Into the Wild

Hi guys sorry it took so long to get this posted - it's been a super busy week here in the rainforest!
So after I uploaded my last post on Wednesday morning it was back to work in the medicinal herb garden. It was nice to be there just weeding away but the heat was pretty crazy making it impossible to work for too long. We didn't even try to keep going after lunch.
Instead we hung out for a while and I got the chance to get to know some of my fellow volunteers. We actually decided, because of the heat, that we would go for a couple of drinks after dinner so around 8.30pm a group of about 15 of us piled into the pickup and set off for town. We only stayed for a couple of hours but it was nice to check out the town a bit.
We also spent some time with one of the tourists called Isabel. She was in a fairly celebratory mood since she just been found after spending two days (and one night) lost in the rainforest! It seems like she accidentally got off the trail and couldn't find her way back. Luckily she knew to find the river so the searchers eventually found her just before nightfall of the second day.

On Thursday it was back to the garden for the morning but we kept having to stop digging to move frogs out of the way.
After lunch a few of us decided to walk into the town (Pilcopata) about 1.5km away. Some of the group topped up on snacks for a long hike they were going to do and the rest of us picked a couple of odds and ends.
I had planned on having an early night and had already gone to bed when one of the guys showed up and asked if we wanted to go to the town fiesta. Part of Pilcopata was celebrating its 100 or 150 birthday (I never figured out which) so there was going to be local singing and dancing and things like that. It partly turned out to be more like some bizzare talent show but we stuck around for an hour or so before I walked back with a few others in the group.

Friday went a bit differently to the rest of the week as I got asked to help with a different project. One of the guys here has been doing community outreach work with the schools and asked if I wanted to help set up a couple of weather stations in two of the schools. So we spent the morning setting this up then spent the afternoon back out trying to encourage the schools to compost - not an easy task it seems!
Some of the other volunteers went out after dinner but I decided to stay in and have an early night.

On Saturday anyone without set plans was asked to help one of the researchers with her project. She's been working on producing bio-char to use to aid plant growth and improve soil fertilisation. Our job was to plant up a field of Plantain which was all sectioned off to test different combinations of bio-char and compost. It was pretty hard going because it was raining so hard and a few of us kept falling in the mud but we eventually treated and planted up 360 plants just in time for lunch.
After lunch it was off to San Pedro which is normally about an hour or so away by motorbike. Unfortunately the bike wasn't so keen on making the trip - the chain slipped off more than once and then we ran out of petrol (so happy bikes have a reserve tank). We eventually made it up there just to find that the guy we were going to speak to had left the previous day and wouldn't be back until Sunday - typical! So back to Villa Carmen we went. By this time it was dark, raining, and there was lightening flashing across the sky but it was still fun to go along the windy roads on the bike.
We got back just in time to get some food before bed.

Sunday was a very different kind of day - a group of five of us decided we were going to hike one of the trails up to this really cool waterfall. We set off into the rainforest just after breakfast and after using this kind of hand-operated cable car to cross the river we walked for around three and a half hours to the waterfall. On the way we spent a lot of time ducking under and climbing over fallen bamboo and trees, avoiding ants, wading through streams and fighting off thorny plants but we did see some sort of monkey (species yet to be determined), loads of cool butterflies and by the time we got there it was so worth it. We all cooled down swimming below the waterfall and ate lunch there. Once I'd finished sewing up my trousers (which had ripped across the knee on the way) we set off and made the return journey in three hours. Out of the group I was definitely the least fit but the encouragement throughout the group and the thought of fresh juice back at camp kept us all going. There was definitely a cheer when we made it back to the cable car and upon return to camp.

Yesterday (Monday) saw us back in the schools checking in on the weather stations. Patria school seem to be all ready to go now at least. In the afternoon we went up to Huacaria (I have no idea how to spell that one, sorry!). There's a small community there that live a much more traditional lifestyle, tracking, living self sustainably for the most part and making jewelry out of bamboo and other natural materials. We went to get some photos of an area they're hoping to built on and to discuss some matters with the chief, although it turns out we actually ended up talking to the shaman instead...I think.
After a quick cool down in the river it was back home to Villa Carmen just in time for dinner - pasta with tomato sauce and stir-fry - yum!

So I think that's a pretty good round-up for the week. Now just to post this then see where we're going today!