Blog

Hi.

Well, here we are. I’m currently in Villa Carmen, one of the Amazon Conservation Association’s three biological research stations in Peru’s rain forest. Our schedule here is very busy, with daily hikes through the jungle, readings for class, lectures and outings to town to pick up supplies and food. The free time we have here is usually spent sleeping in hammocks, reading, playing soccer with the staff of Villa Carmen or studying for class. Tomorrow we are going to a coca farm, where we will learn about the long history coca leaves have in Peruvian culture, how they are grown, and probably some of the illegal aspects of coca farming as well.

I have a reading due for our field excursion tomorrow that I haven’t read yet. But before you jump to conclusions about how I’m procrastinating, we weren’t planning on going to the farm for another two days. Tomorrow was supposed to be our environmental education day, a fun-filled day of programming with the local school kids in which we teach them all about the biodiversity in Villa Carmen and why conservation is important. But due to an unplanned teacher conference, school is cancelled, so we had to shift the coca farm to tomorrow and push our environmental education back a day. An ever-changing schedule is just part of the fun of field work.

Anyway, I could go on about our experiences in the Wayqecha Cloud Forest, or Villa Carmen, or Machu Picchu, all of which have been incredible, but I doubt you want to read too much more of my rambling. So I’ll make it up to you. Here are some photos I’ve taken over the course of this semester.

So, good night and good luck in all your endeavors. I hope life is filled with everything you ever wanted and more.

Love, Noah.

→ Biodiversity & Development in the Andes-Amazon, Peru