Sun beaming through the trees in the fading light of the day.

Posted by Bejat

So many days have come and gone with little time to write. My head is full of things to say and my journal keeps a slight record of the past month, yet some minor details may drift back into the forest for another memory recaptured in a casual walk or meditative state. The stress seems to be drifting away as we push onward to catch up and get back on schedule. Every three to four days Shawn is climbing a tree since another assistant, Alfredo, arrived in the first part of this month.

We are all in much better health. I had a serious case of worms and amoebas that was transferred to Shawn. Just recently my headaches, that have persisted for well over a month, were cured when I visited the oil doctor to discover that I had low sodium levels and anemia. Kaya initially discovered that she had anemia and upon her return from the oil doctor we discovered that in fact I had the same symptoms plus one, a bloody nose. These are just a few of the physical challenges a gringa body faces when in the Amazon. Of course the Shawn McCracken body is like a rock and he is convinced that he would not have not been infected by the worms if I were not to have transferred them to him. He is a tough one, that iron butt McCracken, and the indigenous call him onguine teemo inga, which translates as something similar to extremely tough/strong man, like Rambo or Tarzan. Now to hear this out of a Waorani mouth is amazing, especially the strange reference to Rambo and Tarzan. I must say I agree. Shawn is one impressive individual.

The tree that was climbed with a local Waorani assistant, Bolivar, was spent in the rain and we were drenched and cold by the end of the day. Bolivar said that the Waorani and most researchers return to camp to stay dry and safe. We spent the entire day working in the rain. Rain or shine that’s our moto. Shawn went up and down the tree several times to avoid the downpours. After about 7-8 hours in the rain, no mater what one does to stay dry, one becomes soaked. Well, unless that someone is Bolivar. He built a shelter out of palms and vines in about 2 minutes as seen in the photo to the right. There he stood while watching us under our umbrellas that quit working after they had soaked through.

Kaya was stung by a wasp on her eyelid at the beginning of the climb. OUCH, now that hurts! Bolivar wanted to help ease the pain by placing the cool blade of the machete on the sting. As the blade came closer to her face she was tentative and backed away, uncertain as to whether he was going to cut her. But, in the end, she let him place the blade on her eyelid and it did help, as did my homeopathic sting stop and Ibuprofen.

As the day wore on, she began to forget about the wasp sting, especially when she discovered we were right next to a hummingbird nest (seen in the photo to the right and left). The mom was periodically visiting the nest to warm her tiny eggs. She would just back herself into the tiny soft nest with her tail up and rest gently on the thumbnail sized dusty blue eggs (seen in the photo to the left). She would quickly fly off for a short period of time. Periodically she would return in a fit of frenzy because we were still there, but we could not move with the ropes hanging there and Shawn up in the tree. Fortunately, she did not abandon her nest, as we remained as quiet and still as possible.

I had managed to stay clean for the entire day until my venture out of the forest left me covered with mud, branches, ferns and leaves sticking out of my hair. As I left the forest after taking photos of the tree and humming bird nest, I found myself on a steep ledge at the edge of the road. Bolivar told me to walk around by going back into the forest and out another direction, so I did. I turned around and stuck a foot out and it got caught under a tree root covered thickly by leaves. My momentum took me end over end as I somersaulted down through the forest, landing on my bum in a patch of ferns. I put my hands up in the air and said I’m okay, although nobody noticed. I got up and took another step and down I went again in the mud.

I finally exited the forest to the road alive and told everyone the story, they were all laughing. As I was picking branches, ferns and leaves out of my hair, I looked down at my rubber boots to notice I had ripped the entire back end out of one boot, now that’s no good. I looked over at Bolivar; he looked just as he had that morning, perfect. Maybe a six foot gringa girl is a little out of place in this forest, but still that is not going to stop me, no way, no how, no, never. When we got back to the lab I noticed that my lens cap was stuck to my lens of my camera from the fall. Shawn was able to pry it off and I was happy my camera was functioning for the photo located to the left.

