From Jatun Sacha to Sachahuares: Tena, Ecuador to Cusco, Peru

Hi everyone!  This is a wordy post, not only because I have been moving around the last week, but also because I am having difficulties getting my pictures to upload to computers.  As soon as I can manage to find a computer that reads my SD card, I will add some photos to this post.

A little background information:  Fresh from graduating with degrees in Biology and Hispanic Studies, I decided to travel to South America to meet new people, utilize and improve my Spanish speaking skills, and to see and learn about ecosystems different than those I am used to seeing in Washington and California.  I also wanted to volunteer, to use my youthful energy to help conservation and small scale agricultural projects in their quest to preserve a changing environment and minimize the expansion of harmful 'civilized' practices.  Finally, I wanted to experience the chaos, passion, and controversy that will be rampant at the World Cup in Brazil.  

Before planning my journey from Ecuador to Brazil, I sent out requests to farms in Peru and Argentina that accept volunteers to provide farm labor in exchange for room and board.  In Ecuador, my mission was to help with a conservation project in the Amazon, and though I had to pay a fee to participate, I know that my labor and financial contribution went towards conserving and maintaining an important area of rainforest.  After leaving Jatun Sacha Biological Reserve in the Ecuadorian Amazon last week, I set out with Cusco as my next volunteer destination.  It is a long way from Tena, Ecuador to Cusco, Peru, and I began by returning to Cuenca to enjoy the hospitality of friends before relying on hotels and hostels for lodging.  I stayed two nights, mostly relaxing and roaming around the city one last time.

From Cuenca, I took a morning bus south to Loja, where I only stayed a couple hours to do some errands before jumping on another bus that took me further south to Vilcabamba.  I stayed at the biological reserve RumiWilco (www.rumiwilco.com) , a hillside conservation site/ecolodge with a nice network of trails complete with interpretive information throughout.  I learned that for all the beauty of the patchwork agriculture I had seen on the hillsides thus far, there is a severe threat to the biodiversity of Loja province, and Ecuador in general.  For example, only 8-10% of Loja province still harbors native ecosystem, with development and civilization threatening to erase more biodiversity by the day.  The ecolodge concept has been around for awhile, but proves to be a useful tool for combining conservation, education, and tourism income.

View of Vilcabamba from the trails of RumiWilco.

I stayed two nights in Vilcabamba, and woke up before the sun on Wednesday 3/26 to begin a day and a half of travel that would take me across the border and into Chachapoyas, Peru.  Thankfully, Jen Ryman was waiting at the bus stop in Vilcabamba, and we remained travel buddies throughout the border crossing and three nights in 'Chachas'.

First, we had a 6hr bus ride from Vilcabamba to Zumba, Ecuador, during which we saw evidence of the recent rains manifested in landslides along the dirt and gravel path to Peru.  The way to Zumba was clear, but  we did stop along the way to let the bus staff fix an axle issue after hitting a big rock, and we definitely felt our stomachs drop looking over the edge of the road a few times along the way.

Steep roads and beautiful views highlighted the border crossing into Peru.

Once in Zumba, the next step was to take a large, open sided truck (ranchera) the next three hours to the small border town of La Balsa.  We met two Germans in the bus station, Adrian and Fine, who had tried to make the ranchera trip in the morning, but the way was blocked by landslides and washouts.  There was a point where the ranchera company told us that we could get through, but the taxi truck drivers said we couldn't, so we should spend a bit more and cross with them.  We decided to go with the ranchera, and if we came to an impass we might walk across and find a taxi on the other side.

Me sitting in the open-sided ranchera that brought us to the border!

Success!

The problem area was still a work in progress when we arrived, but the backhoe soon had the area flattened and ready for passage, and we continued towards the border.  There was one point where our ranchera went over some uneven ground and looked in danger of tipping over, but all was well in the end.  Everyone else on the ranchera had departed by the time we reached La Balsa, and four foreigners could be seen wandering across the river into Peru, starry-eyed and wondering where to change currency.

