It's all about the journey

With a sense of relief and excitement, we left la Balsa at 1pm, after picking up the university car and buying snacks for the journey. At first everyone was a bit quiet. Freddy is a calm persona who doesn't speak much English. The opposite can be said about Phil, and they are previously known to converse with the assistance of Google translate. This time around, they've both improved significantly, and when they need to fill in a gap or clarify a translation gone wrong, they turn and look at me with a certain look of amusement or desperation. After just an hour of driving, however, the silence was broken to establish that lunch was in order. We arrived at a local kitchen by the road, and I turned to Freddy and said "There's something I need to tell you... I'm a vegetarian". I'll leave you to imagine the reaction. The kitchen fixed me up some rice, beans and salad while the guys had chicharron; rice, salad, chips and beef. The rest of the day's journey was more lively with salsa on the radio interspersed with the occasional Westlife track, much to our liking. We checked into a hotel, had ridiculously large portions of Chinese for dinner, and went to a local bar for a relaxation beer to calm us all down before the real fieldwork kicks in.

The next day was another day on the road. We left Riobamba at 7 in the morning and Phil had a little snooze in the backseat. The views were absolutely stunning with rolling mountains surrounding us as we snaked along curvy roads scattered with running children, women in bowler hats and purple skirts, calves resting on doorsteps of the houses, and the occasional donkey tied to the side of the road. Still, I felt that these villages seemed more developed than when I last visited Ecuador in 2011. We talked politics for a bit, but reached the conclusion that the internet gives access to information in these remote places, and provides a connection crucial to development. I felt a bit ambivalent. While I hope that the future holds more benefits to the people of Ecuador, the scars can be seen in the landscape. Like Phil said, "it feels like driving through the Yorskshire Dales". What was once forests has been replaced with fields, cleared wastelands and stands of introduced eucalyptus and pine trees. Then, we turned off from Loja towards Zamora, and the landscape started to change. The road was narrow with a new turn after every corner. The hills were covered in a blanket of forests, and we passed a dozen waterfalls and rivers. We arrived in Zamora at sunset. It's a small, isolated city located in a valley. We went to get petrol, but had to queue at the only petrol station in town, behind all the trucks that had made the same journey to bring the city's supplies. 

Tired from the drive, we checked into a hotel, prepared our field kit and packed some snacks. We headed straight back out, driving down a dirt road towards Podocarpus national park. We stopped at all the streams and ponds along the road, looking for ampibians, but it was a bit dry and not much was out. I walked around in a muddy clearing behind a pond, and suddenly stepped in a part which was deceivingly deep. I squeeled and moved quickly to get out, sinking my other foot as well. With mud up to my knees I thought "What a great start!". But then.. I say something sitting still in the mud. A frog! I made the first find of the trip! I thought to myself that it was beginner's luck and it wouldn't last long. Sure enough, after some more exploring along the road, Freddy started bringing one frog after the other. Phil showed me how to swab them, so we can test them for the chytrid fungus back in England. We also collected soil samples and took the temperature, humidity and GPS coordinates at each site. We went home feeling something in between achievement and hope that the next day would be more fruitful.