What exactly is a ‘cloud forest’?
A cloud forest is like a rainforest except it is in higher elevations and it is colder than the tropical rainforest. It has different species of animals like spectacled bear and spatule-tailed hummingbird. It is similar to the tropical rainforest because it rains a lot.
Can we see some pics of the Ecolodge you’re staying in?
We will put some on our photo gallery.
How do you get around mostly (walking, or chicken bus)?
We ride a van from the Ecolodge. Segundo is our driver and he drives us where we want. We also took a boat taxi across a lake and we walk a lot.
The reforestation process sounds very cool. How long does it take for a reforested area to reach maturity?
About 35 years for the trees to get big enough to put your arms around them. On Tuesday we saw a few trees that were only 3 years old but 12 feet tall. The trees were called Aliso.
Can people buying food in the United States support the forest by choosing native Peruvian Vanilla? How can we find it?
Farmers along the Rio Mayo haven’t started growing vanilla under the trees of the forest yet, as far as I know. Farmers in this area do grow coffee underneath the trees, so if you want to support the rainforests, you can buy shade grown Peruvian coffee.
Any funny anecdotes?
A man who was running a hummingbird reserve was named “Bill Clinton”. Also, when we went from classroom to classroom in the school in Progreso, Bella kept on asking what everyone’s favorite animal was. She would say that hers’ was a chicken. When they asked her what they could do to preserve the forest, she said “Don’t kill chickens.” In Cajamarca, CRuz got his hair pulled by a monkey!
Certainly interesting seeing hairless dogs. Were they friendly?
Yes they were. We pet them.
Did you see a lot of poverty in Lima? Do the people seem to be pretty happy?
A kid in yellow shoes kept on asking us if we would buy some of his chocolates. Most of the people lived in apartments. Some people were living on the streets. Most of the time the people seemed happy. Now we are in the northern mountains. People live in little wooden shacks with outhouses. Sometimes they don’t have doors or windows. A town nearby our lodge has power lines but they don’t have electricity.
We were wondering what the water truck was doing (in the Lima video) – was is watering the grass because there are no automatic sprinklers there?
Yes, the truck was watering the plants. Lima hasn’t had rain for years. In the mornings they do have lots of fog. Lots of things get covered in mist. Lots of people do jobs in Lima that machines do in the U.S. like people in masks sweep the streets.
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5 responses so far ↓
Thanks for your answers – that is quite helpful! I look forward to hearing more about your trip. Your text description of your travels is quite valuable ~ a wonderful companion to the videos and photos!
Wow! It is so cool to see The Big Field Trip come alive. Wonderful posts, photos, helping us to understand what you are experiencing in the big wide world. Thank you!
Best – your webmaster – JON
Thanks Jon – Cyrus
I am having a lot of fun following your trip with your wonderful pictures, informative, interesting text, and thoughtful answers to the questions. Do you have to be careful in drinking local water, andeating the local food? Have you discovered food you are not use to eating? So far, what do you each consider your most amazing or enjoyable moment? What do the people in Peru most want to hear from you or tell you?
Love you, Norma/Mom/Grandma Cole
Great updates, Cy and Bella!
Jonah and Jack have just a couple of questions:
1) How high is the rain forest’s “canopy” really?
2) Have you seen any fire ants there? (They loved the trantula!)
3) Did you bring umbrellas?
4) Doesn’t your camera have a “light” on it so you could take pictures of the monkeys? (They were pretty excited to hear that you saw some!)
(BTW: I think most of their info these questions are based on comes from the Magic Tree House series, as well as a few other library picks.)
We send our love!!!
The Binski’s
The Kapok Tree is the biggest tree of the Amazon rainforest, as it can grow to 200 feet tall and the trunk can be 10 or 11 feet in diameter. I havent seen any fire ants in the cloudforest, but I did see some in the rainforest. In the rainforest, I ate some ants alive and they tasted like lemon! We did not bring umbrella’s, so about every day we got soaked. Luckily our clothes dried quickly. Yes our cameras have flash but when I ran and got my camera and came back they were gone.
– Thank you, Cyrus
Hello! Cyrus, I was wondering which you liked better, the rainforest you visited in Ecuador or the cloud forest in Peru? We miss you guys and hope that you’re having a blast!
from, Maaite
Hi Mrs. Girdner! I liked both the rainforest and the cloud forest. The cloud forest was colder, had better food, but didn’t have as many animals. The rainforest was warmer, had 8 out of 10 food and had more animals. The guides were exellent in both places. – Cyrus