Day Six - "Are we in the tundra yet? How about now?"

We started our drive up north today along the Haul Road, or Dalton Highway if you want the official name, which runs alongside the Trans-Alaskan Oil Pipeline. So, taking our rental car up the dirt road ((which we weren't supposed to do)) the first object of interest that we passed was the Yukon River where we stopped to take pictures and stretch our legs. We couldn't wonder too much though, as the moment that we stepped off the path we were swarmed with mosquitoes. It was a sign of things to come. Continuing onward, we then crossed the Arctic Circle. We were now officially in the land where the sun never sets below the horizon. As if I hadn't had enough sun already. After taking pictures at the sign marking the border of the Arctic Circle with our "I crossed the Arctic Circle" souvenir shirts ((we couldn't help ourselves)), we then came up to the Farthest North Spruce Tree Along the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline. It was labeled with a sign, and after taking pictures in front of it, I felt the urge to point out another spruce tree that was about 100 yards even farther north. Finally we reached the Atigun Pass, which is where the highway went through the Brooks Range and was our destination for the night. However we literally had to run to get our gear out and climb inside our tent because the moment that we stepped outside we were swarmed with mosquitoes.

Day Seven - "No thank you. I think I'll stay in the car. I do not feel like donating all my blood to the Alaskan Mosquito Blood Drive."

During our second day on Haul Road we needed to decide just how far we wanted to go before turning back. We made it out of the Brooks Range and came across a pumping station for the pipeline before my dad decided that we should stop and have lunch. He got out of the car to eat and walk around a bit, Kepola and I took one look at the cloud of mosquitoes and refused to go outside. Finally we turned around and went back the way that we came. It seemed like a quick drive back to finger mountain, just below the Arctic Circle and the place where we were planning to camp that evening, and nothing terribly eventful happened. Sleeping was a different story altogether. Most of they mosquitoes were gone, but now they were replaced by thousands of flies. As Kepola and I took shelter in our tent, some bumblebees came and were actually munching on the other insects. This seemed perfectly fine at the time, until about an hour later the winds picked up causing all the flies to leave, but the bees remained to constantly continue buzzing against the side of our tent. Soon Kepola gave up and just went back into the car to sleep. Shortly afterward I had enough and dragged my sleeping bag outside and away from the tent. The bees followed me. And the winds grew stronger and the tent started to roll away. So once again I had to get up, chase down the tent, anchor it down, throw our packs inside to add some extra weight, then curl up again in my sleeping bag after making sure that my head was covered. That was around 5am. I think I might have fallen asleep after that. But I didn't check my watch again for the rest of that morning.

Day Eight - "Good night. I mean, good morning. Whatever. Good sleep."

I can't tell too much about the drive back into Fairbanks as I spent most of the time sleeping in the car. But it was so hot that day that it was apparently a record high for the town. Once we were back and cleaned up a bit, we all went to the Alaskan Salmon Bake for dinner. It was your typical overpriced tourist attraction. And I think that's all that needs to be said on that part. Kepola and I did end up staying up until 5am eating candy and exchanging stories because it was too hot to sleep though. That was fun. :)



Map of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. We drove from Fairbanks (just above PS8) up to around PS4 and back again.

Day Two - "Great. So there are two Gedneys and only one topographic map. I predict a fight will break out over it soon."

So after checking out of the dorms in the morning and picking up lattes and banana bread for breakfast, I got the honor of driving us across the Alaska Interior for two hours to the Denali park. I usually hate driving, and any road trip in general that is longer than 30 minutes, but the scenery was beautiful so it was alright. Dad hadn't been expecting us to be able to get into the park as they only allow so many camping permits a day and it's currently the middle of the tourist season. But he found out that morning that there were still plenty of spots open so the whole trip was kind of on a whim. So we drive down there, watch a briefing video, ride a bus for two hours through the park and past Polychrome Pass, get dropped off in the middle of nowhere, and start hiking along the Toklat River. As my first ever backpacking trip, I'm impressed with the amount of distance we were able to cover. We saw a fox ((that I named Louie)), caribou, tarragonds, and dall sheep. And the scenery was beautiful. Breathtakingly so. We were surrounded by ice capped mountains in a land where the sun never sets.


