And we're back...

As most of our loyal followers probably know by now, we've made it safely back to the US with all 15 of the students (and 2 professors) that we left with.  Our flight from Georgetown to JFK was smooth, but the flight from JFK to MSP included circling to wait out storms and then a detour to Rochester to get more fuel, resulting in a return to campus around 3:30 am.  All participants seem to agree that it was a great trip overall, though I think most were glad to be back to specific things (and people) that they missed while they were gone.

There will be no more blog posts; enjoy hearing stories and seeing pictures from participants themselves now.  Thanks for following our adventures.

Pictures of Kaiteur

Kaiteur Falls :)

The bigger of the two planes we took to the falls!

No one managed to fall off. We did get to see a rainbow!

Kaiteur Falls view from the plane. Photo taken by Shea :)

Hello from Kaiteur! :)

May 20, Kaieteur Falls

After multiple rain delays, we flew out of Annai around 2:00 in 2 small planes.  Destination: Kaieteur Falls.  Words cannot describe our initial view of the falls, nor the following views as we landed safely at Kaieteur.  We were soaked through immediately on our way to our first stop along the falls.  The fog and the rain did not conceal the grandeur of this 750ft waterfall.  Our first view allowed us to see the falls in its entirety.  We made our way lower down on the 2 billion year-old rock to catch a glimpse lower down.  The rain cleared for our last stop by the waterfall, leaving a beautiful rainbow behind.  We laid on our stomachs and looked down to see every drop of the largest single-drop waterfall in the world.  Though our visit was brief, most of us agreed that this was the most beautiful sight we have ever seen and may get to see in our lifetime.  Our pilots flew us safely through the rain and we landed in Georgetown where Roop took us back to his house for our last couple days of the trip.

Claire    

Remote Camp

May 14^th-18^th

Anthony, one of our guides, shows us how to weave baskets at our remote camp.

After a two hour boat ride into the jungle, we came across our remote camp located along the fork of the Bora Bora River and Fatty Waters. The camp consisted of two sleeping areas lined with hammocks and covered with a tarp, a thatched kitchen area, and a covered dining area. Our bathroom was called the “long-drop” and it consisted of covered pits, located some distance behind the camp. Over the three full days we were at remote camp, we split into groups and did an activity every morning, rotating between the three groups. One group would go on a mountain hike, another would hike to view the petroglyphs, and the third would go fishing. Casey taught Katie how to fish and she was the only one of the group to catch a piranha. :) In the afternoons, our wonderful guides showed us traditional Amerindian and Makushi traditions such as arrow making and basket weaving. Early afternoons were reserved for resting, also known as a “siesta”. We enjoyed going into the river or rapids to bathe as that was the only time we were semi-clean. We left remote camp early Friday morning and returned by boat to Surama, where after lunch we headed off to Rock View Lodge in Annai, located about an hour and a half away by truck.

Rock View Lodge, Annai

May 18^th-19^th

Rock View is an absolute heaven compared to remote camp. We have running water and indoor toilets, and food that doesn’t consist of beans and rice. No one needs to worry about us losing weight on this trip. We are all extremely well fed. Rock View is gorgeous, and the grounds are covered with tropical trees and plants. We’ve enjoyed swimming in the in-ground pool and playing sand volleyball. Today, everyone had the option to either go to a soccer game in a neighboring village, go on a horseback ride, or simply relax. It has been a relaxing stay in Annai. We’re all happy and clean and well-fed. We couldn’t ask for more. Tomorrow we will board the planes for Kaiteur Falls, and after a brief visit, will fly the rest of the way into Georgetown and stay at Roop’s house until we return on Wednesday. 

Flashback to Surama...

May 13, 2012

Happy Mother’s Day! Upon waking up today, we ate a hearty breakfast in preparation for a morning hike in Surama.  We trekked beyond the village to the mountains that we passed on our way in and climbed 175 feet up one of the mountains.  Our guides took us up the smoothest path, which still involved thick trees and steep, slippery rocks.  We reached the top of the mountain and realized that the view was well-worth every step of that 7 mile hike.  In the afternoon we went back into the village for Mother’s Day festivities, including a Wartburg vs Surama volleyball tournament and a culture performance.  We held our own in the tournament, but it was pretty obvious that none of us were on the Wartburg Volleyball team.  A cultural group from Surama sang and danced for us, then requested a performance in return.  We sang “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” and were not thrown off of the stage, so that was a good sign.  We relaxed during our last night in Surama and prepared for our upcoming journey to the remote camp.      

