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

One day of vacation

Today was a work day, so we went tubing in Mindo. or maybe it was rafting. Actually I have no idea how one would accurately define what we did.




And then I ate pizza. and it was good.

4100 meters + cabinas + walkin' shoes

Today 6 of us girls took a ride on the Teleférico, a flying cabina on a cable that carries eager tourists and nationals alike up to 4100 meters toward the Volcán Pichincha. At the top there are refreshment stations, new hostals, and kilometers of trails, which split in all directions.

At an altitude higher than 14,000ft, two steps uphill and we were all sucking wind. We hiked for probably 3 hours. Two of the girls were being stubborn and practically running towards the nearest cumbre, an unrealistic goal in our time frame. Looking down into the valley, we could see the vaaaaaast expanse of Quito. Some of the barrios creep up the surrounding hills, but most of the city is concentrated in the valley, spreading over 30 kilometers from north to south.

Around Quito

Escuela de Union Nacional de Periodistas

Yesterday, I had the wonderful experience of going to an Ecuadorian elementary school to give a brief and simple lesson about ecological footprints. The project is not something I would have taken on by myself, but it was a group endeavor as part of our "sustainability" project. It has been a long time since I have dreaded something so much, but the kids were great and enthusiastic and responsive to our questions. I would definitely go again if the opportunity presented itself. Maybe 9 and 11-year-olds are my true calling. but probably not.

A very Ecuadorian birthday!

Today I got 3 different cakes from 3 different people. I think that's a record.

Sunrise over the canopy and other wonderful things

After a 5 minute taxi ride, a 20 minute plane ride, a two hour motorized canoe ride, an hour and a half bus ride, and another 3 hour boat ride, our group arrived at the Tiputini Biological Station, just on the perimeter of the Yasuní National Park in the Ecuadorian Amazon Rainforest.

The past week was spent climbing canopy towers, floating in the Río Tiputini (both in the canoe and out), learning the trails, taking candle-lit showers, sweating, running from ants and other scary insects, chasing monkeys, fishing, eating, sweating, catching bats in a mist net, finding frogs that look like leaves, sweating, learning new bird species, bug-catching, did I mention sweating?

5:00am came early every morning. The days were long and hot and packed with various activities to learn as much as possible about such a diverse ecosystem. My favorite morning was probably the 5:30am hike with Mayer, our amazing guide. This particular morning, we were able to see 5 species of monkeys (out of 10 found in this particular area of the forest) in a matter of 45 minutes! Mayer made it seem so simple to find the monkeys, but I was never as successful without a guide - they truly know the forest. In all honesty, it is impossible to choose an absolute favorite part of the excursion as the experience as a whole was incredible.

True heaven on earth (or at least heaven at TBS) was floating with a life jacket in a large, swirly, recirculating eddy every day after lunch in order to cool off. (I should also mention that thanks to the cooks at the station, I have found the Ecuadorian version of Ovaltine, and I plan on finding it in the supermarket ASAP).


(photos take FOREVER to upload, so they are trickling into the slideshow 2 at a time)

Public Transportation

Having never lived in a big city, I am a complete novice when it comes to public transportation. I would say that taking the bus to and from school is a wonderful thing and also the worst thing about Quito. Depending on the day, I either get to stand up, with my pack on my front, hanging by my arms from the bars or worse, I am smashed in the doorway like a sardine, wondering if it is better to save my computer from ladrones or keep myself upright; I never get a seat in the morning except for maybe the last 5 minutes. On a good ride, the bus driver does not drive like a maniac - he understands that there is such thing as slowing down before stopping. Normally, even sitting down is a full body workout.

When I first got here, I thought I would never understand the blue buses - where they go, when to pay, how to get off. But now, I have 2 routes figured out (mostly) - to and from class and the other to the park/mall/movie theatre and sometimes back :) Getting on the bus is always a gamble.

the family business

http://www.quitoecuadorhomestay.com/Site/Welcome.html

viene el día del amor y la amistad

Yesterday we went to two flower plantations: one a large producer of Baby's breath (also called jib) owned by a crazy American guy and the other, one of the world's largest rose farms. It was interesting to see these two farms just before the biggest flower holiday of the year. Something like 80-90% of flowers sold in the United States are grown in Ecuador - interesting considering the land and resources it takes to grow flowers when food security is such an important issue in Ecuador. The farms we visited are sustainable with fair labor practices, but the unfortunate reality is that these are two of the best examples - not all flower plantations benefit the community or the environment. On the other hand, the flowers in both places were beautiful and will probably appear in some of your Valentines' Day bouquets! I gave a free bouquet of 11 roses to my host mom and kept the other bouquet to brighten up my room.