Day Three - "I'll live. Hopefully."

After waking up tired, but elated, we grabbed our small day packs and started our five mile trek through the valley. This time we saw some ground squirrels, a golden eagle, and some bear tracks. Kepola became obsessed with collecting rocks, and there were a lot of really cool ones with geodes, rust, or pyrite in them. However, the hardest part was crossing the river. The water was literally ice cold, as it was run off from the snow in the mountains. A few times we thought we were about to get washed away for the current was so strong and it was hard to walk when, a few seconds after we stepped into the water, our feet went numb then felt like they were burning. But we made it and survived, and at the end of the valley as we turned the corner was the most majestic looking glacier I had ever seen. Disregard the fact that it was also the only glacier that I've ever seen that close before. :) The annoying part was that we then had to walk all the way back through the valley to return to our camp.


Day Four - "It almost looks as if the sun has set. But I know better. It's not August yet."

Our hike back to the road was not terribly exciting, though that was mostly due to the fact that we ((meaning Kepola and I, not so much my dad)) were so tired. But we made extremely good time and didn't have to wait too long for the bus to arrive. During the drive back out of the park we did see three grizzly bears on a hill side. Then, as we were back in our rental car stretching out our sore legs, when we were driving back to Fairbanks the sky grew dark with smoke from nearby fires and it was actually raining ash. So we didn't get to see any fireworks, but the next morning we found out that there had been five fires around the town. Happy 4th!

So tired. So so tired. 3am drive out of Gainesville. 5am flight out of Jacksonville. Short layover in Washington DC. Shorter layover in Seattle. Met up with Kepola in Seattle. Got Kepola rebooked on another plane to Fairbanks as she missed the check in for her connection. Almost missed our connection. Shortest layover in Anchorage. Had to run for our plane. Landed in Fairbanks, AK, the town where I was born and had not been to since 1993.

The place is beautiful and quite warm. Dad gave me a tour of the place and we stopped by campus and visited the house where we used to live. Then after getting some dinner ((for the second time)), we had to go back to the airport to pick up Kepola and our luggage. Tonight we're sleeping in the dorms on the UAF campus and tomorrow we get ready to head out around Denali park and go camping!

I didn't write anything yesterday because I was in a car all day and when we got to Cuzco I was very tired. Basically after breakfast I got as many people as I could to sign my Travellers shirt, we took final pictures, and Rob and I said our goodbyes to everyone before climbing in the boat. As we were leaving, the staff and other volunteers threw rocks in the water near the boat to try and splash us. This is the tradition whenever anyone is leaving the MLC. Once we got to the port we hopped into the truck that would take us back to Cuzco. We made it back just before 6, had one stop on the way for lunch, and I saw 2 alpaca during the drive. When we got back to the Hotel El Rosel, by chance we happened to run into 3 of the new volunteers that were staying there. We hung out to watch a bit of tv, then we went out to dinner, and by 9:30 I simply had to go to bed.

Even without an alarm I woke up at 7 this morning out of habit. I walked around Cuzco a bit, had breakfast, and went down to the CREES office to get my passport and belongings. Now I find myself with a free day and plenty of money. Though I suppose the first thing I need to do after I am done writing this is to buy some water.

Aside from being bombarded every 10 seconds by someone who is trying to sell me something, the Plaza de Armas is a lovely place to write. And I do believe that is shall be my last entry for the adventure. Looking back, I think this trip has been amazing, but it also could have been better. I think really there were just two main faults: the MLC, though not primitive, was perhaps a bit too excluded and I longed for a change of scenery after a week, also there just wasn't enough variety of activities while I was there. Perhaps that was just bad luck on my part. By the end however, when we got to build composteras in Salvacion and travel around to other lodges, I found myself growing quite fond of the MLC and wishing that I could stay for another month. Naturally, I would love to do another volunteering trip in the future, but between school and work and other trips, money and time become constricting factors. But, if luck is on my side, as beautiful as the rainforest was, perhaps next time I won't choose to go to a place where I am required to wear long sleeves when it is 90 degrees out.

