Mishana - Part I

Sorry that I only did one update last break! I got a little distracted because I found out that my family's plans for Thanksgiving were probably going to be cancelled. That was the main reason I was leaving Peru on November 20th, so when I heard the news, I decided that it would be more valuable for me to stay in Peru longer. So instead of heading home on November 20th, I'll be leaving on December 9th. It's quite an expense to change my flight ticket (damn American Airlines) and I'll be missing out on Thanksgiving with my family, but I feel like more experience I gain on this trip, the better. Now I will be at the last field site for a good 3 weeks instead of just 1 week, and I'll be able to go with some of the other volunteers to Cuzco and visit Machu Picchu! I am so pumped. The job technically ends somewhere between the 9th and the 12th, depending on the weather once the rainy season starts, but I am leaving a little early so I can travel and also start working at a chocolate store upon my return to the states. I have a job lined up at Teuscher through connections - thanks Jenny!

I didn't really do an update about the field at San Martin because it's all pretty standard at this point, and we didn't catch many "cool" birds at that site. We caught a ton of really interesting birds in Mishana though!

Mishana is a river community on the Nanay, and takes about 3-4 hours by boat to get there from Iquitos. It's right on the water, so we didn't have to do any hour-long hikes this time with our gear. Normally Judit and her crew stay in the community house, but right now in Mishana there is a lot of construction going on because they are adding sidewalks. Oh and when I'm talking about these small communities, I mean really really small! San Martin had maybe a dozen or so families, but Mishana is a little bigger. The sidewalks are for walking - no cars or motorcycles or even bikes in these tiny villages. Mishana actually has a "store" which is just a family who sells some stuff out of their house, but it was very exciting for us because sometimes they had beer. :)

Anyways, because of the construction the community house was full of constructions workers. So we ended up staying at an ayahuasca lodge on the edge of the village. Ayahuasca is a hallucinogenic plant brew concocted by shamans that has a lot of history in Amazonian tribes, and is suppose to invoke huge spiritual revelations and stuff. I'm pretty sure Anthony Bourdain tried it in his Peru episode. The downside is that it makes you vomit and the leaders put you on a strict diet with many rules (no sex!). We were able to stay at the lodge because there was no one there at the time. It was SUPER luxurious for us - toilets (that flushed), sinks in the bathrooms, a kitchen area with a sink, common area with a dining table and chairs, roofs - everything!

Tent city - we crammed 13 tents onto this platform!

Our meals usually consist of rice and lentils, or rice and beans, or rice and different beans...

We had a common area! For hanging out!

We were a little separated from the center of this community, so we didn't interact with them quite as much as the last sites. We also had a few issues with them, like some of our things getting stolen. Despite the issues, though, it was a really nice place to stay at though. Bathing in the river was really nice at the end of the day, and we caught a lot of really neat birds in the forest here. I was sad to leave!

On the way to the forest trails.