getting there

So I went to bed and woke up early to shower and walk to Tribuna Shirys, the bus stop, even though me knee was pretty sore. On the bus I elevated it, pulled out some homework, and half-listened to the guide because we had come this same way going toward the beach. And I took a nap. We were in two busses instead of one, and no one understood why until we got off the main road and took off on this dirt road that was really narrow and definitely potentially dangerous; there were cliffs and dips and turns. It was really cool though, because I got to see some pueblos and the Maquipucuna reserve is really cool; it´s basically a protected forest. There are a lot of squatters living on the reserve, and the people in the area are really mad about it because it´s hard for them to expand (most of them are poor and are desperate for a way to make a living) but the resort has a couple of initiatives in coffee and chocolate, and some of the villagers work as guides or cooks. Maquipucuna is basically and eco-tourist resort (although there are a couple of researchers there) so it was a lot more comfortable than Tiputini… there was even hot water!!! They gave us an orientation in this open living room thing that was really comfortable (chairs, hammocks, couch) but I had a hard time listening because hummingbirds are EVERYWHERE!!! There were a couple of feeders by the cafeteria, and they were always hanging around, zooming around us because there were no windows. One thing I do remember is that they had a project with spectacled bears, which look really weird if you want to google-image them. I didn´t see any, but I guess they´ve had interesting success bringing them to the reserve (two of the three brought there had to be removed because they bothered the villages… one even stole a motorcycle, and the one left reproduced with her son so now there´s about 20 bears on the reserve.) We divided up into rooms and relaxed; Dad brought his guitar and Brenden and Jacob looked at a toad book. They had a small library there, a bar, and a gift shop that I´m pretty sure doesn´t exist. We went down for lunch at 12 (chicken, cabbage salad, and yucca, which is pretty tasteless. Also, there was this brown drink that we thought was tea, but it was actually lemonade sweetened with a brown sugar.) After lunch they handed out rubber boots to us (most of them didn´t fit; mine were to big and nearly everyone got blisters) and separated in groups to walk on a trail. We went on the main trail and the humidity trail, which was cool and all but I was a little spoiled after Tiputini. I did enjoy it despite the large group size, lack of animalitos, and the blisters. We did get to see quicksand, which was pretty cool. We had a lot of free time once we got back, so I took of my boots, attempted some homework, played chess with Milan and Egyptian Ratscrew with Brenden, Abby, Audrey and Proshanti, and tried to do some more homework. Dinner was at 7 (pasta, thank goodness, and some sort of chocolate cake, maybe) and then I got ready for a night hike: time again to bring out the headlamp. We walked along looking for bugs and stuff, but it didn´t get interesting until we went into this tilapia farm (weird, I know) to look for frogs and bugs and stuff. The guide caught a frog, plus we saw a spider and a caterpillar that thrashed around when the guide tried to touch it. I learned that the ugliest caterpillars turn into butterflies, while the prettiest ones turn into moths. The guide showed us yucca trees, which are actually pretty bug. Next we went to the coffee farm, and we got to eat some of the fruit which tastes nothing like roasted coffee. We also saw a wolf spider and some pretty darn amazing stars, plus a tiny little toad. There were also a lot of lightening bugs, which were a little more flashy than the ones from Ohio. Their light was bright and strong instead of a warm glow like the ones at home, plus they looked metallic up close. Back at the lodge, I showered (which was an adventure. The bathrooms are kind of but not really outside, and I had a couple of friends [moths, that is] in my shower. On my way to the bathroom I saw this GIGANTIC moth that at first I thought was a bat; it was that big.) Afterwards I relaxed with everyone; supposedly while we were gone Dan had put on a show with is guitar (he´s actually really good). We played “who is most likely to” for a while, then I went to bed so I could wake up early and go bird watching.