Guy on a Mission 2009-2010-2011-2012

Day 5 in Guyana - The day of the Harpy

2012-02-06T20:51:00.000-08:00

January 11, 2012

Saw an adult Harpy Eagle today. I was told the Harpy hike is 14 miles. I didn't think it was that far - I was thinking more like 10-12 but we beasted it both ways so I think 14 is possible too. Though I hate not being able to stop frequently to see the full wonder of the forest because we have destinations and schedules and things to worry about. It encourages me to want to go back without an agenda except to view and photograph wildlife. Nevertheless, we had an amazing hike and no one got hurt and no one collapsed. I drank over 40 ounces of creek water straight from a mountain with no extra purification or filtration. It tasted incredibly fresh and I am writing to tell about it with no ill effects whatsoever.

The Harpy is always a beautiful sight whether it is in a photograph or a drawing or a balata sculpture; however, a Harpy in real life trumps all. Today was a fleeting glimpse because there were too many of us rustling around the base of the tree. The bird was looking right at us from its 120 foot high nest. I was only able to get the camera on it for a split second until the bird flew. I am glad I at least got a picture because there were only scatted peeks at it afterward as the bird traveled from tree to tree around its nest. It would have been easy to see the bird had it not chosen the largest grove of enormous Cieba trees around.

A very strange thing happened which I am very excited and pissed about. Four of the girls on the trip saw a fucking jaguar. I didn't believe the first inkling I was hearing about it until I saw Kayla had a picture of it. I thought it was odd that they saw it from a motorized boat and we didn't. Usually the boats stick together. They were lucky enough to see it because their guide, Sean, took them before the rest of the troops were rallied. Instead of killing the engine and waiting, they approached the animal causing it to go into the forest. I disagree with how this was handled though I am extremely grateful for the bounty of the rain-forest being presented in its highest form to people on our trip, in our group. Talk about the right place/wrong place and the right time/wrong time.No one expects to see a Panthera onca.

We have to pack up tonight - always gives me bad vibes. Leaving Rewa is like visiting a favorite relative that lives far away and only getting to stay for a few days, at the most. However, we have new adventures to undertake and I am excited to travel to Yupukari tomorrow. We will be taking the sad three hour boat ride, hopefully with some good sightings, to Rock View for what I am sure will be a delicious lunch, and then overland in the Bedford truck to Yupukari.

Tonight we have a village visit planned for 8:30 where we get to say some words of gratitude to the village kids, teacher, and elders.

9:50 PM The village visit made me cry almost, I was holding it back this time. We gave the village a high-tech transistor radio, new walkie-talkies, school supplies, a microphone for church, candy, eyeglasses and a bunch of other assorted things. They sang the classic song, "Water Runs from My Eyes". It was a bigger hit last year I think because it was day time. We were all very tired, especially the little 3rd graders at 9 PM expected to sing to what was, for the most part, a bunch of strangers. Danny gave a great speech to the kids and everyone seemed very deeply touched.

I spent the late hours this evening drinking some rum down by the banks of the Rewa River. It was a good time as I had my green laser pointer and the sounds of the forest were obnoxiously diverse with shrieks and flapping.

I really don't want to leave Rewa. I have to finagle a way to stay behind. Dicky and everyone at the lodge was remarking about how lucky our group was (me not included) to have seen a jaguar and a Harpy in the same day, especially within the same 5 hour span. Not many people can say they have done that, especially white people! Some villagers including village elders have never seen a Harpy eagle OR a jaguar, even after a life of wanting to see it and living smack-dot within the range of both species. It was good to see the kids raising their hands when i asked who wanted to be in the wildlife club? At least 6 kids raised their hands independently and without hesitation. I told them to keep protecting their forests and then we put our hands in and did "1-2-3- Rewa!"

*Get Dennis mp3 player by March. Luckily my dad is coming back so I can have him walk with it.

Day 4 in Guyana

2012-01-30T20:46:00.000-08:00

January 10, 2012

I missed the howler monkey chorus this morning but it was only because my body and mind were desperate for one full night sleep before what I knew would be an active day. We hiked on the Ground-Star "road"(the only thing they are good for) to the edge of the rain-forest.

If you don't know the story, a Canadian oil company named Ground-Star came to Region 9 to prospect for oil and survey the land. They tried making unmerited claims to the land against the codes of the Amerindian Act which protects the land for American Indian traditional use purposes. Ground-Star proceeded to build a road to prove they have machine power and money but they did no actual drilling. The operation in Rewa is on hold but don't think they have forgot about Region 9. They have already started setting up shop in Apoteri (see http://www.groundstarresources.com/news/news.php?newsID=733). I am not against economic prosperity and growth for a developing country or a village, especially one that I love; but a particular land such as Region 9 so diverse with animals commands respect even from the self-interested man in the suit. Though he will usually be the one to triumph, I argue that non-extractive methods of commerce such as eco-tourism should be king over corporate greed.

Anyway, the hike that we took on the road really wasn't much of a road more than a trail since it hasn't been used by Ground-Star in years. It was only used by a car probably 1 or 2 times ever. Now, the villagers either walk or take bicycles to Annai (3 hours by bike each way) to get supplies and take care of any business they may have. It is 17 km to Annai - as the crow flies. I would one day love to make that walk - as the man walks.

Though we started walking early, it was too late to witness the daily spectacle of the morning chorus, basically an hour of high-activity when the birds are beginning their days. We did, however, see troops of monkeys, 2 jacamars, different species of praying mantis from the one back at the lodge, and giant ant nests with ant swarms. Being with a large group made it kind of hard to bird watch but we did manage to see some white-flanked antwren among other antbirds. Crazy to think that all of the ants weigh so much more than all of the mammals in the forest and in the world. Our destination was the edge of the forest where the treeline meets the flat savanna, where Matthew had observed 3 jaguars (2 cubs) "playing" no more than one month ago.

At our rest spot, I shared some beef jerky with Marcilene, Sean, and James. I am sitting and writing by the river now and let me tell you, it is remarkable how much neater my handwriting is by daylight rather than by moonlight. The full moon mixed with some clouds sort of drowned out the stars but we had a nice display for awhile last night. I can see fish jumping everywhere. So many fish constantly feeding in these river systems. Makes you almost obligatorily think about the amount of insects the fish alone must eat. That's not even considering the consumption by the 14 documented species of bats in the area.

I am getting more and more pleased with the group every day. Danny was telling me how he really enjoyed the escape from his routine as a mortgage dude. Any cubicle job seems hellish to me so I would probably be doing the same thing if I was him and escaping to a remote paradise.We are all journaling now. It is good to see the students so engaged in the class aspect of the experience in their writing, thinking, and asking questions. It's hard not to learn a lot down here, especially with our packed itinerary. It is 1:30 now and we have a village visit coming up in an hour. This is the part of the trip where the kids touch our hearts and make all the new people want to cry.

Mike is making a big hit, as always, with his off-color jokes. John and Mike are playing off of each other nicely and they remind me of comedians sometimes with there dueling sciencey, tropically, nerdy, adult humor.

"Why did the hermit crab not share his shell?" Because he was being 'shelfish'.

It was sweet examining army ant behavior today on the trail. The complexity of life never ceases to astound me. Watching them act in there different roles as soldiers and workers and noting the anatomical differences was definitely worthwhile. They live some crazy lives down there but we are all just grains of sand. That shit crazy.

This whole Guy on a Mission thing is a life-long one. One that I am willing to embrace and challenge daily. I am impressed with the infrastructure changes at Rewa (cold beers, light all day, internet) and I guess many of them could not be possible without a generator but the fucking noise takes away the serenity of the setting. I cannot wait until it shuts off later. Dicky is very smart and his business savvy is increasing - he now knows about marketing to fishermen vs. student groups and how to cater to certain individuals such as herpetologists and entomologists. As a matter of fact, a party of 2 males from England just showed up here today with a passion for insects and photography and this trip is pure vacation and adventure for them - I hope they find some cool stuff (I should try to show them the praying mantis if it is still around). I think they should make electricity optional for visits. I wonder if they could make due without the generator. I heard something about another group coming tomorrow too. Although it is nice and awesome and excellent and everything to see Rewa getting good business and making some money, I enjoyed our 2+ days of alone time here very much.

