Finally reconnected to the internet after 5 days - all due to a power cut that somehow broke our hardware. To return to last Friday, heavy rain meant we couldn't check the nests of the wild macaws to weigh the chicks and monitor their progress for our study. So that was delayedmtill Saturday, putting back the planned 3 day field trip I was going on with José. We did manage to find some building rubble to fill in the dips in the paths between our cabins when it stopped raining, so at least it's less muddy there now!
On Saturday I took a taxi to José's apartment in Trinidad. The taxi service is interesting - there are about 8 taxis which are all old estate cars and they leave Trinidad only when there are enough passengers to fill them i.e.6 (yes it is a squash!). It's then a 40 minute drive up to Sachojere village up a diet road which is closed if there is too much rain. The taxis go on beyond to San Lorenzo, then turn round and come back to Trinidad picking up as many passengers as they can en route. So you just have to wait for a taxi to turn up...... And wait.... This time 2 hrs! Then a mototaxi (motorbike passenger - the only taxis in Trinidad) to José's for a welcome cup of tea. By the to!e we had purchased a couple of items we needed not was lunch time so José took me to a Brazilian restaurant, which was like a self service salad bar and wide choice of main courses and vegetables, you fill your plate and then pay according to weight (great for carnivores!). Very nice food too with a jug of fresh fruit juice, a little saweet but very tasty. Back to the apartment for a half hour siesta that José insisted on.
The car still wasn't repaired so we decided to take the centre's motorbike to to to the nest site, a lovely ride, though made interesting with wearing the wellies necessary for negotiating the flooded areas, and carrying all the equipment! All our work requires a permit as the birds are protected by law. We found one nest had a parent bird sitting in it, incubating the remaining egg with one chick hatched. So we didn't disturb it. Another nest the chick had been poached from - one of the main dangers they face for the pet trade - very sad. We then found talking to one of the workers on the ranch that he had poached the chick and was raising it in a cage: education is a vital part of our work too, and much needed as you can see!
The taxi broke down on the way back to the centre so I was late back but everyone remains so cheerful here as this is the norm, and time is not important, he got the car going again in the end!
The forecast was bad for Sunday so our field trip was delayed till Mon, and as the horses we needed were not available then, José decided to take Nic on Mon afternoon, then he and I would go Tues and Wed with the horses. So they set off with all the ropes and gear for tree climbing and abseiling, reached the first nest site and the heavens opened. So they were only able to check that nest (at least it was a blue throated macaw nest!) And got soaked on the half hour walk back to the car. They then got stuck in the mud because the 4 wheel drive was not working 3 times, luckily locals helped push them out so they got back safely.
But that meant cancelling our trip while the car returned to the garage to get the 4 wheel drive fixed!
In the mean time we have started another project on parrot feeding, cycling out each morning from 6 - 8 am to find parrots feeding and check parrot species, food (tree species, whether
Eaves, flowers or fruit) etc. It's a lovely time to be out, with so many different birds around, and sometimes other animals too - Nic saw monkeys and a peccary, and I saw toucans yesterday.
My day off again today and I had a lovely guided tour of the Kenneth Lee ethno archeological museum, really interesting showing the early civilisations of the area going back to 800 B.C. and only recently discovered. The patterns of the raised fields and irrigation canals from the air caused Ken Lee to spend 30 years researching it, along with the rectangular reservoirs and artificial mounds they built as refuges from regular floods, where they lived. The higher the mound the older it is, and the higher up you live the more status you have - fascinating.
And I arrived at the taxi to find I was the last person required to fill it so we left immediately - a good end to the day!
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