I know I said this last week, but WOW. Time is absolutely flying by. I blinked and suddenly it’s week 10, we’re moving out of our host families’ homes, and we’re leaving Quito to do an independent study project (ISP).

I’ve started to finalize the details of my ISP, which is good because we leave in 4 days! There are several facets of my project, but the overall theme is to study frog populations at Bosque Protector Candelaria, in the cloud forest near Baños. Every night I’ll be walking along transects in different parts of the forest looking for frogs. When I find one, I’ll capture it, give it an ID number, and put it in a plastic bag. My research is through EcoMinga, a non-profit reserve, and they have permission to collect specimens. I’ll take the frogs back to El Placer, a pueblito of less than 100 people. There, I will euthanize the frogs, fix the specimens, and take detailed photographs. Next, I will dissect the frogs to get to the stomachs. I’ll open up the stomachs to see what the frogs have been eating and I’ll compare diet between species. This whole experience should be quite interesting considering that I’m usually too queasy to dissect frogs in biology lab…

The last facet of my project is to record and analyze frog-mating calls in several ponds in the reserve. It will be a busy, crazy month but I am so excited to do some hands on research!

I’m especially excited to be studying in the cloud forest near Baños because I went there for the weekend with 12 other students from my program. We had so much fun doing all the touristy things and hiking around the mountains. The area is absolutely beautiful!

First, we went to Casa del Arbol, home of the world famous “swing at the end of the world.” In all honesty, it was a bit of a let down. The valley was covered in clouds so we couldn’t see anything. However, the swing itself was exhilarating.

Swinging in the clouds

Next, we biked along the highway to several waterfalls. First we rode on a tarabita (cable car) over the Pastaza River to see the Manto de la Novia waterfall. We continued biking down the highway to another waterfall, el Pailon del Diablo. This waterfall was HUGE and the amount of water going over the falls was incredible. We finished off the day with a visit to the hot springs right in town. The host springs were a comical experience. First, it was pouring rain. Second, everybody at the hot springs was required to wear a swimming cap. Just imagine hundreds of people, sitting shoulder to shoulder in a hot pool wearing ridiculously colored swim caps. It was quite the sight.

Manto de la Novia waterfall

Pailon del diablo

I just spent a short, touristy weekend in Baños, but I can’t wait to return and explore the forest!