Tiputini, Ecuador (Rainforest) 2006 TR, Part 6

[backpack]

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

April 12: We saw wooly monkeys just after passing the tower, and some of them came right down to look at us; one of the juveniles climbed down some vines and hung there watching us take photos and a large male came down and peered at us from a clump of dense vegetation about 20 feet overhead. A few cool bugs were all we saw for a while, then several Dentrobatids and fighting Conga ants. We also stopped to look at a massive leafcutter ant colony and also a nest of bees that are associated with leafcutter ants. Some squirrel monkeys came down near us as well, and though the mosquitoes were pretty bad we stopped to watch for a minute or two.



At about 10 it started to drizzle, then rain, then pour. We went quickly back to camp, and didn’t stop much to look at anything. The only real event was when Melissa hit her head against a small wasp nest and got stung on the face, and maybe when we crossed a bridge that was underwater on Chorongo. We were completely soaked, and our boots were full of water to the point that we would regularly pause to dump them out and within minutes they were heavy with liquid again.

At 12:20 we arrived back in camp, and after dropping off my backpack at the lab I went to my room, took off my wet clothes and took a shower. After washing my hair the water pressure started to go down, and I barely managed to rinse off before we ran out of water. Noah had come in mid-rinse to take a nap, and after I finished showering I decided a nap was a good idea while it was still pouring outside.

Dinner was white rice with mustard chicken and vinegar cabbage. Not the best ever but I guess after the burritos they decided to “take the night off” as it were. The vegetarians got lentils with rice… it would have been nice to have lentils instead of cabbage.

Went down to the volleyball court with Noah, Shelia and Nir to look for frogs. We saw some cool ones and then on the way back to the lab they saw a spider eating a worm. At first Noah thought it was bait the spider was hanging out to attract insects, but when he left it became clear that the worm wasn’t a bit happy to be eaten and it was slowly disappearing into the spider’s mouth. Noah also noticed a large wolf spider just up the log from the daddy longlegs worm spider, and just above that one was a millipede with a red back. It was pretty cool to see all that stuff, but it got better when Shelia noticed what we thought was a recently metamorphosed Dendrobatid frog. Kelly seemed to think it was a Hylid, and I’m guessing he was right, but either way it was pretty cool to see a frog that still had a bit of its tail and whose edges were still softened like a tadpole.



We didn’t see too much on the night walk, mostly just insects and spiders. There was a large Bufo sitting on a leaf about a half meter off the ground that was somewhat unusual, and a cool stick insect.

[backpack]

April 13: I ended up going with the turtle project people to the lake to release the baby turtles and then up to Tower 2 until 10. Of course I saw a bunch of cool bugs on the way down there, so I got behind everyone and arrived at the tower as they were leaving.



I went up and sat around enjoying the view. I saw some more cool bugs on the way back, but about half way there I ran into two girls from David’s group, one of whom was dehydrated and complaining about being light headed. I hadn’t had anything to drink since dinner last night, so I knew what she was talking about but I know it’s going to happen if I don’t bring a water bottle and I deal with it. I passed them when she stopped to sit and rest, and didn’t stop for any other bugs until the volleyball court since they weren’t too far behind and I didn’t want to get stuck going slowly if they caught up and passed me.

[backpack]

Lunch was a bean and potato soup followed by canned tuna cebiche, rice, and popcorn. Not my favorite lunch, but the popcorn was pretty tasty. I sat next to one of the girls from David’s class who was clearly unhappy in the rainforest and couldn’t wait to get back to clubbing in Quito. At first I tried to be friendly but the super-bitch wouldn’t lighten up and kept telling us not to talk about anything like insects, spiders, or anything to do with Tiputini, really. I brought over a Giganteops at one point to show around and she barely saw it and said “I’m not interested, take that thing away from me” even though I was showing it to Nir, not her.

I also got stung by some ants while standing for the picture, which made people yell at me to look at the camera but it was like I had ants in my pants, literally. I ended up just walking around camp for the most part, and taking a bunch of pictures of a wasp dragging around a spider that it had killed or otherwise incapacitated.



I went back to the lab and then changed to go swimming with everyone for a bit. They went to the log again, I got a few shots of them there and then headed over to the main dock to get in, taking a bunch of shoes with me. They all came down to the main dock as I arrived there, and we sat around in the water for a while before people started to head back in ones and twos. Alex went back to take a shower first, then Noah and Nir, and finally I was the last one to leave because Beth came down late and I felt bad leaving her alone. I was looking forward to a shower, but Noah was the last one to get water before the tank went dry. Nir and I were SOL. I even went back midway through class hoping there was water, but alas they didn’t turn the pump on and there wasn’t any.



Our last dinner at Tiputini was fettuccini alfredo with steamed vegetables and garlic bread, which was pretty good, and apple crisp for desert. The apple crisp wasn’t quite as amazing as the first time, but still a decent finish to the month.

April 14: The boat ride was ok until one of the engines stopped working, and after that things went rather slowly. Just about everyone fell asleep within the first half hour, and we didn’t see a whole lot of wildlife. At the bridge we did the typical load/unload routine, then some Huaorani came up to the chiva to sell us various crafts. I’d never seen this before, and there was a film crew there, which made it even weirder for me. I didn’t buy anything with what little money I had, but I guess some people enjoyed the spectacle and I do wish I’d at least bought a bag or something since they were all truly traditional handmade souvenirs. Kelly said later that they were probably there because the film crew was from some Ecuadorian news magazine doing a special about the effects of tourism on indigenous people.



We had some time at the dock in Coca, and for some reason we migrated over to the hostel where two squirrel monkeys had been “domesticated.” They went after Nir’s gum, and then started climbing all over us, looking at their reflections in our camera lenses, digging through backpacks for fruit, and peering intently into LCD displays. It was really fun, even though it was sad because they were probably orphaned when their mothers were killed for food, but feeling a little monkey climb all over you with their super-soft hands is really really cool.



Since all the restaurants and stores next to the airport were closed, we headed down the road a ways to the first place that was open. I had a tasty superhelado and we all sat around talking in the shade of the building for a while. At some point a procession came by just down the street, I think it was for Good Friday or something.




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So, should I:
A) combine all of these into one monster TR to post on the main forum, or
B) post a topic on the main forum with links to the 6 individual TRs, or
C) leave it in the Padded Room forever?

[filthyfrenchbum]

I haven't seen any of the other parts yet, but this is definitely main forum worthy!

Amazing pictures!

[hutash]

Great TR and pics, now I have to go back a check out the first five.

I vote C, unless you put the last picture as the first picture, and say you plan on skiing it.

[summit]

make a main forum TR consisting of the best 30 pics... and link to the full reports

[backpack]

mmm... guess I'll figure it out midweek

[truth]

I think you should post a poll and ask for donations.

Cool TR as always. Great stuff, just too many damn bugs.