Today in the Centro Histórico...

I stumbled upon this in real time:

click for Spanish

click for English

And I almost got to see President Correa... almost.

San Pedro Claver

Quito is a city that spans anywhere between 30 and 80km (depending on who you ask) from north to south. Just when I had finally obtained some sense of direction in the busy, traffic-choked streets of La Mariscal (better known to the Quiteños as Gringolandia), I moved to a completely different side of town. San Pedro Claver, a few blocks west of the airport, will be home sweet home until the end of March. I have new street names and bus routes to memorize and a mission to replace my beloved panadería. My new family welcomed me today with open arms and a delicious bowl of ceviche - I think I'm going to like it here.

Happy Superbowl Sunday to all.

Soy la Margarita

I have a lot of anecdotes from the past week - too much for a blog post. This week was a crash test in my ability to adjust to the simple, Andean lifestyle into which I was adopted in the Intag Cloud Forest. From my family I learned to milk a cow, clean a chicken, plant carrots, harvest potatoes, weave cabuya, and ride a horse. Communication never came easy. And my North American idea of germs and personal space was the least sustainable thing I brought with me - germs do not exist and neither does personal space. My cute family in Palo Seco really did teach me a lot that cannot be shared except through experience.

As for my time in La Florida Reserve, mist nets, long hikes and group bonding were the highlights. I could easily make the cloud forest my home for some time (don't worry, Mama, I'm coming home in May as planned).

my address (hint hint)

feel free to write me:

Maggie Shipley
c/o Ms. Anne de Alvear, Director
Experimento de Convivencia Internacional
Hernando de la Cruz N31-37 y Mariana de Jesus
Quito, Ecuador

hasta luego, Quito!

For the next week, we are fortunate enough to leave our home for the past week in search of fresh air and biodiversity. The only wildlife in the city is the occasional finch that lands at my feet at breakfast in the hostal wishing for a crumb or two to fall. I am looking forward to leaving the big city and spending time in the cloud forest - much more like home than Quito. We will spend a week in the Intag Cloud Forest, living in a homestay for part of the time and learning how to set up mist nets and light traps for the rest of the time.

Through the glass doors

After an evening of salsa lessons (you can use your imagination for this one), our group was ready to get up early this morning and drive to the Yanacocha Reserve, high in the mountains above Quito. Technically, the excursion was our first Spanish class, focusing on vocabulary of the forest. I kept falling behind because I wanted to look at everything longer than the time it took for the professor to give us the Spanish name and move along. typical. At the stopping point of our walk, we crossed paths with three photographers taking photos of the rare Black-breasted Puffleg for a Hummingbird Society of the US calendar. There were hummingbirds everywhere, swooping just above our heads and posing in front of the green screen for a photoshoot (no joke).

Tonight at dinner, the craziest thing happened. Four of us were sitting in a booth at this fancy, fast-food Ecuadorian restaurant with a completely glass front (doors and everything). Halfway through our meal, we hear what sounded like a gunshot and a scream from inside the building and then shattering glass. I turned around to see what had just happened, and a lady who was leaving the restaurant pulled on the door handle causing the entire glass door to fall and shatter on the floor. It was the most unreal thing yet. Everyone in the restaurant sat and stared for a few seconds with jaws to the floor. The poor lady felt really embarrassed, but it definitely was not her fault.

I look forward to what may happen tomorrow.

falafels in the big city

It seems odd that every country I have been to, I find a place to eat good falafels. Quito is no exception - last night three of us stumbled upon a falafel/hummus/shawarma place that will be a frequent, much needed respite from the potato soup and chicken diet.

Yesterday, orientation began. We met our two academic directors (professors), Sylvia and Xavier, and began talking about the semester ahead. Sylvia and Xavier are both wonderful and passionate people - definitely inspiring to a group of 24 ecology nerds. A huge part of their philosophy is experiential learning, so they sent us out solo or in pairs, in all different directions (and Quito is a HUGE city) to learn how to use the bus system. Let's just say it's confusing and leave it at that.

Today is our first day of Spanish class. I am next in line for my interview to see which class I will place into. I am nervous.

new place + new friends

After a painless transition through the airport, flight, customs, immigration, and taxi to the hostel, I am in Quito.

Today, in La Plaza Grande, I got my shoes shined. I just figured I needed some fine-looking shoes for my days traipsing around the big city. Mama would be thrilled at how nice my danskos look now :)

The rest of the group is trickling in (8 of us were actually in the hotel last night), and we begin our activities tomorrow.

the wild west

I'm back to weathered plateaus and a January spring. The San Juans are beautiful, but boy how I missed home.

I leave for Ecuador in 80 hours.