Christmas, Los Cedros style

It's hard to believe I've already been at Los Cedros for two and a half
weeks, but it's even harder to believe that Christmas is only four days
away! It's going to be a spectacularly un-western Christmas here, no
presents, cards, turkey, mistletoe; not even Santa Claus (I suggested to
Jose that he'd make a good SC - he really would - but we realised that our
bunkhouse has no chimney so that idea went down the drain). I'm really
looking forward to a Christmas of this style, as it's unlikely I'll ever
again be isolated from all the commercialism that comes along with
Christmas in the UK. I'm making a point of doing volunteer work on
Christmas day itself, as I may never again work on Christmas. Perhaps
I'll have more chance of spotting a Spider Monkey on the day itself, as
his paper hat from his cracker will inevitably make him more conspicuous.

Primate searching is what Rebecca and I have predominantly been doing
here, intermingled with some computer work updating the volunteer
information for future volunteers. I haven't yet seen any monkeys, but
I've heard a Capuchin on one occasion (quickly rushing over tree tops when
he heard me coming), and Spider Monkeys on two occasions (further off).
It would be quite special to catch a glimpse of the latter, being as there
are only an estimated 250 left in the whole world (they are classified by
the IUCN as Critically Endangered, the level slightly above Extinct In The
Wild). Interestingly, howlers, the loudest mammal on earth, have not yet
been heard by either of us even though they are much higher in number than
the spiders. Whilst out on the trails spotting primates, we follow the
formally laid down protocols to ensure that the data we collect can be
reliably used for the PrimeNet project (a project being run by the
University of Sussex, funded by the Darwin Initiative). These protocols
have been worked on by us, and include advice on primate habituation in
the event of encountering a primate (scratching yourself, looking
uninterested), and pace requirements (covering 50m in three minutes).
School science projects were never this fun!

I have caught glimpses of a number of other animals I've never seen before
in the wild. I've seen a couple of snakes, which thankfully are kept away
from the research centre by the cat, who takes away their prey, the rats.
I've also encountered two armadillos, several parrots and toucans, and a
beautiful tarantula about six inches across with its legs bent.
Spectacled bears are very occasionally encountered (three times so far
this year), and there is evidence of sloths and pumas, though I don't
think these have ever been seen. Most mammals in this forest do a very
good job of hiding or fleeing before humans can spot them, and I doubt
I'll be lucky enough to capture a glimpse, but it's fascinating to think
that when I walk through the forest I am sharing it with them.

In the afternoon we usually read or chat, on the porch of our bunkhouse.
The bunkhouse has electricity and can hold about 20 volunteers, but we
have it to ourself at the moment. For a few days last week, we were
without electricity, because on one particular evening we drew too much
power from the inverter and it blew. At the moment we're using a 350W
inverter, which can power a suprising number of things - numerous laptops
during the day and many energy saving light bulbs in the evening.
Sometime between Christmas and New Year, a friend of Jose's is bringing up
a 2500W inverter to replace the original one which was struck by lightning
the day we arrived. 2500W never sounded so good - the place will look
like Disneyland!

In the mean time I hope everyone has a really enjoyable Christmas and New
Year - I will be here over this period, until I head back to Quito on
around the 3rd January. I will put up photos as soon as I get there, I
just cannot do it here when my connection is a quite astonishingly slow
1.2kb/sec!

Reserva Los Cedros

I think I might just be in paradise.

Reserva Los Cedros is a 6400 hectare area of cloudforest on the
western flank of the Andes, just 60km north west of Quito but a whole
world away. I arrived on a three hour bus from Quito to a village
named Chontal, on Sunday morning. There I met up with Jose, the owner
of the reserve and the administrator of the projects that go on here
and Rebecca, another volunteer who is originally American but who has
lived in Venezuela for the past few years. We were joined by some
Spanish tourists who are visiting from a short time, and after a while
we began the several hour trek up to where we would be staying and the
base for our volunteering. I hadn't counted on getting to ride on the
mules, which made the trek much easier! By the end of the five hours
my mule was well under control, having become familiar with some
Spanish commands I also taught it some English ones. The trek took us
up and out of the lush tropical valley in which Chontal sits, over
several rivers and higher up into the forest.

The research centre at Los Cedros comprises several buildings - Jose's
house, a bunkhouse, a kitchen /communal area, several toilets and a
shower. Water is run through hoses directly from the river higher up
the hill, and electricity is generated by a dynamo in the river.
Water is so plentiful, that it is actually preferable to leave the tap
<i>on</i> in the kitchen, so that the river doesn't overflow and run
down into the mule pasture. Walking past a flowing tap initially
really went against the grain for me, but now I'm used to it! After
all, the water is simply re entering the river somewhat further down,
once it has travelled down the hand-dug drains. The internet here is
very patchy, but sometimes accessible. In order to access the
internet we dial up to the ISP on a radio phone, and the noise on the
line often means it takes several attempts to dial up. Unfortunately
I don't think I'm going to get any photos out till I'm back in Quito
in January, but you can see some photos of the place at www.reservaloscedros.org.