I have a theory that if something doesn't hinder your travels on the way to wherever you are going, then something will happen instead on the way back home. There is always some problem or close call. But more on that later.

This morning I had to wake up at 5 to go to the clay lick with Andy, Charlotte, Romeo and Dionisio. However I had a dream that I heard Andy's alarm and woke up to find the others in my pod (Andy, Zoe and Sandie) standing around with all their belongings packed. They explained that something had come up and we would have to leave for Cuzco a few days early. I had started gathering all my belonging up when I heard the alarm again and I woke up for real this time.

Our time at the clay lick did not seem like a complete waste of a morning at least. The sunrise was breathtakingly beautiful for starters. Quite a few groups of tourists came and sat under our blind, just as they were supposed to. I was so hyper from my one cup of coffee that morning that I could hardly sit still then I struck up a conversation with two girls from Canada. We also say loads of birds flying overhead, though none actually landed on the clay. Blue-headed macaws, scarlet macaws, yellow-crowned parrots, dusky-headed parakeets, and hundreds of blue headed parrots, as well as one bird that I can't remember the name of, but it had migrated from the coast.

When we got back from the clay lick, Sandie and I were just sitting in the dining area reading when Miguel walks in: "We have a problem. You guys have to leave tomorrow."

Long story short, Miguel found out that there was going to be a strike in Cuzco on Wednesday the 27th. All the volunteers that were going to leave were going to head out on Thursday the 28th for Cuzco. My flight, and Rob's as well, is on the Friday the 29th. If by chance the strike should last more than a day, I wouldn't be able to leave the MLC until the 29th, which would make me miss my flight. So instead Rob and I are leaving tomorrow, Tuesday the 26th. The trip will take less than a day, but we aren't having any stops either.

I've been growing quite fond of the MLC and the people here. I'm not exactly glad to be leaving a few days early, but now I'll have some extra time in Cuzco. That means I'll have a chance to get to know the new volunteers and some time to spend the small fortune that I brought with me here (yes, that means gifts).

Returned to the MLC today after a lovely 2 1/2 hour boat ride up the river. My camera screen is no longer working, which upsets me to no end. Some of us wanted to swim across the river after lunch, but the current was too strong. Then Dionisio saw and killed a bushmaster snake, which are extremely venomous and aggressive, in the water. So instead, later on I played volleyball for the first time in years. Less than a week now until I return home.

We woke up to the sound of howler monkeys today. Then during breakfast we were trying to figure out what to do with the day. The original plan was to go to an overlook on one of the peaks here, but our guide told us suddenly that we couldn't go, even though he was the one who suggested it yesterday. It was to be an all day trip. 4 hours up and 3 hours back down. When Miguel asked why we couldn't go, we were told that there was another group coming to the lodge at 2 and he didn't want to be late. So could we go earlier? But he didn't want to risk it and the only other guy who knew the trail was sick. The driver of our boat used to work at this lodge, so could he take us? But he worked here 4 years ago and the trail has changed a lot. So could we just go on our own with a map? But our guide had actually gotten a radio message from his manager in Cuzco saying that no one was allowed to go up to the lookout. We suspected that it had something to do with Hunt Oil. And we were only half joking.

In the end we decided to hike to a nearby petrol spring, and I'm not entirely sure what happened but we ended up on the trail to the lookout instead. We didn't make it all the way though. But we did see a group of Dusky Titi monkeys in the beginning and shortly afterward it started to rain. I now truly understand why it is called a rainforest. We were soaked, saturated actually, after about 30 seconds and we hiked for about 2 hours. I was a bit worried about my camera but aside from that I think it was my favorite trek that I've been on in Peru so far.

The first thing that we did today after having a small breakfast at the lodge was to walk around Shintuya and buy chocolate. That was about all the place had to offer. I'm not trying to be mean or anything, but there was literally no more than some shops, homes, and a school. Then it started raining. We also met up with Kapi and Willie who live in the town and had been part of the film crew while they were still at MLC.

