Kirkmans Arrive at Abra Patricia, a Peruvian Cloud Forest

Hello from the cloud forest in Amazonas Peru. We are in a lodge in a protected cloud forest. This cloud forest is important because it contains lots of different animals and plants that are rare and endangered. Endangered animal species include the spectacled bear, the spatule-tailed hummingbird, and the long-whiskered owlet. There are also rare flowers and trees. All around the reserve, forest is being cut down. We came here because we wanted to see how people are affecting the forest by logging, clearing land for raising cattle, and cutting wood for heating and cooking. Students in New Mexico will be able to raise money to increase the size of this reserve.

We arrived in Taropoto on a plane at 8:00 pm. It was hot and humid. Someone from ECOAN, a Peruvian group that buys land to protect it, picked us up. Segundo, whose name means second, drove us to Moyobamba. It took two hours. The next day we toured around Moyobamba. We visited an orchid farm called Mishquiyacu. Jose Oriel Altamirano Guerrero, who works for ECOAN, ran the orchid farm and was raising native plants in an area of preserved forest. We saw different flowers and plants. Jose was also keeping bees for honey. It was delicious and tasted like flowers. Jose taught us about coffee and rice farming. Rice is bad for the land because farmers use lots of chemicals and cut down forest to grow it. If they planted native vanilla underneath the trees, they could make the same amount of money and save the rainforest.

From the big field trip

We drove into the mountains and saw farmers burning rice stalks. We saw small villages. The people had cut down the forest to build houses, use for firewood, and to clear land for cows. We saw huge piles of logs used that were burned to harden clay bricks. In the mountains we could see huge clumps of deforested areas, and in the valleys, where the people lived, there were hardly any big trees at all.

From the big field trip

We arrived at the lodge in the evening. We were met by the people who run the lodge. There are six people who work here. They work as cooks, guides, and guards. They run the lodge and manage the land. They are hired locally and trained. The lodge has rooms for guests, a kitchen, and a dining area. It is by the highway that crosses the Andes Mountains at a pass called Abra Patricia, which is also the name of the forest reserve. They have a generator for electricity in the dining room, kitchen, and computer. In the rooms, they have solar panels for the lights. The solar panels don’t work so well because it is pretty cloudy. They also have many trails in the reserve. Many people come here to see birds that are found nowhere else in the world.

From the big field trip

On Monday we went on a trail called “La Trucha de Mono” (Trail of the Monkey). We saw many plants and insects, but we didn’t see any monkeys. Roberto, our guide, let us use binoculars and he brought a telescope. The floor of the cloud forest was covered in leaves, which made it very slippery. Almost every tree was covered in moss. Sometimes there were plants and flowers growing out of the moss. On a tree we saw the claw-marks of a very endangered species called the spectacled bear. The hike felt very long because it was steep and slippery, but it was only about two miles.

From the big field trip

On Tuesday, we will visit classrooms in a neighboring village to talk with them about preserving the land and reforestation. On Wednesday we will visit Lake Pomacochas to see the marvelous spatula-tailed hummingbird. On Thursday we will drive down to the rainforest, at a lower elevation, to see the cock of the rock, a bird. Please leave comments and questions over the next week as we explore this area. We have internet and will try to create a post each night.

Tags: Cloud Forest · Peru1 Comment

1 response so far ↓

1 ethan Oct 14, 2008 at 9:14 am

Can people buying food in the United States support the forest by choosing native Peruvian Vanilla? How can we find it?
Thank you for such an insightful description of your travels – it is so very informative for you to include both the natural wonder and environmental degradation that you are witnessing.

When I was in Ecuador I met an amazing man named Orlando Falco who was restoring native cloud forest near Vilcabamba at Rumi Wilco. There may be some informatino that is relevant to Abra Patricia. Here is a link: http://www.rumiwilco.com/

The Big Field Trip