We have been working with the Waorani. We have become very close with Bolivar, he is special, extremely talented and intelligent. He assists us on tree climbs near Waorani communities. He is educated and familiarizes us on Waorani culture and their relationship with the forest. Bolivar can read, write and speak Waorani, Quetchua and Spanish. He understands what people are trying to say in whatever language they may be speaking just by body language. It seems that he has this 6th sense, like he is in touch with something we don’t know. He is peaceful, friendly and wise, differing from many of the Waorani we have come into contact with over the years. Bolivar is someone we have grown to trust and he is our dear friend.

For the first several weeks we were being harassed slightly by the Waorani to have a Waorani assistant while working on the road, so we took our time and after many recommendations chose Bolivar as our assistant. I was timid to have this occur since I would be the one on the ground working with him, speaking my broken Spanish and then also in English so that Kaya could also understand. Fortunately, Bolivar made this easy and my worries dissipated. He came several times to meet with me prior to the tree climb and we developed a relationship based on friendship. He even brought the female individuals of his family that lives near him to visit one afternoon, as seen in the photo above to the right. I was able to trust him and communicate with him for the tree climbs. Through our conversations he determined the words I understood and only used these words so that I would understand him.

We have been buying the handicrafts from multiple Waorani individuals nearby. Many of these purchases have been handicrafts that Bolivar and his family create. This Friday Bolivar will arrive with a 6’ blowgun and spear. I have no idea how we are to get it back to the States, but we will find a way. To the left Bolivar is seen with a small lance he created from Tepa, the Waorani name for this particular hardwood palm or Chota in Spanish. We have also purchased bracelets, necklaces and a shigra the Waorani use to transport fruit and meat from the forest. These are made from the native palm fibers of Chambira and colorized by plants and fruit to obtain the colors of purple, red and blue. We have also purchased an armband and a corona (as seen worn by Shawn in the photo above with Bejat and Bolivar), which is a Waorani crown worn by the warriors in times of war and ceremonies. Although I insist on items with no feathers I always receive feathers. I have been unable to deter the usage of feathers since I have been unable to translate my environmental reasoning behind this request. Therefor we are no longer asking for items that may have feathers for this Waorani artifact collection.

The balsa de fuego is what is used in combination with algodon de ciebo (cotton seeds from the grand Ceibas) to start fires. The rarest purchase, in an art form that may soon be lost forever, is a ceramic vessel that very few indigenous elderly women create. The women create these vessels and pass down this knowledge verbally to the young women of the clan. These coil built vessels are created by hand from particular clay within the rainforest. After the vessel drys it is "bone dry" and is then placed into the hot coals of a residual fire to be "fired" with bones and organic matter. This provides it with color. The vessel cools for a day or so and it is ready for ceremonies, particularly for drinking Chicha. The young generations are becoming disinterested in their heritage and culture. Therefore, it is becoming lost as the generations pass on to the newer Westernized Waorani.

Chicha is a fermented beverage that is derived from Yucca. The Yucca is chewed by the elderly women of the community and spit into a vessel and buried in the ground. After several weeks the Chica is ready to be consumed. Bolivar would like to share some of his family's Chicha with us, I am uncertain as to whether I will actually partake. I am finally in good health. The oil doctors know me by name now, so they may be a bit disappointed to see me back because I drank Chicha.

Towards the end of July an unfortunate incident occurred with one of the leaders of the Waorani clans nearby in Timpoca. Tihue, whom we knew fairly well, was hunting with his brother, Mingi, several miles deep within the forest. The trigger to his rifle caught on a small branch and shot him in the head. Mingi was unable to carry him back by himself and had to run back to get help. The family retrieved the body and took Tihue to their Shaman in hopes of saving his life, unfortunately, this did not occur and he has passed on into the spirit of a Jaguar, Anaconda or Ceiba. Interestingly enough we did find a baby Anaconda in camp later that evening and he was quite fierce, representative of the personality of Tihue (represented in the photos to the right).

