Under the cupola of the canopy.

"What is the law of the jungle? Strike first and then give tongue." - Rudyard Kipling

This weekend our group of almost-fourty students traveled to a biological diversity station Tiputini in the middle of the Amazon jungles. We left Quito at 10 a.m. after a short delay and arrived in a small Ecuadorian town of Coca after a thirty-minute flight. Stepping out of the airplane in Coca felt like coming home to Mississippi - the temperature and the humidity were outrageous in comparison to the moderate climate of the mountain region of Latin America.

After getting out of the airport, I got my first taste of the jungle seeing a little boy play with a bug that was almost his size. The film Supersize Me came to mind, and the phrase became the slogan for my journey into the deep Amazon. A bus took us to the boat terminal, and we got on a small canoe in order to travel for two hours on the Napo River. Almost everybody was super exited for the trip - we took many pictures of the banks of the river and fantasized about wild adventures in the jungle. Finally, we arrived to the station of the oil company in order to embaque on the next stage on our journey - the chiva bus (an open bus). We had to go through the security of the oil company, and we were not allowed to take any pictures on the territory of the oil company for the purposes of security of this lucrative drilling business. We squeezed onto the chiva bus (barely) and began the drive further into the jungle. Trees and bushes with giant leaves passed by in a whirl as the bus speeded along the gravel road. After two hours on the bumpy road, we arrived at a bridge of the Tiputini River. Sitting on the side of the road, two indigenous women stared at our group of gringos with interest. We got on another canoe to complete our long journey to the remote station of Tiputini. As we neared the final destination of our voyage, the jungle warmly welcomed us with a torrential downpour. Floating down a river in a canoe with rain coming from everywhere is not the greatest adventure in the world. All my things were soaked; and, they did not dry for four day because of the high humidity in the jungle. I think that some of my clothes grew mold.

We finally arrived at the Tiputini station in the late afternoon. The manager of the station gave us a short orientation about the rules of the jungle and lead us to our cabins. Because the station has its own generator, the electricity only works for about six hours a day so that the researchers can do their investigations. The cabins had no hot water and smelled a little moldy. The manager also recommended that we put our technology (ipods, phones, and cameras) in a dry box in the library to avoid humidity damage. Later that night we had a presentation about the exiting creatures that we may or may not see in the forest. We went to sleep early because there is little to do in Tiputini after dark.

The next morning we woke up at 6:00 a.m. because breakfast was exactly at 6:30. After breakfast we put on our rubber boots and went off into the depths of the jungle with our guide. The first place we explored was the Tower - a 46-meter-high construction which allows to observe the animals from above the canopy. Because I am not exactly comfortable with heights, I was slightly nervous about climbing the stairs to the top of the tower; however, the view from above proved to be worth the fear. The jungle reminds me of the ocean - the green tops of the trees spreads as far as the eye can see and merge with the bluish line of the horizon. The woods are full of unsolved mysteries and new discoveries. Far below the canopy, the forest is swarming with life that is unseen and sometimes unimaginable to human eyes. We stayed on top of the tower for more than an hour observing monkeys frolicking in the canopy and birds flying through the clear blue sky. When we descended from the tower, we followed our guide through the forest (making a pit stop to snack on lemon ants) and arrived back at the station for lunch.

After lunch we had a two-hour break to nap in our cabins or, in my case, walk around exploring and taking pictures. At 2:30 p.m. we went to a lagoon far away from the station. Our guide took us around the lagoon in a small canoe in order to try to show us more of the diverse wildlife. Unfortunately, the wildlife was not cooperating (hey, we were in a biological reserve not a zoo), and the most exotic animal we saw was a vulture. The rain started again while we were in the lagoon and we had to hike back to the station through the mud and the rain on sometimes almost vertical hills. When we got back to the station (suprisingly safe and sound), we were done with the excursions for the day.

The next morning we had a fish-feeding exercise. The guides took us out into the Tiputini River on a boat and threw us into the piranha-infested waters in case the piranhas were hungry. Luckily, the piranhas, the crocodiles, and the anacondas were busy with other prey; we survived the river float intact. However, I can't say the same for the stairs to the boat ramp - a guy in our group slipped and the entire platform of the staircase went down. Not surprising considering that the humudity in Tiputini is always over a hundred percent, and the staircase is made of wood.

