Saying goodbye…

My last few days in Lavras were pretty busy, trying to get the final steps of the analysis done and preparing for the journey back. This meant frequent trips to the forestry department for more plant identification (starting to think greater diversity isn’t necessarily a good thing… wait I don’t mean that!!), and to get some aerial photographs for some spatial analysis of the forest cover in our little corner of Itatiaia. It’s really interesting being able to see all the details of the study site from above, and definitely much easier than traipsing around the hillsides!

Unfortunately not everything went to plan with the final stages of the soil analysis, with some fairly important equipment not wanting to play ball. After a bit of a mild panic and some consultations with the head of biology, we managed to wangle getting some soil back to England for some further studies. It was also cool being given a soil importation license from LEC for bringing them back to the UK. Not exactly a license to kill, but still felt pretty awesome anyway.

Aside from the frantic organisation, I still got to take some time to enjoy being on campus and to hang around the usual spots for the last time, appreciating some of the features that I’d become accustomed to by now.

(the central uni hangout spot…)

(…the campus road lined with beautiful Amazonian balsa trees…)

(… and the all-important cafeteria)

A final visit to the campus reserve was also in order, to say goodbye to the place where I’d first been introduced to some of the tropical trees that would become so familiar. It was nice to stand there in the quiet of the forest, thinking of the experiences I’d had and how much I’d learnt since the last time I’d stood in that same spot, before leaving for the wilds of Itatiaia.

During the last few days I also met the infamous Danny, who had come to recuperate in Lavras after months of research out in Amazonia. Hanging out with Hannah and him and hearing some northern accents, it was already a bit like being back home. That combined with a few uncharacteristically rainy days, I felt I was somehow being slowly acclimatised to being back in England.

But of course the time crept on, and eventually my last day at UFLA arrived. After depositing the bike that had been kindly lent to me by Eduardo (absolute life-saver!), the time came for me to say goodbye to the Ecology department and my little lab family and make my way home for the final time…

…but not before a surprise trip to the local ice-cream bar for some exotic fruity treats…

…and a last look at Lavras in the daylight, sitting on the back of Fabinho’s motorbike as Danny and I wound our way up and down through the streets of the city.

Living in Lavras has been great (well, with the small exception of the burglary – but at least I can say that I’ve experienced the whole spectrum of life here!), and I’ll miss its unique and colourful array of houses and buildings, and being amongst the hustle and bustle of the busy streets that zigzag their way over the many steep hills (which I might miss less I think..).

It’s also been a pleasure staying in our little home, nestled in our quiet corner of the town. Towards the end I felt quite settled into life there, and I could have imagined staying a little longer!

But inevitably the time came to pack up my stuff and prepare for the long journey back to my own room, waiting for me about 10,000 kilometres away across the sea.

(First the basic essentials…)

(…and the valuable hoard of soil waiting to be processed back in the Lancaster labs)

Whilst collecting my things together, I got to thinking of some of the funny little details I’ll miss after returning back into normal Lancaster life. Like the interesting combinations of adaptors needed, because the plug socket just never seems to quite match the item you need to use…

…and shopping where the kind of kitchen roll you buy can really say a lot about your personality…

Towards the end of my time in Lavras I was frequently asked about what my favourite aspect of Brazil was after having lived there for a couple of months. Well, aside from the weather, the amazing landscapes and wildlife, the delicious food (we could definitely use some of their barbeque skills over here…), the spontaneous events and evenings of music and laughter, I think the main thing that made the whole experience so wonderful has been the people I have met. Whether being fellow students, professors, other friends who I have made through day-to-day life or even friendly strangers, I have always found myself welcomed, accepted and included (and a little spoilt) in all aspects of life in Lavras. I can’t express my gratitude for all of the help and friendship that I have received during my time here. It’s definitely going to be strange to be without those who I have spent practically all of my waking hours with over the last 9 weeks – and have basically become family. I really don’t know how I would have survived without you! I’m going to miss you all – but I’m certain we will come back together in the future, one way or another.

