by amazonecology
July 04, 2012
Iquitos, June 23, 2012 Every year or so I want to bring samples of the insects we’ve been collecting in our research in Peru back to the United States. While the Amazon has the greatest diversity of many species of …
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by amazonecology
June 14, 2012
My trips to Peru usually begin with a car ride from State College, PA to one of the three airports in the Washington, DC area. My journey south began this time with a different twist. I took the same bright …
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by amazonecology
March 15, 2012
With our gear and bag full of handicrafts loaded in the boat, Yully and I headed downriver with Beder at the helm of a peque-peque with his daughter Mari as his co-pilot. The clear afternoon gave me a chance to …
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by amazonecology
March 14, 2012
Brillo Nuevo was dark and quiet when we finally pulled in just after 10 pm. Half-way into the rainy season, Oscar drove his boat almost to the back of his house. I took off my shoes and socks to wade …
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by amazonecology
March 02, 2012
Sunday, February 25, 2012 I wonder how many creative ways there are to say it was a long day. Before heading off to the port, Yully and I had a quick meeting with Romero Rios – a Maijuna leader from …
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by amazonecology
March 01, 2012
Saturday, Feb. 25, 2012 On board the lancha Jorge Raul – less than 90 minutes from Pebas. I appreciated that many things were the same in Iquitos and had to accept that others had changed since my last visit in …
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by amazonecology
February 23, 2012
Feb. 23, 2012 Lima Today has really been almost two consecutive days of traveling to mark my return to Peru. It began yesterday morning around 4 am when I got up with my wife Yuri. She walked our dogs while …
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by amazonecology
July 12, 2011
After some days of getting right to work, I enjoyed having some time in Nueva Esperanza to do my morning exercises carefully watched by a little dog named Candy. I was unfortunately too exuberant with my shoulder stretches and an …
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by amazonecology
July 12, 2011
I slept better than the night before, but still awoke well before dawn. When the need to visit the outhouse superseded my desire to finish the last chapter of my book, I emerged from my sanctuary from mosquitoes to begin …
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by amazonecology
July 12, 2011
Saturday morning began with a quick outing with Aurelio to collect samples of a few vines. One popular kind of earrings is made from thin cross-sections of the ayahuasca vine. Native Amazonians have long used this hallucinogenic plant to induce …
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by amazonecology
July 09, 2011
My mosquito net did its job well last night but it provided no respite against the cacophony of roosters that began their competing calls before dawn. I was at least spared spasms of cramps that sometimes also make it difficult …
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by amazonecology
July 06, 2011
I was originally going to go out with Yully and the copal team for a full day of searching for the resin trees in a new area of forest, but I was both tired and wanted to get photos of …
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by amazonecology
July 05, 2011
Wednesday morning Yully and I headed off with Beder again to one of his “purmas” to begin a survey of his chambira palm trees. Chambira is by far the most important raw material that goes into the handicrafts made in …
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by amazonecology
July 04, 2011
Tuesday morning, Yully and I almost got to sit down to enjoy our morning fried eggs when the first artisan arrived at Marcelina’s house with her 10 foot long piece of wood to have us mark the template for the …
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by amazonecology
July 03, 2011
I’m often exhausted by the time I get to bed in the field, but I almost never sleep through the night. I’ve gotten used to just sleeping in my clothes inside a light-weight fleece zippered bag. I usually go to …
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by amazonecology
July 03, 2011
Yully’s father-in-law loaded two large duffle bags of gear and clothes and two large plastic zippered bags full of food onto the back of his motorcar and secured them with a rope while Yully and I crammed into the back …
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