The Andes to Amazon: Biodiversity, conservation, and sustainability in Peru
Day 13
It’s almost been 2 weeks since we started this program, and I honestly doubt I can find an experience that can rival this one.
To start, at the beginning of this program, my knowledge of ecology was quite limited. While I had taken a course known as “Intro to Environmental Studies” prior to this course, most of what I have previously learned has not only been expanded on but has been eye-opening to learn about so many complicated and unheard of systems within an ecosystem. To put it bluntly, learning about biology and ecology has been like learning another language, except it makes sense (hm, sounds like the opposite of English).
Of course, not everything is fun and flowers. In fact, there are very few flowers in the Amazon per square mile, as the density of them is widely spread out. Jokes aside, there are various things about working in the field that seem to not work hand in hand with me. To begin my skin is quite weak due to eczema. This combined with my excessive sweating has lead to major heat rashes. It’s not easy to get rid of them either, as it’s impossible not to sweat in the amazon, and I’m always wearing long sleeves to avoid getting bitten. I have had to resort to my eczema cream which I only use during emergencies. Not the ideal solution as, as there are too many chemicals in that thing…
I also struggle with the work itself as my body is in short, not the most suited for these long hikes. I have sustained various injuries, one on my left ankle where my ligaments are super stretched and the muscles weakened due to twisting it really badly in the past. My family also just has a knee problem, specifically from my father’s side. Of course, there’s also the issue of not being physically fit as I would like, but these injuries usually get to me before I get tired.
Even with such problems though, I have found this trip to be an experience worth taking, and I’m only one-third of the way done. Generally speaking, I have had my “wake up” moment regarding the importance of the environment, and the various threats it faces today. I have an urge to take action and study more in order to find my place in a solution.
All in all however, I think my “solutions” do not reside while working in the field. Through this trip, I’ve managed to realize that my body is simply not made to go hiking around in the field like I originally thought and that my strengths most likely lie in elsewhere. I already have an idea, such as technology and mechanics being an interest of mine. Perhaps I can find a combination of environmental and technology there.
Also regarding the research project, we have successfully obtained 8 soil samples over the course of 2 days, and gone through our experiments up until today. We’ve barely managed to finish off our last sample and well… Our results don’t look exactly like “results”. I guess once we organize the data it will make more sense.
Never-the-less, the Amazon is an incredible place and has opened my eyes to many of the problems that nature faces today. While I don’t think I will be able to pursue a career researching in places like this in the future, the message from studying here has reached me loud and clear.
Day 15
I have begun to realize I take the existence of a bed a bit too much for granted. Having been sleeping in a sleeping bag for the past week and a half, and not exactly having the most opportune chances to shower, arriving at Villa Carmen feels like a breath of fresh air. Being able to simply take a nice shower and sleep in a bed is much more of a luxury than I remember it to be. The quiet atmosphere of Villa Carmen is also a turn from the craziness that was the Amazon.
Villa Carmen is a research station on the outskirts of the Amazon where various researchers and some tourist groups come to observe the wildlife. Because the land is much more human-oriented than Cosha Cashu was, here we will learn about how humans have come to utilize the natural world and our relations with it.
I have just returned from a hike where our group visited a garden that hosted various medicinal plants, and it was absolutely fascinating! I use some herbal stuff at home thanks to my mother’s interest in them. What caught me by surprise was the sheer variety and availability of these herbs in comparison to the US. You have to go out of your way to find a source for herbal medicine in the US I feel like, and here it’s actually quite abundant. Those that have money can fill the shelves.
I noticed a wide variety of birds here at Villa Carmen, and this is most likely due to the feeders around the area. How much, and for how long must you feed these birds and provide them shelter in order to make them this available? Also, how does this affect the ecosystem in this area with such a high density of them? These questions have really begun to stir in my head thanks to this trip.
The Silver Valley (Day 16-18)
It’s not something you want to accept sometimes or recognize, but poor communities do exist around the world. We visited one of these communities that are truly making the most of what they can to get by as the first stop of our trip. There we met with a teacher named Norma, who cared for all the children there during their primary school years. The parents are also heavily responsible for all the projects and development of the settlement. Long story short I heavily respect everyone where, as they all work with what they have to the best of their ability.
Pickaxes are heavy… I was glad when we brought in the iron crowbar as it made digging much easier. Why pickaxes? Well, a project we began helping with while we were at the settlement is to start setting up a fence around a building. This involved digging various holes in order to insert sticks into. These projects are often done by parents who reside here. To help and accelerate the process of the building gave us a true inside look as to what it means to really manage everything with what limited resources you have. Such a different scale of lifestyle from what we would call “normal”, it truly is a wake-up call.
The Pachamama, or to pay tribute to the earth is a ceremony in which various items would resemble the crops and animal items we as humans consume, and offer a bounty back to the earth. The items would be spread and organized on a paper, which would then be folded up. It was much more artistic than I thought to say the least. This reminded me of the times I have visited Japanese shrines and had ceremonies hosted there. While there is no specific event focusing on paying tribute to mother nature in Japan, the atmosphere, the culture of Japan having a god for every single thing that exists, and the giving thanks to earth felt very familiar to me.
