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III. TROPICAL ANDES AND AMAZON BASIN
This schedule is subject to minor changes depending on current conditions. Date Activities Day 1 Your guides will be waiting for you at the Quito airport with a private bus, and will travel with you to your hotel. There will be a brief orientation and planning meeting after check-in. Rest well! Day 2 7:30 breakfast then shopping for rubber boots in Quito. (Each person is responsible for the cost of his or her own gears. Day 3 Breakfast. Morning volunteer work in two groups: one group will work in reforestation, while the other will work in sustainable agriculture/development, including cow-milking. Lunch. Switch groups for afternoon work. Dinner Class on agrobiodiversity and sustainable agriculture.. Day 4 Day 5 After breakfast travel to the Chigüilpe community for overnight stay. Experience their culture and traditions as well as their current way of life. You may want to bring some money to purchase souvenirs or experience medicinal steam baths. Day 6 Day 7 Breakfast, then return to hotel in Quito. Visit to Itchimbia Park, an urban conservation project and cultural center. Lunch, then time for laundry and souvenir shopping. Dinner discussion: Conservation and the Human Element Day 8 Early morning departure for the Librarius Center vía the Papallacta Hot Springs. Lunch in Baeza. We'll stop along the way at a pottery workshop to learn traditional techniques in ceramics. Upon arrival at the station we'll have a brief orientation to be followed by dinner and a discussion regarding the origins of biodiversity. Day 9 Today we'll have a half-day hike accompanied by a local guide, during which we'll have the opportunity to familiarize ourselves with the local flora and fauna, and their traditional uses. After lunch, we can have small groups climb an observation tower with harnesses, while those who are waiting can carry out biodiversity assays on the forest floor. (Weather permitting.) In the evening, there will be a talk on shamanism. Day 10 This morning, the Quichua community of Río Blanco awaits us. We'll travel by canoe and hiking to the community. The community is set in a beautiful area with a small river nearby for swimming after our hike in, and we'll be staying in cabins near the riverbank. Day 11 We have a morning hike that will take us to a spectacular series of cascades, and an afternoon visit to the community center. Afterwards, there'll be a demonstration of traditional crafts. OPTIONAL: Home-stay with local families Day 12 After breakfast, we'll travel by canoe to Amazoonico, an animal rescue and reintroduction center for species native to the Ecuadorian Amazon. In the afternoon, we'll return to the Librarius Center for our Amazon farewell, including dance lessons. Day 13 Breakfast, then return to Quito. Lunch en route. We may have a short amount of time available for laundry and souvenir shopping. Closing Ceremony and dinner discussion: The Future Earth Day 14 Departure for airport and flight home. Don't forget to have your passport, airline ticket and $42.00 airport departure tax on-hand! And remember to check your room for all personal belongings (especially wallets, the item most often left behind…). IV. CLOUD FOREST AND AMAZON BASIN Day 1 Your Finding Species course leaders will be waiting for you at the Quito airport with a private bus, and will travel with you to your hotel. There will be a brief orientation and planning meeting after check-in. Rest well! Day 2 Early morning breakfast and selection of boots. Mid morning travel to the Guandera Biological Station (6 hours from Quito). Don’t forget your cool weather & rain gear! We'll stop for lunch on the road. The final stage will be a 45-minute walk up & down hills to the station house. Please pack according to your capability to carry weight at an 11,000-foot altitude. We'll have an orientation to the projects and history of the station, the reserve and the surrounding communities after settling in. After dinner there will be a talk on the ecosystems of Ecuador. Day 3 Breakfast 7AM. All-day hike through hill and dale to the ceja andina forest, the mysterious guandera groves, majestic páramo, and a beautiful waterfall. Dinner. Discussion of Research Projects in Guandera. Day 4 Two groups: Group I - Individual research projects Group II- collaboration in station volunteer projects (i.e. Organic agriculture, construction, etc.). Dinner. Presentation of preliminary results. Day 5 Groups I & II switch activities. Presentation of results & talk on agrobiodiversity and sustainable agriculture. Day 6 Breakfast 7AM, followed by an 8:30 departure. On the way to Otavalo, we'll stop for an hour to visit an Afro-ecuadorian community in the Chota Valley. We'll have lunch and stay the night in Otavalo. After lunch, we'll be visiting local family textile workshops and have a chance to do some shopping. Dinner 7:30. Evening free. Day 7 After breakfast (with luggage) visit to Cotacachi and the Cuicocha crater lake, where we'll take a short boat trip and have lunch. Afternoon return to Quito. Time to have laundry done, and to re-pack and rest. Day 8 7:30 breakfast. 9:00 departure for Papallacta Hot Springs. You'll need your bathing suit, towel and SUNSCREEN accessible. We'll have lunch in Baeza at approximately 1:30. Our trip continues on to the Aliñahui lodge, with an estimated arrival time of 5:30. Dinner. Evening class on biodiversity and its origins. Day 9 7:30 breakfast All Day hike in the Jatun Sacha & Aliñahui forests with discussion of medicinal plants and their use. Evening discussion of biodiversity themes and observations Day 10 7:30 breakfast. Today we'll have the chance to carry out some short research projects and discuss the results. In the afternoon, each participant we'll have the opportunity to spend a short time alone in the forest before we travel together to visit the Pacay Chicta community and its hoatzines, a seemingly prehistoric bird. Evening presentation on Shamanism and preparation for tomorrow's trip to Río Blanco. Day 11 7:30 breakfast We'll travel by bus, canoe, and foot to the Quichua village of Río Blanco, where we'll have the chance to experience their cultural traditions, history and the modern-day life of Amazon natives. Day 12 Morning hike and swim in the nearby river. Later, we'll return to Aliñahui by canoe vía Amazoonico, an animal rescue center. Please remove all jewelry and other objects that can be taken by free-ranging monkeys. Afternoon of rest. Day 13 8:00 breakfast and return to Quito. Early lunch in Baeza. Free afternoon for laundry & tourism in Quito. Day 14 Departure for home. Your course leaders will accompany you to the airport and will wait outside the security checkpoint for twenty minutes or so to be able to assist with last-minute needs Remember there exists a $42 USD exit tax to be paid at airport. |
