Day 1: April 1, 2013
After a two hour ride to the outskirts of Oaxaca City, we arrived in
our cabins at Capulapam. The adobe buildings stood atop a mountain peak slightly
higher than 6,500 feet (2050m) above sea level (Mt.
Mansfield is 4,396 feet above sea level for all you Vermonters) provided us
with an amazing view of the surrounding land. After a short rest we scurried to
where we were going to eat; a lovely trout farm which we visited the last time
we came to Caplulapam. We ate and then walked around the area guided by our reliable botany teacher, Michael.
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Michael teaching some eager students about their
find by the river!
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He showed us several plant species new to us and even
some he hadn't seen a while. We were able to get an inside look when we
dissected the flower of Lobelia speciosa (among two others).
Beautiful red tubular flowers, perfect for hummingbirds to pollinate! After
another break and some reading, we went to dinner during which we ate plenty of
delicious food. Michael then provided us with a delightfully informative
lecture about the relationship between elevation and biodiversity and how
precipitation and heat play a role in Oaxacan vegetation. The night ended with
a group bonding roasting of marsh mellows over a fire! Delicious! Overall, I’d
say we had a pretty successful start to our botany trip! While we snuggled into
our blankets due to the cool mountain air creeping into our room, we were
already looking forward to our adventures for tomorrow and the week ahead.
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| Marshmallows before
bed! Who knew that strawberry flavored marshmallows could taste so good! |
Day 2: April 2, 2013
Alarm clocks rang at 8:30 Tuesday
morning to alert us to the start of our day. Showered and dressed we marched to
the van and filed into our breakfast spot. The smell of scrambled eggs, black
beans, and coffee crept into our noses and filled us with excitement for a
tasty start to our day. After breakfast, we returned to the cabañas for a short rest
before meeting in our classroom for a quick talk on the broad spectrum
different types of plants; gymnosperms, angiosperms, ferns, lycophytes, and
bryophytes. Comida was delicious! We had trout from the ecofriendly trout farm
in the pueblo…yum! Our teacher, Michael, then told us of our afternoon plans; a
hike into the forest to look at plants! We ventured through the woods while
listening to Michael tell us fascinating facts about the plants of the area.
Occasionally, a rather observant student would spot a particularly interesting
one and inquire. Of course, our professor did not mind going off topic to
tell his eager students about a yellow parasitic plant we spotted or a
lycophyte growing on a nearby oak. After dinner, we watched videos that
illustrated tropisms, (the movement of plants). Very cool! Did you know, most
plants are right-handed in that when they grow, they rotate counter-clockwise??
Early bed for this crew because there are a lot of exciting adventures awaiting
us tomorrow!
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Class
by a stream!
Day 3: April 3, 2013
After our long and windy road
through the Sierra Norte we made it to a restaurant called El Mirador. Before
lunch we ventured up the nearest mountain for a look at mountain plants.
Perched atop the mountain, we were able to look at several species of plants
related to those we can find in Vermont (only on top of Mount Mansfield and Camels Hump due
to the altitude)!
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| A look at the vegetation and landscape at the mountain summit! |
We continued our car ride to El Esperanza where we were
taken to our newly built cabins. After getting settled, we went to dinner at a
quaint comedor. Back at the cabins,
with our bellies full, Michael led us in a group discussing on our reading
material for the day. We had a great open discussion about different plant
diversity theories dissecting each one for its flaws. After the lecture, we decided that we needed to retire for
the night so we would be well refreshed for the day ahead tomorrow!
Day 4: April 4, 2013
Phew
what a day! A cold and wet morning greeted us in the mountains of La Esperanza
in the Sierra Norte. Breakfast
helped warm us up with some delicious atolé made with oatmeal
instead of corn. We then loaded up in the van for an hour long drive to the
waterfalls.
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This picture shows an example of the numerous species
of plants growing by the river. Such diversity!
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We saw many new families and genera of plants in the forest because
as our professor explained to us, we were in the latitudinal range of the widest
diversity as well as being in the right elevation above sea level for maximum
diversity. We saw all three species of Fuchsia that grow in Mexico on the road
to the waterfall! Michael showed us a plant that was one cell thick. It was
very thin and grew under the rocks at the waterfall. Moss or fern? Michael let
the group talk it out and use our previous knowledge of the difference to
determine, correctly, that it was a fern! Our big adventure for the day
consisted of, not only taking pictures of the waterfall, but also of practicing
our skills at identifying plant families in our newly designed purple rain
ponchos! Some of us were getting really good at knowing family characteristics.