I want to come back one day and climb Macarapan Mountain - it is still highly unexplored and undocumented and it is a cloud forest biome so surely houses some elusive species.

Goals of human life: reproduce, have family, have fun, enjoy time while you have it, eat well, socialize, see as many species, people, and places as possible, be challenged, conquer challenges, obstacles and fears, make bonds, be aware, alive, awestruck, and learned while remaining consciously ignorant.

Alex loves bricks and brick-making. I am getting a kick out of it because her face lights up every time someone mentions a kiln or ceramics or clay or anything of the nature. She has high enthusiasm and high energy, I like it.

Rovin is next to me now. It is good to be with him. We were just chatting about his trip to the Bahamas and how he was taking notes from fishing guides about how to lead groups, what to provide, fishing tips, and other tidbits of information. He was telling me about his first time using a key-card for the hotel room and his first time using and elevator. It was also his first time using or needing a passport as it was his first time leaving Guyana besides maybe border towns in Brazil on his trips to Lethem. I think it is really good that he brought fly-fishing to Rewa because that opens up a huge market that they didn't previously cater to.

"Everybody Poops" is the topic of the conversation going on around me, a popular tropics topic indeed. Rovin is the man. He is only a little older than me so I get along with him nicely. Starting to get bug bites like crazy but I don't care. They seem to really like my left leg.

Pat and Alex are really cool. Pat was Jeff's room-mate freshman year and Alex was telling us about how they broke their ice by making music out of old porn videos. Megan is cool too. I like her tattoos. She was talking about how she met her boyfriend in China on her four year stint living there. I can't imagine what life in China is like, especially not knowing a lick of Mandarin, Cantonese or written Chinese. I feel like I would be would be completely lost. One of my main reasons for feeling so vested in Guyana is my ability to communicate and teach through my own language. My first time walking barefoot/wearing sandals down here. Starting to feel native. I think I'm turning Guyanese.

DNA, Nitrogen, Carbon, Phosphorus. Love & Family. - That's what it's all about.

"God evolved from a race of apelike gods" - Mike

"If your a budding biologist and you want to make money by studying something, study soil." -E.O. Wilson

6:02 PM - Just got back from another village performance. It was as breathtaking as ever. Obviously wouldn't be a show without Mike playing his village-renowned hit "Fly Parrot Fly". Me, Danny, Kayla, Megan, and Sean played volleyball and I played soccer with the kids. Courtney comforted a kid who took a foot to the stomach. Thank God we get to go back to the village tomorrow. That was just what I needed. Saw monkeys up close on our 1200 foot walk back to the lodge. We are going to hear some story-telling by Sean after dinner.

I am sitting here with Dennis, Rovin's brother now. He was just telling be about how he kept a wild pet Spix's Guan that would fly freely and return to him every day and how someone eventually killed it. He was also talking about a 12 year old boy being taken and eaten by a caiman recently. And how a jabiru stork killed a person. And how a 5 year old girl got lost on Macarapan, that largest mountain off in the distance I want to climb so bad. It became a national story. The family consulted the shaman or what in Guyana is called a "Peai'man" and he told them to keep watch over the mountain and protect it and the little girl will be fine. He also assured them that she is alive in there somewhere but that they must not look for her and she will come.

It felt good to get a nice cardio workout today. I came down here thinking I was going to lose weight but I am getting fed so well and no sir, I will not turn down food that has been prepared for me.

Day 3 in Guyana

2012-01-29T19:49:00.000-08:00

January 9, 2012

What an excellently long day today. Not a moment wasted, idled, or regretted. Woke up to howler monkeys. I remember the process of waking up and not hearing chachalacas so I thought it was safe to get some more sleep until the howler chorus started. As I was having this thought, the howlers started distantly calling. I immediately decided I need not another second of sleep. There is nothing like waking up early in the rainforest, venturing over to a picnic bench near the river bank and watching, listening to, and feeling the rain-forest wake up.

We headed down-river to Grass Pond. We were fortunate because on our way to the pond, we came upon a family of Giant River Otters, at least four or five of them. They were extremely vocal and gave us good looks and I managed to get some pictures. One of them had a cut on its nose. The males are the ones with the white chests. They are fun to watch frolic around in the water, splashing and squealing and even snorting which might have meant they were getting agitated with our approaching. However, for awhile at least, I think they were equally as curious about us as we were about them.

Once we got to our destination at Grass Pond, we went out in canoes to the very end of the pond. It was cool because although we were being quiet, we were still scaring up some birds and at the end of the trip, it seemed they had all flown and congregated at the end of the pond. Finding this mixture of species so close together was quite overwhelming to try to photograph everything. We saw egrets, ospreys, jabirus, anhingas, kingfishers and 2 troops of monkeys all at the farthest corner of the body of water. We believe we also saw a white hawk perched in the forest - I wish I got my camera on it before it flew.

After lunch, we took a well-needed siesta. We then took a short boat ride to Sea Wall, a beachy place named for its appearance in the dry season. At Sea Wall, we relaxed, drank Banks on the banks, smoked cigars, spotted a close Great Potoo hidden among the dead tree snags, watched flocks of parrots fly over, looked for jaguar tracks and found some giant river turtle eggs. I was extremely tempted by swimming in the river as I have a strong affinity for all things water, however, the thought of "a lot" of giant stingrays in this particular section of the water as Marcilene warned me about had effectively deterred my amphibious notions. I would have taken the risk knowing one or two were around but after the Steve Irwin (RIP) mishap, I don't mess with sting-rays a-plenty.

This evening, we took a night float down the Rewa River. Though it wasn't as wild as some past trips, we still saw boat-billed herons, black caiman, and a few snakes including a rainbow boa. Hardly any bugs - it was perfectly relaxing, especially with a blanket of galaxies to ponder above. Bringing my military green laser pointer came in handy for pointing out constellations and planets.

Right now I am journal-ling by nothing but the light of the full moon above the Rewa River (and some of the reflection from the moon on the river). The only down-side to having a full moon down here is you can't see as many stars as when there is a new moon or a small crescent. However, the stars are still visibly more innumerable than back home where our poisonous, cancerous, desperately oil-dependent society has drowned out most things cosmic and damn near all things intergalactic. It is 10:35 PM.

Toucans (and aracaris), trogons and macaws today - very successful birding as far as seeing quintessential species of the tropics was concerned. I hope to see some manakins, jacamars, and tanagers to beef this list up. Birding is very hard, however, when with a large group.

Some good eating today as usual in Rewa:
Breakfast - bakes, eggs (A+ eggs with scallions, onions, peppers mixed in), bananas
Lunch - fried fish, fish & beans, rice
Dinner - chicken, fried fish, breaded fish, and cassava fries

Speaking of which, I took a gratifying shit not too long ago (most shits in the tropics are gratifying). However, my movement is not the point of the story. The point is that there was a huge praying mantis on the bathroom's thatched ceiling. There were also some toads and jungle frogs hopping around in the central benab which was cool until I picked one up and it exploded piss and shit all over me - definitely a good defense mechanism.

It was awesome to see Rovin today Would be a little disappointed to come all the way down here and not have see him, actually. I was hoping he would be our guide but I understand he leads a lot of fishing trips now and his wife Peggy was not feeling well so he could not even come out with us. Hopefully we will get to see him again before we go and Peggy feels better. Though I miss her awesome cooking (she is usually the lodge cook), Ami and the other cooks have been doing a fantastic job for us. It's also good that the lodge has been getting business through fishermen and now have the ability to cater their offerings to fly fishermen and spin-casters and don't have to do too much because the rivers are naturally stocked with four-hundred sixty-seven some-odd species of fish swimming around everywhere.

I transferred my bird songs of Guyana from my phone to Marcilene's phone and the Rewa computer today. It was cool to see her, Dennis, and James quizzing each other after the file transfer was complete. They use technology for good things. These people are a very innocent people. I would hate for them to be exposed to some of the things on the internet that have tarnished my brain over the years. It is bound to happen.