It is believed that Omaka, the pet Tapir that the Waorani gave the station, is the son of Iteka, who is the son of Nambi. Omaka, the son of Iteka, passed away around the same time that the Waorani had shot the mother of the baby Tapir that they named Omaka. Iteka believes that Omaka lives on within the spirit of this Tapir and members of the station paint a stripe down the mohawk and back so that when she is out in the forest the Waorani will not accidentally kill her by mistake. The station uses hair dye for this purpose. If anything bad happens to Omaka, Iteka has threatened to kill members of the Catolica Station. Omaka is the most beautiful creature I have ever laid my eyes on and everyday I am fascinated by her gentle soul (photo to left). So, Omaka lives peacefully out of harms way, although the young Waorani members of Timpoca, who are Mingi’s sons, have threatened to kill her for the bush meat market in Pompea Sur. Although it is illegal, it occurs and nothing is done to protect the many endangered species, possibly due to the fierceness of the Waorani and also due to the lack of environmental enforcement.

The Aftermath of this incident kept us from working on the road for a few weeks, so Shawn and Kaya began to survey the plot. They are located on line one of the plot of their first day in the photograph to the lower left. Shawn describes to Kaya how they will be surveying for trees with bromeliads as Kaya gives me a quick smile.

There were rumors of Waorani Warfare, as they believed that another clan in Puyo had their Shaman cast a spell on Tihue to kill him. The Waorani are supersticous and have many interesting beliefs. This was only heightened by the fact that Tihue was the third Waorani individual to die within that month. The first had died from alcohol poisoning. The second was a young boy who was strangled on the Rio Tiputini, when drunk, fighting over a girl. His family found his body in the river.

Waorani individuals were arriving from villages deep within the park to honor Tihue. Mingi was rumored to be out of his mind. He had been drinking a beverage made from the hallucinogenic plant Solanacea; Brunfelsia sp., called Guanto or Floripondio. Typically only a shot is consumed, but Mingi had consumed maybe a cup or more and was parading up and down the road with his shotgun. Mingi has possibly over-consumed this beverage in the past and may be the reasoning for his outrageous behavior. Many people were worried he may loose his mind this time.

I have met Mingi, who is also a leader and lives in Timpoca, on several occasions when boarding the TBS boat in Timpoca. In the past he has been quite outrageous waving his gun and shooting it into the air. Luckily he has never shot any of us, but he has made a few people wet their pants. He has consumed too much Guanto over the years and has become irreasonable. However, I have walked up to his home one several occassions looking for Rosa to open here tienda to find him lying in his hammock, undisturbed by my presence.

Another brother of Mingi and Tiwi, who is also a leader, Nambi has also consumed immense portions of Guanto. The evening of the accident he was fiercely angry and arrived at the Catolica station with his family yelling and screaming. I was walking back to camp and witnessed the event, deciding that it would be best that I avoid all the action. Their anger is so deep and Nambi is known for his fierce behavior. He lives a kilometer 32 in the very community that Bolivar resides.

Nambi demands money from everyone that uses the road saying that he is basically the owner of the road. In 2004 I was assisting as manager, driving the road for the movements of food and supplies for the TBS Station. Nambi demanded one million dollars for us to pass. Of course I did not have this money, nor did I have any money. So, I bartered with a 2 litre bottle of Coke that I had ordered 3 months ago, only for him to ransack the entire back end of the truck to find and take all the coke, fruit and meat. Although I was only threatened with a broom, the next time it could have been a gun or blowgun, he is known for this behavior. He has shot people driving by on the road when they have not stopped to answer his demands.

Everyone seems to be related in some way or another due to Waorani traditional marriage beliefs. We discovered that Bolivar is also related to Mingi, Tiwi and Nambi, they are his uncles. Bolivar is Moi’s brother, who is represented in the book Savages by Joe Kane. He can be seen in a documentary about the Waorani along the Via Auca, Trinkets and Beads. Bolivar’s brothers are all working towards saving their culture and this amazing forest. It is not only admirable, but also phenomenal when you think about the forces against them. Bolivar wishes to visit the Untied States to speak with university students about his culture. His focus and life dream is that he maintains Waorani culture and educates others before it is lost. I would like to put him in contact with the proper people to assist him with his dream and if you may have any contacts please email me at bejat@bejat.com.

