Andes to Amazon Course Report
July 10 to August 6, 2006
by Joe Meisel
"An invigorating, engaging and action-packed course with fantastic instructors and access to the
most amazing research stations and ecosystems! This course will give you the real hands-on feel for what it is like
to be a field biologist."
- 2006 student
From
42 degrees latitude, 9000 feet elevation, 3700 miles. In 12 hours you can transport yourself from the comfort of home
to the sights and sounds of another world. Unless you are the student that got stuck in Atlanta overnight! But
everyone arrived safely, and the journey into Ecuador's scenic and wild beauty began -- Ceiba's sixth tropical ecology summer
course was underway! With 14 students from Wisconsin, Oregon and Quito, Ecuador, we set out to explore cloud forest,
dry forest, mangroves, páramo and the Amazon rainforest.
We started in Quito, shopping for last-minute essentials like rubber boots, rain ponchos, and of course, chocolate!
Our first stop on the way to the El Pahuma Orchid Reserve was at the old Mitad del Mundo, or equator monument in the small
town of Calacalí Sadly, a much larger and more elaborate monument now draws tourists away from this hamlet, but
we still prefer the original (and, the new monument isn't truly on the equator at all!). After the requisite northern-versus-southern
hemisphere snapshots, we proceeded on to El Pahuma's steep mossy forests, and towering waterfalls.
A
conservation project of Ceiba's since 1997, El Pahuma is a montane forest reserve owned and operated
by local people who have worked hard to conserve the forest's beauty. The centerpiece of the reserve is a large orchid
garden, showcasing the flowers of these phenomenal plants. We also had terrific looks at a female Andean Cock-of-the-Rock
sitting on a nest and feeding a juvenile, plus the many hummingbirds that sailed into our classroom space during lecture.
Later we hiked up a gorgeous but grueling trail to the high Guarida del Oso, or Bear's 
Den
cabin, where we would spend the next several days exploring the cloud forest, learning about montane birds, plant collecting,
and the challenges facing modern-day conservation projects in Ecuador. Plate-billed Mountain Toucans and Beautiful Jays
greeted us every evening, Antpittas cried in the morning, and strange bugs were all around: giant beetles, wax bugs
trailing decorative white plumes, and a dozen varieties of walking sticks. Thanks to the evening bonfires we kept warm
as discussions lasted long into the starry night.
Fantastic meals of trout, fritada, ceviche de palmito, locro de papa, rice and chicken filled our hungry stomachs throughout
our stay at El Pahuma, and it was nearly as hard to leave the dining table behind as the wonderful forest! But our itinerary
called, and soon we were rolling down the Andes towards the Pacific coastal lowlands.
As
if on cue, a troop of Mantled Howler Monkeys greeted us upon our arrival at the Lalo Loor Dry Forest
Reserve. Swinging and leaping effortlessly through palms, figs and other trees, the troop of more than a dozen monkeys
were just as interested in the new human visitors as our students were in them. Despite the occasional interruption
of lecture 
(like
when a juvenile broke a branch and crashed twenty feet onto the ground!), even the professors appreciated this primate distraction.
Here in the dry forest a new suite of thrilling critters surrounded us, again led by the insects: tailless whip-scorpions,
army ants nesting in an enormous ball, colorful caterpillars, a nursery of tiny mantids, and the ubiquitous huge tarantulas.
Maybe some thought having a giant hairy spider resident in the bathroom was uncool, but most of us loved it!
Days at Lalo Loor brought field practicum in standard ecological techniques such as vegetation sampling, insect census
methods, and biodiversity calculations. We spent nearly every morning birdwatching in this fast-disappearing habitat,
and were rewarded with great looks at Motmots, Red-masked Parakeets (and endangered species), Aracaris (a type of toucan),
and and the gorgeous Ecuadorian Trogon. Since the reserve's trail system is not yet complete, we decided to bushwhack
our way back to camp after a morning outing, an entertaining trek involving some Tarzan-style vine swinging!
