The end of fieldwork...?

So this is probably my last day of fieldwork in Peru. Its 11:30pm and Im busy weighing dry plants. Because I dont have much time (I fly to Lima in less than 12 hours) I will just leave a few pics of the last week or so!

The "pods" at the Manu Learning Centre, lowest (warmest) site visited this year

One of the many landslides at San Pedro

Monkeys made off with our bread and fruit...

Leaving at 5am to look for parrots

Orchids at the MLC

Weird spiders at the MLC

Dinnertime at the Mirador with Dionicio, the biologist at the MLC

I was interviewed by the local Ecology club, entirely in Spanish, and the whole thing was filmed!

I wish I had time to write more...

San Pedro and the Orchid garden

Everything went well in San Pedro, despite the huge amount of landslides, we found a tree and intalled the weather station. Im concerned about the monkeys taking an interest in it, but it survived the first 24 hours without problem. Once this was sorted, we decided to take a couple of days break, and head to the nearest town. Here, with constant electricity I am able to go through the data, making sure its ok. We visited the orchid garden, and I met a researcher there who, althuogh is primarily interested in Orchids, has a lot of photos of bromeliads, which is vrey useful for my research. The town also provides other opportunities, such as being able to wash clothes and eat cake! Its also warmer here too. But we have to go back today, so we will wait for any passing transport with space, before heading back to San Pedro to collect a few more specimens.

(Photos to follow)

Turtle Orchid and the Bromeliad Olympics

Today we had a fairly relaxed visit to the Esperanza research plot, and although it took two attempts from opposite sides, we finally located it and went hunting for bromeliads. This was generally uneventful, and in the afternoon we got everything ready for moving tomorrow. I have left the weather station in the tree until the last minute to get the maximum amount of data, so we will be collecting it just in advance of leaving for San Pedro.

On a previous walk I found this orchid (picture above), which to me looks a lot like some turtles on a stick. I cant find out its official name, so for now it will be the turtle orchid.

I also declared myself the official winner of the bromeliad olypics for managing to carry this hefty specimen up two flights of stairs (it was really heavy!)...

Lots of science at Wayqecha

So the last few days have been busy (and without internet, hence no posts) but I have managed to collect a lot of data, mostly about Bromeliad water storage capacity and temperature profiles. We also made it down the river, where after a short paddle I sat with my feet out to dry, only to discover I had created a feast for the local mosquitos! As usual for Wayqecha, we are being well fed, in the way the only Peruvians can (ie. with as many carbohydrates as possible - today we had 3 large boiled potatoes, half a ton of rice and a side of bread, with our chicken and veg!). Im also getting used to camping again, which is nice, because it means I can generally sleep for more of the night. And having run up the side of the mountain today to avoid the oncoming rain, I think Im going to sleep well again tonight!

Working internet in the field!!!

So having made the long journey from Cuzco to Wayqecha Research Station at a rather impressive (occasionally scary) speed yesterday, I woke up this morning ready for action. The weather instruments were fixed to their substitute pole (with only a small amount of duct tape required to botch through) and we took it out and mounted it in the canopy. It weights about 30kg, but the rope is designed to hold a person (and more), and we left it dangling in the canopy at about 10m height. The picture below shows the set up, but you can't see the ground. Along with four smaller sensors this will record the climate at different heights in the canopy for 7 days at 3 different sites. This will give me a good idea of how the forest canopy alters the climate.

After the success of getting the weather equipment up and running, I decided to go and investigate the now complete canopy tower. Its a very fancy set up, and a strange thing to come across after walking 20 minutes into the forest, but it has some great views, and to my surprise, one of the few bromeliads from Wayqecha I had not seen with a flower. Turns out its actually very colourful! Picture below.

I also now have working internet at this research station, at least while electricity is switched on (6pm to 9pm)!

Sunshine and smiles

There are lots of amazing aspects to fieldwork, and I will try to post about them more often in future, but sadly at the minute there is not a lot to report, only more landslides and rain and last minute preparation.

My final negative post (hopefully) for this year will probably give you some idea of the really frustrating side of fieldwork. I find packing one of the most stressful activities in the world, and the worst packing is always packing for the field. Today, I had to pack bags for 21 days of scientific research, including for 14 days camping, and 7 days where we have to cook for ourselves too. I also have to do this for my assistant, as he does not have a clue about camping, or a tent, so I have to prepare all his things too. I spent most of the day travelling around markets, supermarkets and random shops, collecting everything I need, this has taken me from 9am until 6pm to achieve, and knowing I am constantly being ripped off along the way, and I still forgot to buy soy meat and a machete! On top of this I have transport organised for tomorrow "in the morning", but no one has told me the exact time. So, I have now 3 fully loaded 60 litre bags, 100m of rope, a 6ft catapult, a gas cylinder, 2 tents and a "small" 50 litre hang luggage all set for the trip! On the bright side, this is the first time I have ever been packed for the field more than 2 hours in advance of leaving (I must be getting slightly better at this). However, I feel stressed, which I almost never do otherwise.

To lighten the post there was some lovely sunshine in the center of town earlier, so I have added a few photos to lighten the mood I hope!

When credit cards dont work...

So I have to pay for various bits of my fieldwork before taking them on. Today, I had the following conversation with the admin staff of the MLC

MLC "So you need to pay $580 before you go"

Me "Great, can I use my card"

MLC "Sorry we dont have a machine, its cash only"

Me "But I can only get $200 per day from the cash machine"

MLC "Yes, $200"

Me "But I leave for the field on Sunday and you will not be in tomorrow, so I can only pay $200"

MLC "Yes"

Me "OK, so..."

MLC "Perhaps you can pay half when you get back"

Me "OK, but I will only have 2 days when I get back, and I need to pay other people too"

MLC "But its only $300"

Me "Yes, thankyou"

And then I went to InkaNatura, to confirm I would use their platform for camping for a week (Roughly translated from Spanish):

InkaNatura "That will be $105"

Me "Normally it is free for Scientists"

InkaNatura "OK, I dont know about that, can you email Mikail?"

Me "But normally the person in charge tells me to visit you first"

InkaNatura "OK, but you should talk to Mikail"

Me "Thankyou"

I really cant wait to get into the field and actually do some work!