Entry to Peru was smooth, we all got our tourist visa stamped by the police who hung out in their building in tanktops and flip flops - little international exchange at this border crossing must warrant lax uniform requirements.

The journey from the Peruvian border to Chachapoyas stretched into the next day.  We took a half-hour moto-taxi ride (Peru's version of half motorcycle/half rickshaw) to the next town, then crammed 7 people and luggage into a car for a one hour trip to San Ignacio, then filled a shared taxi-van (colectivo) to go 3 more hours from San Ignacio to Jaen, where we crashed in a hotel for the night.  The first day's journey lasted from 6am to about 9pm.  The next day we grabbed a colectivo for a 1hr trip to Bagua Grande, and then a 3hr car ride to Chachapoyas.  We booked a hostel, dropped our bags, and began a plan of action for sites in the area.

The 3rd tallest waterfall in the world!

There are lots of tourist agencies to take people around Chachas, with plenty of archaeological and natural sites to explore.  We opted for a guided trip to Kuelap, the second largest archaeologial site in Peru after MP, and an off the beaten path hike to the third tallest waterfall in the world the day after.  The fortress of Kuelap is a pre-Incan structure, mostly consisting of houses with a couple towers and a temple.  The site took over 300 years to complete - what social and political stability to maintain a project for so long!  Our journey to the waterfall was a memorable one, with a refreshing walk through the high forest culminating in breathtaking views of a cascade too large to capture by photo.  As we returned to Chachapoyas, the sun broke through the clouds with rays like spotlights highlighting the secluded communities scattered through the hills.


My original plan from Chachapoyas was to take the less traveled path on the east side of the Andes to arrive in Cusco, but with landslides likely and busses less reliable, I decided to take the express bus route through Lima.  After 21hrs I arrived in the capital Monday morning, and booked a hostel in the touristy part of town.  Hostel Pariwana is great for meeting people, feeling comfortable, and checking out the city, and I had two wonderful nights there.  On top of that, I met up with a friend of a friend who lives in Lima, and she showed me great places to eat, and some of the beautiful places of the city.

My journey continues with a 21hr bus ride to Cusco.  Once there I will book my trek to Machu Picchu for later this month, and quickly set out again for Sachahuares - the farm where I will spend the next two weeks using the skills I learned from my two Bachelor's degrees.  I am happy, confident, and ready to be back in the woods.  Until next time!

My Last Week in the Amazon

Happy Spring Equinox to those in the Northern Hemisphere, whereas today marks the beginning of 'winter', or the rainy season in Ecuador.  Today I write from Tena, Ecuador, as I wait for the bus to take me south to Ambato and on to Cuenca where I will spend the weekend with friends before taking the plunge into Peru on Tuesday.  I had a great last week at Jatun Sacha, made all the more special by the arrival of some new volunteers from Germany and South Africa.  Our first act as new friends last weekend was to go in search of the Cascadas de Latas, a nice sized waterfall outside the nearby town of Misahuallí.  After a 40 minute walk, we were the first ones to arrive at the falls, and got to rinse off the sweat we made on the way to the falls.  On the way back, it was as if the falls were following us, as the rain came fast and hard, not stopping until after we made it back to the reserve.

On one of the many rainy days this week, we took on the project of preparing cacao beans to make chocolate!  The beans had been drying for a couple weeks (slightly neglected, but plenty dry), and the first step is to toast the beans so that the outer shell is easier to remove.  After peeling all the beans, we fastened a grinder to one of the dining tables and passed the beans through three times to make a fine powder.  Then we were ready to make chocolate!  At this point there is plenty of room for experimentation, in terms of how much milk or sugar you want, and if you'd like to add anything extra, such as essence of cinnamon or ginger. After heating the mixture on a stove, we poured it into a baking pan and put it in the fridge to cool and solidify.  Though we had plenty of room for improvement, it's hard to go wrong with chocolate!

On Wednesday, we were fortunate to spend the first half of the day walking through the reserve with 'Gato', a staff member of Jatun Sacha.  We saw all sorts of birds and insects, as well as a vine that when properly prepared provides a potent poison for deadly darts.  Above, a giant complex home to leaf-cutter ants spreads out beneath a tree.  The ants bring leaves to their palace to use to cultivate mushrooms - their main source of food.  When areas of the structure become abandoned, bees or rainbow boas are known to take advantage and move in.  