Rebecca and I are mainly going to be going out in search of primates
while we are here. Primenet is one of the projects that has been set
up here by scientists and students, and the primate spotting program
continues to run in their absence. Three species of monkey: the
Spider Monkey, Capuchin and Howler, are found in this relatively small
pocket of forest in North West Ecuador. Only about 4% of the original
beautiful cloudforest is left in this part of Ecuador and it is a good
job that Jose bought up this land and has fought over it because
otherwise this figure would be even lower. The devastating
deforestation has led to the drastic reduction of many animal species,
but this pocket of paradise still allows many species to survive. As
well as monkeys, spectacled bears are occasionally sighted here, and
there is evidence of big cats, though they're virtually never seen.
I'm looking forward to working on an ongoing scientific project -
tomorrow will be our first time out looking for monkeys.

As well as that, there are some other projects that sometimes need
doing here at Los Cedros. This morning we went out into the forest to
plant to begin recolonising the forest with a tree species which was
at one point felled by humans, and at some point we're going to tackle
the water supply to another building a kilometre or two along one of
the trails, in the hope that in the future it can be used for
volunteer accommodation. The trail network here is quite extensive,
and it feels incredibly exciting to go out on hikes on trails that
really no one else in the world has access to. When it is clear,
simply looking out from the research centre into the mountainous
cloudforest landscape affords me views of hillsides that have quite
possibly never had a human step on them. We even have a impressive
waterfall, a couple of hours walk away on the appropriately named
`Cascada' trail. The whole experience so far has been amazing - Jose
says he lives in the best place in the world, and it was only when we
arrived here on Sunday evening that we agreed he may be right.

As well as the exciting animals, there are stunning plant species
everywhere you look; huge tree butresses, leaves the size of my torso
and orchids abound. There are a ridiculous number of insects here,
including several species of spider (the tarantula being one). I have
yet to find anything much bigger than a grasshopper in my room, I am
glad to say, and the research centre cat keeps the snakes away by
destroying their prey (the rodents).

Right now I'm going to go and read and generally enjoy my afternoon
off (the afternoons off and the great food that the cooks produce are
two of my favourite things about the place).

Latitude zero

Today I visited the Northern Hemisphere, several times in fact. I went to Mitad del Mundo nearby, which sits on the equator. It was from Mitad del Mundo that the French scientists confirmed the location of the equator, deduced that the earth was not quite spherical, and conducted measurements that would lead to the metric system.





I´ve been in the Quito, Ecuador´s capital, since Sunday. It´s a beautiful city. You can probably tell I prefer it to Lima by the fact that I´ve managed to stay here for more than one night at a time. Lima has its plus points but Quito is much more pleasant. I´ve been staying in a cheap hotel in the Old Town ($5 a night for a whole room with three beds in it to myself), which is the quieter but more beautiful part of the city.



Quito is only 25km south of the equator, but retains a spring-like climate all year round thanks to its high elevation. It is surrounded by several volcanoes and the old town in particular is very hilly. The steep cobblestone streets are hard going if you´ve got a full rucksac on but the views from the top of the hills and church towers are fabulous. Within the space of a few blocks are several beautiful plazas, picturesque colonial buildings and cathedrals, basilicas, monasteries and churches everywhere you look. I´m not one for walking round churches all day (the Spanish art gets quite tiring after a while), but some of the interiors of these buildings are quite stunning. One church, La Compañia, is reputed to have required 7 tonnes of gold to deck out its interior, and Quiteños proudly regard it as the most beautiful church in Ecuador. Almost every church is steeped in gold, art and architecture, something quite different to the churches back home. It´s evident that the Catholic church has always been a holder of great wealth here in Latin America.





Quito´s New Town is more like the cities in North America and Europe, with skyscrapers dotted around the place. It´s not as pretty as the Old Town but it´s still a pleasant place to explore, graced as it is with several parks. Most of my trips to the New Town have been to the South American Explorers clubhouse. It´s a home away from home, what with free tea and coffee, chillout area, book exchange and a multitude of resources on volunteering and other things to do in South America. Speaking of books, I´ve just finished my fifth of the trip, Long Way Round by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman. It recounts their motorbike trip from London to New York via Siberia and is of special interest to me because I dreamed up the exact same trip (though imagining I´d do it in a 4x4) when I was about 12. It´s good to read a book about travelling while you´re travelling yourself, and it is inspiring me to do more adventurous things in the future. I once heard of a man cycling (ie on a bike with pedals) from Holland to Nepal, and then climbing Everest. Hardcore!

One thing I love about Quito is its transport system. It has a tram network that I think is at least as good as Sheffield´s (and only $0.25 no matter how far you go). The trams generally have their own lanes so they can whisk you from the Old Town to downtown in just a few minutes. Last night however I experienced a much more fun form of transport. Starting yesterday and going on until the 6th December is the week in which Quiteños celebrate the anniversary of the founding of Quito. There are many street parades like this one



and many instances of an intriguing type of bus called a chiva, a picture of which is here, hurtling past you on the street. In keeping with the fiesta spirit they all sport bands on the roof, playing all kinds of loud music! It´s great fun, and last night, SAE organised one for all its members. We cruised round the streets of both New Town and Old Town, complete with beers and whistles. It was a good laugh! (Sorry, no photos of night time things because my camera flash isn´t working properly!).

I´ve found some volunteering to do! In the next couple of days I´m going to head up to Reserva Los Cedros, which is only 60km northwest of Quito, but which takes about two days to reach. The volunteering here will probably be a mixture of trail maintenance and building, bear tracking, admin work and plant/insect species research. I´m going to be there for at least a month, and all my accommodation and food is included for $300 per month. I´m really excited about it and I hope it will be a great experience to do over the Christmas and New Year period. I think there is internet access, so I´ll keep blogging - with any luck I might capture a picture of the famous bespectacled bear.