I almost forgot probably my favorite part of the day - our village tour! It was cool being back in the village, greeted by flocks of yellow-rumped caciques in the mango trees. It was amazing walking by the school because I actually remembered a lot of the kids faces from previous years. They are getting big! (but still very cute) We have not seen Rudy yet because, like I said before, Dicky is on management duty this week. We did, however, see Matthew - the village elder and expert canoe maker. Though he is not toshao (chief), he is almost like a mayor to the community of nearly 250 and, like toshao, Dicky, and Rudy, he has become an important voice for the community. The girls on the trip really seemed to like the village and they definitely loved the kids but how could someone not? The place is truly magical. I hope we get some more time in the village before we have to leave so soon.

I am already learning a lot of new stuff and getting some good refreshers from Dad and Mike, as usual. John is also a really cool guy to have on the trip as he is a marine biologist, full of knowledge but also quips to complement and contend with Mike and my dad's. He seems like a really good teacher though and I think he wants to bring some of his students here someday too.

Day 2 in Guyana

2012-01-26T19:04:00.000-08:00

January 8, 2012

Right now I am back at Rewa exploding with joy. It feels so good to be back. We just had an incredible, heated, post-dinner discussion about life and the way things in the world are going. We reflected on what we have seen so far on the trip, what we know about things, what we believe, and anticipated some of the things we will see in the upcoming days. I think it was really cool having Dicky and some of the other villagers listen in to what life is like back in Boston and how hectic life can be even though we have all these fancy rare-earth-rich devices computing our thoughts for our lazy brains...Dicky is the manager on duty now. He and Rudy switch off as they have farms and families to tend to in and around the village. Dicky is also a local carpenter and architectural genius that designed and built all of the facilities here. Many improvements have been made since the first year I was here in 2009 and certainly since the first year that Rewa was open for business when it received only one visitor, in 2006. They are almost truly sustainable now - but still much work to do.

Today was just an incredible day (minus the three hour delay). Because of the size of Ogle airport and the extremely small plane, it was wise to wait for the showers to pass through Annai. We listened to some old school jams, ate food from the vending station and lazed around while we waited. When we finally arrived at Kwatamang Landing, the access point for the Rewans and other villagers, we had a most appropriate welcoming to the rain-forest - a tremendous, but not overbearing rainfall. It rained on our 3-hour boat ride to Rewa for about a half hour. I used the parting clouds as my cue to open my Rock View "to-go" lunch - beans, rice, salad, and chicken. I didn't even care what I was eating because I just felt so insanely natural to be back on the river seeing Cocoi herons, red-capped cardinals, ringed kingfishers (and green & rufous, pygmy, Amazon, and green - yes all 5 species), neotropical cormorants, striated herons, and green ibises, common black hawks, large-billed terns, black skimmers, egrets, gorgeous capped herons and rufescent tiger-herons and way more...not to mention black caiman making appearances and arapaima rolling through the water almost like a whale taking a breathe at the ocean surface, except its a freshwater scaled fish.. The boat ride was absolutely breath-taking not only because we saw three species of monkeys (weeping & brown capuchins, and brown-bearded saki), but because I got a new bird to add to my list - with a blurry photograph as proof - the lesser razor-billed (or crestless) curassow.

It is good to see Dicky playing the guitar we brought. Dennis plays too (pictured). We need to restring the old one we brought and see if we can borrow the pastor's guitar so there are can be three true-playing guitars at the Lodge while we are here. We are going to be here for four days why not jam out? I brought the movie Avatar to Dicky so he can share it with the village - I warned him it is three hours long but stressed that I thought he would really enjoy it and that it reminded us back home of Guyana in its other-worldliness.

I am so excited to be back at Rewa, I almost forgot about morning. We had an early morning bird walk to the Botanical Gardens and saw tons of kites and parrots and men going off to race their birds (pictured before). In spite of the delay at the airport, the plane ride over the broccoli forest and meandering rivers was amazing and powerful (also funny watching Megan freak out as we dropped altitude and banked ridiculously hard). Though it wasn't the purpose of my trip, I would fully accept my body parts strewn over the Guyana savannas and would even embrace being ingested by a jaguar (as a man that grew up without having to fear jaguar, I can ignore the enemy aspect of our relationship and maintain only the highest reverence for such a magnificent and silently ferocious killer), so long as my remains would live on freely by the laws of the eco-system and weren't gathered and trapped in a box and shipped back home for my family to mourn over and incinerate or bury for no good reason....this is getting morbid.

Did some good eating today for sure:

Breakfast - Tropical View hotel's finest weenys with eggs and toast

Lunch - everyone's leftovers at the airport and on the plane - cookies and juice (that tasted like cherry tea) on the plane too

Real lunch - 3 hours later than anticipated from Rock View (discussed above)

Dinner - chick peas (my first time eating and enjoying them), fried catfish, edo & cassava soup - absolutely delectable. Rewa has it going on in the kitchen, that's for sure.

The sounds of the rain-forest mixed with a little Demerara's finest, El Dorado, is like something out of a Utopian dream/vision of mine. Not just being in the forest but particularly being at such a special inhabited part of the forest as Rewa Village brings a tear to my eye.

This is a really good group this year, not that groups weren't awesome in the past. I am still not used to seeing D. Moulton's face down here but it makes me happy every time I do. Good having a friend on board. The group as a whole is having some intense conversation full of fervent enthusiasm about relevant and hilarious topics. I am going to bed so I can wake up for the morning chorus.

First Day in Guyana

2012-01-25T17:36:00.000-08:00

January 7, 2012
11:50 PM

This has been such a long 36 hours - feels like two days went by in one day...well I guess a day and a half. It was insane but that's what one needs to expect with traveling international. The wait at the airport was actually fun because we all got to gaff and sort of get to know everyone's persona and what to expect a little better. I could feel the good vibes flowing in the food court as we played games (Tesla Coil) waiting for our flight.

We finally got to Guyana at about 8 AM. I watched Contagion on the plane and got some sleep in. It was actually an enjoyable flying experience - now I just need to track Delta down to credit me Sky Miles (pain in my ass). Nevertheless, everyone was pretty tired by the time we got to Guyana so some quality nap time was in order.

While the others napped and got oriented, Danny and I went with Mike and my dad to Andy's to have a gaff about tourism, birding, and Andy's explorations. He was telling us how he recorded 6 new species to the country/region including a Roraima screech owl and a Northern Royal Flycatcher. He is the most passionate man ever when it comes to birding, it is beautiful. Please see his website at http://www.birdingguyana.gy/ We also went to get a guitar at the music store. Each time I've been to Guyana we have given the village a guitar. On the way to the music store, we saw the president's car parked. Tried to get a word with him but he was in a meeting...next time.

Our first meal in Guyana wasn't the best. I wanted Roti Hut but we ended up going to a different "Roti" place. The Roti is delicious, like cakey fried dough - don't get me wrong. However, Courtney had expressed that she didn't want curry way before we decided where we were going. Unfortunately for her, we went to a curry place. Therefore the curry ended up all over the floor in the hotel. Thank God Mike cleaned it up. At least we all learned some sort of a lesson from this incident...I learned not to feed Courtney curry, though I must say she recovered instantly from the ordeal and was good to go!

We ventured off to the Botanical Gardens (what would a trip to Georgetown be without seeing the botanical gardens?) after a well-needed cat-nap. Saw Andy there again, not 2 hours after we had been with him. He was leading a tour, I swear, the dude birds 18 hours a day and lives and breathes for the birds. We saw a bunch of cool wildlife including donacobius, manatee, red-shouldered macaw, snail kites, jacanas (and babies), yellow oriole and more.

For dinner we went to local favorite JR Burger for a phat/fat burger and excellent fries. They had milkshakes but I opted out because I know we will be drinking much juice in the upcoming days.

