Hi All,

For the last 5 weeks I have been at the Global Vision International Ecuadorian Amazon Rainforest Site which is in a remote location in the Yachana Reserve in Ecuador where we have been researching rare species, helping the conservation of the rainforest and volunteering on community projects on this remote and pioneering Amazon expedition in South America.

I arrived on Thurs 11th Feb 2010 at Quito, the capital of Ecuador and it was great to see Chris, one of the Global Vision International (GVI) expedition staff waiting for the new volunteers. We spent the first night in Quito and then we began the 2 day trip via buses and hollowed out canoe boats to the GVI Ecuadorian Amazon Rainforest Site which is in a remote location in the Yachana Reserve in Ecuador and I have to say that it is absolutely incredible here! The people here are fantastic. The life is very simple here as it is a conservation site so there is no hot water from the taps, no permanent electricity, only solar panels and a generator for emergencies so this means that there is no refrigerator…… amazingly this really worked to my advantage as all the food during the expedition was pretty much vegetarian and even though we had limited resources, everyone took turns to cook for the 21 staff and volunteers and I have to say, the food has been the best I've had on any volunteer project that I've been on and I've managed to pick up and pass on a whole bunch of veggie recipes! Whoop! Whoop!

The Amazon rainforest is one of the planet's most diverse ecosystems, being the home to 30% of all known plant and animal species, as well as a variety of indigenous cultures and settlers who make their living in this seemingly inhospitable terrain. This GVI Rainforest Conservation Expedition in Ecuador has taken me into the heart of this lush and remote part of the world to help protect the precious rainforest and aid community development initiatives. We have also been supporting wildlife conservation by conducting research and scientific investigation work, and work on community projects, including facilitating the learning of English as a foreign language in the local schools.
There was also the availability on this expedition to study for GVI's unique BTEC in Biological Survey Techniques qualification to help us understand more about the Expedition and the conservation efforts that are going on which was great for me as I was keen to learn as much as possible and to lead some surveys.

The first week here was great but pretty full on. The days are long, beginning at first light to take advantage of the early wildlife activity and continuing to work throughout the day. Night surveys are also conducted regularly throughout the expedition and we have the opportunity to join several mini-expeditions, which involves going on a hike through the forest to a satellite camp location where we will camp for a night or two. The environment is very humid so everyone gets very hot and sweaty during the day's activities, so it is really important that everyone drinks lots of water. I was going through several water-bottles an hour!
Because we were in the middle of the Amazon the safety briefing was pretty thorough, as it needed to be and all the new starts here (which include me), were made aware of the key dangers when spending time in the jungle, all of the poisonous and harmful plants and animals and what to do in case of an emergency. We all also had a course on an Emergency First Responder taught by Karina the GVI Ecuador Country Director, which helped us all learn and practice first aid skills relevant for the jungle incase of an emergency.
On our first night here at the GVI base camp all of the new starts, Henry, Skylar, Amelia, Anna, Katie, Rachel and me, were taken out on a night stream walk for about 3 hours and we had some great sightings! An abundance of snakes, including a Coral, Fer de Lance and Vine Snake…three engystomops petersi amphibians (frogs) hanging out together several large Tarantulas just sitting and waiting for their prey and a whole host of other creatures. All in all a successful night - so we headed back to camp upbeat and in good spirits.

But…little did we know…the other ten week volunteers and staff had been plotting!

The camp was buzzing, an in depth battle plan was being formulated, the soldiers were issued positions and their weaponry was prepped (water balloons, foam and big bottles of water). Once the faces were painted and the troops were changed into their jungle wear - they sat back and waited.
Meanwhile, after finishing the night walk we were heading back to camp and our group radioed in …'GVI GVI GVI do you copy, - we will be home in 20 minutes, route back is Acces A!' At this, camp burst into life and everyone still at base camp hurried to one of the open areas on the path back to camp.
Twenty minutes had passed and we were almost back at camp. Initially the only visible ID of our group were our head torches, and then our heavy footsteps could be heard with our excited voices. We passed by, not noticing two of the ten week volunteers, Val and Benny, sneak out behind us, blocking the path back. Once we were in the open area….. it happened. Andy, the GVI Amazon Expedition Base Manager and Piter one of the Ecuadorian Liaisons blocked the path forward and opened fire, then Bianca, Tom, Christian, Stef (10 week volunteers) and Mariana our Ecuadorian pasantia (work placement student from Yachana High School)) speared us from the side with heavy fire. The war cries and screams echoed from the jungle, as water and foam turned us new volunteers into something resembling jungle snow men. Some of us showed fear and didn't know how to react, which is completely understandable as this was something none of us were expecting, however Henry, Anna and myself tried desperately to dodge a few projectiles and this worked…… (well, only once for me…..) We also tried to get on the offensive, desperately trying to get hold of some water balloons or foam spray by turning our head-tourchs off and sneaking behind some of the guys with the foam and water, but as soon as I tried to grab the foam spray from one of the guys I knew I had chosen the wrong person, it was Andy, who had a vice like grip on his spray and the next thing I realize is that everyone with any spare water or foam was directing it at me and soon we were all as wet as the others!