For several weeks we have experienced a lack of rain. The work with bromeliads has been simple as they have few occupants and very little water. The forest floor has been brittle with the crackling of leaves and we are INFESTED with CHIGGERS. They are all over our bodies in every crevasse you could possibly imagine. I find myself waking up at night from the insane scratching, elbowing Shawn, waking him in the process. Not much to do but try to ignore them. The rain arrived two days ago and the frogs are calling once more. The chiggers will subside, we hope, since they seem to be more prolific in the dry periods. The forest is saturated with color once more and all species are resuming activity after the intense dry spell. Gonatodes humeralis, in the photo below, is enjoying the fresh rain droplets as he laps them up off his face. The bursting blooms from trees, bushes, lianas and plants are spectacular. The fragrance throughout the forest is unlike any perfume could ever possibly mimic. Most of the time all I can do is close my eyes and breath deeply in a catatonic state.

We were walking back to camp late the other evening from shooting lines and Shawn and I were hit by this powerful fragrance, it was breathtaking. Then we rounded the bend and large bats were swooping down in front of us. In the dimly light sky we could see they were fruit bats taking brief moments to hover upside down at the fruiting Cecropias. Que Cheverre, I could not believe my eyes. They were huge and we could actually see them in the fading light of the day. We stood there mesmerized until we could see them no longer and returned to camp in time for a shower and dinner.

The following day Shawn climbed the tree we had attempted to shoot a line in unsuccessfully. Kaya and I tried a shot each with the big shot and one-shot McCracken took over since we were on a time frame to get back to camp for lunch. We walked to this tree since it was near camp and decided to enter on the ridge since we had the rope and gear. Our previous entry was through a ravine, what I called the gorge, and I believed it was a difficult entry. We got a bit turned around, however, and spent some time slipping a sliding up and down steep hillsides until we found the tree. In the process I saw a group of squirrel monkeys as seen in the photo to the lower right.

Lianas that had fallen recently and destroyed all the surrounding vegetation, including the trees. Therefor, it was an open area at the bottom of the ravine, so we were slipping and sliding up and down the hillsides to get the job done. Luckily it was an overcast day since the Parkea mutijuga tree that Shawn was climbing was leafless. The sun is fierce this close to the equator.

At one point we realized that we were going to be late for lunch. Alfredo departed for the road to return to camp. He was going to let them know we were okay and that they could just save our lunch for later. Well, about 45 minutes later we heard something on the other side of the ravine. It was quite a rustling sound. Kaya and I could not believe that it could be possible that anything could be out there as loud as we were when yelling to Shawn when he is in the tree. I called out and Alfredo answered back, “It’s me, I can’t find the road”. The poor guy had made an enormous loop and luckily made it back to the tree! We are so thankful, we could have lost him and all he had was his snake hook! It happens to the best of us, Shawn has been lost in the black waters looking for a tree that was less that 5 minutes away and he was out there with only a machete. I have been lost looking for him.

So many stories, so little time. I could go on forever, but it’s time to get some photos taken. Shawn has 5 more trees to climb and he will be finished with his work here on the Via Maxis. We will then be moving the operation to the Via Auca and we will most likely not have any internet connection for a few months. Kaya leaves a week, and she will be sadly missed. She is a dear friend who is incredibly determined, intelligent, beautiful, caring, funny, friendly and tough. I wish she could stay longer.

Posted by Bejat

Shawn has climbed number 7 of 14 total trees on the Via Maxxus. This tree was a beautiful climb for Shawn on a cloudy day with no sweet bees, wasps or ants. He was only up in the tree for 5 hours and maneuvered to many various branches. Since we were on a hilltop in a cleared area, next to a satellite tower, we were able to see the entire climb. I was able to capture some photographs of the process with my new zoom lens.

