Wayqecha and a haircut

I finally got round to having my head shaved. I look a little bit like an alien but also I am growing a large beard to make up for it! Maybe I will post a photo when I return.

Anyway, lots of Oxford people are here now and we will be shooting round in the field bumping into each other at various locations. Im first heading to the luxurious Wayqecha field station where we will be cooked for and have nice cabins to sleep in! Then Im heading down to the lowlands to make friends with insects and warm weather again for a few days.

The trip should be a lot of fun. While in Wayqecha we will be visited by a group of artist travelling on the Cape Farewell Expedition, taking a look at the science we are doing and the plight of Peruvian rainforest in general. I hope I can feature a little in their work so if you monitor their website you might see me making a guest appearance!!! It will probably be around the 28th - 29th when our schedules overlap! Link below.

( http://www.capefarewell.com/expeditions/2009.html )

Landslides and sunsets

My first venture into the forest was shorter than expected. Due in part to my inability to organise myself for camping. Having forgotten numerous items, and misjudged the size of a 2 person tent (it fits 2 small people with little or no luggage). Based on my incompetence I decided it was better just to come home early than to stick it out with dwindling supplies!

Anyway, we were blessed with great weather, wonderful views of the forest and my first cloud free view of the massive landslide by the side of the Trocha Union Plot 2. I found the species of Greigia, one of the potential new species, abundantly in flower in the highest altitude plot, and plenty of other species in the other plots.

Finally we caught the preparations and the start of the Inka festival of the sun. I forget the name, but on the longest night they sing and dance until and

beyond sunrise. Its the only time of the year the house at Tres Cruces is used, its also the most people they have on top of the mountain.

This seems to be a time of festivals. Last night in Cuzco there was live music and fireworks and the centre of town was packed full!

Rain, no sleep and work

So after a few days gathering equipment and food I am now ready to hit the forest once again. Heading off to do some camping on the Trocha Union, probably not the easiest place to start work but Im thinking its best to get the difficult bit out of the way first! Anyway, Im feeling increadibly sleep deprived because I spent last night worrying about the trip and barely slept. Really Im just hoping there is no rain, since we would not have to pay a ridiculous fee to stay in the only shelter - the house at Tres Cruces, and camping in the wet for more than 2 days becomes a complete nightmare. Also maintainance of the trail has decreased since last year so getting through to the plots will be harder. All in all this could be physically and mentally, a very challenging few days, with little on offer to help us out if things get bad. What I wouldnt give for a nice lab-based PhD!!!

Arrival success and a long bus journey

So I arrived in Cuzco approximately 60 hours after leaving my house! A sum total of 3 taxis, 2 trains, 2 flights and one bus journey have moved my about 7000 miles along and 3500m upwards.

I could have arrived a lot quicker but I decided to take the bus from Lima to Cuzco (a 21 hour adventure) as opposed to flying (a 55 minute hop over the mountains). My main motivation was actually not the £100 it saved (also the bus was like flying first class so comfort was not an issue) but instead it was my curiosity to experience the Andes from one side to the other. However, I hadnt thought through carefully enough the fact that in a 21 hour overnight bus journey the scenery becomes invisible for a good long time. I did see the expanse of coastal desert stretching south of Lima, but darkness fell as we headed up into the mountains. The sun, and my consiousness reappeared high in the clouds as we passed though some agricultural landscape, small fields surrounded by Eucalyptus trees and Agave plants! From there we passed into the cactus-filled canyons before emerging in the valley where Cuzco sits. I will remain clueless about the bits inbetween for the time being!!!
Im also aware that I was planning to blog about the things I got up to between my last post and leaving, but I didnt. I did however have a lot of fun so I will quickly mention some of these things. I spent a week teaching undergrads at Orielton, I saw 2manydjs live, I saw a martial arts show by the Shaolin warriors, I saw not one but 2 stone circles, Stonehenge and Avebury, drank some beer, drank a lot of tea and had my brain scanned (apparently I do have one!!). All in all it has been great fun :D Im going to miss it and everyone over the next two months :-(