Despues El Pahuma

What a fabulous group-bonding filled weekend! I fell very fulfilled at a variety of different levels.

Friday morning our Ceiba group met bright and early in the parking lot of Estadio Olimpico. A few minutes before 8:00 a big green bus, cheerfully decorated with "Turismo" on every flat surface pulled up and our weekend trip to El Pahuma Orchid Reserve began. El Pahuma is located about an hour´s drive northwestish of Quito. It is still in PInchinca Province and is nesteld in the western slopes of the Andes, at 1800-2600 meters. The reserve consists of 650 hectars of montane forest, also known as Cloud Forest. There is quite a diversity of plant life in the reserve with at least 187 orchid taxa and numerous plants in the families Clusiaceae, Melastomataceae, Bromeliaceae, Gesneriaceae, Cyclantheaceae, Ericaceae and Fabaceae among others. In respect to animal life, the reserve is home to Spectacled bears, plate-billed mountain-toucans and giant antpitta. Sadly I saw none of these species but I did hear the latter two.

What´s espeically interesting about the reserve is that it was one of Ceiba´s first large projects in Ecuador. The project started when one of the property owners (the Lima family) told Cath and Joe (founders of Ceiba and our professors) about his desire to use his land for conservation. At the time, 1997, ecotoursim in Ecuador was in its infancy and so using his land for such purposes was a huge gamble. To make a longer story short, flash foward 13 years and El Pahuma stands as a model of conservation and small reserve importance. There is a conservation easement, the first of its kind in Ecaudor that keeps the land as beautiful montane forest. The Lima family has a dependable source of income and are probably some of the best naturalists in the area. Thery´ve also reached out to Ecuadorians and have a stady rate of school kids and university classes visitng their reserve to learn not only about conservation but about species endemic to Ecuador.

So our trip as I said earlier started on Friday. We got to the reserve around 10:00 after making a pit stop at Calacalí a small town that lies on the true equator. Anyway, upon our arrival to El Pahuma (flattened ridge in Quichua) we split into two groups. The group I was in first explored the small Botanical Garden filled with orchids and many common plants in the reserve. After about an hour we walked up to a small wafterfall. Both the garden and falls are generally the two places hit up by day trippers visiting the reserve, so they pack in a lot of info in a short amount of time.

Brains filled we went to the reserves restaurant and had lunch. On the menu, ceviche con corazon de palma, fish, potatoes and a cumcumber and tomato salad. Tang to drink and coffee (the real stuff, no the instant stuff Quiteños love) for dessert. After a few minutes of digestion we started our ascent. Now when I say ascent I ´m not talking about your typical Western Wisconsin bluffs, I am talking Andean Highlands. Sure there were plenty of switch backs but all in all it felt like I climbed straight up an 85% slope for an hour and a half. No worries though because the vegetation and bird life were enough to take one´s mind off the huffing and puffing. Every ince of ground and tree for that matter was covered in vegetation. Trees were dripping in epiphytes and roots dropping from tree limbs to the ground were coated in moss and lichens. One of my personal favorite plants, the tree ferns dotted the slopes and with their huge fiddleheads and pre-historic demeanor gave the impression that a Brontasaurus might be around the next bend. It seems to incredible that such a place could exist. I still can´t get over how many plants were growing on plants, so much greenery!

Our steep climb ended for the day at el Gaurdia del Oso, or the Bear´s den. It´s a rustic campsite built a few kilometers up. At the gaurdia there was a covered fire place, a pit latrine and a small bunk house that sleeps 10 and shelters the gas stove from the routine rains and drizzles. I was one of 3 lucky students to sleep in a tent outside, details to follow soon. After arriving, proceeding to tank the rest of my 3 liter Camelback and attempting to stop sweating we had a short lecture on bird watching basics. We talked about common bird shapes in the Neotropics, listened to some bird calls, and practiced locating an object and then putting your binoculars on it without too much searching and struggling.

About 6:00 we had dinner, arroz con pollo (rice with chicken) and fried plantains. Then as every good camper does, we made s´mores and chatted around the fire. It was the first extended period of time we´ve had together that wasn´t class or orientation time. Though don´t get me wrong, we´ve all been getting to know each other throught he first two weeks down here. After a night hike through a thicket of bamboo, and with the intentions of getting up early to go birding, we tucked in early. Genuis that I am, at the last minute I left my sleeping bag in Wisconsin. However on Thursday I went and purchased a sleeping bag liner thining it would suffice. I was wrong. Instead I work up 4 itmes Friday night, too cold to sleep, though I did hear owls a couple of times. Needless to say I was happy when the sun finally rose at 6:00 AM.