Kaya and I had adventures on the ground catching Dendrobates haneli and I also caught an amazing horned beetle. We were only slightly drizzled with rain at the beginning of the climb, creating a cool atmosphere for the rest of the day. When we returned to camp it rained heavily. As we watched the rain from the balcony, we gave one another a glance that said it all...."Whew, just in time."

Scinax punerea discovered by Shawn inside the extracted bromeliads.

Dendrobates haneli ventral view for specimen shots.

Dendrobates haneli discovered by Kaya as we sat at a tree waiting for Shawn to send down a bromeliad. Glamor shot taken for the new frog for our species list.

Small scorpion and it's molt discovered by Shawn inside the extracted bromeliads.

View from the top of the tree by Shawn McCracken.

Shawn lowering a bromeliad from the crotch of the tree.

Shawn collecting weather data.

Shawn lowering another bromeliad.

Shawn bagging a bromeliad.

Shawn cutting a bromeliad out of the tree.

Shawn descending to the ground after extracting
bromeliads from the tree for 5 hours.

Posted by Bejat

Shawn’s birthday was fantastic! We took the day off to catch up on some work on the computers and around the lab. I was able to get some paint down on paper and took hundreds of photos of birds with the new 300 mm zoom lens my mom purchased for me as an early birthday and Christmas present. It was sent in with John and I have been practicing for several weeks with my new zoom lens. I have decided that birds are extremely difficult to photograph.

After lunch, Shawn got some more computer work done and I got some rest. In the afternoon we went for a short walk on the trails, however, we decided to return to camp before the sky opened up and dumped. The thunder was unbelievable and we could hear the rain off in the distance. It was a race against the incoming rain clouds to get back before the “jungle wave” hit.

Once we were back in camp, we climbed the hillside to get a view of the rainbow, rain, sunset and lightning. We had no rain gear, but up on the hill is a house where we could take shelter on the porch. I was able to get a few photos of the rainbow and sky before the serious rain hit. Shawn covered my camera with my bandana from the light sprinkles and I was able to get a few photos before the downpour.

We ran up to the porch to watch the lightning. It was something like a fireworks display. The lightning was so brilliant and close that it burned our retinas and left imprints of lightning bolts in our closed eyes. The thunder was so loud that it shook the ground and our eardrums were left with a slight ring. It was the most amazing storm I had seen yet in the rainforest. The wind was blowing fiercely and the rain was so heavy we could not see our hands in front of our faces. We waited for 30-40 minutes for it to stop, but it just continued and we walked down the hillside in the intense rain. We were drenched!

Poor Kaya was worried sick about us because she thought we were at the tower that is up in the canopy watching the sunset. She had located Ramone, who works at the station, and was asking if he could try to find us. We walked up just as she was asking this and she was so very happy to see us. We felt so badly for making her worry so much. She had never experienced a rainstorm like that before in New Zealand. She was so excited.

Kaya had spent the afternoon baking a traditional New Zealand cake for Shawn and made him the most beautiful card with the two different Eleutherdactylus species that he described as new species. I also made him a card with the ventral view of Dendrobates duellmani. We gave him some 70% dark chocolate from Ecuador, cards, cake and a movie (El Presidio). That evening we watched the new Indiana Jones flick, since some other photographers that were visiting the station left it with us for viewing. In Ecuador people can buy pirated videos, sometimes even while the movie is still in the theatres. The quality might not be so good, but you get to watch something entertaining. We’re not complaining since we’ve only seen a few movies this year. Not many theatres in the middle of the Amazon.

We were so hopped up on sugar we were wired and our stomachs hurt so terribly bad. We stayed up until about midnight lounging and the next morning it was back to work. What a wonderful day, Shawn’s birthday.