The farm at which Yusef has worked on since 1937. The more I meet the people of Peru, the more I come to respect them. Farming, for example, faces many challenges regarding cost and resources, and to see how hard the job is in person is eye-opening. To be also reminded of how climate change impacts the farms due to the glacier deposits melting away, leaving less water each year for farming. These changes have the chance to cause these farms to not even exist in the coming generations. These glaciers also remind me that the problems the people face here mirror the ones we face in Washington as well. Water storage, mountainscapes, deposition. It’s all connected.
2 months for a group blanket huh? That’s quite a ridiculous amount of work for such a product. The extreme endurance the people of the textile factory, and how hard they have worked to keep the traditional form of weaving alive was shown to us first hand. We were introduced to the methods they used to dye alpaca wool which involves boiling various materials and the yarn together. The amount of smoke it produces resulted in making me get a headache, but the process proves to be tedious. It’s interesting to me seeing how the prices and quality differ from the market, as these products are in USD and much higher prices. Quality comes with a cost.
Day 17
It’s so quiet… Wayqecha is silent, still, and calm.
And I love it.
From Cosha Cashu, to Villa Carmen, to Wayqecha, I feel like we are slowly adjusting our pace of the trip to be much more relaxed. Cosha Cashu was simply overwhelming for all of my senses, and while I personally did enjoy the symphony that was the Amazon rain forest, but it as also very stressful to get all the work done for our projects along with living in such a foreign place.
Villa Carmen was eye candy with so many birds and colors due to this. Plants to identify and birds to see, I must say I wasn’t completely relaxed there either due to the area being such a visual overload. While we only stayed there for 2 days, learning about plant life that has been harnessed by people and their in-depth usage was extremely interesting to me.
And finally, we are now at Wayqecha, or rather the second time. We stopped here for lunch on our way to Cosha Cashu. This is the kind of environment that I love. Calm, silent, and up in the mountains. Cool-weather with a warm sun shining above. It’s nice that we have such an environment to go about analyzing the data we have collected from Cosha Cashu, along with unwinding from all the chaos that was have been through. We have 2 days here to piece together the data we have gathered and developed a presentation for the group. Because our data has a lot of quantitative data, I feel rather confident with us getting a successful presentation together.
Update: Nope nvm, looking at our graphs our data in terms of numbers make NO SENSE, but I guess not all data has to have a correlation to be “good data”. It seems, however, like the age of the soil in comparison to the texture and moisture of the soil has some sort of correlation though.
Machu Pichu (Day 19)
I feel like flies are impossible to avoid sometimes. I’ve been looking for a bench to sit down and write at but they’re all relentless! Make sure to wear long pants and sleeves to Machpichu I swear…
I’ll be honest before this I didn’t really approve of tourism much in the past as I’ve had the idea of it being disrespectful ingrained in me. There are many stereotypes associated with it, and due to this, a feeling must have grown in me without any sort of real evidence to work off of. But through spending time within Machupicchu, I feel like I have begun to see the merits. The history of the Inca’s is something I’ve been rather interested in since we began learning about their ancient technologies at the start of the trip. The architecture, the planning, and the society were one so unique to the world I truly wanted to research them once I got home. Funny enough, extra history was doing a series on the Inca’s while we were on the trip. I highly recommend people check it out if they’re interested.
What I found interesting about our time within Machupichu is that our tour guide did not only focus on the physical aspects of the locations but rather was very knowledgeable about the history and significance of each structure. His knowledge in Qechuwa was also high, meaning he was able to teach us phrases within that language.
It makes me wonder what would have happened if he Spaniards did not spread disease like they had, the civil war had not occurred the ultimately finished off the Inca’s. What would have happened if the country was still strong and thriving? A lot of what-ifs.
Day 21
Oh hello, I guess we’re back in society now. I forgot how “in development” and “not green” parts of Cusco can look like. The amount of grey in the city in comparison to the Amazon is quite blinding. I also find myself being much more aware of the items I am using. There are so many things that we don’t necessarily need to be presented to us in a rapid fashion. Even all the wrappers and food options begin to seem lavish. It’s difficult to avoid excessive consumption of stuff, as so much comes in a plastic wrapper. Of course, it’ll be difficult to keep our consumption as low as it was in Cosha Cashu as the area was designed to be lived in with little to no waste, but an attempt can always be made.
Anyway, on to culture! I’ll be honest this half of the trip is one I am a bit tentative about. Culture has always been something I’ve been quite frankly, “scared” of. It can be quite difficult to see and understand a foreign style of thinking and perspective. I feel like this fear is developed from simply mentioning foreign culture lead with backlash if you are not a part of it in social media nowadays. I’d like to clear away such a thing through this experience.
It’s nice to finally have some alone time though, as we have a one day break in Cusco. While I don’t mind spending time with the others, I must say, having to spend an entire program with the same people can be a bit exhausting. While I’m very tempted to just stay in bed at my hotel, I also would like to hike around Cusco and explore the city a bit more… Ya, let’s go do that.
Final Reflections
To describe this experience in words is difficult, but if it had to choose one it would be “insight”. There is a lot that anyone can look upon the internet now including the many plants and animals, pictures of various locations, and the history and culture of the locations and people we have met. But there is something missing with all of that. Something as simple as a connection. Connection to the people, wildlife, culture, and the earth. I don’t think this experience could ever truly be summarized and explained, but it is due to how special it is that it must be explained and shared. I hope that this journal was able to help people gain insight into how it was to travel to a foreign land and experience the nature and people of it.
Harris Nakajima, Early Fall 2019
