Video of the Falls

Thanks for putting this together, Colton!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4DGA3jh1bY

Remote Camp and Rock View

Internet access again! We just left remote camp yesterday morning and arrived in Rock View for dinner. Everyone really enjoyed Surama as we were able to connect with the people as well as our surroundings. Our first day in Surama was spent in the Eco Lodge with views of the Kanuku Mountain Range from our benabs. Gary, our fearless guide showed us around the village of Surama, and later we had a volleyball game with some teenagers from the village, and lost badly. We hiked Surama Mountain with Gary and got to see amazing views of the valley and village below.

On Sunday the 15th, we left for remote camp by boat down the Burro Burro River. Our camp was located at the juncture of Fatty Water River with the Burro Burro. Sidney Allicock, the leader of our group showed us around camp and led us out the forest to find places for all of us to meditate individually.

The rest of the week was spent making trails, fishing, and practicing archery and basket making. Dinner was always good thanks to our cook Jean, and we got to eat piranha, wild boar and bush turkey. On Friday, we rode back into Surama on boat, and then left for Rock View in our trusty Bedford. It was hard saying good bye to all our guides who were so helpful and friendly during our stay.

We are now adjusting to the luxuries of Rock View. Rooms with beds, hammocks on the porches, a bar and even a pool. What more could we ask for? This morning we got a tour of the complex from Leon, our guide and got to see the process of roasting cashews, it actually was cooler than it sounds! Some people went out for horseback rides after our orientation and the rest of the day will be spent playing sand volleyball, napping in hammocks and swimming in the pool.

Tuesday May 11th, 2010

Today we traveled to Katoka to learn about balata. Balata is a type of latex harvested from trees in the savanna, the Amerindians use it to make water jugs, small toys, bowls and even belts. We all got on boats in the morning to ride to Katoka, which is about a forty minute boat ride away. To reach Katoka during the rainy season, we had to drive the boats through a flooded forest; we could hear monkeys above us on our ride in. After we reached the end of the flooded forest, we got out of the boat and began our hike through flooded savanna to the village. We walked for about an hour on a flooded trail, the water was up to our calves the whole way. When we reached the village, we crossed a bridge over a small area of wetlands to the other side of the village. The village was swarming with children when we arrived, and it is likely that it was their first time seeing a group of Caucasians. They were very timid but also very interested in what we were doing there.
We gave our crude balata to a group of women who boiled it and kneaded the hot balata with their hands. They began forming the balata around other bowls so it would keep its shape. We observed the balata process and then some of us got to try out the trade for ourselves, most of our bowls were malformed and sad-looking compared to the women’s bowls. We then left the village to see how balata was harvested from bullet trees, the process is very similar to maple syrup tapping.

Monday May 10th, 2010

Today was filled with many activities. Two groups went out this morning to work on tree id’s and trail clean up. Students working on tree id’s documented both the English and Makushi names with the help of guides from the wildlife club. Later in the afternoon, a small group walked over to the health post to speak with Sylvester, the health worker. Three groups of four people each have been traveling out with local guides to find caiman in the Rupununi River. On our boat ride, we also saw iguanas, boa constrictors and multiple species of monkeys. Before the sun set, we saw giant lily pads, about a meter in diameter each and got to see a water lily open over about a half-hour time span.
We saw four black caiman and Fernando was able to catch them and bring them into the boat to i.d. them for the on-going caiman project. Anthony, the village’s tushau, or chief, was our captain and did a great job of steering our boat through the dark waters.
We are all excited to travel to a near-by village tomorrow to work with balata!

Sunday May 9th, 2010

Happy Mother's Day! This morning a large group of us drove out to a dam to swim with the fish camera. Mike and Fernando caught a piranha while swimming around with a harpoon gun and scuba goggles. Apparently there were also caiman and anaconda in the lake, but we didn't see any. We also saw a giant anteater on our drive out to the lake! Another group of guys stayed back to practice their machete skills, they might even get a trail named after them.

After lunch, we got to listen to Carson and Jackson, the two primatologists, talk about their research and experiences so far in Guyana and Surinam. The rest of the day will most likely be spent lounging in hammocks and playing cards.

Saturday May 8th, 2010

Today was a pretty lazy day. Most of us spent the afternoon napping in hammocks. A few people got up to see how cotton is farmed and spun in town. Some of the guys went out to blaze trails with a few primatologists, they really enjoyed using machetes.

Friday May 7th, 2010

It was raining this morning, but the sky cleared up by nine for groups to go out and work on our research projects. Groups explored everything from ethno-botany to soil composition. We went down to the river after lunch to wash our clothes. For many of us, this was a new and challenging experience but the clothes turned out pretty clean. Whenever it got too hot or buggy, we could just jump in the river to cool off. At one point, we saw a snake swimming across the river. The challenge now will be getting the clothes dry in the rainy season, we had to run out and take them off the line as a heavy shower blew in. Every day is relaxing here and we are enjoying our free time in hammocks and the savanna breezes.

