The last week in the Amazon was rather uneventful. Much of it consisted of studying for our Terrestrial Ecology final and finishing up our research projects. We present our projects on Monday back in Quito, so my mom will be lucky enough to sit through all those presentations if she comes to school with me. It has rained a little less this last week so it has been nice to dry out a little. In total I have mold growing on my backpack, wallet, books, slippers, and travel scrabble. I am only upset about the last two.
Sadly, I do not believe that I conceived a botfly. I tried everything to attract one, from running around scantily clothed sans bugspray to leaving crumbs in my garbage with the door open, all to no avail. I seduced plenty of mosquitoes and cockroaches but alas no botfly. However, sometimes they take awhile to show up so I will still be anxiously watching my bites for any signs of swelling and monitoring my appetite for any unusual cravings. All this waiting and hoping is really hard, if only they had a test I could take so I could be positive. At this time, I am also not sure if anyone else on my trip is carrying a botfly larvae. There are a few suspicious-looking bumps clumsily hidden beneath baggy clothing, but so far there have been no confirmations.
While it appears that I have failed to entice a botfly, this morning I managed to attract a whole swarm of wasps. I was minding my own business, quietly studying, when all of a sudden the girl next to me accidentally hit a wasp nest with her hand. Prior to today I had only been stung a handful of times in my life. I have now quadrupled that number. As soon as they started stinging the scene from “My Girl” flashed into my head. I ran away squealing like a five-year old girl. A few hours after my traumatic experience I am fully recovered with nothing to show for my battle, except a swollen face.
Highlights of the final week:
- I swam everyday and I am proud to say that I put my face in the water on a regular basis. Facing my fears one dunk at a time.
-Of course more animal sightings! My favorites this week were woolly monkeys, a giant earthworm (it was the size of a large snake!), a giant jungle frog, and a giant tortoise.
- One morning we learned how to net and identify birds. It was super-cool to see many of the birds we have been watching through binoculars so close up.
We head back to Quito on Friday and my mom arrives Sunday. My three weeks in the Amazon has been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I am so grateful for the time I got to spend here. I am also grateful to my mom for flying down to Ecuador and making my departure from the jungle a little less sad. My mom and I have a full itinerary consisting of trips to: a cloud forest reserve, the coast, the ever-famous volcano Cotopaxi, the market Otovalo, and various adventures around Quito. I am so excited to show her my plant identification skills!
Ecuador's Flag
Map of Ecuador