Around noon we left that lodge to head downriver for another lodge that we would be staying at for the next couple of nights. The place is like a very fancy version of the MLC. After lunch we went for a walk down one of the trails where we heard two white throated toucans and saw a whole group of squirrel monkeys!

And the forest here is just so beautiful. It is actually different than at MLC because there the forest is a secondary forest which means it had been cut down then grew back again. But here at the lodge it is all primary forest. It was almost exactly how I imagined a rainforest to be. The floor was a bit more open and clear, and the trees were all very tall, almost majestic.

Slow morning today. The plan was to leave MLC after breakfast at 10, but the boat was late bringing food from Atalya. Oh, food delivery. That means today is Thursday. I've kind of lost track of the days here. I have no idea what the date is either. Anyway, after leaving a couple hours later than planned, which was expected nonetheless, we were on our way down the river heading north, a way we had not gone yet. I was the longest time that we had spent on a boat since we arrived and the view was breathtaking.

On the way we passed Shintuya, the town we're staying at tonight and tomorrow. Finally we arrived at las aguas calentes, or the hot springs. We ate lunch first as we waited for the other tourists there to leave as the place was pretty small. But before long we had the whole area to ourselves.

Las aguas calentes was formed from a spring of cool water flowing from the mountain and two pools of very hot water coming out from the rock. One of the pools was elevated and there were pipes that poured water from it into the stream below so that it formed 5 small hot waterfalls that people could sit under. At first we simply explored around, taking pictures and shatting, but then before we left Miguel go an egg from the boat so that Charlotte, Andy and Zoe could see if they were able to cook it in the hot water.

One hour later we had no boiled egg.

Afterward we took the boat back to Shintuya and checked into our lodge, which was like a large, nice version of our pods but with large pillows and towels.

I must have been very tired as I only woke up once last night. I think. I had heard a strange ringing that sounded like a loud telephone except that it lasted for at least 5 minutes. But it didn't bother anyone else, so perhaps I was just dreaming.

Either way, we woke up at 5:30 then had to rush to catch the bus because supposedly it was early for the first time that anyone could remember. Then the bus ride was so quick I was amazed. But once we got off we still had a bit of a hike to get to the river where we had to wait for boat to come across and take us back to the MLC. And all before breakfast.

The rest of the day was very relaxed. I read Animal Farm all in one sitting, then a group of us went over to one of the springs to go seimming. And tomorrow is the first day of our expedition.

We had breakfast at the hotel this morning which was quite excellent compared to the meals we had in the restaurant. Fresh bread is a beautiful thing.

The rest of the day was quite similar to yesterday. By lunch time we had finished all but one of the composteras. Then when we went to work on that one the beneficiary's 5 year old daughter came out to watch us. But she was so shy that we could hardly get two words out of her until we started cutting some grass and I asked her if she wanted to help us carry some. She was so cute that I couldn't help but laugh. Here was Sandie and I with our arms so full of plants that we could hardly see where we were stepping, then there was the little girl in her pink outfit leading the way with her four or five stalks in hand.

The entire day was not quite as enjoyable though. It had been so hot all morning that the first thing I did when we got back to the hotel was buy cold water (ice cold. Amazing.). And chocolate. Two things that I haven't had since I left home. And we can't even get cold soda at the MLC anymore as the fridge literally exploded last week. Anyway, long story short, by the end of the day we were all tired.

Today after breakfast we set out for Salvacion. This meant crossing the river by boat, the same trek that we took to Aguanos, a 15 minute wait for a bus that didn't show up (right away), a 30 minute walk in the sun until the bus caught up to us, and a 5 minute bus ride. After checking into our hotel (which has walls and lights and no mosquito nets) we went to an internet cafe (Internet! Yay! Haha.) then had lunch. I do hope that I don't get sick from the food here because the place seemed a bit dodgy. Although the food was adequate at best, it was enough to hold me through our work for the rest of the day.

