what’s going on here?
My name is Carina. I’m traveling abroad for a year (to Ecuador, Chile, Panama, and Spain), studying natural history and creating a podcast about my ecological and cultural adventures. This is made possible by a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, which provides funding to recent college graduates to pursue an independent, non-academic project for a year abroad. See the about page for more details and background.
I arrived in Ecuador on August 1, so here is a quick update on what I’ve done so far, and where I am now.
After spending too many days dealing with my visa in Quito, I was very glad to get outside, and did some hiking and camping in the gorgeous mountains around Quilotoa:
Then I went to Yanayacu Biological Station in the cloud forest for a while. I hiked, tried to record birdsong, photographed plants and insects, took advantage of their great science library, and tagged along for field work on snakes, caterpillars, and bird nests. We had to be creative cooking without a fridge or nearby grocery store, since Cosanga, the nearest town, was an hour’s hike away. Once when the showers were on the fritz, I set a personal record for days without showering—unless you count bathing in a waterfall in the forest. I will be returning later this month when there are more scientists around to interview.
Now I am in Atahualpa, a small town in the mountains two hours north of Quito. A friend of a friend that I met while camping the first week has been volunteering here for seven months and is introducing me to all his Ecuadorian friends. He has an apartment with a spare room that will probably cost me less than I will spend at the internet café. It has a lovely kitchen (with a fridge!), spiffy shelves that I helped install with my budding construction skills, and hot showers. Speaking of which, I accidentally discovered that the showerhead delivers a mild electric shock when touched.
The podcast is taking longer to get going than expected, but it’s on the way. You will be able to subscribe to it on iTunes, or download it from here. I’m waiting to build up a few episodes before beginning to release them. It will probably be bi-monthly and 10-20 minutes long. I will strive to make it both a travel log and a field notebook, educational and self-reflective, scientifically accurate and creative. There will be both an English and Spanish version (as of writing, this page is still under construction).
In addition to the podcast, this blog will feature fairly regular “ambience” entries: photo slideshows with soundtracks of natural noises. I will also post occasional updates, thoughts, and photos related to my travels.
Please feel free to get in touch with comments: wandering dot contact at gmail dot com
Thanks for listening, and happy wanders!