Although we didn't do as much exploring as I would have liked to do today, it was still an extremely jam-packed day and we all needed to rest throughout it because we were mush-brained from 16 hours of travel. Big day tomorrow aw we are headed into the interior to Rewa via Annai. It is hard to believe that tomorrow night I will be sleeping at Rewa, in the middle of one of the most remote rain-forests in the world. It should certainly be interesting to see the changes that they have made and it will feel good to be back at my Guyanese home away from home. The trip really starts tomorrow.

Danny is a good companion and I think it will be an extremely successful, safe and enlightening trip with him aboard. I am glad he, or anyone here, doesn't have some weird ass disease or physical ailment that would make this trip miserable for everyone.

I found out it will be Jeff's birthday on the 12th so a Yupukari-style party will be inescapable. Knowing the Rupununi ways, it should be a good party too. I look forward to sampling the locally made fermented cassava beverage "cari". Hopefully Jeff will get to tag along with us to Maipaima for the third leg of our trip. I have a feeling he will come with us because Alex and Pat are his best friends from back home and Jeff, like me, has never been to Maipaima.

I am most excited to go to sleep tonight, something I always appreciate though often procrastinate about back home. Unfortunately, I will only be sleeping soundly like a small baby for a few hours tonight. We are planning an early wake up time to go birdwatching or bird "racing" in/around the Botanical Gardens so we get an activity in before breakfast and ultimately, our flight.

Bird racing is apparently a Sunday spectacle in Guyana where all the people with caged birds, usually small seed-finches, gather in a common area to "race" their birds. To race the birds, they either place a sheet over the bird's cage - lighter the sheet, the more novice the singer, darker the sheet the more professional and learned is the bird - or leave the cages open. The birds "race" by mimicking a master call and whatever bird masters the calls fastest triggers money to change hands among the locals (I got the instructions in mixed creole and it has been a week since I returned but I know there was more to it, or at least a variation to the contest that I am forgetting about). Bird racing remains a Sunday tradition in New York City, where there is a large Guyanese population.

Guy on a Mission 2012 - First Post

2012-01-24T17:28:00.000-08:00

January 6, 2012

I am writing this entry from an airplane - right before takeoff from Boston - as I embark on my third Guyana voyage, hence Guyana (Guy on a) Mission III. It should be a tremendous time as I have been counting the days for many days now. I know the other students are excited about it, Jeff is extremely happy as he is in Yupukari now and doesn't get many visitors from home, and my dad and the other professors are excited about it, Danny's excited - that's just about everyone. I am hoping to photograph a Giant Anteater and White Bellbirds (photographed neither on this trip - though we did see [and hear] the bellbirds). Right now I am taking off with Mike and my dad to meet the rest of the group at JFK airport. Camelot Elvis was just called over the P.A. system - what a name!

Though being in a group with females is always fun, I am especially excited to travel with Danny Moulton, a fellow Providence Friar Alumnus, past housemate, and wonderer of things natural. We will be with Megan Ortwein, Samantha Carey, Kayla Henry, Alex Briziky, Patrick Cheney, Dr. John Cigliano. With my dad and Mike plus John, we should most likely reap an additional benefit of having three professors on the trip. Others may use me as a resource as well for unlike John, this is my third trip to Guyana. Though I have visited Rewa, Annai, and Yupukari before, Nappi Village will be completely new to me and this enthuses me. I always say that I hope to write a lot in my journal but now I think it is especially important because I haven't kept one since Ecuador back in August. I also want to fill this journal up so I can finally move on to a new one. It should be filled either after this trip or after my upcoming Costa Rica trip in March/April.

Since my last entry, I've gotten and shed a full-time job and gotten a new one with my Uncle at his recruiting firm. I've quit two jobs in the past year and certainly don't regret either - that's what life is all about - trial and error. I count my blessings daily because I know getting a job is hard in this economy. I am thankful that I have a reliable job to go home with much work to be done. I've got a good situation going on and I don't need to worry about money just now so I am going to enjoy this vacation to the fullest.

Within the past few years, we have entered the age of social hyper-connectedness and social media is dominating many American lives. I will not miss this hyper-connectedness. I will not even be thinking of the internet while in the depths of the jungle/savanna. I will be connected more than anything while in the remote wildnerness - reconnecting with lost passions and natural instincts.

I am liking what I hear and see from the group so far. Moulton tells me he falls asleep to rainforest sounds, Kayla I think wrote 13 pages of notes, and everyone is posting excited things on Facebook. No matter how excited everyone seems, no one is as pumped as me. Guyana here we come!

Today's fortune: "Ride your ambition to the skies!"

Patriot Dominance Prevails

2012-01-22T19:11:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to the 2011-2012 New England Patriots for their victory over the Baltimore Ravens today. They deserve to be in the Superbowl XLVI more than any other team. Watching the Giants and Niners go into overtime to dictate the NFC Championship Game, but either way the Patriots should win. Eli Manning pisses me off and scares me and I've never been intimidated by a member of the Harbaugh family, so I guess I am rooting for the Forty-Niners (though some revenge would be nice). Special thanks to Billy Cundiff for blowing the potential game-tying 32 yard field goal. What a choke artist.

Happy New Year

2012-01-22T18:37:00.000-08:00

With the New Year comes new opportunities for travel. I would love to get a trip to Ecuador going for this year - at San Jorge - best birding and hiking with best guides around, one of a kind (e-mail me for details). Also, I have my heart set on visiting Africa one of these days. I wish airfare wasn't so outrageously expensive. Aside from Australia, Southeast Asia, and India, I also want to visit Alaska and re-visit Yellowstone and the beautiful West & Northwest United States. Another trip to Brazil and a revisit of Peru are also necessary trips I must make in my future/near future.

My latest expedition was Guyana, from January 6-18. It was, once again, a life-changing and life-shaping experience. It puts everything back into perspective and helps you realize what you have, what you don't have, what you could have, and what you've lost. The beauty of the rainforest is always stunning - I must revisit the country in the rainy season because I hear, and imagine, that it is a completely different landscape with many different things to offer.

I also plan on revisiting during the height of the dry season to do a river trip with Ashley and RRD (see http://www.rupununilearners.org/r_r_drifters/index.html). I also want to go back for GLASS (see http://www.lesley.edu/lc/natural_science/glass.html) and help Jeff out while he works at the library and surveys and monitors Giant River Turtle populations.

A lot of stuff going on and I am confident 2012 will show me, and all of us, new things. Fortunately, my last political post has changed since I posted it and we are now down to four clowns competing for the Republican nomination (Paul, Santorum, Romney, and Gingrich). I foresee myself voting for Obama regardless of who the nominee is. He's the only one that [sort of] gets "it", not to mention he's the most well spoken.

I will type up my journal from my awesome, unforgettable and, at times depressingly wild experiences in Guyana.

GOP Candidates

2011-11-23T10:29:00.000-08:00

This election year is an especially interesting time for candidates and voters alike. With the advent of Twitter and the global expansion of Facebook comes a new way to debate, share, and discuss issues that concern America. One of those main issues is reality TV which is where the GOP candidates come into play - each of them with their own set of traits, skills, and flaws this year's election almost reminds me of a reality TV show, except this one involves national security, foreign policy, health care and education...slightly more in depth than Keeping up with the Kardashians but not by much.I am a Democrat and a believer that Obama will be re-elected next year. I think it is the lazy people of America's fault, the corporations capitalistic greedy mentality, and inherent flaws in the system and infrastructure that we are in such a recession - I do not think Obama can or should be blamed for our current economic situation. Here is a look at what he faces next year:

Herman Cain - Charismatic but doesn't know anything, just beats around the bush with every answer to nearly every topic on nearly every show he appears on. Typical politician in that sense except he lacks the rhetorical/oratory and critical thinking skills of his Caucasian competitors and typical predecessors. Fun to watch & poke fun at because he is clueless and finds himself digging out of his own ditches and sex scandals in hilarious ways....and he's black.

Rick Santorum - This No-Name uses air quotes way too much and stumbles over words though he makes some good points on a topic here and there. Doesn't seem to realize he has no chance of winning but you got to applaud him for his enthusiasm and dedication.

Michelle Bachmann - A woman. Talks way too much like Sarah Palin and although she has a good shoulder on her head, that is why she is in Congress where everything is back-asswards anyway. Why should she get a promotion? I would hope that if she was elected preisdent, every voter was drunk when they voted.

