Muchas juvia

Had soup and Quakers for desayuno and then we set off for the palm swamp. This one was also rather hard to walk through. However, there were fallen trees which created a sort of path for us. Despite this, I kept falling off the logs and sinking into the mud and having to yank myself out. So Hugo offered to hold my hand. I was extremely grateful for this because the tree branches were very slippery and if I lost my balance I could easily have broken a bone! So I held Hugo’s hand for most of the walk. I still fell numerous times and pulled him in too which I felt pretty bad about.  We then reached a point and took some core samples. These showed that there was peat (dark brown) in the area and clay (white). So we set up a plot there. The plot was 50m x 100m. Hugo and Hulio used their machetes to clear the area so we could move around in it. Louis used the compass to direct them in a straight line. I sat on a log for a while and watched our bags. Near me was a tree covered in ants. The ants had a symbiotic relationship with the tree. Inside the tree are structures for the ants to live in and in return for gaining a habitat the ants protect the tree from any herbivores that may damage it. This is done by the ants stinging and killing any predators. Once the plot was set up we headed back. It started to rain heavily (muchas juvia). I held Hugo’s hand on the way back as well. We both power walked back. Well I say both – I mean Hugo dragged me along, I like to think I was speedy too but I think I should give the credit to Hugo! When we returned we sheltered by the well as we waited twenty or so minutes for the others who were behind. When they all got back we went into the river fully clothed to try and get rid of some of the mud. It was really refreshing. I then washed in the river, got out and put on some dry, clean clothes – luxury! We then played cards and chatted and ate dinner. We were allowed to use a toilet in a lady’s house. However, it was most unhygienic. Firstly, it didn’t flush which is pretty standard. The major problem was there was no bin to put the toilet paper in and there was just a pile of dirty paper on the floor which the lady must have sweeped out every week or so.

Freddie taught me that while San Roque palm swamp has a low biodiversity compared to other forest types, It seems to have a higher biodiversity than other palm swamps. This could be because it is on the Maranon River,  which is a white river. So when it floods the forest nutrients are provided and more species are able to grow.