This was a great end to our first walk and everyone took it all in earnest with smiles and a little bit of a giggle.
What a welcome to the camp! Awesome!

Once all the fun from the first night had settled down and we had completed the first aid course, we were informed that we had to learn as well as be examined on the key plant, bird, dung beetle, amphibian, butterfly and lizard species all in the space of a week with an 85% pass mark with both theoretical and practical exams so that we can be verified to conduct the surveys on different sites. It has been a real challenge but it really has been a lot of fun and we have learnt so much and all of our understanding of the rainforest and the amazing creatures that live in this environment has helped us to understand what we see when we are on our surveys and how to help!! Twice a week we also go to the schools in the local community, Puerto Rico, to conduct to do teach English at the local schools - TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language). This is great and is so much fun! The kids are amazing!

During the lead up to the exams we all routinely went out on walks into the jungle or on surveys to watch and verify what we had learned which helped a lot and it also gave us a chance to climatise to the jungle. I have to say the people here are fantastic and we have an international group from America, UK, Australia and Switzerland and everyone helped us all learn all of the new information that we were given. Once all of the exams had been done (Whoop! Whoop!) we were all now ready to do the surveys and they have been going well and it is great to be doing them and to be putting all of the training in practice and contributing to the volunteer work here! And as a few of us were also studying for the BTEC in Biological Survey Techniques qualification there was even more to learn so there was very little spare time but after completing it all in 5 weeks, it was well worth it! One if of the assessments was to lead our own survey and as I was specialising in birds I had to lead a mist netting survey. The staff and other volunteers were great at helping us all to prepare for our surveys and it was great to be able to lead one, even though it was being assessed. On my survey we had Andy, Olly, Val and Tom and we started left camp at 5.45am to get to the location. The reason why we were up so early is that peak bird activity is around this time. As soon as we opened up the mist nets a bat was caught but as this survey was focusing on birds we quickly released the bat and waited for the birds. Unfortunately we only managed to catch one bird during this mist netting session, a Great Billed Hermit Hummingbird! As soon as it was caught, we took it out of the net and recorded all the measurements and data before releasing it back into the jungle. I have to say that I really enjoyed the survey and it was great leading it but I learned so much from everyone there that it made the experience that much more valuable.

The surveys are conducted individually for all of the key species and as some of these species are nocturnal, that meant night transects!! Now these were awesome! The jungle really does come alive at night and surprisingly, you really do see a lot, as seen from our first night walk.

Well after getting a few surveys under our belt as well as getting a bit more familiar with navigating and walking through the jungle, we have been enjoying our time out here, the surveys have been going well and we have collected some great results. In our free time, us volunteers have been kicking back with some hammock time exchanging stories of back home in our native countries and also doing all of the assignments for the BTEC in Biological Survey Techniques qualification. The sun has been strong in recent months, our sun tans are coming on well, but this has resulted in frequent trips to the local community Puerto Rico for refreshments. One heavenly snack, The Galak biscuit, has the incredible property of never being able to melt. After extensive testing, we are still unsure how this is possible. The biscuits are also used as currency in camp - for three biscuits you can get a week's worth of clothes washed by a desperate volunteer, ok, ok, well not quite and as I strive to set new standards of cleanliness here at camp, my laundry keeps on growing so I seem to be spending more and more time hand-washing my clothes, and this is not an activity that I enjoy….