Newt Gingrich - Although the most well-spoken, experienced, and well-thought out candidates in the GOP race, Newt has no care for the environment or compassion for animals and even enjoys hunting giraffes in his free time. His dream is to replace everything beautiful with an oil field.

Ron Paul - This dude, although an evangelical biblical fundamentalist who eats horse shit three times per day, makes some good points about the dwindling moral fiber of our country. He points fingers at the contradictory "Patriot Act", careless governmental spending, and the "War on Drugs" but offers no solutions to the claims he makes about our national security and national interests. He is way too pessimistic to be presidential and does not deserve a promotion.

Rick Perry - looks like/reminds me of Christopher Reeves mixed with George W. Bush. After looking at him and realizing he is not paralyzed or doing anything spectacular ever, you can easily tell he is no Superman. My only question is why would we want to elect anyone that resembles W? He is not articulate or charismatic enough to be president, just like W. He would have no idea what to do during anything just like W didn't. And in my opinion, he can stick to governing the disaster that has become Texas, just like W should have done

Jon Huntsman - everyone forgets about him including every moderator at the various debates. It sucks he is always on the end. It also sucks that he has been stuck in Utah, a state that the rest of the nation really doesn't think about or care about too much. Personally, I think he would be the best candidate for el presidente due to his experience overseas and his incredible, perpetual People's Eyebrow. Relatively well-spoken but won't be able to compete with Obama in the grand scheme.

Mitt Romney - probably going to be the front-runner with Newt after last night's debate but this man just makes me uneasy. I don't know if it's his mormon-ness or the fact that he hires illegal immigrants to work for him then preaches about immigration? Intolerance aside, I think what makes me most scared of Mitt is that people like him and because he is young, handsome (minus the overbite and rigid shoulders) and learned. He may give Obama the run for his money that he needs. If he gets elected (or nominated) I will be proud that it is an ex-Massachusetts governor holding the throne. However, I will probably be being proud from another undisclosed country far-far away if it comes to that.

http://www.barackobama.com/

John Francis SPeech

2011-11-03T20:12:00.000-07:00

Shady Records

2011-11-01T20:52:00.000-07:00

Along with Young Money, Shady Records is the best rap family around in this strange year of 2011. Strange in that the US lost its AAA S&P rating, I haven't been getting paid for 7 months , and the idea of capitalism has lost its luster due to the "Occupy" uprisings. One thing that has not lost its luster is Eminem's deeply-rooted raw "Lyricist without a clue, what year is this? Fuck a needle, here's a sword body pierce with this" style. His old-school flow shines bright in the last verse here.

Shady Records 2.0 Boys 2011 Cypher (Uncut) from Shady Records on Vimeo.

Wayne szippin on sizyrup and flowing to the best of his physical; but certainly not his mental, abilities.

Amazing Biker & Incredible Skateboarder: Danny MacAskill & Rodney Mullen

2011-11-01T20:37:00.001-07:00

Newborn Survives Turkey Quake

2011-10-25T19:37:00.000-07:00

So crazy that a baby was born three weeks premature and two weeks into life, survived an insane Earthquake in Turkey. Great story to end a week that started with idiot Terry Thompson freeing and subsequently killing all of his captive animals. Just like humans shouldn't colonize on fault lines or complain about Earthquakes when they do occur, they should not hold captive what should be wild animals.