Claire

Everyone down here would like to say "Happy Mother's Day!" to all of the amazing mothers back home reading the blog.  (This was posted using a delay function, so students are unable to send their own message on time.)

We are safe

If any of you have heard reports of flooding making the south of the country unsafe, be assured that we're not in the area of concern.  The State Department e-mailed us all today to say that Letham was considered unsafe due to flooding, but we passed through yesterday (thank goodness), and we're now north of there.  Tomorrow morning bright and early we relocate to Surama and the remote camp and lose our internet access so you won't hear from us for a while, but rest assured that we're keeping an eye on the water situation, and making wise decisions.  Check back on Mother's Day for a delayed post, but otherwise check back in roughly a week to learn of our adventures.  Life is good, and the trip feels for all as though it is unfortunately rushing towards its end.
--- Dr. Sam Larimer

May 11

This morning a few of us went to the Yupakari primary school to talk to the kids about the importance of education and how to avoid obstacles that can prevent them from reaching their goals.  We discussed sex education, alcohol, and drugs.  When we finished we asked them to write down any questions they might have (we knew they would be too shy to ask out loud). The majority of the questions centered on HIV/AIDS.  After yielding questions about transmission, prevention, and treatments, it was obvious that they all know someone with the disease.  Another particularly hard question to answer was, “What do I do if my parents won’t let me have the job that I want?” It’s obvious that their culture is continually changing as technology becomes more present in their lives, but some older adults are resistant to these changes. It was really neat to see how intently they listened to us and think that we might have had a small impact on their lives.

By Shea

May 9-11: Ranch Trip

Our trip to the ranch was a success! Upon arrival, we realized the road was completely under water, so we went in groups on a boat to cross the flooded forest. We were greeted by a few very welcoming people. After eating a delicious lunch, we learned how to crack a whip and some of us went horseback riding. While others were horse riding, the rest of us went on a tour around the ranch. We saw a scarlet mcaw up close and center, and those of us who were brave enough to get close enough got a picture with it. We also saw a baby monkey that the people at the ranch looked after and took care of. She was very shy, so we couldn’t get very close before she ran away. For the rest of the night, we relaxed and admired the view of the mountains in the distance. When we awoke, we awoke to pouring rain and so sat in the truck instead of stood and put the cover on. When we reached Lethem (about halfway), the sun came out, and we all got to stretch our legs again. We safely reached Caiman House once again and relaxed the rest of the day, and some of us did laundry and caught up on some much needed sleep. For today, we are going to a pond to swim and sharing information about our ethnographies in a large group.We apologize there are no pictures, the internet is being a bit testy today, and getting the blog up was our main priority. We will update as we can.

Mindy Claeys

May 8

We woke up today to a delicious breakfast and plans to either spend the morning fishing or go on a hike in search of Spider Monkeys.  The group that went fishing came back successful, with mostly Catfish that would be prepared for a later meal.  The hiking group enjoyed our 3 mile trek through savannah and forested areas, and while we didn't find a Spider Monkey, we were able to appreciate lots of other wildlife in the unpredictable and seemingly interchangeable down-pours/sunny Guyanese weather.  Our afternoon was spent on various chores (clothes were beyond smelly by this point) and on our ethnography assignment.  We all had different ethnography topics, ranging from food acquisition to societal roles; talking to the locals and comparing our culture to theirs was an eye-opening experience.  We also spent some time playing Frisbee, football, and cards with the Guyanese students after school.  Another truck ride and a visit to a ranch await us tomorrow!  

By Claire 

May 6

In the afternoon a tour guide showed us around town so we had a chance to see the school, three churches, the water well, and the lake. Yupakari is on top of a hill and the surrounding areas are often flooded so at times throughout the year it is like an island. After our hot tour, we took our laundry and sweaty bodies to the river to bathe and wash clothes.  The group was split in half and Katie, Casey, Ben, Scott Z., Mindy, Phil, Eric, and Shea went in two boats to search for caiman (an alligator) as well as other lizards along the river.  We were able to hold a tree boa, a few different sized iguanas, beetle, and baby caiman. We also saw many large caiman but they were too big to get into the boat. There were many giant lily pads with big white flowers. It started to rain during the trip and we were all drenched by the time we got back but it was definitely worth it! The rest of the group (Claire, Derek, Chelsey, Scott S., Michael, Ethan, Austin, and Dr. Larimer) went on a night hike with our tour guide, Mike.  We made our way down towards the lake, observing various frogs, toads, and beetles on our way. 