Hard
workers deserve a break, and we took ours at the phenomenal Punta Prieta Guest House, just a few kilometers down the road.
Located on a jaw-dropping expanse of beach, Punta Prieta provided the perfect place to unwind, digest memories of the course
so far, rest, and scratch a few bug bites! Plus, night after night of superb seafood does a body good as well!
Soccer and frisbee helped us stretch our muscles, and the warm ocean waters (a first for some students) rinsed away all memories
of thorns, mud and sweat. We did spend a couple hours exploring the intertidal communities, and were rewarded with sightings
of a small octopus, and a tarantula hawk (a large, predatory wasp) dragging its defeated victim off towards its burrow.
One
of the most threatened systems along Ecuador's coast is the mangrove ecosystem. One of the largest examples of mangroves
can be found near Muisne, and we visited this area after our beach day off. Traveling by small boat, we wound in and
out of the narrow channels that separate the mangrove islands and marshes. We passed the famous Bird Island, where hundreds
of Great Frigatebirds come to display their colorful throat sacs, attract mates, and raise young. We also saw a sleeping
anteater, known as a tamandua, but even the loudest of shouts from our boatman couldn't cause it to raise its head. On one
of the mangrove islands, the great Termite Incident of 2006 took place, wherein the floor of an old shrimper building gave
way under the weight of several students, crashing them to the ground. Nobody knew a termite could be the most dangerous
animal in the tropics! But, everyone came through with only scrapes and bruises, and a healthy fear of rotten wood!
Back
at Punta Prieta we consoled Petita, an orphaned Galapagos tortoise who no longer can return to the islands, packed our bags,
and prepared for the long journey back to Quito. Once safely in the highlands, we washed our clothes, downloaded our
pictures, touched base with friends and family, and stocked up on essentials - chocolate! A trip to the Quito's historic
center was sponsored by Ceiba's Ecuadorian scholarship students, Carolina and Xavier, who showed everyone the lovely old plazas,
Spanish churches and museums. Crepes and Waffles was introduced, with overwhelming success, to all the die-hard dessert
eaters in the group. "When can we go back there?" was all I heard for the next two weeks!
No
rest for the inquisitive, for soon we were driving up one of the highest mountain passes in Ecuador's Andes, the Virgen del
Socorro. After stops to explore the unique Polylepis forests, whose gnarled trunks and lush vegetation brought images
of hobbits and elves to mind, we climbed to over 14,000 feet. As we stepped off the bus, what to our wondering eyes
did we behold, but a whipping snowstorm, and wow was it cold! Undeterred, we bundled up and explored this amazing environment,
taking vegetation and abiotic measurements to compare with other elevations. After several of these stops, everyone
looked like a field biologist: wet, dirty, cold, and with notebooks full of data! To ease the rigors of the day,
we retired to the famous Papallacta thermal baths for a few hours of soaking in hot water, laughing about the chilly freeze
we had just escaped, and starting to look forward to tomorrow's trip to the Amazon rain forest, and the Tiputini Biodiversity
Station.
Tomorrow
came soon enough, and we boarded our plane (Air Icaro!) to the lowland city of Coca, better known as Francisco de Orellana,
after the Spanish explorer-conquerer who became the first European to follow the Amazon to the Atlantic (and his party did
this in heavy plate armor, which must have been just a little bit stuffy!). Our travel was somewhat quicker,
and after a plane, a canoe, an open-air bus called a ranchera, and another canoe, we arrived before nightfall at Tiputini.
Along the way we passed a Mauritia palm grove, and saw a gorgeous pair of blue-and-yellow macaws perched in a riverside
tree.