Just as we were getting used to the eleven hours of powerful sunlight a day, someone asked "So if this is the rainforest, where is all the rain?" Not a good question to ask….. Their question was answered by a magnitude of rain which we had never before experienced. Despite the fact the rain is a bit of nuisance, we all united in fascination of its sheer intensity. Under the relative shelter of the Comedor (our dining area), the sound was overwhelmingly loud. It was so loud that no one's voices could be heard and so the only form of communication possible was hand signals! However, with this amount of rainfall, 15cm in 6 hours, some cool and confusing species emerged from their hideouts. On a volunteer trek to the waterhole, we encountered something that we were sure was a 3ft Caecilian - a limbless amphibian that is very rarely sited on the reserve. Excited and unsure what we should do, we sent one of the volunteers, Bianca back to camp to summon the base camp manager, Andy, and the gang. A few minutes later the troops arrived with cameras and a very excited Andy in tow. The best part of the story was watching Andy's face. In a split second, as he saw the caecilian, his face turned from 'little kiddie skipping with a bag of rhubarb and custard' to 'the same kid opening a massive present only to find a bag of coal' - utter disappointment! The words that followed were "It's a bloody earthworm!! In fairness, not quite the discovery we thought it was, but only in the rainforest can you find a 3ft earthworm!

When recently returning from vegetation mapping session in our fourth week in the jungle, as part of the GVI Amazon ird mist netting project, Avel, our Ecuadorian pasantia (work placement student from Yachana High School), pointed to a rather large bird sat close by to the road in a dead tree. Our jaws nearly dropped open as we saw the crest of the Ornate Hawk Eagle........ Sat perching! New to our species list after four years based in the Yachana Reserve and we even managed to get a half decent photo.
The Ornate Hawk Eagle (Spizaetus ornatus) is one magnificent bird of prey that can be seen in Ecuador. However, this bird is quite a rare sight and when observed is usually seen circling low over the rainforest but rarely ever seen perching.

At about 58-64 cm (23-25 in) in length it has a prominent pointed crest, raised when excited, a black bill, broad wings and a long rounded tail. The typical adult has blackish upperparts and crown, bright chestnut sides to the neck and breast and a black-edged white throat and central breast. The rest of the underparts and feathered legs are white barred with black, and the tail has broad black bars. The underwings are white, with barred flight feathers.

During our penultimate weekend, Hector Vargas hosted all of the GVI Amazon volunteers on the Yasuni National Park in the Napo River. It took a day to travel to the location and the GVI volunteers did many fun and interesting things such as seeing the clay lick sites where large concentrations of parrots congregate to eat the clay which allows their stomachs to digest the seeds that they eat. At these clay lick sites several macaws and hawks were spotted along with numerous vibrantly coloured parakeets. We even managed to see a Tamanduas - arboreal anteaters - which are a not altogether common find, so it was special indeed to see one whilst wandering through Yasuni National Park. Somewhat smaller than the Giant Anteater they are nonetheless a sizeable mammal, their head and body ranging from around half a metre to just under 90cm long. They possess a strong prehensile tail, normally two-thirds of their body length, ensuring a sure, firm grip on tree branches. It is up in the trees that you will normally find tamanduas, searching for ants, termites and bees to eat: yum! Although they do not possess the best eyesight, they will sometimes venture onto the forest floor to forage too, and are often attracted to water courses. It is best not to alarm them if they do cross your path; they are defensive and standing on their hind legs can inflict severe wounds with their powerful claws. We were quite happy that the species we saw - a Southern Tamandua (Tamandua tetradactyla) with a light grey/ almost cream coat - remained in the tree posing for photos therefore!

But perhaps the most memorable part of the trip was getting to know Hector himself.

Hector is an Ecuadorian who speaks eight languages and is extremely knowledgeable about the different indigenous groups in the Amazon region. He is from the Quichua culture and has spent a considerable amount of time with the Huaorani (a legendary group of indigenous people known for the fierce defense of their land against the oil companies and other outsiders).
Saturday afternoon Hector taught the volunteers how to create the infamous poison darts out of palms to be used in blow pipes and traditional spears - the weapons and hunting tools used by the indigenous groups of the Amazon region. First he showed everyone which palm to use and then he just used his machete to carve the dart. He then explained the various methods used to apply poison to the dart which are used by the indigenous groups of the Amazon region for hunting.