Great Words of Wisdom

2011-10-22T08:56:00.001-07:00

I remember this used to get a lot of radio play back in the day

Ecuador Bird List

2011-10-17T09:38:00.000-07:00

Peregrine Falcon

Andean Condor

Plain-breasted Hawk

Carunkulated Caracara

Eared Dove

Rock Pigeon

Black-winged Ground Dove

Plumbeous Sierra Finch

Shining Sunbeam

Andean Coot

Andean Teal

Andean Lapwing

Paramo Ground-Tyrant

Bar-winged Cinclodes

Stout-billed Cinclodes

Silvery Grebe

Brown-bellied Swallow

Sparkling Violetear

Black Flower Piercer

Tyrian Metaltail

Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant

Rufous Collared Swallow

Black Vulture

American Kestrel

Blue and White Swallow

Andean Ruddy Duck

Black-tailed Trainbearer

Great Thrush

Plain-colored Seedeater

Turkey Vulture

Golden-crowned Flycatcher

Masked Flower Piercer

Tawny Antpitta

Glossy Flower Piercer

White-capped Dipper

Scenarious Conebill

Speckled Hummingbird

Smoke-colored Peewee

Black Phoebe

Orange-bellied Euphonia

Collared Inca

Western Hemispingus

Three-striped Warbler

Russet-crowned Warbler

Spectacled Whitestart

Band-tailed Pigeon

Violet-tailed Sylph

Rufous-naped Brush Finch

White-crested Elenia

Slaty-back Chat-Tyrant

Azana Spinetail

White-browed Spinetail

Plate-billed Mountain Toucan

Flame-faced Tanager

Golden Tanager

Beryl's Spangled Tanager

Scarlet-bellied Mountain Tanager

Red-faced Spinetail

Slate-throated Whitestart

Mountain Woodcreeper

Booted Raquet-tail

Metallic-green Tanager

White-tailed Tyrannulet

Blue-winged Mountain Tanager

Cinnamon Flycatcher

Tropical Parula

Turquoise Jay

Golden-headed Quetzal

Purple-bibbed Whitetip

Purple-throated Woodstar

Green Violetear

Green-crowned Brilliant

Green Violetear

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird

Andean Emerald

Saphire-vented Puffleg

Golden-breasted Puffleg

Golden Olive Woodpecker

Fawn-breasted Brilliant

White-necked Jacobin

White-crowned Quail Dove

Crimson-rumped Toucanet

Masked Trogon

Red-headed Barbet

Dusky-capped Flycatcher

Red-billed Parrots

Squirrel Cuckoo

Rufous Motmot

Crested Quetzal

Striped Treehunter

Tropical Kingbird

Red-eyed Vireo

Lemon-rumped Tanager

Golden-naped Tanager

White-winged Brush Finch

Western Emerald

Brown Violetear

Tawny-breasted Hermit

Black-capped Tanager

Andean Cock-of-the-Rock

Thick-billed Euphonia

Palm Tanager

Blue and Gray Tanager

Ecuadorian Thrush

Cattle Egret

Immaculate Antbird

Variable Seedeater

Bronze-winged Parrot

Guyaquil Woodpecker

Guira Tanager

Smooth-billed Ani

Purple-crowned Fairy

Blue-necked Tanager

Green-crowned Wood Nymph

Snow-throated Kingbird

Choco Toucan

Scarlet-backed Woodpecker

Slaty Spinetail

Buff-fronted Foliage Gleaner

Buff-throated Foliage Gleaner

Scaly-throated Foliage Gleaner

Ornate Flycatcher

Golden-faced Tyrannulet

Common Tody Flycatcher

Masked Water-tyrant

One-colored Becard

Social Flycatcher

House Wren

Southern Rough-winged Swallow

White-thighed Swallow

Bananaquit

Green Honeycreeper

Yellow-tufted Dacnis

Bay-headed Tanager

Silver-throated Tanager

Black-winged Saltator

Scrub Blackbird

Green Thorntail

White-whiskered Hermit

Yellow-bellied Siskin

Rusty-margined Flycatcher

Cinnamon Becard

Swallow Tanager

Indigo-crowned Quail Dove

Rufous-fronted Wood Quail

Orange-billed Sparrow

Glistening-green Tanager

Blue-black Grassquit

Golden-winged Manakin

Maroon-tailed Parakeet

Chestnut-collared Swift

Gray-winged Swift

Striped-throated Hermit

White-shouldered Tanager

Spotted Woodcreeper

Long-billed Starthroat

Dusky Bush-tanager

Choco Warbler

Pallid Dove

Buff-throated Saltator

Roadside Hawk

Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrant

Yellow-bellied Seedeater

Choco Trogon

Wedge-billed Woodcreeper

Plain-brown Woodcreeper

Bay Wren

Buff-rumped Warbler

Gray and Gold Tanager

Ashy-headed Tyrannulet

Olive Finch

White-tipped Dove

Black and White Hawk Eagle

Green-fronted Lancebill

Green Kingfisher

Pale-mandibled Aricari

Lineated Foliage Gleaner

White-whiskered Puffbird

Streaked-neck Flycatcher

Slaty-capped Flycatcher

Collared Trogon

Chestnut-mandibled Toucan

Plain Xenops

Black and White Owl

Common Paraque

Laughing Falcon

Dot-wing Antwren

Western Slaty-Antshrike

Lesser Seed Finch

Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift

Swallow-tailed Kite

Blue-headed Parrot

Blue-fronted Parrotlet

Pacific Parrotlet

Black-cheeked Woodpecker

Olivaceous Piculet

Choco Woodpecker

Long-tailed Tyrant

Orange-fronted Barbet

Rose-faced Parrot

Ruddy Pigeon

Sooty-headed Tyrannulet

Golden-hooded Tanager

Streak-headed Woodcreeper

Piratic Flycatcher

Streaked Flycatcher

Orange-crowned Euphoinia

Crimson-mantled Woodpecker

Blue and Black Tanager

Southern Yellow Grosbeak

Tropical Mockingbird

Rufous-breasted Chat-Tyrant

Short-eared Owl

Bang-winged Nightjar

Unicolored Tapaculo

Green-tailed Trainbearer

Black-crested Warbler

Red-crested Cotinga

Great Saphirewing

White-throated Tyrannulet

Tufted Tit-tyrant

Streak-throated Bush-tyrant

Hooded Siskin

Black-chested Mountain Tanager

Buff-winged Starfrontlet

Rufous Wren

Barred Fruit-eater

Sword-billed Hummingbird

Rainbow-bearded Thornbill

White-banded Tyrannulet

Supersciliated Hemispingus

Blue-backed Conebill

Day 11 in Ecuador - August 11, 2011

2011-10-17T09:33:00.000-07:00

Our trip to Otavalo almost got canceled today but Jose was able to accommodate us yet again. We traveled with a family that had recently come from the Galapagos Islands on a San Jorge trip. It was an incredible time and although I spent a lot of money at Otavalo and neighboring town Cotacachi.

Otavalo specialized in textile materials but Cotacachi people specialize in leather goods and have over 70 stores along a boulevard featuring all things leather. It was also cool today to stand on the Equator line which marks 0 degree latitude. Life in the Avenue of the Volcanoes is awesome and I will miss it very much.

Day 10 in Ecuador - August 10, 2011

2011-10-17T09:22:00.000-07:00

Happy Independence Day! Jean just gave me the best give I have ever been given: the Non-Passerine Bird Book of South America. She saw my face light up when we opened it yesterday to look at birds and felt inclined to give me it. I will definitely make good use of it in my travels. It has all the range maps and beautiful drawn pictures. I need to get the companion book of Passerines.

7:30 PM - I am about to go to dinner. We had an amazing tour of Quito today. We got to see the President's house, the basilica, a Jesuit cathedral, Plaza Grande, St. Augustine restaurant, the Virgin of the City and more. A lot was going on in down because it was their July 4th but since it is Wednesday, the big celebration is being saved for this weekend (unfortunately for us) with parades and street performances.

I might try to go into the sauna tonight. Old Town today was such a stark contrast to New Town last night. We hit up the Magic Bean (double cheeseburger, hell yes) in New Town and heard Radiohead being covered at a bar. I am excited to go to Otavalo tomorrow for some serious shopping and seeing Queshwah speaking natives.

Day 9 in Ecuador - August 9, 2011

2011-10-17T09:06:00.000-07:00

Free day today at the Hacienda. It was nice to sleep in for a little while (until 6:30) and have the whole day to explore. We went for a sweet hike up to 11,500' elevation. It's now nearing 3:00 PM and we were trying to get back to Yanacocha but we might take a walk down into Quito instead. A group of 17 is expected today and I think they are just starting to arrive.

It is amazing how the clouds appear to be moving a lot faster up at this elevation. You can really see them twisting and whirling around in the sky. It is so cool.

11:00 PM - We just got back from Quito on an unguided tour. We visited Old Town which consists of golden-gilded cathedrals, a lot of shoe stores, street vendors, little women cooking pork rinds on portable grills in the street, and more. We also visited New Town, or Mariscal, which is home to many bars, restaurants, shops, etc.. It was a sick night and a great one to be in New Town listening to live music and watching people pass by. It was interesting to see the clash of modernity with tradition between the bustling business-men with their BlackBerrys and the traditional garb worn by of some of the natives selling gum in the street. It is Independence Day in Quito tomorrow! Goodnight.

Day 8 in Ecuador - August 8, 2011

2011-10-17T08:45:00.000-07:00

This place is spectacular. We got a special tour of the property today with birdwatching - we saw 2 Andean Condors ON the property - I could not believe it. We started the day with a pair of crimson-mantled woodpeckers in the front yard so I knew it would be a good day. I gave George the idea of putting pictures of his birds on playing cards and selling them at the gift shop of the lodge. He has a lot of hand-drawn artwork as well as incredible bird photography. He said he will give me some brochures to work on marketing this place back home and has encouraged me to put my own contact information on there as to be an international vendor of his trips.

I am a little distracted right now because I have hummingbirds buzzing all around me including a Shining Sunbeam less than 5 feet away. This property is mind-blowing from the Eucalyptus forest to the brush of the high barren plains to the high cloud forest. We got up to almost 11,000' elevation today on our hike and we are going to another place in the high cloud forest at 3:00 today to see new birds. Birding is a key feature of this place but there is so much more to offer that there is literally something for everyone.

I just bought a T-shirt. We want to get the jacuzzi going one of these nights since George offered us to stay the rest of our time in the hacienda. We were considering going to Otavalo for a night or possibly staying in New Town or Ibarra for a night but George's offer was undeniable. Instead of taking a bus to Otavalo, we are going with a family on a guided tour there when they go - I am very excited. There is also another group coming tomorrow that everyone is excited about.

8:00 PM - This is really the first "free time" we have had the whole trip. I might go on Facebook. I think we hit our 30th species of hummingbird today. It is so fun/funny to observe the inter-specific relationships relationships between these things. The Sparkling Violet-Ears, for instance are particularly territorial around the feeders.

I just ate trout - brings me back to Yellowstone - with papas fritas, zucchini, soup, and empanadas. It goes without saying that it was delectable. We had an amazing afternoon with Dr. Cruz in Yanococho Cloud Forest. We saw 4 new hummingbird species as well as a Barred Fruit-Eater and more. We were so immersed in the clouds and were also in spectacled bear habitat. The birds would travel with the clouds in mixed flocks. There were antpittas everywhere. I want to revisit that place very badly. We met 4 new people who just flew in from L.A. - an interesting bunch and a one of them is involved with a Foster Parrots type organization only for birds of prey instead of parrots. I was Facebook chatting with Rovin today from Guyana, pretty awesome.

Tomorrow we have a free day? I am very excited to be able to sleep later than 5 AM seeing that this IS a vacation but I would like to see a buzzard eagle so we will probably wake up early and walk the gorgeous property again.

San Jorge has a lot of potential target markets due to the variation of activities that they provide to their guests. These markets could include birding groups, photography groups, students, teachers, foreign academic assistants, administrative personnel, and more specialized niches such as equine lovers or mountain bikers. I want people to visit this place very much, however, I cannot forget about Guyana either and I still want to go there before the year's end so I will have to do a little country-juggling. This place is undeniable though - a definite destination for anyone interested in nature - aside from the food we eat every day, we haven't really got to the "cultural" focused part of the tour yet which should also be very exciting.

Day 7 in Ecuador - August 7, 2011

2011-10-17T08:03:00.000-07:00

So I definitely woke up at 4:30 AM today for an incredible full day of Sunday birding. We are back at the Quito Hacienda now. When we started the day, we were at 1,500' elevation. Now we are at 9,500'. We took the highway at first but quickly switched to the Old Nono-Mindo road since most people who left Quito for the weekend were returning to the city and creating lots of traffic for us. It was cool to see people dangerously passing groups of cars around corners at high speeds. That would not fly in the U.S.