Saturday started with our bird walk. There were lots of birds singing away but we spotted only a few before heading back to camp for breakfast. Camping breakfasts are the bst and we had granola, toast, coffee con leche, green tea, juice and eggs. After fueling we packed lunches and hit the trail again with out destination set as the Yumbo trail along the top of the ridge. Our first 3 hours of hiking were largely filled with stopping to admire and discuss interesting plants and things found along the trail. We also started learning the identifying characteristics of the different families grwoing in the montane forest. We talked about flower parts, defense, colorations, leaf arrangements and many other things. Once we reached the top of the ridge we stopped for lunch.

Following lunch we set out on the Yumbo Trail. The Yumbos are an indigenous group of the Andean Highlands. The trail we walked has been in existence for no less then 1500 years and was the main trade route out of the Andean valley where Quito lies. So many people have walked the path that it has been worn down so much that many parts feel like you are walking in a canyon. There are walls, sometimes 15 feet high on both sides of you and if you forget about all the Gortex, plastic and ripstop materials on your own gear you can imagine yourself as a trader on your way to the coast.

When it was time to turn back we split into teams and were challenged with a plant scavenger hunt. I was on a team with Sheena and Colleen and what do you know, our team made it back first with all 15 specimans in hand. No prize but pride was awarded, but I can certainly live with that. We did arrive back about 30 minutes before everyone else, so it was nice to have a little bit of extra downtime.

Three o´clock came and we had another lecture, this one about the plant families we talked about along the hike. We also did a plant collection exercise where we all paired up and collected a plant specimen to put in the plant press. Eventually they will be added to the El Pahuma plant collection. During lecture the rain started a little bit and persisted into the evening, but I must say, after two weeks in the smoggy, dry air of Quito it really amazing to have some moisture in the air!

Dinner Saturday night was spaghetti with cooked vegetables. There really is nothing like delicious camp food! We were joined at dinner by Rene Lima, the son of the land owners and he told ust the story of El Pahuma and why hi and his family wanted to become conservationists. He told us his story in Spanish which I was happy about because it gave me some more time to practice listening. Catherine did translate for us, but I think even without that I understood enough to follow his story. So my progress continues, though slowly. Rene also brought along the ingredients to make Canelazo, a hot, alcoholic drink made with sugarcane alcohol and naranjilla, a Solanaceous fruit. It was pretty tasty and quite strong, in combination with the altitude I was definitly feeling it after on drink! So with a little booze in us we had a hearty campfire chat time. We also went for another night hike where Joe spotted a teeny, tiny but loud frog and caught a great leaf-mimicking katydid. Afterwards, with the gentle pitter-patter of rain on the tent top and my towel and rain coat for extra insulation I hunkered down about 10:00 and slept much better then Friday night.

This morning we again went birding, but apparently I chose the wrong direction because I missed the toucan. So it goes. Another hearty breakfast, marked by pineapple and we were on our way down. We set out staggered at about five minute intervals so we could each have time to enjoy the forest on our own and think about what sort of research questions the ecosystem brought to mind. Putting on my soil scientist cap I wondered about the differences in microbial communities between soil under my feet and the soil produced in tree branches after epiphyes die and decompose. Does that arboreal soil sequester carbon? (Could I get a masters from studying this?) Anyway, I apparently was being extra putzy because I was passed twice by people who started down after me.

We rejoined as a group close to the bottom at Cascada Pacay, a 100 foot waterfall taht was bonechilling but very very refreshing despite walking around in wet pants for the rest of the afternoon. Once we reached the very bottom we joined Cath and Joe in a discssion of our research questions. Mine never came into the conversation but I definitely will keep it in mind for our projects we have to do later in the semester.

Finally, to the sound of a hiker´s parked car alarm going off we had our last El Pahuma meal at the restaurant, fritata! Carefully fried pork, potatoes topped with ají, toasted corn kernals, fried plantains, corn on the cob and fresh cheese! Again our meal was followed by fresh coffee. Quite the way to end a highly enjoyable weekend. After taht, nestled in the bus enroute to Quito I drifted off to sleep with beautiful epiphytes and break taking views of the Andes in my mind.

In other news, I heard back from Rio Muchacho Organic Farm and they said they´d be happy to have me come intern with them later in the semester!