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?

A couple setbacks. . .

Hello! Sorry I haven't been updating for a while, it's been a bit hectic here. Because of the excess amount of rainfall, the flood gates to Brokopondo dam were opened last week, causing the river to swell. The swelling was a bit more than expected, actually, and it caused some major setbacks to the project in Bergendal. Our entire area in the forest was flooded! The house we've been working on and staying in was transformed overnight into an island. We lost the use of our restroom, and also were unable to cross the bridge in the dark. Needless to say, this was quite the inconvenience.

This is the water level we woke up to the first morning. I have highlighted where it rose to by the time I left for the city. It was quite a difference!

 These steps (normally) lead to the dry path that takes us to the kitchen. It had risen to the top step in this picture, but had gone even further and spilled into the bottom part of the house by the last day of water rising. 

Crossing the bridge was actually another matter entirely. The narrow wooden bridge that used to lay two feet above the water was now floating on top, running the risk of being washed down stream! Sylva and the guys spent the morning putting sticks into the bank to tether it into place, but there was still the matter of getting on and crossing. Since it was floating, it sank to the bottom when you stepped on, tipping to the side while you tried to keep balance. Finally, once the bridge settled to the bottom, the crosser would walk carefully to the other side, thigh deep in creek water all the while. This is the same creek where earlier last year, a 4 meter (12 foot) anaconda was rescued, cayman are regularly sighted, and piranha inhabit the waters. Don't worry though, we were always cautious.

Mike crossing the bridge. Here, he's already gotten past the deepest point and is waiting for it to sink to the bottom. This is also near the beginning of the flooding, so it was much deeper as the days passed.

Oh, and my garden project might as well be the new swimming pool project for all the water on top of it!

So, as it was my time for a day off in the city, I took the bus to town. The flooding prevented me from returning on time, though, and I've been in Paramaribo for longer than expected. Luckily, Monique was gracious enough to put me up for the night. The hot shower was MUCH appreciated.

Sylva has told me that the water level is dropping now, and it's alright for me to return to Bergendal. So I'm off on the 6:30am bus tomorrow morning for another week in the bush. There is going to be a lot of work cleaning up the camp and putting it all back together - I already have a chore list. But I think this has been an important experience for me as well; learning to be flexible and deal with adversity is just as important as everything else I'm learning down here, and I can't wait to see what lessons I have in store for the next 4 weeks.

Golded Handed Tamarins: Another New Development

My new project

The original plan for my internship with GHFS was that I would be living here in Bergendal at the research center, and taking care of the animals while helping out with other aspects when needed. However, as it goes with non-profits sometimes, the funds needed to finish the research center were not procured in time for the opening. There is no electricity or running water yet at the house, and there are still many renovations to do before it can be officially opened and the animals can be moved to the new location. This has caused the plan for me as an intern to change a bit.

While I'm in Paramaribo, I have been taking care of the animals, and working on a protocol for future interns and volunteers to use. While I'm here in Bergendal, I have been helping out where help is needed: cutting and marking research trails, raking leaves to prevent snakes, helping with house chores and so on. But this week I have been given a new assignment - my own project to work on to help enrich the research center. I'm in charge of a garden!

There are no stores nearby, and thus it is hard to have fresh vegetables since nothing keeps for long in the Suriname heat. That's why it's going to be so great to have a vegetable garden right at the back house so the people staying there will be able to have fresh veggies. There is a patch of land near the house that presently is nothing more than a bunch of tall grass, but when I'm done with it will hopefully be a successful, sustainable organic garden. I spent all morning using a machete and elbow grease to start clearing the grass, and by the end of the morning, it seems that I have actually made some progress! I can't post pics here becuase the internet is a little too slow, but when I'm back in town I'll be sure to show you the progress I've been making. Wish me luck!

Creepy Crawlies!

While I was in Bergendal, I had many encounters with interesting insects, spiders and bugs. They grow them a lot bigger here in the Caribbean! During a hike in the forest, I found a walking stick that was about 10 inches long! I didn't have my camera at the time, but there were a lot of other times when I had it at the right moment and I got some cool pictures of the critters I encountered.

Sergio found this huge grasshopper in his room!

He wasn't so scary once you had a good hold on his legs - but not too hard, we didn't want to harm him!

Here is Dicky, one of our two resident tarantulas. It is said that having a tarantula around brings good luck, and we've got two! Unfortunately, when the house was sprayed for termites, Alois, our third, died from the chemicals. We still have Dicky though, and Woody who lives in a tree around the corner.

Below is the home-in-progress of the leaf cutter ants. This is one of their ant hills. They are so cute, and busy all the time. At all hours of the day one can see them crossing our path, big leafs in tow.

I told you they grow everything bigger here! I have seen a lot of termite nests while we walk through the jungle, but this is the largest one I have encountered. It is right on the path we cut for the Tamrin research, and it is a little eerie to go past.

Me standing next to the epic termite mound to give you an idea of scale

Plants of Bergendal

Hello! Sorry for not updating in a while, but I did not have stable enough internet connections at Bergendal to write anything. I will also be returning there on Wednesday, so I don't know when the next update will be. But here is one now for you to see :) (It's really long, so you might have to click "see more" below to get the full post)

The  rain forest is home to hundreds of thousands of different plant species, resulting in a lush beauty that is hard to describe. Luckily, I took some pictures to help me show you!

This is breadfruit imported from Asia. 

It is really spikey and slimey when you peel it!

                                                   Me on the rain forest trail

We had to wear bandanas or hats whenever we went into the forest to prevent bot flies from choosing our scalps as hosts! Our guides told us all about the plants and trees we saw. The informal name of the flower above is quite inappropriate to write on here, but if you'd like to know, you can ask me when you see me ;)

The people who live in the forest have a vast knowledge of the uses of the local flora. The flower below is called "Hot Lips", and when boiled and sat on, is used to treat hemorrhoids.

 

 Below: This leaf is used to thatch the roofs of huts in the villages of Maroons located in the interior of the country.

I'm not sure what species this tree is, but Sandro chopped us a piece of bark to examine and it smelled really gassy!

 The rain forest is so beautiful! Here is a picture of the sun coming through the trees.

Remember the prickly bread fruit from before? Here is what it looks like peeled! We boiled it and added salt - makes for a delicious snack!