Greetings from Tena, Ecuador!
I can´t believe a whole week has gone by already! I am happy that every day I get to walk to work in the Amazon, and don´t know where to begin to update everyone. Jatun Sacha ("big forest" in the native language of Kichwa) is a 2200 hectare (100m x 100m, mostly contiguous reserve on the edge of the Amazon basin, not far from the feet of the Andes mountains. On a recent survey of the reserve shortly after its conception, over 20 new species of trees were discovered! I have seen more different kinds of butterflys, grasshoppers, moths, flys, ants, and frogs than ever before. The frogs really come out on wet nights, and I ventured out with some others on a night hike this week to find some and listen to their deafening chorus. This area is overwhelmingly diverse, and extremely worthy of protection, especially since there is a highway that runs right through it. Yes, along with the incessant sounds of birds, insects, and monkeys, I also get to listen to trucks whiz by in the middle of the night. Not exactly what I was expecting when deciding to volunteer in the Amazon, but it makes me want to conserve the area even more vigorously.
Oddly enough, if I had left after only one week of work at Jatun Sacha, I would have destroyed more than conserved after this week. I spent four out of five days with the seasoned trail maintenance workers using machetes to cut down anything we could in a hectare of the forest with big old cacao trees. With less competition from nearby plants, the trees will have more energy to put into pod production, and the reserve can use that to promote sustainable cultivation practices. There are also avocado trees interspersed already, and banana trees will eventually be planted to add to the productivity of the zone.
As expected, it rains almost everyday, but this week it thankfully hasn´t done so during our working hours so much. During the downpours we can only seek shelter, as working while drenched is not only slightly uncomfortable, but dangerous, as a newly sharpened machete could slip out of your hand. The last two days the sun has come out, and our proximity to the equator is immediately evident. Sunny days are best to work in the full cover of the forest if possible.
For those of you who didn´t hear already, I had a small incident with a chainsaw just days before leaving for Quito. In a moment of carelessness, I had the saw at a bad angle and it kicked back into my left thigh, leaving me with a 3-inch gash that thankfully didn´t make it into my muscle tissue. I got stitches right away, and last night pulled them out myself without the slightest sign of infection. Moral of the story- don´t be careless with a chainsaw and invest in a pair of chaps!
Tomorrow begins the festival of Carnaval the world over, and in the nearby community of Misahualli the party is as big as it gets. In Ecuador, celebrations are highlighted with throwing water and flour all over the place, and everyone is wet and dirty by the end of the day. Tomorrow we head into Misahualli to see what the hype is all about. The holiday period lasts until Tuesday, so we won´t work at the station until Wednesday. Then on Thursday, two other volunteers and myself will travel to Cuenca to meet up with a group of students that up until yesterday were doing some service work at the reserve. They are a great group, and I am excited to see another part of Ecuador.
Looking even further ahead, I have confirmed a place to volunteer outside of Cuzco, Peru between April 1-18, and once I have an idea of how long I want to stay in Chile, there is a place for me to go in Argentina near Epuyen. As for the World Cup, my second ticket application was unsuccessful. I haven´t given up on seeing a game, any game, and will try to get into a stadium once I am in Brazil.
Peace and love to all of you! If there are any specific questions, feel free to ask and I can address them in my next email. Also I can only send about 5 photos, so these are some representative pics from the last week!
Love, Mark
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