Posted by Bejat

Today we climbed another tree. Kaya is doing a wonderful job and has been of great assistance with the tree climbs and bromeliad work in the lab. She is so helpful, caring and kind. We feel blessed to have her as an assistant. This is her first time to the Amazon rainforest and she has dreamed of this moment since she was a child. Everything is new and exciting to her. It is like seeing the forest through new eyes when with her as I witness the amazement she has when observing the beauty of the Amazon rainforest's vast diversity. She is a bit timid of things at times, but this will pass as she is a strong individual.

This tree climb was a quick one. But, as we were pulling down the climbing rope to go back to camp, the rope got hung up around some branches. After pulling, tugging and hanging; Shawn decided to put his harness on and climb on up about 5 feet to get more weight on the line in hopes that the rope would pull itself free. This did not work. So, we decided to have me piggy back, hanging below him. Well, this did work. We swung around like Tarzan on a liana and down we came rope and all, right on top of a Spiney Palm. We rolled around in the mud laughing. We were just fine. I suffered a bit of Spiney Palm in the hind end, arm and back, plus soreness since I cushioned our fall. Today I must admit I am developing more soreness, yet I am just fine. We have yet another great story to tell. Too bad that did not make it on video, talk about funny.


The road has made the transfer of bromeliads easy since we seem to exit the forest and a few minutes later we are able to catch a ride. Good for our backs and the bromeliads. Taking them along the trails, swamps and streams can be difficult, but a great work out. The TBS Station may have it’s challenges, but makes one feel rugged and accomplished. However, working at the Catolica Station with the road allows for less energy and time to be expended on transport of the bromeliads and gear, providing more time for work to be done. Therefore, we are now going out in the evenings more frequently to find species of frogs, snakes and lizards that we have not seen before, as well as recording frog calls.

Today Shawn found his first snake in a bromeliad, Leptodeira annulata, which is typically found at or near ground level. Shawn found him about 34 meters up tucked inside a bromeliad leaf. It is a non-toxic snake that is mottled brown so when he first caught a glimpse in the little tent he was concerned that it may be a fer-de-lance or some other pit viper, upon further investigation with the snake tong from across the tent he was able to determine that it was indeed a Leptodeira. This will be a new publication for him when he returns because there is no documentation of such species at this elevation. I was able to get phenomenal natural setting photos in one of the bromeliads here in camp as seen in the above right photo. This was only possible with my lovely assistants, Shawn and Kaya.

Kaya took here first venture into the tent this go round of bromeliad discoveries and encountered Osteocephalus sp. (as seen to the left with Kaya) and a juvenile Ostecephalus sp. (as seen above to the right). I also photographed her Osteocephalus find in an Achmea zebrina bromeliad leaf in the studio as pictured to the above left. She encountered many different species of Tadpoles too. She enjoyed her time in the tent and she is now ready to return to what we call the "cage", only because we look like we are caged humans inside the tent and you are not allowed out until the bromeliad is done, well typically. I am going in next.

Pulling the insects from the water and sludge is what appears to be expending our minds and time. I recommended we rinse out the sludge and pack it away for us to work on in the States when we get back. Shawn is very excited about this is telling everyone jokingly that this is why he pays me the big bucks, for my ability to see outside the box. Although we are now behind on our schedule, we have accepted the fact and decided we will return next year. I'm certain more funding will be necessary, however, we will live more frugally and make this possible with more grant applications and hard work.

Shawn, Bejat, Kaya and John atop the tower after sunset.

Posted by Bejat

It was John Malone’s birthday yesterday! John arrived the 4th of July waving this US flag, well not actually, but he was humming the Star Spangled Banner. Kaya arrived a few days later and we are fully staffed once more. John is a collegue of Shawn’s from Texas, but is currently working on his post doc in Maryland at the National Science Institute. Kaya is from New Zealand and she is extremely intelligent and eager to learn.