 View of the Rupununi on our way to find caiman

 We found a tree boa!

Baby caiman!

May 7

This morning we went to the primary school to meet the kids.  The children were in grades 1-6, with a total of 161.  We introduced ourselves and described Iowa, then enjoyed walking around the room and getting to know the children on a personal level.  We also delivered our school supplies donations to the Yupukari Library (est. 2005) and learned about the impact that the library has had on the village and schooling system.  Our guide then showed us the turtle pond at Caiman House and described the community efforts towards slowing the decline in turtle population.  We split into 2 groups again in the afternoon; half of us went out on the lake and took water samples to measure pH, conductivity, temperature, and to collect microscope samples while the other group went on a hike with the intent of getting pictures of spiders, but came back empty-handed.  In the evening, each group did the activity that they did not do the previous night, either caiman hunting or going on a night hike. 

By Katie, Claire, and Shea

May 4-6 (additional photos)

 A section of the road that wasn't doing as well...

The canopy walk.

Savannah.
 

 Cooling off after the truck ride.  (We're headed down there to "shower" again today and wash clothes.)

Michael takes his turn trying to grate cassava while others look on.

May 4-6, 2012 - Ride to Interior, Atta Lodge, Ride to Caiman House, Caiman House

Group photo from atop the canopy walk.

View out the back of the truck on a really good section of road.

Hello everyone! We finally got the internet to work for a bit, so we thought we'd update you on what's going on. After Georgetown, we got on a truck at 3:30 AM and set out on our journey to Atta Lodge canopy walk. We arrived about 15 hours later, so it was a long day, but it was cool most of the day and rainy. The sun came out for about an hour and proved to be extremely hot, so most of us were satisfied with the clouds and rain. The roads were good according to our professors and Roop, but it still felt very bumpy, especially when we were standing in the back of the truck holding on to bars up top. It was a good experience for most of us to see the difference in scenery and roads compared to Iowa and the general Midwest region. The drive was absolutely beautiful, especially when we began to come into dense rainforest. The hills covered in trees and other plants could sometimes be seen from the truck as well. Though it was a long day, it was a fascinating experience. We arrived at Atta Lodge later that night about 6:30 PM and met our hosts for the night. There were only a few buildings there, but the rooms were very nice and even had beds. Each room had its own bathroom, of course all open with walls but no windows and no roof, though the rooms were equipped with roofs and mosquito nets. After getting settled, we sat down to a wonderful 3 course meal in the main dining area. Most of us were extremely exhausted and decided to go to bed directly after dinner. The next morning, we woke up to the sounds of birds at 5 AM to head up to the treetops. After a short meeting for coffee and tea, we headed out to the trail at 6. It was about a half a mile walk through the rainforest to get to the canopy walk, and our guide showed us a lot of interesting vegetation along the way. We got to see tall straight trees used to make 2x4s and balata trees that are used to make rubber. Our guide, Leon, told us about some things to watch out for and be careful of on our way up the hill/steps and also while on the platforms and bridges. Two main things he warned us about were bullet ants, which we saw atop on one of the platforms, and snakes, which we saw on our way back down! Once climbing the 150 steps about 50 feet into the air, we were able to see through the trees down to the first layer of the rainforest, and the views from each platform were amazing. The canopy walk were a few platforms connected by a series of narrow bridges. Each one was different, and on one platform, the mountains in the distance could be seen very well. The morning mist created an even more beautiful effect with the mountains in the distance. We didn't get to see many animals, but the bullet ants were neat to see. On the way back down, we were looking forward to breakfast and were almost back to the lodge when someone spotted a green snake curled up on a tree. We got some great shots of it but didn't stay too long as Leon told us it may be dangerous. Once back at the lodge, we sat down to an amazing breakfast, got back on the truck, and set out on our journey to Yupukari to Caiman House. This time, the sun showed no mercy and was out all day long. The drive took about 6 hours, and all of us were red by the time we arrived with sunburn. We got a change of scenery by driving into the savannah, but we also sacrificed the shade of the trees by doing so, though the truck provided a nice breeze when we were able to gain speed. Once we arrived at about 3:00 PM, we picked out rooms and refilled our empty water bottles. Since we were all sunburned, we decided to go swimming in the Rupunini river just down the hill, about a 15 minute walk. The water felt extremely refreshing, though we were mindful of dangers in the water like caiman and piranhas. The rest of the day, we sat around Caiman House and got ready for dinner and bed time. A few of us journalled for a bit in the main dining area and saw the infamous toad that hung around us all night in the kitchen. We also spotted many lizards, including a gecko that was spotted in one of the lights. Some of us slept under a structure called a benab in hammocks while others slept in actual rooms. We were all grateful, however, to have mosquito nets for the night. We woke up this morning to a downpour of rain, and those of us sleeping in hammocks were blown around for a while, but the rain slowed, and we were able to walk a small distance to a local woman's house to assist her in preparing cassava and to another woman's house to observe cotton spinning. Both were very interesting, though we were careful of the cassava as it contains cyanide and is poisonous before it is boiled.  For now, we are taking a break before eating lunch in a few hours and are then touring the village and possibly going on a night hike, weather permitting. We will be staying at Caiman House until Wednesday when we will leave for a ranch for a night and then come back to Caiman House and head to the next location on Saturday. We are having a wonderful time on the trip so far, and we will update as we can!