Next up was creating and wielding a spear and throwing it at the same target. The spear stood well over our heads, but was surprisingly light. No one managed to throw it in the desired direction towards the target but a few of us got close. He then taught us how to create baskets and string out of palm leaves and the local vegetation and these baskets are pretty robust. He also showed us the water vines where you can drink water from and the water tasted great! But one of the coolest things that he showed us was creating a circular band (the size of a small football), out of tough vines and putting your feet in it and then climbing a tree! He made it look real easy but when we all tried to give it a go, most of us could not do it but there were a few guys and gals who managed to use the right technique and scaled the tree. Me….. well after about 20+…or so tries and very sore arms, I only managed to get about 4ft off the ground before everything went wrong and I fell to the ground. Good fun though! During this trek we also saw the tracks of a large cat, which was probably a puma but it was keeping out of sight from us.
We also had the opportunity to look for anacondas but as we all got into the hollowed out motorized canoe and went to the previously seen locations, it began to rain so this was not good conditions to see anacondas as they like to bask in the sun. During the anaconda spotting trip there was a fallen tree across the river so in true Hector style, instead of finding a different route, we heard him shout, 'Get Down!' and he just powered the canoe across the fallen tree….. awesome! Even though we did not see any anacondas on this trip we say plenty of wildlife which included a whole host of birds and monkeys. On our route back the current was going in the same direction as our camp so one of the guys suggested we jump out of the boat into the Napo river and drift with the current all the way back to camp. Hector said it would take around 2-3 hours and that was it! We all jumped into the water with our lifejackets and drifted! It was fantastic! There were a few locals looking at us from the river banks with puzzled expressions on their faces as our entire group drifted along the Napo river. About 45mins from camp we hit some sand banks so we all had to hike the last part and when we got back we were pretty tired but it was great fun!!

During our last week, we also had the opportunity to help organise a sports day at the schools where we teach English in the local community, Puerto Rico. This was great fun and everyone got involved! A whole host of games and events had been planned from 3-legged races, egg and spoon races, water-balloon over and under relays, tug of war and a whole bunch of other events! Everyone was in good spirits as we came to the final event… the obstacle course! And as soon as this was almost completed everyone decided to run at it at the same time! It was so much fun and the kids and everyone involved had a great time!

On our last week on the GVI Amazon Expedition we were part of the very first trial of a new project here in Ecuador. It had been decided to focus our efforts a on the main stream that runs through the Yachana Reserve and conduct night time surveys in which we record amphibian species (both seen and heard), reptiles, birds and mammals. Things went really well and should set the platform for a fantastic new project over the coming expeditions. Now during this survey we came across abundance of snakes, including a Coral, Fer de Lance, Coral Snake and Water Snake, Tarantulas, Fishing Spiders and Opossums, which were pretty amazing by themselves but we also came across something spectacular, the fabled Caiman! Caiman resemble and are closely related to alligators.
Many a time has the eye shine been spotted during these night walks but instead of a caiman, we find an aquatic rat or a water opossum, which are also pretty cool for someone new to the jungle but everyone always looks out for the caiman.

This time things were a little different…. One of the group members, spotted some eye-shine ahead and the next thing we hear is the excited shout of, 'CAIMAN!' every one stops, only for a split second before we all start sprinting towards it. We stop just clear of it and watched in fascination as Chris, one of the GVI staff, slowly walked up to it and grabbed it! As soon as he held it we got a good look at it and it was a smooth fronted Caiman and it was incredible being so close to it. It was pretty aggressive so unfortunately we could not hold it and even as it was released it tried to snap at Chris! But he moved out of the way just in time.
Now you probably would have thought that things did not get any better than this during this night survey…. and you would be correct…. but things definitely got a lot bigger though! A bit later on during the survey the shout of 'Caiman!', was repeated, but instead of a 2ft caiman, a 5ft caiman was spotted just on the banks that we were surveying! This was the largest caiman to be spotted on the reserve to date and I have to say, this caiman was huge! It's head was the size of an oblong car tyre and it had an impressive arrangement of teeth! No one was going to be picking up this caiman! Even as we neared it, we could hear its breathing and we could see its head following our movements! Pretty scary but supremely exciting stuff! As we passed it, we heard its breathing relax a little as we carried on with the rest of the survey. Pretty cool for our last night survey I would say!
I would like to thank all of the GVI staff and volunteers for an amazing experience in the jungle and thanks to the following people who have helped and provided material for this blog, Tom Smith, Valerie Mills, Benny Mansfield and Andrew Whitworth.

The recent sightings on the GVI Amazon expedition have been an amazing way to round up the Expedition and I can't believe the 5 weeks are over! It has gone so fast! I have had a FANTASTIC time volunteering on the Global Vision International Ecuadorian Amazon Rainforest Expedition and all the people here were incredible!! I'm gonna miss everyone here as well as all of the amazing veggie food and all of the expedition activities that we were privileged to have experienced and been a part of here in the Amazon!! I have had such an AWESOME time and the jungle is truly an amazing place!!

Well, that is all from the Amazon and the next stop for me is Peru and the Lares Trek (as the Inca Trek is still closed because of safety reasons due to the recent land-slides in Peru) and being one of the first to see Machu Picchu since it has been closed since January! Whoop! Whoop!!

See you all soon!

Best wishes!

Prashant