The final return

So I survived, Tres Cruces, the Trocha, more San Pedro, Tono and finally Pantiacolla. We encountered rain, the stormy kind and the persistent drizzle kind, heat, cold, and all combinations of the previous. We also had to drive through rivers, wade across rivers, wash ourselves in rivers. We have done battle with ants, bees, wasps, seen a Jaguar, many rare birds and 7 species of monkies. We also partied, ate and travelled with the locals. The stories are too numerous to tell in one go, but in the next few days I will try to convey some of the more interesting ones. For now I think this picture just about sums everything up...

Disappearing

Tomorrow morning at 5am I am heading out to do my last fieldwork this trip. This means 3 weeks away from civilization, so I have packed some instant cappuccino and a box of white chocolate, and expect to be out of touch until 1st August.

This time we have 3 nights at the house at Tres Cruces, on top of the mountain, followed by 4 days on the Trocha Union, before emerging at San Pedro. Then Im off to pastures new - the lowland sites. This means two weeks of hot humid living in the forest at Tono and Pantiacolla. These forests should be full of animals (and insects) and they have the biggest trees. This should be an exciting time, with lots of data to collect!

Enchanted and disappointed

The Puna is the grassland that covers the tops of the Andes. I went for a 4 day hike across this landscape. The trip was part of a team assessment of carbon stocks of this ecosystem, and so 14 researchers, 2 mule handlers and one cook, 10 horses and 2 mules set off on an epic adventure!

The trip started stood on the back of a lorry, riding along a beautiful valley and getting covered in dust. Shortly after this 4 hour trip we ascended 800m on foot, arriving at camp shortly after nightfall. We slept on the floor of one of the park ranger huts. Over the next three days we hiked up and down the grasslands between 3800m and 3400m, finally arriving at Ajanaco and the road home on Sunday night.During the arduous uphill hikes, pleasing downhill strolls and occasional cliff-scramble, I saw all the enchantment the Puna has to offer. In the full morning sun, with harriers soaring into the sky, lakes reflecting the clear blue, one feels that they are on top of the world. As the clouds close in, the winds hit and water condenses out of the air onto every available surface, I felt a lot like I was on Dartmoor or the North York Moors. All of this, with the wildlife and wild flowers, the unpredictability, the views, and the marking of time only by the passage of the sun and progress measured by the height of the mountain infront, makes the Puna an enchanting landscape.
The disappointment came from the lack of specimens I was able to collect on the trip. The Puna we walked across was highly disturbed by fire and heavily grazed. Bromeliads were few, and far between. Probably as a result of both factors. But in a way, this allowed me to enjoy the scenery and the hiking more, so it was not entirely bad news.

Anyway, I really enjoying the hiking, the scenery is breath-taking, and the company was amazing as always, and Im glad I took the time to make this trip. This might be my first and last post for a while as due to strikes/flight delays I might have to head to the field early tomorrow. Alternatively I could be here for few days more waiting for transport. Such is life in South America...

If you look closely at this picture you can see a rainbow-halo with my shadow in it! This was the most enchanting moment of the trip (it looked better in real life)! Incredible...