Another
wonderful week in Ecuador, I finished my Spanish class, went to zumba with my
host mom, and went off to the coast of Ecuador for five days.
The
beginning of the week started off hectic because we had a lot of
homework assignments due for biology class and our Spanish classes ended on
Wednesday! For the first two days of the week we were the only ones at the
university because everyone else had a break for Carnaval. I can’t complain too
much because on Tuesday in our Spanish class we learned how to salsa
dance, listened to Ecuadorean music, and learned about the history of Carnaval. Unlike what most people think Carnival actually started in Egypt and
Sumer and only spread to Latin America through the Conquistadores. After giving
a presentation about lacrosse in Spanish on Wednesday, Spanish was officially
over, and definitely the shortest class I have ever taken! In biology this week
we learned how to use Geographic Information Systems (GIS), which is
essentially a way of collaborating data and organizing it geographically to
make a map.
This week
I also went to zumba with my host mom in the park in my neighborhood! There
were about 15 other women from the neighborhood and myself. For the first half I was doing fine in the
class, but in the second half the hips came out, and for as much as I tried I
just could not move my hips the same way at the other women! It was a great
bonding experience with my host mom!
Then on
Thursday I left for the coast of Ecuador and to the Bosque Seco or dry
forest. We went to the Lalo Loor Dry
Forest Reserve, which is run by the Ceiba Foundation and is located n the
Pacific coastal province of Manabí, Ecuador. It lies in a transition zone
between the very wet forests to the north and the very dry forests further
south. It is about a seven-hour drive from Quito but we also stopped multiple
times along the way! The Lalo Loor Dry Forest Reserve protects 200 hectares
(around 500 acres) of forest, which is extremely important in this region, as
98% of dry forests in Ecuador have been deforested for agriculture and other
land use.
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| Howler Monkeys |
Dry forests are more similar to the forests that we are
used to in the United States because there is seasonality to them. There is a wet and dry season and in the dry
seasons the trees are deciduous and drop their leaves. These forests have been
the victims of deforestation mainly because their soil is nutrient rich and is
extremely fertile. Deforestation has
extreme effects on the land as it causes the loss of soil fertility, soil
compaction, reduced water quality, and more carbon being released into the
atmosphere. Additionally, the forests are being replaced by pastures, which the
worst environmental impact on the land.
The minute we stepped off the bus, it was clear we were no
longer in Quito. The temperature had risen
by around 20 degrees and it was extremely humid and buggy. For the next three nights we stayed at a
cabin in the Lalo Loor Reserve. We went
on hikes to look at all the different types of plants and landscape there and
we were extremely lucky because a family of Howler monkeys also decided to camp
out right where were we were sleeping.
After the first morning it was clear why they are called howler monkeys
because by 7 am they were screaming back and forth to one another. While we were there we also went bug hunting
to compare the different bugs in forested areas, pastures, and reforested
areas. We all ran around trying to
capture bugs with our hands, nets, or through a vacuum!
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| Bug Hunt |
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| Pig next to the river |
We also went to nearby towns to test the water quality of their
rivers. This is something I am going to
do again as a part of my internship at the end of the semester. We went to a river located 20 minutes away
and while we were there in the river we saw people swimming, doing laundry, and
some animals. We tested the river for
different criteria and perhaps the most shocking was the extremely high level
of E. coli we found in the river. In the United States no lake should ever
exceed 1,000 E. coli cells per 100 mL of water, in the river
we tested we found 1700 E. coli cells per 100 mL of water. During my internship in April I am
going to continue testing the rivers and also help educate the locals about the
importance of not drinking or bathing in the river as it can make them extremely
sick. We are also trying to teach them not to let their animals be near the
river as that is how the E. coli arises in the first place.
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| Tree Planting |
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| Camping out on the beach |
On Sunday morning we went to a nearby agroforestry farm where the
landowner has converted part of his land to agriculture, while continuing to
plant trees and other natural vegetation. While there we sampled
his delicious coffee and cocoa and even planted trees! In the
afternoon we all got to enjoy the rest of our Valentines Day with a nice
relaxing afternoon in the ocean. I was definitely 'kissed by the sun' for my
Valentines Day. We camped out on the beach and swam in the Pacific Ocean where
the waves were gigantic! We then played a very intense game of ultimate Frisbee
on the beach. At night we had a bonfire and went to sleep to the sound of
the ocean and beautiful night sky.
Now, I am back in Cumbaya with just enough time to do some
laundry and take a test on Wednesday. On Friday we head out to the Amazon for
the next two weeks!
I am very excited for this upcoming week and I will
definitely write all about my experiences in the Amazon when I return. 
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