New Staff on Base

On Monday 28th September, a new field staff member and intern, John and Lucy, started with GVI on the Ecuadorian Amazon Expedition. After a staff dinner in Quito and some shopping for field supplies, Samantha, Leeron, Mike, John and I went ahead to ensure the camp was ready prior to the arrival of the volunteers.

The trip to the GVI Amazon base camp was brilliant. First we caught a bus down from the bright sierra, winding through the gnarled cloud forests, across rickety bridges, through vast valleys and to the steamy edges of the Oriente. As well as breathtaking glimpses of some of Ecuador’s astounding diversity, we were entertained on the five hour, bumpy ride by some avian passengers- a few friendly chickens and a ready supply of tasty local snacks sold along the way. We knew we were getting closer to the rainforest as humidity leapt up 80% and banana plants and forest birds, such as caciques, could be seen.

We broke up the journey with a night in Tena, a jungle town on the Rio Napo, indulging in pizza and a few last cold beers. The next morning a further bumpy bus ride took us to a small village Los Rios (The Rivers), where a motor canoe met us and our belongings and took us to the GVI Amazon base camp. The half hour trip along the wide white water Napo River (full of white Andean sediment not torrential cascades), took us past the Yachana Lodge (run by GVI’s partner’s the Yachana Foundation), Agua Santa (a local community that holds a weekly market) and a few water birds before arrival at the base port. The 200 plus stairs to camp from port weren’t as bad as rumour had it or maybe it was just my excitement to reach base camp.

New Staff on Base