Well it’s been an eventful first week! I’ve seen my first agouti and my first bullet ant, and gotten bitten by my first army ant. (No worries, they just pinch. Nowhere near as vicious as in “Leningen Versus the Ants.”) I’ve also eaten my first fresh passionfruit. I had eaten passionfruit-flavored things before and really liked them, but the whole fruit is awesome. It looks kind of like an orange, and I mistook it for one when I grabbed it from the fruit basket at the station. But when you peel it, the inside is a translucent mass of sweet, pulpy globs surrounding crunchy, tangy seeds. It’s really messy and yummy.
Last Monday a group of artists came to the station. They were traveling with an organization called Cape Farewell which sends artists on expeditions to witness the effects of climate change firsthand. The artists aren’t obligated to create anything directly related to climate change. The hope is that the experience will work its way into their art naturally, and gradually encourage a cultural change in how global warming is perceived. Cool idea, no? Apparently many of the artists were pretty well known. One was Yann Martell, the author of “Life of Pi.” I’ve read his book! I was pretty excited he just happened to turn up in the Peruvian rainforest at the same field station I’m working at. Not only did I get to meet him, I got semi-lost in the rainforest with him. I went hiking with the artists to an oxbow lake where we paddled around in canoes. On the way back, Martell and I were hiking fast and lost the rest of the group, so I ended up navigating for a while down a flooded, slightly unclear trail. While we were sloshing around I got to talk to him what it was like to write a novel. I guess he was slightly impressed we found our way home, because later when I walked into the dining hall he called me his “intrepid jungle rat.” I think that’s one of my favorite compliments ever. :)
That afternoon, a group of VIPs arrived at the station. The group included Bruce Babbitt, the former Secretary of the Interior, and Adrian Forsyth, Famous Biologist. After dinner, some of the scientists and artists delivered presentations about their work. Since I still had my thesis talk on my computer pretty much ready to go, I gave it. Definitely one of the more unusual (and awesome) audiences I’ve had.
We had planned to take the boat into town on Wednesday to buy supplies, but on Tuesday morning I woke up to a knock at my door. I thought I’d overslept, but it was only 5:45 in the morning. (Breakfast starts at the late hour of 6:00 AM.) Megan had come to say that Antonio had a high fever and she was taking him into town to see the doctor. She and Antonio were going to catch the boat at 6:30 that morning. Gabe (a postdoc also working on the project) and I decided to scramble and catch the boat with them. Antonio tested positive for giardia and an intestinal parasite, and the doctors think he may have a third infection. Poor Antonio! He’s unbelievably tough. He was tired but in good spirits, and he seemed busier than the rest of us the whole time we were in town.
We ended up staying in town several days. We bought supplies, including 60 anti-mosquito bed nets to exclude herbivores from our experimental saplings. While we were waiting, I got to play with the daughters of the shop owner, who were 5 and 7 years old. They loved my camera and ran around taking pictures of everything with it. That's them in the first photo.
It turns out we picked a great time to come to town, because Antonio’s son Dennis was performing in a dance show at his elementary school and we all got to go watch him. The kids at the school performed traditional Peruvian dances in beautiful costumes. (Photo below!)
After we’d bought supplies, Gabe and I didn’t have any responsibilities while we were in town. Antonio and Megan were stuck in multiple doctor’s appointments, but we were free to explore. The next night happened to be the anniversary of Puerto Maldonado, so we got to see a parade in the town square. The best dancers from the school were in the procession, as well as the band. There were also a bunch of motorcycle carts decorated as floats.
Then we decided that we needed a guitar. It was 8:30 at night, but they stay out late here, so we walked into the nearest shop and asked the lady there where to find a guitar in Puerto Maldonado. Not only did she tell us where to go, she drew us a map, then walked outside and flagged down the nearest motocar (motorcycle-powered taxi cart) and gave the driver detailed directions. Peruvians are super-helpful and wonderful like that. The motocar driver dropped us off on a dark corner. We found the shop, but it was closed. The lady had told us, though, that in that case we should knock at the house next door where the shop owner lived. So we did. The owner was eating dinner, but when we told him we were leaving town early the next morning he opened up his shop for us. (Like I said, super-helpful and wonderful.) So, we succeeded! We returned to the hotel with our prize and Gabe played and I sang until Megan and Antonio came home. Gabe is going to teach me to play!
On Friday we both caught the boat to the station. (Megan and Antonio are staying in town a few more days so that Antonio can recuperate a bit.) Since then we’ve gotten some more preliminary work done. We just finished tagging, measuring, and counting the leaves of our saplings. In total, I think I counted about 2000 leaves.
Well, I’ve gone and written you a novel, and now I’ve got to go! We’re headed out to scout the trails for good places to plant our saplings. ¡Ciao!
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