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