This past weekend I had one of the most unique experiences of my life. I got a chance that most Ecuadorians don't get in their entire life. I traveled to Tiputini Biodiversity Station on the Tiputini River in the Amazon on the northern border of Yasuni National Park, a hot topic of the news recently for the Petroleum drilling. The 1500 acres of TBS is one of the most bio-diverse locations in the world with 12 species of primates, 525 species of birds, various species of insects and plants, jaguars, tapirs, capybaras, caimans, otters, sloths, peccaries, and so much more. However, getting to Tiputini was no easy task. We started out at 4:30 a.m. Friday morning and headed for the airport. We took a 45 minute flight to Coca. From there, we took a 2-hour boat ride down the Napo River to a petroleum checkpoint. There we had to go through security and get on a bus. We were not allowed to take any pictures, likely because they don't want anyone to know that they are actually drilling in the Amazon. We were on the Chiva for about 1.5 hours through Waorani territory until we reached the Tiputini river. We loaded onto another boat for a 2.5 hour boat ride during which it began to pour down rain. However, we finally made it soaking wet and miserable to TBS where I was able to eat my first pack of Oreos for the weekend and my entire trip to Ecuador. We found our cabins, unloaded our gear, and changed into dry clothes and headed straight for dinner. It was one of the most amazing dinners, partially because I was starving and partially because it made me think of my moms homemade chili. I was exhausted, so I went to bed early. The next morning we work up, ate pancakes for breakfast and split up into groups for our activities. For my groups first activity we went up to the Torre (a viewing platform) 45 meters above the ground in a huge tree overlooking the Amazon as far as the eye could see. In the torre we saw 5 monkeys, macaws, butterflies, bugs, and lots of other cool things. After about an hour we headed back down and finished out walk on the ground where we had the chance to see about 6 more monkeys as well as so many spiders, katydids, lizards, dung beetles, etc. After our hike we went to lunch and took a siesta and then headed out for our afternoon activities. My group took a boat to a small path to a laguna where we canoed around and saw many colorful, beautiful birds. After, we headed back to camp, but on the way back the boat slowed and our guide pointed up to the top of the tree at a sloth sitting drying out his fur after the rain storm. After we headed back, ate dinner, and went to a presentation about the cameras around Tiputini that are used to count the number of jaguars and other large uncommon animals around the area. It was a cool way to see a few animals that we were likely not going to see in our short time at the station. Sunday morning I woke up at 4:30 a.m. and headed to the torre to watch the sun rise. It was one of the most amazing sunrises I had ever seen and definitely the most amazing I'd seen in Ecuador. After our French Toast breakfast, we split up for our final group activity: the puentes (bridges). We walking along bridges through the rainforest canopy. It was definitely a time of conquering my fears! On our way back to camp we saw 5 more monkeys, ate lemon ants, and watched some dung beetles devour monkey poop. After lunch, during siesta time, I got to do something really cool and abnormal for students. I traveled to the Salt lick, a place that we heard about the night before that is a common meeting ground for monkeys and other large animals that is usually off limits to students. There was a Spider monkey researcher at the salt lick when the 3 of my friends and I arrived. She said that unfortunately, even though the weather was perfect, she had seen basically no monkeys all day long and we didn't get to see any either, but it was a gorgeous spot and an awesome opportunity. After returning to camp, I headed to my cabin put on some swimming gear and headed to the docks. We loaded up the boat to go swimming but first we stopped on the side of the river. At first we were unsure why, but then one of the guides pointed up in to the trees and we saw a small monkey run by. It was a Dwarf Tamarin, or more commonly known as a finger monkey. My friend Savanna came to Ecuador after she heard that finger monkeys lived here and her dream came true when her guide searched them out for her. Also along the river we saw a group of howler monkeys. The boat stopped along the river and we all jumped in with our life vests and began to float down. It was nerve-racking at the beginning but in the end, I was so relaxed and it is one of my favorite parts of the trip. We returned to the station, ate what I still believe to be a thanksgiving dinner, and then headed out for a night hike. The Amazon is arguably more alive at night than during the day. There were so many bugs and frogs and noises along the trail it was amazing. We saw the most poisonous spider in the rainforest, huge spiders that can't bite and heard a singing frog. It was amazing. I was exhausted after such a long day that I basically crashed when I got back to my cabin. I woke up early again on Monday morning to see the sunrise, but unfortunately it was too overcast to see. We packed up our stuff and headed out. After the first boat ride, the chiva took us to a small Waorani village where we had an extremely awkward encounter with some Waorani people. They sang a welcome song, a goodbye song, and asked us to buy some handicrafts. We couldn't get out of there fast enough. We continued our journey back home. We returned to Quito around 8 p.m. The trip was amazing overall! I got to experience so many new things and cool creatures. I have never seen so many types of spiders and katydids in my entire life and I have never been so excited to see bugs before. Everything was new and amazing.
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| Rio Napo |
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| Rio Tiputini |
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| My Cabin |
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Jalese and I in front of
the cabin. |
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| Exploring the Station |
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| Torre |
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| View from the torre. |
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| torre |
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| Morning Hike |
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| Amazonian Sunrise |
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| Puentes |
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| Lemon Ants |
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| Eating Lemon Ants |
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| We are gonna find those finger monkeys! |
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We just saw finger monkeys and we
are about to go swimming in the Amazon! |
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| Swimming in the Amazon |
Here are some of the coolest things I saw on my trip:
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| Finger Monkey |
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| Katydid: Can you see where he is? |
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| Moth Cocoon |
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| Most poisonous spider in the rainforest |
I went to
the Galapagos over our week long fall break, Monday, October 27th-
Sunday, November 2nd. I was an amazing trip. 