After the surviving the morning excursion, we had lunch and once again went out into the depth of the Amazonian jungles. This afternoon we visited the bridges - a shaky walk over the canopy. Today we had harnesses for safety reasons, but I did not feel any safer. Nevertheless, the views of the jungle were very nice. That night after dinner we went on the night walk (with our guide of course). Walking through a dark jungle at night is a completely different kind of experience - the place seems almost unreal and otherworldly in the dim light of the moon. Our guide shined the flashlight the trees and the bushes, and a new world opened up before our eyes - a world of grasshoppers larger than my palm, of giant ants the size of my finger, and of butterflies that resembled dried leaves.

The jungles are a precious and an amazing natural environment that are nevertheless very fragile. From the ancient trees which roots drape the forest floor to the walking palms to the multitude of creatures that inhabit this environment, the jungles deserve to be protected for future generations from the threatening advance of civilization with the greed for natural resources. After three days in the jungle, I feel like it would never be possible to learn all the secrets that hide in the depth of the Amazon; I left in awe of this biological environment and the incredible diversity of flora and fauna.

On the road again.

"On the road again/Like a band of gypsies we go down a highway/We are the best of friends/Insisting that the world keeps turning our way..." - Willie Nelson

Life passes by in blinks. Blink, and I am five years old playing with my toys in the living room in Chishinau. Blink, and I am thirteen or fourteen going to Natchez with my parents for my birthday. Blink, and I am nineteen packing my stuff in bags and boxes to move away to college in Oxford. Blink, and I am twenty-one on a bus in Peru on my way to the study-abroad program in Ecuador.

We boarded the bus in Cuzco around 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday night armed with pretzels and tuna fish for our three day bus ride. I read a book on my computer for a few hours because I couldn't fall asleep. I finally dozed off around midnight but kept waking up through the night because of the motion of the vehicle.

The next morning we woke up early because the driver turned on a movie on the television. I ignored the televison and instead watched the mountain scenery we passed by. We were above the clouds on a narrow, winding road that had 360 degree turns in some places. My stomach is not very strong under the best circumstances, and I began feeling motion sick very soon. We kept driving and driving with a few pit stops along the way. We were supposed to arrive in Lima at 2:00 p.m. and get on another bus later that evening. When 3:00 p.m. rolled around we were still driving along the highway, although we were parallel to the sea coast which was a positive sign. (Lima is on the coast of the Pacific Ocean). We finally arrive in Lima at 4:00 p.m., and we were hungry, tired, and upset with the bus company. I seriously contemplated staying the night in Lima and just getting a plane ticket to Quito, but I was too far along to give up. After grabbing a quick snack from KFC (the wonders of comfort food are amazing), we went to the other bus station (across the entire city) and waited to board. We got on the bus to Quito around 7:00 p.m. and settled for a 40-hour-long bus ride.

This second bus was far worse than the first one - it was much smaller and much more cramped. The bathroom situation (already poor in Latin America as most bathrooms do not have sinks or provide toilet paper) was pathetic and only got worse with the passing of time and distance. Thursday night was not too bad as I drifted in and out of sleep, but Friday was a very long day. The scenery was not spectacular - most of coastal Peru is a drab desert - and I had nothing to do because the batteries in my computer and my ipod died. The one interesting thing on this trip happened around midday - a road block in the middle of the desert with no towns around for miles and miles. We panicked a little at first because we were concerned about getting to Quito on time, but the blockade proved to be short-lived. The police arrived at the scene and dispersed the protestors with a healthy dose of tear gas; I also caught a good whiff of the stuff as the windows in the bus were open, and I can testify to how much it hurts.

We finally stopped in a costal town around 4:00 p.m. and had a quick lunch/dinner because we haven't eaten warm food since the day before. Then, we got on the bus again and were off into the mountains once more. Around 7:30 p.m. we arrived at the Ecuadorian border; after waiting for about an hour, we passed the check-point and were on the road again.

The road from Cuzco to Quito is a triangle: we went down one mountain and then went up a different mountain. We finally arrived in Quito around 10:00 a.m. Saturday morning; we never wanted to see another bus again. We took a taxi to the University where our host parents picked us up. The new stage of our adventure has begun.

In the footsteps of Hiram Bingham

"I do not seek. I find." - Pablo Picasso

In 1911 a man stepped onto the soil of a long-forgotten miracle, hidden high in the rugged mountain peaks of the ancient Andes: Machu Picchu, the lost heart of the Incan empire. Since that day, millions of tourists have visited this site and left in awe of an ancient culture that created this wonder. While traveling through Peru, my friends and I explored a little bit of Machu Picchu, an adventure well-worth the price of almost $200.

