Tarzan Swing

Bergendal is a really cool place, with a lot of things to do. I had to go on the Tarzan swing once while I was out there! Here are some pictures.

Just a Bunch of Bush People

Here are some photos of my friends who lived in B&D with me this summer. When you live in the rain forest with a small group, it tends to bring you all quite close. I really appreciated their support through the summer, and I loved getting to know them all.

Chihiro in the hut on top of Armadillo, in authentic fieldwork garb :)

This was at about 5:45am, and Mike was not too happy at this time in the day. But I still like this picture!

Me and Sylva after a sudden downpour. Wet, yet happy. You can see the gray skies in the background.

Staffan, relaxing after a long day in the field. He and Sylva found those flowers on the table, and she identified them later that night.

I'm going to miss them!

Forest Pics

Me expressing the importance of good hydration in such an intense climate. This hut is at the top of Armadillo Hill, and it has a magnificent view of the water. Chihiro and I have had some really good talks up here.

One of the views from the top of Armadillo.

Interesting termite nest along Armadillo trail.

This is how we had to cross a creek doing the fieldwork. Chihiro managed to stay mostly dry, but I got my knees wet every time!

Bergendal house

I haven't been able to post in a while as I've been spending a lot of time in the forest. But I have some pics to share now :)

Here are a few photos of the house we stayed in that will eventually be converted to an animal rehab center. There is still no running water or electricity, but it's making progress.

The kitchen area where we did our cooking.

Rain water tank, 430 gallons! If it rained really hard, water would jet out of the top and it could be used as a shower.

My rain forest home for the past couple months.

My bed. Nothing like the swing of a hammock to rock you to sleep. And after a while, I didn't even notice the bats anymore!

A Roti Lunch Progression

Roti is a very popular Surinamese dish. It is delicious and one of my favorite meals to have while I'm in the city. This is the place I went to today for lunch.

Here is a classic vegetarian Roti. To eat it, you break off pieces of the bread and use the bread as a utensil to scoop up the beans and potatoes. Coke is the traditional drink-of-choice to have with Roti because the sweetness nicely combats the spicy peppers.

An example of how to eat Roti!

It was so delicious. . .

I had no trouble eating it all!

Kayaking

One morning earlier this month, we got up around 5:15am to go kayaking while the sun was rising. This is the best time to look for animals, and the view of the sunrise on the river is spectacular.

Here is the sun just beginning to rise. I brought my camera to document the trip, but I kept in in a dry bag just in case. This was the easy part - downstream on the Suriname river.

This is the entrance to "Mama Kreek". It's called mama because it is the largest tributary to the Suriname River, and a lot of smaller creeks feed into this one.

Marelyn and I, checking something out on the side of the creek.



Happy to be in the creek, but it is also still really early. Note the high fashion life preserver and bandanna.

We had to duck under some parts on the creek, but Sergio went ahead of us all with a machete and cleared the way.

The pictures I took don't even begin to give justice to the beauty of the jungle. We stayed out on the kayaks for over 4 hours that morning, spending each moment in awe of the nature around us. 

Back in B&D

Well, I took the bus in this morning (with some much needed supplies for the field station), and arrived back to Bergendal around 9am. I spend the morning scrubbing the scum and leaf deposits off the walls where the water had risen to, and I am now about to go clean the bathroom and shower area. This is a lot more complicated when there is no running water!

We have a lot of work ahead of us, putting the field station back in order. Luckily, the water level is almost completely back to normal. Just as quickly as it came, it left almost overnight. All that's here to show for the flooding is the mess left at the station and the boat that was being used, beached on dry land. Even my garden has dried up, so as the other chores get finished I can start working on that again, too.

The gates are opened at this time about every year, and some water rising can be expected to occur. However, it had never before been as bad as this year. Could this be some sign of global warming?