Shawn climbed his first tree July 6th. A few days ago he climbed his second tree and today the bromeliad work is nearly complete. John leaves tomorrow after a quick visit. Not only has he been immense help, but he educates us with his vast knowledge with the most humerous stories. He is quite a character, making friends with everyone. His birthday was a smash as we set out for a complete day in the forest, hiking several trails, visiting the Waorani Tienda (Rositas, as seen in the photo to the left) and finishing it off with sunset at the tower.

The Ecuardorian students showed us all how a birthday is celebrated here in Ecuador. It was great fun. The kitchen baked him a wonderfully large cake and our Ecuadorian friends decorated it with a lizard. They came out of the kitchen singing feliz cumpleanos and the cake was proceeded by a presentation by Maria, who researches understory flocks.

Then we were off to give John his 31 spankings, due to his age, it almost seemed more like a beating. We were told the better the friend the harder they hit you with a belt as someone holds your hands and wishes you happy birthday. My belt was preferred since it was leather and we could make that lovely sound when you fold the belt in half and open each side partially bringing it back together quickly to make this smacking sound that is piercing. Everyone was laughing and John took it well. The next day he had sore memories on his backside all the way to Quito.

After the beating, as we came to call it, we were dancing salsa with a broom. It was a game that we played for about an hour where we all got to dance with the broom. The objective was to find a different partner every time the broom was dropped by the person in the center of the circle. If you were not successful in finding a partner you then had to dance with the broom. After dancing with the broom 3 or 4 times you had to do some other embarrassing act that the group would decide upon. It kept us all in fits of laughter. Sometime around 12:30 we went to bed.

John had a wonderful stay and says this is his new favorite place. That boy has more energy than all of us combined and was out every night and up for breakfast at 6 am. He caught many species of herptofauna and if he didn't catch it the first time, like with Rana pamipes (as seen in the photo to the right), he would head out again and catch 'em. The evening Shawn and John caught Rana palmipes was a late night out by the lakes tracking these large frogs down by their eye shine in the water. The boys had great fun slopping around in the water, diving in after the frogs, just like kids.

Another evening John caught a Rainbow Boa. Shawn and I have been looking for another one ever since we tried to capture the seven foot one in 2004. John found one right in camp the night we all stayed in to get some rest. His brilliant color can been seen in the photos below. I have also included a photo of Shawn holding the Rainbow Boa in place to give everyone an idea how these photos are taken sometimes when a snake is in the field and wants to escape.

The next morning breakfast was at 6 am. John and our other Ecuadorian friends left around 6:45. We were sad to see them leave. He'll be back and I can't wait for us all to get together again someday soon. Shawn and John are already talking about future projects together. I think we would make a fabulous team. I love taking the photos of all the beautiful species, just as long as I get some down time. Unlike super-John, I need more than 4 hours of sleep a night. Years past we relied on this little of sleep and we found ourselves always exhausted. Now we are like turtles, slow and steady to wine the race.

This evening Shawn had an interview with some French reporters and will be on a radio broadcast in France at some point. We went out on the trails with them and Martin Bustamanti from the nonprofit organization that TADPOLE works with, Finding Species, looking for frogs in the evening. It was a quick interview since it began to rain, however the interview on Shawn’s research and gerneral herpotafauna turned into oil and the discussion began. It was wonderful to hear the view of Martin since he is from Ecuador. He has hope for the future with President Correa, who is doing great things for the country. So, only time will tell I suppose. However, we all agreed that PetroEcuador was not the right company for the job since they do not have the proper technology and resources to extract the oil properly.

Posted by Bejat

Whew! I must say the last several weeks have been unbelievable. Shawn was able to finish surveying the plots upon his return from Surinam to TBS. I returned about a week later from Quito assisting one of Shawn’s assistants as he left TBS unexpectedly to return home. Made it back to TBS just in time to pack and inventory everything, which is an amazing amount of gear (about 500 lbs plus), so that we could move to our next destination. After two days of packing, storing and completing our inventory, we moved to the Catolica Research Station within the park boundaries along the Via Maxxus road.

