the morning's adventure in reverse.

Dinner is going to be good tonight :)

My project

For the month of April, as I have previously mentioned, I am working on the final piece of this semester's work. My independent study project is a population survey of the butterflies here in the Reserva Buenaventura. As a final product, I will have a 20-30 page paper discussing my research here as well as small, simple guide with pictures of butterflies in the reserve (hopefully). Today I completed the first survey of my third habitat, so I already have an idea of what I'm in for for the next 3 weeks or so.

All of my decent pictures are posted in the butterfly album, and I will continue adding the butterfly pictures there as my project progresses.

The more interesting pictures from my experience here will come later.... (I'm already on snake number 2!)

99 or 199 or 1,999 or too many to count?

I think it has just recently hit me that I am on the final leg of my semester in Ecuador, finally in the independent study the supposed highlight of this program. Only 5 or so more weeks 'til my plane lands in Atlanta!

Buenaventura is a reserve located in the province of El Oro in the far south of Ecuador. So far I have been trying to become acquainted with the area, the park ranger(s) and well, the mosquitoes. I was considering taking a picture of my legs to put on this blog, but I'm afraid it might give someone nightmares. Needless to say, the mosquitoes (and other biting insects) took a quick liking to me here - not exactly the warm welcome I was hoping for.

On the upside, there are about 13 different species of hummingbirds that feed on 6 feeders right on the porch of our lodge, which provide an exciting amount of chaos during daylight hours. Agoutis, other birds, frogs, toads, and butterflies frequent the back door of the lodge. The next three weeks here will be full of new experiences and probably a few thousand more bug bites!

Galapagos es muy chevere

My Galapagos experience can be condensed to boats, snorkeling, sun burns, beach time, hikes, ah-ah and pahoehoe, Jehovah's witnesses, and ice cream. Here is an excerpt from my journal from this week:

Yesterday we saw 40 penguins hanging out on a rock and 10 more swimming in the water. This was just a few hours after seeing 8 sea turtles resting on the ocean floor. Absolutely incredible. These islands are full of good surprises.

At dinner, my host family tried to convert me to Jehovah's witnesses. After a question/answer session on moral issues relating to religion as well as life in general (where do people go after they die? do you believe that money buys happiness? how do you try to live more simply? do they speak Spanish in India? etc.), my host dad pulled out his Bible and started reading verses to me; all of these verses had something to do with the previously covered questions and my answers to them. Besides this being an important part of their faith (talking about religious issues with people who may not have their minds completely made up or cannot properly express their beliefs in another language) I think he was making a sort of concluding statement for me and my short time spent with the family.

Then they started showering me with gifts. The dad gave me a conch shell necklace in which he had carved the shape of Isabela Island on one side and a caballito del mar on the other side. The older of the two brothers still living in the house then decided to quickly craft me a keychain girl wearing a purple hat. Receiving these gifts was nice but a little awkward since I had nothing to give to them. And saying goodbye was a bit awkward as well - I had to bid farewell the night before I left and wasn't exactly sure if hugs were appropriate or not.

4:30am this morning I was sweating in my room and cutting my fingernails...? The bus arrived shortly thereafter to take all of us and our stuff to the dock to catch a boat. By 5:30am we were cruising from Isabela to Santa Cruz to catch another bus and then another boat and then another bus and then an airplane. Dawn on the top of the boat provided us with a magnificent sunrise over the Pacific Ocean and the silhouette of a few volcanic islands breaching the horizon. I was lucky to get a seat on top this time instead of inside the oxygen-free, sea-sick chamber. En route, I saw sting rays leaping out of the water, sea lions swimming by, and flying fish fleeing from the sound of the boat.

Travel today has been quick, probably because of the fog in my brain left over from an incredible week and last night's short slumber. Now we are on our 3rd and final leg of the trip back to Quito, my home for only the next 4 days.



(pictures will be uploaded little by little)

Dinner with the family

Mornings out my window