Once
at Tiputini, we settled into our comfortable cabins, and looked forward to the adventures of the next two weeks. We climbed
to the heights of the canopy in towers and walkway systems, we floated -- and swam in! -- the muddy piraña-infested
river that separates the station from the 1.5 million hectare (4 million acre) Yasuní National Park, we hiked miles
of steep and muddy trails, and we craned our necks to stare into the foliage of a thousand trees. Depending on how diligent
you were, you could have seen ten kinds of monkeys, including the fantastic pygmy marmosets, no larger than a small squirrel.
Combining everyone, the course saw over 300 species of birds, ranging from the absurdly colorful canopy tanager species to
the impressively powerful Crested Eagle spotted on the final day of our stay.
Night
adventures turned up an impressive variety of frogs and snakes (and even a freshwater eel) --on the mud volleyball court of
all places! -- and even the so-called "jaguar of turtles," a rare and elusive side-necked turtle (Platemys platycephala)
that thrilled the resident herpetologist, Sean McCracken. Insects continued to amaze us, including a whole new set of
brilliantly colored caterpillars, beetles and butterflies. Dr. Tony DiFiore and his troop of graduate students introduced
us to Tiputini's primate world, and led several of our students on all-day adventures, crashing through the forest in pursuit
of woolly, spider, capuchin, titi and saki monkeys! Indeed, hardly a day would pass without impressive sightings of
more than one of the station's species of monkeys.
After
a few days exploring the forest, students set off to design and conduct research projects within the forest: some studied
the effects of herbivory, some the movement of army ants, some the activity patterns of woolly monkeys, and some risked physical
agony to examine the foraging behavior of the giant bullet ants (fortunately nobody was stung!).
Among the more impressive wildlife sightings: a blunt-headed tree snake, a snail-eating snake and a brown-banded
water snake, a sloth (which everyone believed was a termite nest until, one day, it was gone), a pink river dolphin swimming
by our boat, blue-headed parrots eating clay down river, and one enormous earthworm found squirming around the camp.
In the avian world, we saw Paradise Tanagers, Purple-throated Cotingas, a 
Long-billed
Woodcreeper, Great Potoo, Salvin's Curassow (foraging by the dining hall!), four kinds of kingfishers, three kinds of manakins,
four kinds of macaws, and a partridge and a pear tree. Okay, no pear tree, no partridge.
Early mornings in the rainforest have a special charm, animals are waking, the forest is cool, leaf litter rustles with
the first lizards seeking food, and birds begin to call from hidden perches everywhere. Here's a sample
of the sounds of Tiputini at dawn (special thanks to Cass, Claire and Jordan), in which a pair of buff-rumped warblers
give their loud crescendos, followed by a group of red-throated caracara screaming hoarsely from the canopy.
All great adventures eventually reach their end, and before we knew it, time was up at Tiputini. Barely able to believe
it, we boarded the giant canoe for our trip upriver, away from the station. It wasn't so bad, along the way we saw a
Cocoi Heron, a group of some 14 Blue-and-yellow Macaws, a trio of capybara feeding by the river, and a gigantic Crested Eagle.
Soon we were winging our way, roller-coaster style, back to Quito, where dry clothes, phone calls, hot food, and of course,
chocolate, awaited!
Our
final day was spent in the lovely market city of Otavalo, home of the highland Quichua people, and a great place to stock
up on Christmas presents. Carved gourds, bracelets, colorful hats and scarves, hammocks of every size, rugs and wall
hangings, musical instruments, t-shirts -- several students bought duffel bags just to haul their massive collection home!
We returned to Quito for a final dinner, with excellent Ecuadorian food and Altiplano music provided by the group Koriñan.
Then, before you knew it, morning broke through the cold mountain air, and it was time to go. Back across the equator,
back in the northern hemisphere, down out of the towering Andes, and on our way, all 3700 miles of it, back home.
"This has been one of the most influential months I have spent in my life. I am leaving Ecuador
thinking about the world in a different way."
- 2006 student
Next year, we will do it all again ... don't you want to join us? Or, for a more in-depth
experience, please consider our new semester program in Ecuador, the Tropical Conservation Experience.