Our trip was beautiful along the Tiputini River in the small canoe called the Capibarra; however, when the rain hit, it hit hard. This was a bit stressful with all our gear in the driving rain. Luckily, it all survived and we made it to the Catolica Research Station wet and cold. The facilities are amazing and the staff is phenomenal. They are all so kind and caring, always ready to assist with anything and everything. The food is hearty Ecuadorian dishes. We absolutely love the food.

The pet Tapir, Omaka, reminds us of our Basset, Daucshoud, and German Shepard mix, Abby. Omaka is sweet and docile, loves fruit and responds to consistent whistles. The mapadores, who work in the 50-hectare plot, adore her and she adores them right back. They hand feed her and pick the gorged ticks off her, three of which were as big as my thumbnail (see below left photo). She follows them into the plot nearly every day to keep them company, as she is seen in the photographs above and to the right on the side of the road directly outside the entrance to the plot. What an amazing Tapir. Who would have thought a Tapir would be so docile?

Surveying the road is a hot and tiring task. We are returning to camp exhausted and just eat dinner and fall into bed. Our feet hurt and our bodies are sore. It is quite different to walk the road rather than on the soft forest floor. To be standing in the middle of the road looking into the forest has become part of our daily routine, yet it constantly seems strange, making me wonder how this change effects the Waorani consciously and subconsciously. Are they seeing the forest through different eyes from the road? Has it become normal to them? Would they prefer the road and the oil companies who supply them with work, transportation, boat motors, generators, gas, food, housing, electricity, doctors and so much more? How must it feel? All I can imagine is that it must be the most extreme form of culture sock to have lived through the era of the construction of the Via Maxxus and even more so the Via Auca.

The first contact with the outside world was devastating to their culture, yet there is no turning back now. I find this to be quite unfortunate since it not only brought disease that wiped out many of their ancestors, but also the loss of culture and the destruction of habitat. The Waorani are most interesting to me and I have found them to be quite intriguing, making friends with many of them, like Yura and some of her 10 children. My first encounters with Giro were about 10 years ago with her yelling in the road as we passed on the TBS ranchera. Recently I was on the TBS boat waiting for the barrels of gas to arrive. I spoke with her in Spanish as her daughter Norma translated in Waorani. Giro only speaks Waorani. We were speaking of our families and lifestyles and she asked if I had children. I said no, but I have a dog that is like my child. I mentioned how she sleeps with me in bed. Giro was shocked and laughed. Their dog, Dido, was on the boat and she dragged the dog over to me. I pet Dido and this also shocked her. She began to pet the dog too. She then asked me if I could remove some bot flies from the dog’s leg. I did not understand, but after a while I did and I just continued to not understand since I thought this to be a back idea in case the dog decided to bite me in the process. She thought my nails were great tools for this purpose. I think they are too, but some random jungle dog is very questionable indeed.

The Via Maxxus road has only been in existence for close to 25 years and the Waorani were contacted some time in the 70’s. There are still clan members that have survived the impact of oil and missionaries. They seem to find themselves confused and lost in their own territory. It would be as if you were lost in your own home that you had known all your life. It should be made clear that the Waorani are nomadic indigenous people who lived sustainable in the forest for thousands of years. Their populations were of low numbers and they would periodically raid other tribes for revenge killings. Anyone that would enter their territory was typically killed and they were thought of as Savages, hence this name Auca. The Via Auca, another oil road that we will be working along in a few months, was named after the Waorani in a derogatory manner.

We shall only see what the dawn of a new day brings. I look forward to meeting more Waorani and those I have met like Giro and her children, Norma and Moses, are very curious. Giro appears to be in her 70’s, yet it is difficult to determine their age. Giro and Moses are pictured to the left.

Giro is one of the few Wao that exhibits the elongated earlobes due to piercings that become widened over time by inserting wooden plugs. This makes a drastic hole that is recognizable from afar. Since Giro only speaks Waorani, Norma or Moses are typically with her to translate for her in Spanish. Most indigenous know several languages. Many Waorani can speak Waorani, Quitchua and Spanish. They are remarkable people.