For the second half of the day on Wednesday, we took a bus and then a motorized canoe to visit a nearby animal rehabilitation center.  The center receives injured or 'problem' animals from the government, and will either give them enough care to release them into the wild, or if they are too acclimated to humans to survive in the wild, the center provides them with a more natural habitat and incorporates them into tours to educate locals and tourists on the dangers of taking in wild animals as exotic pets.  The pictures you see here are spider monkey, macaw parrot, caiman (related to alligators and crocodiles), capybara (the world's largest rodent), toucan, ocelot, and tapir.  

 Twice this week, volunteers wanted to take a sunrise trip to our observation tower, and I tagged along both times.  It is an amazing feeling to look over the top of the canopy of the Amazon, and even better to share it with friends!

 The last two work days were spent doing some cleaning in and around the botanical garden, interspersed with plenty of breaks due to downpours.  Today we found the perfect tree to take a break, it was practically begging for us to nap on it!

 I have had a wonderful month working at Jatun Sacha, but am looking forward to my next adventure to get to Cuzco.  I will be on the road pretty much every day for the next week, hopefully making it to Cuzco around April 1st.  From there I will drop back down into the Amazon basin for 2.5 weeks volunteering on a family farm with similar crops to what I have seen so far in Ecuador.  Next time you hear from me will be from Cuzco!

Crop Planting/Harvests and Animal Sightings

Week 3 at Jatun Sacha has proved to be just as diverse and exciting as the other two weeks.  After spending some more time clearing the cacao grove, we actually got to plant something!  In the sunny spots of the cacao grove, new plátano plants are in the ground, and after one year of rain and sunshine they will be 15 feet tall and top-heavy with fruit.  It was so nice to bring some life to an area after having to cut down nearly everything in sight.  In addition to planting plátano, we got to harvest some to take back to the station and incorporate into our daily meals.  Harvesting involves delicate cutting of the main trunk so that the large bunch falls to the ground, where it can then be removed from the rest of the plant.

'Colines', or plátano shoots, taken from the bottom of mature plants.

A patch of plátano.

The bunch is ready for harvest when the plátanos are green.

One bunch is plenty for one person to carry around!

In addition to plátano, we harvested yuca, a starchy staple of the Ecuadorian diet.  The yuca roots grow underground like a potato, and it takes some finesse to pull out the whole plant without breaking off any of the roots.  The branchy top of the plant is cut to leave about a foot of stem above the ground, and to replant, you just stick the recently chopped off top of the plant back into the ground, and new roots begin to grow.  To prepare, the root is washed and peeled, and usually boiled.  We have had it served plain, and it is a great addition to soups!

Mature yuca plants in the background with cut plants ready to harvest closer to the camera.

This week we have been lucky to see lots of animals in the forest and around the station.  Here are a few of the best shots.

Tarantula found in the plátano grove, all the species in this area are docile, non-venomous, and do not bite.

Mett from Luxumbourg enjoying the company of a new friend!

Blistered hands and the frog from our Jatun Sacha t-shirts.

This little guy hopped onto a half-cut palm tree that I was in the process of chopping down.

One of two species of leaf-frogs in the world, the other lives in Costa Rica.

Our resident tarantula right outside the station office makes an appearance from the nest.

There's a toucan in that tree!  We saw them when we were walking along the road, what a treat!

This meter-long, non-venomous vine snake jumped about 40ft from a palm tree, and gave one volunteer a couple shallow puncture wounds before we grabbed it properly to take some photos.  We released her shortly after.

Carnaval, Cacao, and Cuenca

This week was full of fun, and I am glad I have some time to write it down before I have even more to write about!  We had a short work week at the reserve, as the Carnaval / pre-Lent holiday lasted from March 1-4, so the volunteers had two days at the beginning of the week to enjoy the festivities.  In the each Ecuadorian province, the big celebrations of Carnaval with big name entertainers are divided between different communities, and we went to the party in nearby Misahuallí on Sunday the 2nd.  There were thousands of people on the beach, and besides drinking and dancing, typical activities included throwing water, shooting soapy foam, and smearing paint on anyone nearby.  It was a blast and the weather was great!  As you can see, I was a target for the festivities.

