Reading day

Changed hostels today to one two minutes away. Had another recovery day and just relaxed and chilled out. I read for a while, which was really nice. It was good to have some down time after being so active in the jungle. Went for dinner with Freddie and another PHD guy called Omar. We spoke about climate change and changing society. It was interesting to hear different view points and opinions on these topics. Omar believed that we act on human instinct and that is all - whereas Freddie thought we were more complex than this. Omar suggested reading ‘Not by genes alone’ by Robert Boyd, published in 2005. I will definitely check this book out. It sounds fascinating.  

Relaxing day

Recovery day! Still woke up early - I guess my body clock is on automatic and used to the early starts. I Skyped my family. My brother had his friend around so had a chat with them both. I then spoke to some of my friends on Facebook. Was nice to re-connect with everyone. I told them about the snake and all the adventures I got up to! Freddie and I then went to the supermarket. I went straight to the fruit and veg section. There were a few global brands in the supermarket which was a shame. I fear that one day all the big brands will take over and there will be barely anything unique left on the Peruvian shelves any more. Inka-Cola has already been bought by Coca-Cola. It used to be a Peruvian made drink and now Coca-Cola has taken it over.  Coca-Cola even sells the main bottled water San-Luis. When we got back to the hostel I ate my orange and apple which tasted unbelievably good.  Had a great steak for dinner. 

Burnt arm

We left Santa Rita this morning on the speed boat and went back to Nauta and had lunch there. I had a Lomo Saltado – a massive plate of rice, chips and beef strips. Was really good but slightly too big so couldn’t finish it all. http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://theintrepidexplorers.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/lomo-saltado.jpg&imgrefurl=http://theintrepidexplorers.com/peruvian-lomo-saltado-recipe/&h=338&w=450&sz=41&tbnid=eQ0o3AHXkHbBcM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=120&zoom=1&usg=__EECONB3qV-ImX5H_mpGTEGBgCm0=&docid=CFTp4Vqvo_IZ6M&sa=X&ei=ZR0FUsjVDoO60QWa8oHwBw&ved=0CEkQ9QEwBQ&dur=897

 I got pretty burnt on my right arm in the boat. We then got in a massive taxi with all our kit and headed back to Iquitos. It was pouring with rain and some water got through so we got a bit of a showering. The taxi did have a TV in though so we watched some salsa videos on the ride home. Strange how it managed to have a TV but it wasn’t rain proof! When we got back to Iquitos we had pizza for dinner. Was a lovely dinner and nice to be back in La Pascana hostel with a real shower even if there is still no hot water.

Last day in the field

The last day. Had an eggy tortilla for breakfast, rice and Quakers. Then we speedily walked back to our plot and finished the last three subsections.  We did two transects noting the trees with smaller diameters. I had the masking tape again and labelled the species number. Louis then went back across the plot identifying herbs species that were missed the first time. We had two eggs and rice for lunch. Then we took some peat cores. I labelled some sample bags and we collected top soil to take back for nutrient analyses. We then walked back pretty fast and had more eggs for dinner. In total today I would say I had about five eggs maybe even six! Why change the egg tradition on the last day! I am sad the field work experience is ending. It has been such an adventure. I have utterly loved it. At times it has been hard but I enjoy a good challenge - it makes the experience more rewarding and fun.  

Only one wet foot!

Penultimate day of field work. Still had a slight upset tummy this morning but I went to the field again and was fine. I did the whole walk in to our plot without holding Hugo’s hand- result. And only got one wet foot!  While Hugo and Hulio finished stringing the rest of the plot, Louis, Freddie and I started with subplot one. Louis measured the tree diameters and I measured the tree heights and Freddie recorded the measurements. It was a bit slower than when Hulio zooms around measuring the diameters. Once he finished stringing the plot he stepped in and the pace increased. In fact, he went so fast that at times I got behind. He was measuring the next few tree diameters and I was still maneuvering around to find a point to take a height measurement for the first one. This felt a bit stressful as I didn't want to slow the team down but at the same time I wanted to get an accurate measurement while not to sinking into the water or grabbing onto a tree with the biting ants on. I got stung by another wasp today. More importantly, we got 10 subsections of the plot done today. I managed the walk back without holding Hugo’s hand as well – achievement! I did fall a few times but that is to be expected! When we got back I was sweating like crazy and covered head to toe in glorious mud! It was a pretty hot day. We went to the river to wash our boats and trousers – mine seemed to get muddier!! Then I went into the hostel for the best shower ever. We had some traditional salty fish and boiled plantain for dinner. I can’t say it was the best! It tasted of, well nothing really. It was rather bland! However on the plus side there were no eggs – brilliant.

Biggest tarantula yet

Had an upset tummy this morning, which was really annoying and don’t feel 100%. Still went out into the field though as  I don’t want to miss out on anything. It was quite a hard day. We walked through the entire swamp from one side to the other. The peat was deepest in the middle. The Aguajales are generally dipped in the middle. Hence they are wetter than other forests. We then went back to the middle of the swamp and set up a 50m x 100m plot (half a hectare) the same size as the first plot. Due to species diversity being low and us looking at carbon, a full hectare is not needed for the plots we set up.  A few people passed us today. The route we took seemed to be a used path for villagers. People seemed to be hunting.  Although it is illegal to hunt monkeys, it was assumed that the guys walking past with massive bags may well have had monkeys in them. Hugo held my hand for the entire walk there and back today as the branches were hard to balance on. I seemed to pull him over a few times. I owe him many beers. On the way back we saw the biggest tarantula yet. Also saw a squirrel monkey. It was amazing. Parts of the walk were really fun and others were arduous. I really enjoy a challenge so it was all rewarding and fun.  At the last leg of the journey the villager who was showing us the way started panicking and running really fast. I was so confused and  I sort of froze on the spot. Hugo – my hero started running towards me and hit off all these wasps and pulled me to safety. There was a wasp nest where I was standing. I got away with no stings and Hugo got a fair few on his back. He is literally my knight in shining armor. I now owe him many more beers. 

Chicken for lunch

After desayuno consisting of chocolate Quakers, chips and eggs, a local villager took us by boat to an opening in the Aguajales. The boat trip took 15 minutes.  This walk was much easier than previously. We walked for an hour or so, got to over 1km and took some peat cores. They showed a lot of mixed soil – peat and clay. Also there seemed to be more peat further down. I took pictures of the cores next to a measuring tape. Freddie noted down the core texture, colour and descriptions. Freddie thought the pattern could be due to flooding events as the swamp is next to the River Marinon. These flooding events may occur every 50 years causing a high biodiversity in the area. From this point we made a plot of 200m x 25m. We walked back 200m and on either side included all the trees that were 12.5m from the path.  Louis identified the tree species and I measured the heights of the palm trees. We also took pictures of some of the tree species. We then speedily walked back and got back to the majors house at around 1. His wife had cooked us spaghetti with tomato sauce and bits of chicken as well as rice. We then set off in our speed boat to our final destination – Santa Rita. This village is much larger than the previous two.  We are staying in a hostel here with actual beds and a mosquito net. As well as a clean toilet (which still doesn’t flush) - and there is a shower. When I say shower I mean a room with a vat of water and a bucket in. But still, there is a wash room and a clean toilet!! Beautiful!! All my clothes smell now however. Not sure if it is worth washing any of them - not much point now.