We met up with three of the beneficiaries today to finish building their composteras so that they could have compost to use in the their biogardens. At first we weren't entirely sure how we should be working as all we had was a giant roll of plastic that we had hauled from MLC and no real plan. By the end of the day we had it organized out that the boys would measure and cut the plastic then lift it over the roof of the compostera. Then the girls would cuts some tall grass and throw it over the plastic until it was completely covered. The plastic would help trap some of the heat in and the grass would prevent the plastic from melting in the sun.

Had a meeting about the clay lick and new forms they are using for the project. Went with Miguel to the medicinal garden to update the list and see which plants were missing. Fixed the border on the trail map. Still waiting for blue paint. Need to organize monitoring systems for the biogarden. Salvacion tomorrow.

Oh, and after my rant yesterday I kind of forgot to write down what I did during the day. It wasn't a lot, but the main thing was going to the clay lick with Andy and Charlotte. For 6 hours. There really wasn't any activity, but we did see a roadside hawk (yes, that is the name) and a group of scarlet macaws and red and green macaws in the neighboring trees.

Today I just worked in the medicinal garden as I've mentioned already. Then after lunch we started a game of futbol. According to Miguel I make a fewless goal keeper, though I'm not really all that good at the sport. Then, just after Zoe, Sandie and I got rid of a massive cockroach infestation in our pod, and right before we went to bed (just as I was writing in here in fact), Andy comes running in, looking for his camera. A snake had been discovered in the roof of a neighboring pod with the leg of a huge frog in its mouth. So of course we all rushed over to watch as Dionisio caught the snake and released both it and the frog (unharmed) into the grass outside.

<-- Snake and frog.

I can't wait to go to Salvacion in two days to put roofs on the biogardens for the beneficiaries. This month has been rather slow and disorganized I think. It seems that there has been a lack of projects. Sure there are mini-projects such as working on the list for the medicinal garden, making the trail map, and creating an observation chart for the biogarden. But I'm almost done with most of that they're not quite as fulfilling as I would like. The only main project that is going on here is the Blue-Headed Macaw project at the clay lick. But because they are just restarting the project from three years ago, they haven't quite got it organized yet. It's most frustrating.

I would say that perhaps one month just isn't long enough, but I've got too much free time here as it is. Perhaps I just came during the wrong month.

I don't really want to say that today was another slow day, because though we didn't really do too many activities, I feel like I've been bombarded with a ton of information.

First I went to type up all the information for the medicinal garden plants and Miguel was telling me about some of the other herbs that were used by local communities. For example, there was one plant that he couldn't remember the name of that is used as a type of birth control. And one dose would last up to three years. There is another plant called Uña de Gato (or Cat's Claw) that is even growing in the gardens here at MLC that is used to cure cancer. At least, that is what Miguel claims. He didn't know what types of cancer it works for, but I'm curious enough now to try and research it a bit more when I get home.

After lunch Miguel gave a presentation about the Hunt Oil company. It's way too much for me to write about here, and I'll be sending out an email about it anyway in June.

Later Miguel gave some of us Spanish pronunciation lessons. Basically, if the stress is in the last syllable and the word ends in "s," "n" or a vowel then there is an accent on the vowel of that syllable. If the stress is on the second to last syllable, and the word ends in "s," "n," or a vowel then there is no accent mark. If the stress is in the third to last syllable, then there is always an accent on the vowel of that syllable.

Very slow day today. The boat was in Atalya picking up food and supplies for the week so we couldn't cross the river to work on the blind and Miguel was having a meeting with Raynaldo, who is in charge of the biogarden project in Salvación, all morning. In the evening though I did get to play an intense game of Risk with the boys. The board was the pieces were of such poor quality that I wouldn't have been surprised if it cost less than $1. That made it all the more amusing. After about 30 minutes, Lawrence had been wiped from the game already, Miguel and Andy were battling over Europe, and I was just about to launch a massive attack on Rob to sweep through Asia... but then it was time for dinner, and someone put the game away before we got a chance to finish it.