Back to work on Wednesday, the three volunteers and the maintenance staff went back to the cacao grove.  We are done clearing the underbrush, and have commenced pruning the cacao trees and have started taking down some of the bigger non-cacao trees in the area.  Cacao is what is used to make chocolate, and it is a funny plant.  The flowers (small white dot to the left of the pod, below) grow out of the bark on the branches and trunk of the tree.  Once pollinated, they grow into pods, which contain fleshy cacao beans that are then dried in the sun and sent off to chocolate processing factories.  Our job this week was to cut off all of the small branches growing at the base of the big cacao trees, to focus the plant´s energy on producing flowers on only the largest branches, which can produce more pods.  Lots of hacking with a machete has given me plenty of blisters, but I should have skin like letter by the time I leave the reserve.

 I mentioned we had a short work week due to Carnaval, but we cut it even shorter by working only a half day on Thursday to then set out on a 11-hour bus trip to arrive in Cuenca by Friday morning.  Other than to visit another part of Ecuador, we had made friends with a group of university students from Cuenca that had stayed at the reserve as part of their tourism degree, and they offered to host us and show us around.  Cuenca is a wonderful, colonial style city in the mountains, with 600,000 people and an altitude of around 7,000ft.  There are 42 churches in the city, and the one below was at a high point where we could see the whole city lit up at night.  On Friday we went to a museum, walked around the colonial city center, strolled along the river Tomebamba, and went to some thermal pools with refreshing volcanic mineral water.

On Saturday, we ventured higher into the mountains, above 12,000ft, to visit Cajas National Park - the source of Cuenca´s rivers and clean water.  We lucked out with the weather, which is usually pretty foggy, and we could see the myriad of lakes and rocky outcroppings that offered stunning vistas.  The ecosystem of Cajas is dominated by tufty grassland, making it home to lots of llamas and vicuñas.  Thankfully we could get pretty close without getting a wad of spit shot in our eyes!  I felt at home again in the mountains, but I am ready to return to the humid jungle for two more weeks of service and education.

After returning from Cajas and regrouping in Cuenca, one of our hosts was nice enough to offer his Quinta up in the hills above Cuenca for a barbecue and a night away from the city.  Ten of us all chipped in to help make salad, potatoes, rice, chicken, pork, and cuy - guinea pig!  Though not a particularly unique flavor, it was nice to see how a typical ecuatorian dish is prepared, roasted on a stick above a bed of charcoal.  Erika, the cuy connosieur, was very particular about how to tell when it was done just right.  A great night with a great group of friends!

This morning we got the Quinta ready for Esteban´s family to come later in the day, and we set out for Ingapirca.  About an hour north of Cuenca, Ingapirca is the second largest, intact Incan archaeoligical site, after Machu Picchu of course.  Centered around the temple of the sun, ruins include areas used to make flour and chaff grain, ceremonial bathing stations, a residential zone, and a tomb where a female priest was buried with 10 servants to aid her in the afterlife.  I could imagine the priests standing in the temple, watching the sun change position as the seasons changed, followed by grand celebrations corresponding with the spring and fall equinox and the summer and winter solstices.  This wetted my appetite to get to Machu Picchu later in my trip, and to really earn the view by hiking into the ruins.  I head back to the jungle with another all night bus trip tonight, getting us back the reserve by 10am tomorrow morning.  I had an amazing time in Cuenca, and with such hospitality I am most likely going to return here en route to Peru in just two weeks time.  The time is flying by, but my days are so full of adventure that it´s hard to believe I have only been in Ecuador for two weeks!  The journal I brought is already a quarter full, as you can tell by my lengthy blog entries there is so much to share and remember.  Hoping everyone is happy and healthy, and I anticipate I will update again next weekend.