We left Milpe and passed through Tandayapa and I am very happy we did because we saw cock-of-the-rocks displaying as well as a golden-headed quetzal about 20 meters from us. We got some really close pictures. When we got back to Quito, we saw a dog that was recently clipped by a passing car as it flailed in the road. It probably had broken legs and internal bleeding. I can feel the altitude again but not as strongly as I did one week ago. George Sr. is extremely enthusiastic about birding and he encouraged me to market his place in the U.S.A. and to try to bring some groups down there. I will get some free lodging out of the deal. I really want to work with his son Jorge Jr. who is also a business major/biology minor to market this place back home.

It is nice to have a fireplace again and although we did not need it at the other lodges, it certainly comes in handy here where it can get chilly at night. This place is sweet.

Almost forgot about the crimson-mantled woodpecker which was incredible too.

Day 6 in Ecuador - August 6, 2011

2011-10-13T20:27:00.000-07:00

10:10 AM - It has been a great morning so far. We saw a group of caterpillars moving in unison with one another. Very strange. Probably doing this to appear larger than a single caterpillar since there are so many avian predators around that would be very happy to eat a caterpillar.

We saw some new birds on our AM hike this morning and at the moth feeders. I went to the bathroom extremely successfully too which I needed more than anything. Speaking of which, the food today was excellent too as usual. The other group is gone so it seems we are getting ample amounts of food too!

Breakfast: Granola & Yogurt, eggs, corn & queso fritters, toast

Lunch: Soup, fish with mustard sauce, rice, lentils, fried achocho with tomato sauce and raspberry sorbet

Dinner: Steak, mushrooms, yucca, soup, carrots, pasta, and strawberry shortcake

2:50 PM - It turns out that the other group is not gone after all but I think they are leaving today. We just got back from a sweet hike to the waterfalls. No one knew about the waterfalls when they were buying the property but during their construction of a trail system, they found these pristine waterfalls with swimmable lagoons. Sucks for the guy who sold the property because he didn't even know about them either. What a marvelous find.

We did some birding and saw a black and white hawk-eagle and a kingfisher - two firsts for this lodge location. We saw where Jorge Jr. saw jaguarundi in a tree and where he saw a puma by the waterfalls on the beach. I was hoping to see one myself - would love to go back and camp there one day and try to get a glimpse. We went swimming under a spectacular waterfall right between where he saw the puma and where we found some tracks in the sand. It was exhilarating but we didn't get to see one in the flesh.

We are heading to the west wing of the property to hopefully pick up some new bird species. We are hoping to come across an ant swarm because we will be guaranteed some cool antbirds, antpittas, antwrens, antshrikes, ant-tanagers etc...

7:45 PM - We are going to have a late dinner tonight - we had an amazingly colorful hike to the hilltop today instead of going to the west wing. Unfortunately, we didn't get to make it to the big waterfalls either but that gives us all the more reason to come back. I am shitting like a small bird myself these days and I know when I get home, there will be fury unleashed on my toilet.

10:15 PM - Fury is being unleashed right now. Nothing like constipation converted to diarrhea. Tonight was the first time I ever willingly ate mushrooms that were non-psilocybin. Also, the soup we ate was a recipe that has been getting eaten by Ecuadorians for the past 8000 years. We ate with Dr. George Sr. He is an awesome business-savvy, animal-loving man and is very passionate about what he does. I applaud him very much for his success and I hope to help him in any way that I can. It was also cool to hang out with another father and son combination that are also birdwatchers/businessmen. I look forward to our 5 AM rise to begin another full day of birding. George Sr. has already showed us a Black and White Owl since sitting down at dinner. I have a feeling that we will see a lot of new birds tomorrow.

Day 5 in Ecuador - August 5, 2011

2011-10-12T20:13:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning to a mot-mot calling. Had another delicious breakfast consisting of hot cocoa, plantain balls with cheese and eggs with vegetables and a fruit salad. We hiked around the lodge trails with Salene looking for quetzals unfortunately to no avail. After our hike we got in the van and headed downhill to 3000 ft. elevation where we are now in Milpe.

Milpe has already brought us a host of new birds. We explored some secondary woodlands today and walked 6.2 km down a road that led us to the lodge that we are in now. There is another lodge at San Jorge which is right in the middle of the forest and overlooking a ravine in the foothills, the one that we are in is off of a road and designed for handicap access. We are staying here because they are spraying wood protector at the other one and the fumes would not be comfortable or safe to inhale for an extended period of time. There are incredible views all around, nonetheless. San Jorge uses feeders to attract birds and banana feeders with millet & corn beneath for ground birds. We saw some sweet rare wood quails and indigo crowned quail doves at the feeders along with some orange-billed sparrows which are rare forest dwelling sparrows. We have seen 28 hummingbird species so far - we have a long way to go if we want to see all 137 species.

For lunch we had our first meal at Milpe - it was orange chicken, spinach rice, and seviche. They were very accommodating and since I don't like to eat crustaceans, they gave me some chicken for my seviche. Dinner was even better tonight and it was right up my alley - steak, mashed potatoes, soup, peppers, and a unique dessert of a root that was made into a pie - it was actually awesome.

Jorge is an incredible young birder. He is very good with the calls, sightings, and scoping of birds. The forest here is very dense and powerful - in spite of the low amount of mammal activity it still teems with birds and insect life. Amazing vines, lianas, bromeliads, and mosses everywhere. I'm not even slightly bothered by the fact that I'm not smoking although I am starting to have some constipation issues.

Tomorrow we have an early rise planned because there is a moth feeder in the forest and if given the right weather conditions, Jorge said we can see from 80-100 species in a 50 minute feeding frenzy. This place is really a birdwatcher's paradise. We have hummingbird feeders and bananas put right out behind out back windows.

Jorge said they are planning to build a new lodge in the Amazon Basin region which will be there next, most ambitious undertaking thus far. Swimmable waterfalls tomorrow!?

Every time I go to the tropics, it gets better and better so if I don't drop dead sometime soon, I think my life will be very content if spent in the tropics. I don;t need the rich and famous lifestyle everyone craves in the USA. I don't see a reason to have to strive for "status". I prefer a simple life surrounded by nature's bounty, wherever that may be. I just need to come into some money and find a woman with the same passion as me. I'm sapped for energy right now, my 20 minute nap did not cut it so I am going to upload some photos and pass the hell out - good day & good night. Saw our second squirrel of the trip today.

Day 4 in Ecuador - August 4, 2011

2011-10-12T09:18:00.000-07:00

We had a long and awesome day today. Amazing food all day definitely made it like a paradise for me.

Breakfast: Eggs w/peppers & onions, fresh fruit platter, empanadas

Lunch: Soup, fried banana, carrot & manioc with cheese, fried Tilapia, cake for dessert

Dinner: Chicken, beets, tomato soup w/popcorn, hot apples for dessert

Gourmet meals with optional alcoholic beverage make my life complete right now. I never had beets before and I don't think I like them but it was my first time trying them today. The tilapia and hot apples were absolutely ridiculous, possibly the best things I've ever tasted. Putting popcorn in tomato soup was also a new and insane experience for my taste buds. As good as the food is and as much as I am appreciating it, the birds are the most incredible aspect of San Jorge.

We woke up at 6:00 AM to a menagerie of birds in our backyard basically. They were feasting on moths that were flying around the lights of the eco-lodge. We saw mot-mots, toucanets, trogons, many species of tanager, quetzals to name a few. We went on a nice 3.5 hour hike after breakfast. It sounds like there is hail pitter-pattering off my roof/windows right now but it is actually just giant moths smashing off our room's 3 large windows because it is night-time and they are attracted to the lights that are on in our room. Thank God for windows.