To get to Machu Picchu, we took a three-hour train ride to the small village of Aguas Calientes at the foot of the sacred mountains that are crowned at the top by this Incan wonder of the world. Aguas Calientes is a very small place that probably has more restaurants than people per square foot. The village survives off the tourists that come to visit Machu Picchu every day of the year. Since the ancient site is endangered by the large number of visitors, the number of tourist to Machu Picchu is limited to 400 people a day.

When we arrived in Aguas Calientes, we had a quick lunch and took a bus up to Machu Picchu. The dirt road was almost vertical in some places and rose sharply in alittude. In some places, the bus had to back up and balance precariously on the ledge of the mountain to let the buses going down pass. We arrived in Machu Picchu, went through the gates crowded with throngs of tourists, and went off to explore Machu Picchu. The ruins of this ancient city are well-preserved; a person blessed with a good imagination can almost see this place brimming with life five hundred years ago. We explored the ruins for a few hours; after walking up and down some very steep stairs, my legs were shaking from exhaustion. Despite a long day traveling and exploring, I did not want to leave. I felt like I could sit and watch Machu Picchu for hours or even days. The place has amazing energy, and I hope that one day I will have the chance to return and visit this wonder of the world once more.

From a window of a taxi

“Illusions commend themselves to us because they save us pain and allow us to enjoy pleasure instead. We must therefore accept it without complaint when they sometimes collide with a bit of reality against which they are dashed to pieces.” - Sigmund Freud

            Last Sunday was the last day of my six-week adventure in La Paz, Bolivia. Early Sunday morning, two of my friends and I left Bolivia to continue our Latin American adventures in Quito, Ecuador. Since we had an entire week to get to Quito, we stopped in Cusco, Peru in order to visit the famous ruins of Machu Picchu.

            We arrived in Cusco around 10 a.m. and, after partaking a cup of the customary coca tea, took a long nap to compensate for celebrating our last night in La Paz by staying out until the wee hours of the morning. We slept most of the day away; in the evening, we walked around the main square (which boasts amazing colonial cathedrals) and had dinner at a pizza shop.

            The next day we woke up early in order to buy our entrance tickets to Machu Picchu ($40) and our bus tickets to Quito ($155 for a 3-day bus ride).  After accomplishing our mission for the day, we rewarded ourselves with a tour of Cusco city. The tour was bilingual – our guide spoke in Spanish at first and then translated his lecture into English for the tourists who did not speak Castellano (another word for Spanish language).  We visited the famous Koricancha in the heart of Cusco – an enormous temple to the Incan Sun God that was converted into a Christian church around the time of the Spanish conquest. Then, we explored the Sacsayhuaman archaeological complex, an Incan fortress that was built from gigantic stones weighing between 90 and 130 tons each. The site was an important ceremonial center of Cusco and is the still the scene of the Inti Raymi, the Incan sun celebration held the 24^th of June. We visited several other picturesque places on the tour and headed back to the center of Cusco around 7:00 p.m. Since we had to wake up at 5:00 a.m. the next morning to catch a train to Machu Picchu, we decided to go to bed early.

            The next morning, we stuffed our luggage  and ourselves into a small cab, and we were off to the train station. As we drove further and further away from the center of Cusco, the impressive colonial architecture changed into broken shacks, which probably had no electricity or running water. Despite the early hour, the outskirts of the city were bustling with activity as indigenous men and women dragged heavy packages to the market. Accustomed to such vistas by a six-week stay in Bolivia, I uninterestedly scanned the graffiti-covered walls and tired people who were going to work. Suddenly, I saw a little boy helping his mother carry the goods to sell in the market; the picture of this incredible poverty hit me in the face as I realized that this kind of life is probably all that this little boy will ever have. From Switzerland to Madagascar, poverty exists in all parts of the world. However, the degree of poverty greatly varies from place to place. For example, the standards of poor in the Latin American countries are not comparable to the standards of poor in the United States or Europe. We can know the facts about the poverty level of a country; however, knowing and realizing are not the same. We can see the poverty out of the window of a warm and comfortable salon of a taxi; however, seeing and believing are not the same. Even though we can change little about the way the world works, we need to realize that many of the things we take for granted are luxuries in other places.