We left
early Monday morning for the Quito airport and hopped on a plane that went
through Guayaquil and then on to Baltra Island in the Galapagos! We got there
are 11 a.m. and headed straight for the hotel on Santa Cruz to drop of our bags
and head to lunch. In the afternoon, we headed for the “highlands” of the
island. There we got to see two craters called “Los Gemelos” or the Twins that
were formed by volcanic tunnels that collapse and sunk the ground above them.
After we went to a giant tortoise sanctuary. They weren’t allowed to keep the
tortoises locked in, but there were so many! I saw at least 100 with my own
eyes and there was at least 100 that I didn’t see! Just in one plot of land
where the tortoises could come and go from freely. We headed back to town and
we went to the beach for our first sunset in the Galapagos! 
For our
first full day we woke up super early and headed to the dock that we came into
on the opposite side of the island. We were loaded onto a small water taxi that
brought us up to a Yacht and little did we know this would be by far the nicest
boat we rode the entire week! It was a about a 2 hour boat ride to Bartolome.
When we first got there the guide had to shoo a huge sea lion off the steps so
we could get onto the island. No one is allowed to stay overnight on Bartolome,
day trips only. Also, this trip is what we paid extra for and it was definitely
worth every penny! We started out by hiking to the top of Bartolome and we got
to see the million dollar view: the view on the front of practically anything
Galapagos. It was really beautiful and the water was so blue. We hiked back
down and got ready to go snorkeling right of Santiago Island. While in the
water, we saw so many types of fish, a sea turtle, a penguin and basically
played with a little sea lion! We got back on to the boat and ate lunch. That
evening we returned to Santa Cruz and had dinner at the fishing dock. I got to
eat a huge, tasty lobster. It was perfect after a long day of hiking, snorkeling,
and being in the sun in general! We were in bed around 9:30 p.m.
We left the
hotel right after breakfast and started walking towards Tortuga bay. The trailhead
was about 30 minutes from the hotel and the beach was about an hour and a half from
the trailhead. It was worth the trek. I
have never seen sand so white and soft and water so blue. Tortuga Bay is name
for the fact that every few years the sea turtles go there to lay their eggs. We
walked along the beach for about 30 minutes until we came to a small path
through some trees where were found a rock ledge over a small bay. There
sitting a few feet from us were two blue-footed boobies. It was as if they were
models because they just sat there through all of our pictures. Next, we walked
over to the beach on the small bay and spent the rest of the morning. While we
were there we found an area that was filled with white-tip sharks. They were
definitely more afraid of us than we were of them, which is saying a lot
because we were pretty scared. We headed to lunch after spending time in the
bay. The same place that we had already had to meals previously, El Chocolate.
I think that tours got a deal for eating there, because it seemed like every
tour ate there every day! After lunch, we went on a bay tour around the main bay
and did a little snorkeling as well as some walking around. We came back for
dinner at El Chocolate. Another 9 pm night! We were exhausted
We woke up
to catch the boat again. This time, we were headed to Isabela for 2 days and 1
night! The boat ride was long and choppy. I tried to sleep the whole way, but it
was so hard! I tour guide just left us at the dock in Santa Cruz without
instructions, so when we got to Isabela we were unsure of what to do and our
guide took a while to show up! When they finally showed up, we headed inland a little
bit for some hiking around, saw some incredible views, found a wall that I
believe was built for one of the World Wars and went to a giant tortoise
breeding center. We headed back into town for lunch, it was nice to change it
up a bit. We then got to go snorkeling in the bay. I saw about 10 sea turtles,
some rays and a million fish. It was a pretty awesome day of snorkeling,
definitely one of our best of the entire trip. After our snorkeling trip, we
headed to our hotel, or what we thought was a hotel. It turned out to be an Eco
lodge where we slept in tents. None of us were prepared, but luckily the
weather is pretty much always warm! 
That
morning, we met up with the other group of USFQ students who were in the
Galapagos. They started a day after us and did their activities in a different
order, but basically the same things, except Bartolome. As a group of over 20
people, we headed to Floreana Island. We hiked around for a while learning some
of the island history. It is thought to have been a hide out for many pirates
and their treasures, was inhabited by 3 main German families before the settlers
came, but now only a couple hundred people live there. They produce all of
their own water from a spring, however, this also limits the number of people
that can live there as well. While on the island we also got to go to another rescue
for giant tortoises which were kept as pets before it was illegal. After, we
went snorkeling for the last time! We saw another sea turtle, fish, and made
beach master seal lion kind of angry. We ate lunch, spent some of the afternoon
on the black sand beach, and headed back to Santa Cruz. We spent our last
sunset at the same beach as our first and it was just as beautiful. We had our
last dinner at El Chocolate and went around and bought all the souvenirs we had
been eyeing during the week. 
We woke up
and packed our bags to leave, but before heading to the airport, we headed to
the Charles Darwin station and check out more giant tortoises, because we hadn’t
seen enough already, and land iguanas. We headed back to the hotel, picked up
our bags, headed back to the airport, and were off to Quito after an amazing
week of break and the memories of many new experiences. 