- Mindy Claeys and Shea Kruger

May 3, part 2

Since our last post, we've been on a few adventures. If you didn't see your child/friend/relative in the last picture, here is a picture including all students, professors, and Roop, our extremely gracious host for these last two days. Leaving Roop's house, we started off by shopping a bit in Georgetown. Some people bought a few things while others looked around since we will do most of our buying after we return from the interior. We went to a few stores and saw many different things such as homemade baskets and clay pots, silverware, and other cooking ware. After shopping, we went to the seawall to see for ourselves what the characters in the book we read for class were talking about. The breeze off the ocean was very refreshing, and we got some great pictures! The sand was very rough to walk on, not a white sandy beach as most of us were originally thinking, but no sand got in our shoes this way. The water was surprisingly very warm but appeared to be brown due to its relationship with the amazon river. After watching the water for about a half hour, we went to the zoo in Georgetown. It was interesting to see all the different animals, and a few of us got to shake hands with a monkey (and then sanitized our hands). We did see tapirs and harpy eagles, scarlet macaws (red, colorful birds), and many other interesting creatures native to Guyana. It was disappointing to not see a sloth because it was hiding in the dense trees provided in its habitat, but the rest of the zoo was a great experience. For now, we are resting up for a big day tomorrow, as we will start our journey at 3:30 AM on a long truck ride through the rainforest. We are all very excited and ready to start off our real adventure.

- Mindy Claeys

May 1-3

We’re all alive! After a lengthy travel experience involving a nine hour layover at JFK, we arrived in Guyana! While we were flying over the country, it became apparent that we were no longer in the U.S.—trees covered every piece of land in sight. A rainbow was there to greet us when we landed in Georgetown, in addition to our host/protector/guide/superhero, Roop.  We made it through customs with no lost luggage and a blast of hot humid air hit our faces as soon as we stepped outside of the airport. The 17 of us piled into a small bus that took us to Roop’s house, which was about an hour drive away.  Driving on the left side of the road, passing bikes that were just a few inches away, and seeing houses of every color was a fascinating welcome to the country. After unloading our luggage and setting up our beds and mosquito nets, we had the afternoon to catch up on much-needed sleep and adjust to the climate change. Most of us slept away the afternoon, while others enjoyed getting to know our host family. Much to our dismay, we may be gaining weight while we’re here. Roop’s family cooks amazing food—Guyanese chow mein, curry chicken, roti (an Indian bread), and chocolate cake complete with 22 candles and singing for Austin’s birthday! It cooled off quite a bit in the night so sleeping was pretty comfortable, except for the mosquitoes that happened to make it through the net. As of this morning, the highest mosquito bite count on one person is 44. We started off today with a delicious breakfast of fresh fruit and are excited about our plans to visit the zoo, shop, and check out the seawall.

By Claire and Shea