July 2016
I embarked on a three week long field course through UBC in Manu National Park, Peru. Me, eight other students, two TAs, and one professor went from Cusco to four biological field stations at decreasing elevations: Wayqecha, San Pedro, Pantiacolla, and Cocha Cashu. I ended the trip with a visit to the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu before heading home.
Cusco
July 3rd-5th, 2016 I landed in Cusco on July 3rd and spent three nights in the city. I struggled a bit navigating the airports because the entirety of the airline staff assumed I spoke Spanish (which I really, really do not). I was surprised by how bare and dusty all the mountains were. I was warned […]
Wayqecha
July 5th-8th, 2016 For our trip, we had a massive bus for just the 12 of us. We each got a full row to ourselves which was perfect for sleeping- which we would do for most of the drive. I fell asleep on the drive out of Cusco and woke up to our instructors stopping […]
San Pedro
July 8th-11th, 2016 On our way to San Pedro I had the first mammal spotting of the trip!! We would frequently stop the bus to get out and take a look around for birds (the work that the prof and TAs do focuses on birds so they were always on the lookout for tropical birds). […]
Pantiacolla
July 11th-13th, 2016 We drove down to a town on a river where we switched our bus for a boat. We were traveling on a long and narrow wooden boat that somehow fit all of us, two crew members, our chef (Orlando!), our belongings, and our food for the next week and a half. While we […]
Madre de Dios River
(Image by Santiago David) July 13th, 2016 WE SAW A JAGUAR!!!!! Heading into Cocha Cashu is more remote and there’s no public access. It’s more than a full day up river from Pantiacolla. Our TAs were on the lookout all day for a jaguar, they’d take turns eating so one person could always be searching […]
Cocha Cashu
July 14th-20th, 2016 We got to spend a full week at the beautiful Cocha Cashu. I wish I could fully describe the place because it was nothing short of a dream. We were at our lowest elevation so the wildlife was the most diverse we had seen and so untouched by humans. The field station […]
Machu Picchu
July 23rd-24th, 2016 Before I left for Peru, I knew I couldn’t leave without seeing Machu Picchu. I booked a guided tour ahead of time where I’d hike a portion of the Inca Trail (you can’t hike the trail unless you have a guide) and come in through Sun Gate and down to Machu Picchu. […]