I've never really made an effort to blog about the field trip in Honduras (country in Central America) and here it is.
I was there with
Operational Wallacea, as a research assistant to the
terrestrial scientists in Cusuco National Park. I did the research assistant module on
Jungle Survival and Neo-tropical Ecology.
So where in the world is Honduras/Cusuco NP?
It is a Central American country (zoom out on map).
It's a unique biogeographical region North of the
Ismuth of Panama, a famous land strip which linked North and South America about 3 million years ago (Leigh et al 2013).
Cusuco National Park is near to San Pedro Sula, the capital city (North of Honduras). In order make way for coffee plantations, some of the national park has been destroyed and has been at threat of further destruction.
How did we all get to the field site?
It was a 2 hour + journey by (magic-school) bus, then a four-wheel drive to the
Cusuco National Park.
Throughout the bumpy four-wheel drive, we got to see
vegetational differences with elevation - a mixed forest essentially. It is the
Southern-most limit of some North American plant species together with South-American species such as Bromeliads.
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| Four-wheel Drive to Cusuco National Park from San Pedro Sula (Capital City of Honduras). Our luggage in one truck (above). |
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| The road was quite bumpy. |
What did we do as research assistants?
In the first week, we did the module on Jungle Survival and Neotropical Ecology at the base camp.
Neotropical Ecology: sat in for lectures
Jungle Survival: went in the "jungles" to learn how to "survive" on bare necessities. We learnt how to pitch hammocks with tarps,
It got pretty cold at night and in the mornings for a tropical-dweller like me. Bathing was a pain though, in that sense. No one really bothered to bathe much anyway - but I did because of rashes.
In the subsequent week(s), one could choose to stay in the base camp to be a research assistant or move on to satellite camps. I chose to move on to the satellite camps, to El Danto which was a six-hour hike away (note: pack light).
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| Fieldwork to look for frogs and reptiles. |
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| Tents in camp which we stayed in at camp. We stayed in hammocks when out in the field. |
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| At the satellite camp, El Danto. |
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| The six-hour hike to El Danto satellite camp. |
What was the best thing about the trip?
To me, the best thing about the trip was probably the scenery and unique flora and fauna seen in the trip. Sadly, I think I did not spend enough time there to appreciate it more or do more fieldwork.
- There were mixed forests, and there was a pretty amazing dwarf forest (bosque enaño).
- South American and North American flora in one place.
- There were orchids in the cloud forests.
- Jewel scarabs (which I didn't get to see), dung beetles, humming birds (Mountain Gem), Quetzal (which I didn't get to see) and frogs as well.
- Surprisingly no fishes in Cusuco except for Poecillids
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| Almost above the clouds. |
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| Pristine streams. |
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| Pools |
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| Bromeliads abound. |
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| Beautiful tree ferns. |
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| Rushing water. |
How was sanitation like?
This might be a question lots of people would ask. Generally, there were places to bathe in, at the camps. However, many would choose not to bathe often because the weather was cool enough. There were flush toilets at the base camp and ditches dug at the satellite camp I went to. It didn't stink so that was good.
Well, it is field work after all and don't expect urban living.
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| Camp site. |
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| "Ecofriendly" spots to brush teeth/spit. |
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| Pathway to the toilet. |
References