After lunch, my dad and I went on a little solo excursion to "Downtown Tandayapa" which consisted of a run-down playground and a small store. Not much more. We were looking for some cigars or cigarettes and actually found some but mostly we were just looking to explore after lunch instead of taking a siesta (I actually took a 20 minute power nap on our porch but got woken up by the buzzing of hummingbird wings - they thought I was a feeder/flower because I was wearing a bright red shirt)

Tonight was awesome too. I just got back from a nice night hike where we saw the second frog of the trip, some walking stick bugs, giant and well-camouflaged katydids, and more. I will certainly miss Tandayapa, our guide Salene, and the luxury of the lodge within the most beautiful cloud forest I have ever seen. The wooden architecture in my room and throughout the lodge is something of a masterpiece. Did I mention the plenitude of hummingbirds? We had 6 different species at one feeder at once today, it was crazy. We also saw over 50 bronze-winged parrots flying.

I have quite a few bug bites on my legs and just judging but the way I scratch them, I can tell they are going to have some lasting effects. Tomorrow we finally get to meet Jorge Sr. and I get to meet Jorge Jr. We also head to lower elevation at Milpe in the Pichincha foothills. We saw a squirrel today, deer tracks, and a dead shrew - proof that mammals do exist here. On our night walk, we shut off all of our lights for about 10 minutes and listened to the sounds of the night. We could see the humidity from the clouds in each breath in the light of our headlamps while we were walking. No mosquitoes here, no bats here - interesting symbiotic relationships that we have with the creatures in our eco-systems. I must wake up tomorrow early to birdwatch but I need to pack and shower now.

I almost forgot that we shined a light into a mot-mot nest and saw 2 babies. It was a cool treat. Comida Estudo Delicious - "the food is all delicious" - I cannot stop thinking about it. Double-down blankets and hot showers are a must for any eco-lodge excluding lowland tropical rainforests where neither are required but are always good anyways. There is so much moth biodiversity here it is not even funny. And birds - we need almost 150 species to hit my goal of 250 and almost 200 species to hit my extreme goal of 300, hopefully Jorge will hook it up. I really would love to see a long-waddled umbrellabird. We got a fleeting glimpse at a cock-of-the-rock today but I'll include that in my list since I am the one that sniped it out. I am hoping to get a better look at them too.

Ecuador Day 3 - August 3, 2011

2011-10-05T11:54:00.001-07:00

No big dead today - just saw a mountain toucan and some quetzals. That could be my whole entry and it would be satisfying but for thoroughness purposes, I will go further. We just got finished viewing a bunch of violaceous quail doves at the feeders now I am sitting by the hummingbird feeders writing and reflecting on the array of biodiversity I just witnessed.

We are now at 5,600 feet above sea level. It is afternoon and we have just finished birding the Nono-Mindo Road for over 10 hours. Danny is so impressive how he can snipe out any bird call and then find the bird and get it right in the scope. He showed us a ton of cool stuff today.

We saw a random fish hatchery for Tilapia on our way down to the forest reserve. Awesome breakfast again at the Hacienda this morning and lunch by a river where we ate and drank beer while observing a pair of dippers darting in and out of the water. I am excited to see what is for dinner here at Tandayapa Lodge. We have three bedroom windows, an observation deck with a couch, motmots nesting below us, and a nice shower. This place was constructed in 2009 and it is definitely very nice and modern yet still rustic and completely in the cloud forest. They have the most insane hummingbird feeders too - made BY birders FOR birders - hummingbird heaven.

At 81 identified bird species so far, and looking to pick up a bunch more at this part of the trip. We had a 15 minute walk from the road to our Hosteria and we had a mule help bring the bags up which was really cool too. So awesome and different from home and from Yellowstone or any other tropical place I have been. We have cloud covered mountains all around us - so incredible.

Still no cock-of-the-rock although we heard it's lek screaming today. I cannot wait to dream tonight - hopefully I don't have night terrors. I cannot wait to wake up and birdwatch/take pictures - should be another epic day tomorrow. I think we get to meet Jorge tomorrow since Danny and Sebastian went to Mindo for the night.

We just got finished with some delicious steak and papas fritas, broccoli/cauliflower soup, heart of palm and fried banana for dinner. The two women we are with didn't finish their food - I want to take their leftovers next time. We are with a sexy guide named Andrea - she will be our translator tomorrow. There is so much moth biodiversity around here because of the lights they put up - probably acts as an agent for attracting birds too. It is a beautiful, classy place but still relatively infantile as far as operations and planning are concerned. We are getting up at 6 AM to go hiking and birding. Breakfast is at 8:30 and I am sure we will be famished by then after waking up at 6. I am pumped to wake up and check on the hummingbird feeders.

It was sweet having a fireplace the last 2 nights but that was at 9,500 feet elevation. It kind of stinks we don't know our itinerary but Jose said we have 2 nights here at Tandayapa. Andrea said we only have one night so I don't know who is right... I am hoping for 50 more species tomorrow including cock-of-the-rock and some parrots hopefully. Danny only has seen puma 2 times in his life and spectacled bear 3 times including once with cubs. He also has only seen crested eagle once 2 years ago so I am not getting my hopes up too high on those.

Ecuador - August 2, 2011

2011-10-04T11:36:00.000-07:00

This place is Life Bird Central. We have hummingbirds everywhere outside we are at 5 species so far with a possibility of seeing 12 species at the lodge, 35 species in this region, and more than 60 species on the entire trip out of Ecuador's 127 species total. Saw a freaking Andean Condor today, actually 3 of them at Antizana National Park. Saw another 25 bird species there too. We still have not met George Sr., the owner of this Magic Birding Circuit and the man that invited us down to visit his country.

We had crepes and eggs for breakfast then we stopped in Quito for a traditional meal - pork, pork rinds, 3 types of corn, cheesy potato patties, and more. It was quite delectable. Dinner is coming up soon.

Danny, our guide, knows his birds. Sebastian is cool and this is only his 6th day here - he is our driver. I got to use a 400 mm lens today that Lyle and his wife weren't using because they had a 2000 mm lens and a 1600 mm lens. Luckily for us, Jose knows our itinerary. We changed it around so we could fulfill the clear weather requirement today for viewing the illusive Condor. Thankfully we did because we got some nice looks at them.

Last night we did a funny - we set our alarm for 5 AM to get up and go birdwatching but my dad did not change his phone time back two hours or take it off airplane mode so we actually woke up at 3 AM and showered and were ready to go birdwatching when I realized my watch time and the fact that it was not getting any lighter like it should be at 5 AM. You had to be there...

I just had a nice chicken and potato soup and broccoli for dinner. I passed on my fig dessert but had a beer to make up for it. Great service here, the waiters always seem to be smiling. We were exploring the property today and checking out the Turkish bath, sauna, and pool - although they appeared not to be working, we were told that they would be as soon as a larger group showed up. It seems to be just me and my dad with only a few other visitors so far but they keep talking about more groups coming.

I would like to help George Sr. with Eco-tourism and getting groups of North Americans down here. There is a volunteer/internship program I would consider getting involved with but I really need to start making some money. All I know is that Ecuadorian women are beautiful in every sense of the word so this is a place I would definitely like to revisit for an extended stay someday. It sucks we are leaving so quickly after just 12 days here.

It was so cool to see Antizana today, at a height of 18,000 feet. We descend to 4,500 feet tomorrow at Tandayapa in the cloud forest, with 57 km of birding along the Nono Mindo Road on the way which is supposed to be spectacular and Danny knows his shit so I am pumped for the next two days although this hummingbird haven of a Hosteria/Hacienda is gorgeous and I don't think seeing the clouds roll over the Andean hillsides would ever get old to me...or seeing Condors.

I am hoping to get some photographs of mountain tanagers. Someday, I will invest in an insane lens like Lyle and Deanna had. We met a mother and daughter duo named Anne and Amy. They are biking tomorrow while we birdwatch and we will be birding and hiking with them for a few days in Tandayapa it sounds like. The only things back home are worries and headaches. If I didn't love my family and friends so much, I would so book a one way ticket to somewhere tropical. I need to make some money first so I can travel freely my whole life and hopefully fill up hundreds of these journals. I had Quinoa soup tonight - authentic Aztec grain - good stuff!