Instead of the typical expensive tourist trip to the rainforest, we let our work take us there. I went to study the frogs, and Brad went to provide medical care to the children. Ultimately, we had an authentic experience interacting with some of the most hospitable and welcoming people I have ever met.
The drive itself was an experience. We drove quickly through three small cities (Gualaceo, Chordeleg, Sigsig), then slowed down to take a dirt road the rest of the way. The landscape changed from paramo to cloud forest to rainforest, and along the way we enjoyed the immense waterfalls that were visible from the road. Four hours later, the road turned back to asphalt and we arrived in Gualaquiza. Here, we were supposed to stop at the bus station and put a “Zoologico Amaru” sign in our car and wait for our hosts to find us. We sat for a minute, then decided to carry the sign and walk toward the terminal. In less than 5 minutes, a smiling family came over to greet us. German, Targelia, and the two youngest of their five children welcomed us and asked about our trip. We didn’t waste time, and soon began our trip to their small town of Tiink. We drove another 45 minutes along a dirt road, parked the car at their friends’ home, then walked 30 minutes to Tiink. The walk started with a long bridge over the Zamora river (which they told us has anacondas) which wiggled when we walked. It ended when we arrived at a clearing with an open yard surrounded by several school houses and a 2-stall public bathroom.
Our hosts showed us to their home and gave us a room with simple beds, pillows, and light blankets. They offered us the opportunity to rest, and we were both surprised when we woke up after two hours. There was loud music coming from the community pavilion, and we learned that each day the students practice dances in the evening. We had a simple dinner of rice and beef with tomatoes and peppers, made a plan for our visit, and heard an announcement through a loudspeaker that there was a doctor in town who would be seeing the younger students in school in the morning. Then we went back to bed. We woke up in the morning, just before 7:00, to the crowing of the roosters in the yard. German told us that they usually get up at 5:00, but that we were welcome to sleep as long as we wanted. However, we had a big day ahead of us and a big breakfast to kick start the day. Targelia told us that it is their custom to eat a big breakfast, and provided us with a dinner- sized portion of food. Then we walked three minutes over to the school for Brad to run his clinic.
The day before our trip we ran around Cuenca to gather what we thought would be the proper medicines to run a small clinic for the village. We knew there were more than 100 kids, and Brad’s main goal was to provide antiparasitic treatments to the children. We made purchases at 8 different pharmacies to acquire enough chewable and non-chewable treatments, aleve, ibuprofen, Bactrim, etc. and antiseptic spray, cups for water to accompany the pills, and forms to document the symptoms and treatments for each patient. Mostly, we had what we needed but having seen patients from 3 months to 60 years old Brad learned a lot about the common problems in the community and next time we intend to bring some additional items (toothbrushes, vitamins, etc.)
So our first day we ran a clinic from 8:00am until 12:30 for the students 4-12 years old. A viral epidemic had recently caused many of the students to be sick, but unfortunately the only treatment Brad could recommend was drinking a lot of water. The teacher filled out the students’ names, Brad interviewed and examined each student, and I got to pass out the pills. We ran the clinic in the classroom, and since the teacher was preoccupied filling out the forms they didn’t have class. Instead, the kids sat in the window frames and looked over Brad’s shoulder. Some thought it was funny that Brad asked them to open their mouths during the exams, and they practiced telling each other. A few of the parents showed up with their kids, and the teacher intervened a few times when the kids were too shy to explain their problems. I was surprised how willing the students were to take the antiparasitic pills, even though they were chewable and sweetened. It is rare for a doctor to come to this remote community, and many of the children suffered visible signs of parasites. For the $0.35 per treatment, I just can’t believe that these kids don’t have access to basic medical care. In all, we treated nearly 60 kids in the morning.
The time went quickly, we returned to the house for lunch, then went for our first hike in the field in the afternoon. The forest was absolutely beautiful. We were there to see a specific species of toad—brilliant yellow with black spots and red hands, but our host pointed out a number of different interesting things including the tracks of an ocelot, the elaborate spines on a caterpillar, and many other species of frogs and toads. Like our research sites in Cuenca, the forest had been quite dry. After a couple of hours of searching, German told us that it was just bad luck we hadn’t found any yet but as we stood by the river I spotted what I believed was what we were looking for, Atelopus wampukrum! I was right, and after searching a bit more German found a second individual. He explained to us that “wampukrum” is the Shuar name for the frog.
We returned to the house for a simple dinner, then hurried over to a different community building. The people had asked Brad to run a second clinic for the children not yet old enough for school, so he readily agreed. The clinic was to begin at 7:00, but when we arrived ten minutes late there wasn’t anyone there. After another 20 minutes, someone made an announcement over the loudspeaker and people began to arrive. When Brad asked for the first patient, an older man sat in the patient chair. We were both a bit surprised, but Brad bravely took care of this first patient as well as the others that sat before him. Most of the older people suffered from aches and pains and arthritis, but many young men also suffered from similar aches and pains due to the manual labor that provides them with income each day. Brad saw three generations of one family, and a total of 17 more patients in the evening. By the time we finished, it was past bed time for the village and we were both exhausted!
The following day we planned to spend the entire day in the field. We left the house at 8:00, and returned around 4:00. We spent the entire day walking and looking for frogs. German’s keen eye spotted much more than we saw in the forest: birds, mammals, well- camouflaged frogs, and he did his best to point out everything to us. We found only two more of the frogs we were looking for, but enjoyed very much the long day of hard work in the field. We stopped after several hours and shared a papaya, then a couple of hours later had lunch. We walked slowly and carefully through the jungle, and German was proud to tell us that part of the jungle was completely natural and not used commercially. He told us that he learned to hunt birds with blow darts when he was 7 years old, and has spent much of his time in the forest ever since. Recently, he had worked for an amphibian conservation project looking for wampukrum, but since funding stopped for that project he has worked where work is available for $10 each day. He said that he would like to send his older girls to high school, but it costs $300/year for each student and that he just doesn’t know how to make enough money to do that. They live a simple life, but want very much for their kids to live better.
Our last day in Tiink, we had hoped to run a clinic for the kids 13-18. However, school wasn’t in session that day because it was the Independence day of Guyaquil, the country’s capitol. Instead, we spent some time talking about the amphibian project (German hopes that it will provide him with more work soon), trying to teach them how to use a rain gauge to collect rainfall data, and learning a few words in Shuar while teaching a few words in English. We went for one more short trip to the field, then began the long trip back to Cuenca. It was really a successful trip for both of us, and we look forward to returning again in February!
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