Our professor was quite impressed on how quickly we were picking up at these
families! Dinner and an early bedtime for this group!
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Group shot at the waterfall!
Day 5:
April 5, 2013
 Today was the day we had all been waiting
for! Today was our hiking day!! After breakfast, we layered on the warm clothes
and rain coats and headed for an old mountain trail. Our guide told us along
the way that the trail had been used for 200 years before the current highway
was built that connected nearby pueblos.
I think all of us were in awe of the
fact that we were walking in the worn footsteps of many people before us. We
stopped along the way many times for a closer look at several different plants.
Michael took the back seat during the task of identifying many of the plant
families and let the group decided which family they belong to. Walking through
the rain forest was a very surreal feeling. Most of us kept commenting on how we
felt as though we had stepped into the “world” of Jurassic Park! Of course, our
wise professor pointed out the fact that some of the plants we were looking at
had ancestors from the time of the dinosaurs!
Torey and our new friend Jonathan who was just as entertained with us as we were with him!
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Day 6: April 6, 2013
The sun was
shining as we opened our eyes on our sixth day of our botany trip. We hesitantly
packed up our belongings, wishing that we could stay one more day in the high
mountainside pueblo. A short 45 minute van ride delivered us to another pueblo
called Yetla. This location offered riverside cabins for those interested in
Eco-tourism. We were assigned our cabins and excitedly unpacked our belongings,
some still wet from two days in rainy La Esperanza. We had a break from the
action for a couple of hours. We all quickly spread out inspecting every inch
of our new home: the rocky riverbed looked very welcoming to many of us, who
quickly suited up to wade in its cold waters; a soccer field that sat next to
the collection of cabins hosted a game of futbol; and we even were able to
witness some children playing in the river water fed pool on the property as
well. After a quick and very delicious lunch, we dove into our studies. Michael
provided us with an informative prerequisite lecture and that is where we
started our fieldwork. We ventured from tree to tree, this time learning about
the low-land humid tropic plants in the area. We tested our memory when we
arrived at a fig tree which is only pollinated by wasps which then lay eggs in
the fruits. The fruits then host the growing wasps until they are ready to be
on their own. The hot sun (a contrast to what we had been dealing with for the
past two days) fueled our enthusiasm as we wandered around the property. A
well-deserved quick dip in the river after class cooled us down for our dinner.
We had a quick lecture after dinner and will our bellies and minds full, we
settled down for the night. We can’t wait to see what tomorrow will bring!!!
Day 7: April 7, 2013
With some
careful planning today started off without a hitch. Our excursion to the forest
on the other side of the river was postponed until the afternoon which gave
Michael plenty of time to teach us about lowland tropical plants.
We explored
the land on which our cabins resided and looked at many plants new to our
vocabulary. Michael gave us the liberty of choosing which curiosities we looked
at. If we missed a rather important one, he would direct our attention to it
and tell us all about the plant. We feverishly scribbled down what he said in
our notebooks so we could go back to it at a later time. He helped sort things
out for us when he created a chart with the three major types of legumes and
the differences and similarities they shared. After comida we prepared for our
trek through the forest.
We were ferried across the river and were delivered to
the other side with eyes wide open not wanting to miss anything. Our two tour
guides did a spectacular job showing us the land. While Michael covered
anything plant related, the guides told us the history of the land including
its very wide uses: tobacco fields, sugar-cane fields, pasture land, and even a
film set in the 70’s!
As we were walking, the guides stopped us at a plant and
explained its medicinal benefits. They explained that you can grind the leaves
and apply the green juice to a cut and it will keep the cut clean and help it
heal faster; “Equivalent to modern day Neosporin!” said our TA Amber. We even got to
put it to the test on someone’s knee! After a several hour walk/hike through
the forest, we took a break for a swim in the cold water of the river. As we
ate dinner together we realized it was our last night at this spectacular
place. The people, food, plants, and experience would be something left to our
memory and photographs. Thankful for our experience, we listened to one final
lecture and crawled into our beds. What a great trip!
Besos y abrazos,
Enya y Codi
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