Living in the Clouds

Wow, another great week in Ecuador!

This week was full of many new and exciting adventures and even school! Last Monday I had my first day of class at the University of San Francisco, although for our classes it is basically just UW teachers renting out space at the university. 

For three hours each morning I first have biology.  In biology this week we discussed a variety of topics including why Ecuador is such a breeding ground for biodiversity, identified different parts and different kinds of plants and fruits (and we even got to try all the fruits), and began discussing what we can do to ensure the protection of all of these beautiful places and ecosystems. 

Following biology, we have a two-hour break for some siesta time. Everyday this past week I went to a different restaurant to eat lunch.  Cumbaya and all of Ecuador is known for their special almuerzo places (almuerzo meaning lunch in Spanish), which serve giant three to four course meals for less than $3.  One day for lunch I had juice, soup, rice and veggies with eggs, and dessert of course! With the remaining time during the breaks we have walked around or come back to the university to relax in the beautiful sunshine and play cards, Frisbee, or just talk. 

From 2pm to 5pm I have Spanish class.  The first day we all were eagerly awaiting the class, ready to finally learn Spanish in the classroom.  We had been told that Ecuadorians have their own time system and often do not show up right on time, but by 2:30 we were starting to get a little worried.  We found an instructor from our program to see what was going on and by 3:30 we learned that the teacher was not showing up because she didn’t know that she was teaching the class (only in Ecuador). The next day we did finally get a teacher and she arrived in Ecuadorian fashion (a little late), but thus far Spanish has been great.   

The orchid

Cloud Forest/Andes Mountains

It was not quite a full week of classes because on Friday morning we left for the El Pahuma Orchid Reserve in the cloud forest! The El Pahuma Orchid Reserve is located an hour away from Quito and is full of lush vegetation, birds, some bears and lots and lots of clouds and rain! The Reserve is even more special because it is owned by native Ecuadorians and serves as a model conservation project that allows local landowners to make sustainable revenue from forest protection. The reserve is protected by a conservation easement, which is an agreement between private owners of land and a non-governmental organization where the owners of the land agree to protect and not to deforest or hunt on their land. In 2000 the owners of the reserve and the NGO, Ceiba Foundation for Tropical Ecology, the organization that is running the study abroad program I am on, agreed upon the first ever easement in Ecuador to make this reserve possible. This agreement is extremely special because it keeps the land in the hands of the owners and allows them to take initiative to implement polices to protect it. The reserve protects over 600 hectares (over 1500 acres) of tropical montane forest lying and within the property over 200 species of orchids have been identified, a lot of plants only found on the reserve and it is also home to wildlife such as the Spectacled Bear and Andean Cock-of-the-Rock. 

My trip to El Pahuma was excellent! The first day we spent on the lower half walking around and learning how to identify certain commonly found species of plants.  We also went into a freezing cold waterfall and had some delicious meals.  The following day we did a super steep hike up for 500 m to get to the top of the forest.  Up on top we did some great bird watching where we listened and then found parrots, tanagers, and toucans through binoculars.  If you have never tried to locate a bird through binoculars, it is much harder than you might think! We also did a great night hike and saw frogs, lots of bugs, and an olingo, which is in the same family as the raccoons, but much cuter! The following day we woke up to bright blue and sunny skies, but within two hours it was completely cloudy, or more like we were actually in the clouds and it rained for the rest of the afternoon.  Climbing down the super slippery and muddy slope was extremely difficult and at times sliding down on our butts proved to be the easier method. 

Plant scavenger hunt

 

Lots and lots of fruit

After my first true Ecuadorian excursion I am excited for many more. Everything else in Ecuador has also been great.  My host family continues to be amazing and I still have tried a new fruit almost every day! I also went to an Ecuadorian blues concert the other night at an organic hipster place, although interestingly enough the music was more rock, and they served IPA beer!

Check in for more adventures soon!

Hasta Luego!

Frog from the night hike

Campfire