The Amazon. When you hear of it, you may think amazing views of untouched wilderness, a monkey on every branch, an anaconda in every pond, and a whole lot of mosquitoes. And you'd be pretty much right.
Such was our trip this past weekend to the Tiputini Biodiversity Station, way out in the middle of the Ecuadorian rainforest. The weekend really began on Thursday, after classes ended and most of us went out for the night to the Plaza Foch otra vez, only this time with my host mother's niece and nephew (16 and 19 respectively). Suffice it to say that a good time was had by all and we were back home by midnight, although this didn't stop my host cousin from putting the moves on multiple of my amigas (who shall remain nameless) at the salsa club.
The next morning, very early and everyone perhaps a little worse for wear for lack of sleep, we met at the university and then took a bus to the airport, from whence we took a short (and late) flight to Coca, a small city on the Rio Napo on the edge of the rainforest. From there, it was a two hour boat ride on the Napo until we got to the Oil Company's land (which was once part of the huge Yasuni National Park, but was ceded by the government so Ecuador could have the less than $2.00 a gallon subsidized gas that it now enjoys). There, we took an open-sided bus provided by said evil oil company for about an hour and a half more until we got to the much smaller Tiputini river. By this point we were really in the jungle and on our two hours more of boating we saw pink river dolphins, otters, parrots, not to mention a veritable monsoon by the time we got the the station.
The Tiputini Biodiversity station, which is really a cluster of buildings situated on land granted the University by the Goverment in the national park, is a place devoted to biological research and education, and at least some of its projects are funded by National Geographic. There were probably about 70 people there, total, including our almost 40-person group. The food was quite nice, and so were the cabins, although it was a little difficult to get used to the lack of air-conditioning and the cold showers. But, hey, being in the Amazon is worth a little sacrifice, right?
While we were there, we basically took four different excursions. Saturday morning we tromped through the jungle with our guide, Santiago, to the tower, which was basically a treehouse attached to a huge tree sticking up over the canopy, from which we saw spider monkeys, wooly monkeys, a toucan, a hawk, other birds, and enormous ants with a bite powerful enough to down a grown man with one bite. That afternoon we took another significant walk to an oxbow lake near the river and took a canoe ride where we saw more birds (including one with an uncanny resemblance to a phoenix a la Harry Potter) and a freshwater manta ray. Sunday morning consisted of ride down river, where we saw multiple caiman (like an alligator) in the water and then proceeded to SWIM in the water. Surviving that, that same afternoon we finally got to do what was perhaps the coolest adventure, a series of bridges strung between several trees way up in the canopy from which you could see the forest for miles and miles, and nothing but.
Maybe it was the overpowering heat and humidity, but the jungle actually reminded me of Mississippi, only with less chickens and more jaguars. It kind of made me wonder what home would look like with out all the human influence that's there now.. Just a point to ponder. Anyway, yesterday we made our long, slow way back to Quito by the various means, only to have to write an essay for class as soon as I got back (pobrecito yo, I know). I got it done (later rather than sooner) though, and now am able to look past the dreadful-looking workload for this week's classes to tonight, when I should be able to see the final Harry Potter movie, complete with Spanish subtitles! What an (ahem) magical ending to a great weekend [insert corny laugh]. Hasta Riobamba!
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