I think I did way too much walking today. Shortly after breakfast Dionisio, one of the staff members who had been in another town for the past couple of weeks and just returned to MLC the day before yesterday, and I I headed out to go trekking along the trails. Apparently CREES has a partnership with some program in the University of Oregon to see how fast the rainforest is regenerating itself in places where is where it had been cut down by miners, loggers, and plantation owner. Later on in future years they hope to be able to sell carbon credits to local communities here that will prevent them from cutting down trees to sell to loggers.

In the meantime, here at MLC we have biomass traps set up which catch fallen leave and twigs that are collected , dried and measured every two weeks. These traps are set up along the trails throughout the forest. Dionisio and I had a camera with a fisheye lens and we went around to all the traps to take a picture of the canopy there. All of these photos, plus the biomass data once it is finished, is then sent off to the University of Oregon for the biologists in the reforestation project.

We walked all day. 9am to 6pm. And it was ridiculously hot out. Every time we stopped moving we were swarmed by sweat flies, regular flies, butterflies, and mosquitoes. Even when we got back and I just finished taking a shower (by head lamp of course) a giant moth flies into my face. Oh, what a day.

I'm finding it hard to write because I'm so tired, which is surprising as we did nothing today. It rained all day. So instead of working in the biogarden, we gave Charlotte a tour around MLC then had a meeting with Miguel. It took quite awhile because he likes to tell lots of stories, but by the end of the meeting a lot had been discussed and projects have been assigned. And that's about it really. Hopefully tomorrow I can get a lot of work done.

Looking around, I find it kind of funny that the others here have got so much extra stuff. Bottles of lotion, shower gel, face wipes, nail polish. I guess I wasn't informed that magenta nails were necessary to live in the rainforest. I have little more than shampoo, conditioner and soap. I haven't even got washing powder nor a towel. Rant, rant, rant... Ok, I'm done now.

Anyway, we had a few new arrivals today. Mainly Miguel, who is the director of the project here; Charlotte, who is in charge of fundraising for CREES in their London office; and Paula, who used to be in charge of the medicinal garden here, but is only staying for a couple of days.

I think that I was reminded today of just why I decided to do this project. And I don't specifically mean coming to the rainforest in Peru, but rather why I had decided in general to do a second conservation project. Sometimes I can get so caught up in the details--annoyances at some people, discomforts in the settings, false expectations, all the "evils" that we're supposed to be correcting--that I forget why I'm even doing this in the first place. Today, after we finished building seats for the shelter, the others wanted to go fishing. I've never been a fan of fishing, although I am by no means against it, so instead I found myself a comfy rock to have a seat on and look around. Off in the distance was Adam, wandering around looking for objects to take photos of. A bit closer and along the water's edge were Anna and Jemma. Even though their faces were turned away and their haircolors were drastically different, it was still obvious that they were sisters simply by their countenance and even their clothing. Nearer still sat Miguel, one of the Peruvian staff members, who was the only one who seemed to naturally fit in with the surrounding. Next was Lawrence, who's been here three months already, was confident with his fishing line (perhaps overly so) yet could not find a comfortable stance nor seat. Finally there was Andy, who gets credit for trying, yet decided that fishing was not quite his forte, after the line got stuck on some driftwood, then snagged on a rock and snapped. The clay lick stood before us, but off to the north the view was dominated with green mountains below billowing pillars of cloud colored gold then bright pink from the setting sun. It's a view that one never gets tired of. And sitting there, it was nice to not have to think for once of natural gas pipelines being built in the rainforest, or illegal pet trades and coca plantations, or giant mounds of trash to size of Texas floating in the middle of the Pacific. For once I didn't need to fuss over what needed to be fixed, maintained, or tolerated, and I could just appreciate what was beautiful and wholesome still.

Anyway, besides that the rest of the day was also excellent (though dinner was terrible). Andy and I spent a good portion of our time before lunch sketching out a large guide map of the trails at MLC and we will probably get around to painting it sometime within the next couple of days.

Then this evening a group of us went to the overlook after dinner and a long discussion of British and US terms. We wanted to see the moon and try to take photos of it. Anna, Jemma and Catherine are all going to be leaving in two days. They're all such sweet girls and I'm going to miss them quite a bit.