Wednesday May 5th – Thursday May 6th, 2010

We woke up to rain and had to push our visit to the canopy walk back to around ten. Our guide pointed out purple heart trees, leaves that are used to cure malaria, and vines that contain gallons of water. Walking through the canopy was awesome and we finally got to experience the true height of the canopy trees. We missed out on the opportunity to see most of the wildlife because of the early morning rain, but we saw a Guyanese white faced monkey on our way out of the forest. We got back in the truck before lunch and drove south towards Rupununi. As we drove through a valley, the Rainforest suddenly turned into savanna, the skies opened up and the trees grew smaller and smaller. The savanna gave us great views of the mountain ranges. A beak in Annai provided us with fresh coconuts and many of us tried coconut water for the first time. We drove for about five hours on rough roads until we got to Yupukari.
The Caiman House has a great view of the savanna and the Rupununi River Valley. Mike, Alice, Rafe and Fernando greeted us at the gate and got us settled in our rooms. They guys stayed in a banab with hammocks and mosquito nets.
On Thursday, we spent the day working on our research projects and touring Yupukari. In the afternoon, we went on a three hour hike around the valley and got to see the Rupununi. We are not able to easily see caiman because it is the rainy season and they are further up the smaller tributaries. Some of the guys jumped in for a quick dip in the river. Once we got back to Caiman House, some people took off to play volleyball with some of the kids in the village. The night was spent playing mafia with Roop, who guessed the mafia just from making eye contact with all of us.

Tuesday May 4th, 2010

We finally made it to the rainforest today, and it only took us 17 hours to get here! We set out from Georgetown at 3:00 a.m. in the back of an old Bedford military truck. We were lucky enough to get some padding on the floor, but I still find it quite amazing that both of the Andrews and Jeff were able to get a substantial amount of sleep in, squeezing in between knees and boots to get a comfortable spot to rest. The majority of the ride was smooth, and we even made it to our lunch spot earlier than expected. Riding on the open back of the truck allowed us to see many parrots and blue morpho butterflies. The ride was bumpy, but we did not lose anyone on the winding road through the forest. Everyone soon began to comment on the dust, as the roads are made mostly of red dirt and gravel. The layering of sunscreen and dust and bug spray and more dust gave everyone the look of amateur-looking spray-on tans! The further we drove into the forest the taller the trees stood. Many organisms from our textbooks came alive before us as we observed strangler figs, epiphytes and buttresses. I can recall many times where people would turn to each other and question, “Are we really here?!” We caught our ferry across the Essequibo and rode across smoothly; in fact we almost made it to the Canopy Walk without a hitch until our truck broke down... The engine was overheating and some pump was broken, so water was being brought in from streams we crossed to cool the engine. Fifteen miles away from our destination, we were done. As the men were working on the engine, we students took this time to explore along the road and even found plants displaying thigmotropism! Our plan was to wait for some trucks we had seen earlier and hitch our last fifteen miles with them, but when they eventually showed up, the men ended up chaining our truck to another and towing us for the last fifteen miles. We are now settled at the canopy walk and it is really an oasis. The bedrooms have two twin beds with mosquito nets, and the showers are large and clean. We had a really good meal with fresh squeezed lemonade, which was extremely refreshing. Tonight we are falling asleep to the sounds of the rainforest!

Monday May 3rd, 2010

Today was a rainy day in Georgetown. We experienced the surprise of on-and-off showers throughout most of the day. We woke up early to tuna-pineapple-cheese sandwiches. The unusual blend of flavors turned out to be an amazing combination, especially with Guyana-fresh pineapple. We left for the market mid-morning and spend a few hours shopping in a few small markets in downtown Georgetown. Paintings and wooden sculptures were common place items in the shops, as well as purple heart bowls. Roop took us to his friend’s hammock shop and many of us bought brightly colored hammocks of various sizes. Back at Roop’s, Usha (Roop’s wife) made us a fried eggplant and fish dish with chutney for dipping.

Sunday May 2nd, 2010

Greetings from Georgetown! After twenty four hours of travel we have made it to our destination! At 6:00 a.m. on May 1st, we loaded up from Wartburg and set out for Chicago. We checked in without any hitches but had to wait four over an hour and a half in the plane before we could take-off because of luggage difficulties. On our way into JFK we experienced a nice view of the sunset and the New York skyline. With the five hour lay-over, we were able to do some preliminary bonding over a game of spoons. Most of us can’t recall much of the flight down to Guyana as we attempted to sleep much of the way. We arrived unscathed in the Cheddi Jagan International Airport around 7:00 a.m. and were able to recover all of our baggage. We met Roop at the airport and had a very exhilarating ride to Roop’s house. Many of us experienced the true function of the horn for the first time. Hot food and cold beer greeted us as we arrived, and we all knew this would be the start to a very productive and educational trip. The rest of the day was filled with napping and just hanging out. Generally we are moving pretty slow due to the overall heat and humidity, but we are planning on going hammock shopping at the markets downtown tomorrow.