(Thanks for the awesome leaving do guys!)

So it was with a suitcase full of soil and a head full of memories that I made my way to the bus station to catch the overnight coach to São Paulo, and to begin on the long-expected three day journey home. All in all trip has been a truly amazing experience. It hasn’t always been easy, and there has been a few challenges mixed in with the successes, but everything has been worth it and I can definitely say I have definitely learnt a lot – not just about ecology or science, but about Brazil, its people and culture, and life on a different continent. I am very grateful to have been given the opportunity and really can’t say thanks enough to all those, both in Lancaster and Lavras, that made this possible.

I have had so many amazing experiences that I will never forget, during my time at UFLA and down in the jungles of Rio de Janeiro. Perhaps one day I will have the chance to look upon those hills and forests again, who knows what the future holds. But for now I know these are times I will always be able to look back on, and remember the days we spent out amongst the trees of the ever-changing Mata Atlântica.

The end draws near…

Well recently things have pretty much followed suit of the previous post, with many more hours spent in the labs, (not too much time left over for blogging!) but also a couple of happy gatherings with friends and professors as well to break up all the hard work.

Last week did however begin with a sad but fond farewell to Eduardo, as he jetted off on his exciting trip to Australia to attend the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation conference – but not before I grabbed the opportunity to sit in on one of his plant physiology lectures in the morning. Not sure I quite caught everything, but nevertheless I think I absorbed a fair amount about the structures and distribution of cacti around the world! Well, it has been truly been a great pleasure working with Eduardo over the last few weeks and months here, and I have learnt much from his help and expertise –we’ve had a lot of fun too of course. Next time we’ll just have to have some adventures up Lancaster way!

The following days saw the continuation of the quiet methodical work in the soil department, which through the endless repetition of little tasks became quite meditative in the silence of the laboratory. I’m also getting a sense of something almost alchemical, as the samples are processed and prepared for analysis to reveal their hidden stashes of elements.

(The office door of very enthusiastic lab technician)

Besides the baking, weighing, grinding and sieving, I’ve also been enjoying delving into the world of tree allometry, to try and estimate the potential for carbon storage across the different stages of regenerating forest. I’ve been spending some quality time in the exciting realm of statistics as well, to help reveal the relationships between the different environmental factors and plant communities that we found out in the field. It’s exciting to start to unpick the possible connections, seeing how what’s in the ground might determine what can grow – but also how the plants might be restoring the soil, changing the elemental composition of the earth itself and allowing for the next steps in the ongoing cycle of succession. In the wise word of Guilherme, plants really are amazing engineers.

Eventually though I have to let go of the soil and leaf litter samples as they get used and finished with. It’s strangely hard to part with them after all this time we’ve spent together, as they go on their way to become one with the ground again.

But besides the work, the week has been made more eventful by the presence of our good friends Will and Danielo who have made the trip up from Itatiaia to come and stay for a couple of weeks. Turns out it wasn’t such a very long time as we’d expected before seeing each other again!

One weekday lunchtime I was also treated to a delicious traditional meal of feijoada (a kind of pork and bean stew – but I won’t give more details about the ingredients here…) down in town with the guys at República Cabaret, followed by a fresh coconut and pineapple cake, made by their very own and very lovely housekeeper.

(Fernando and the guys tucking in…)

(…and resident pooch Tequila enjoying a post-lunch nap)

I was also treated to a tour of where Fernando works in the mammal lab, with some little surprises in the drawers!

(Apparently each of these furry critters represents a different species, but they all look the same to me!)

Although I had thought by now I was practically a native of the area, Lavras always has a trick up its sleeve to completely disorientate you – as I found out on Friday night on the way home. Legend has it the roads actually shift in the night, or when you aren’t looking. After a few more unnecessarily steep hills I did eventually make it to somewhere I recognised, although completely not where I expected it to be…but at least I had the chance to discover some new corners of the city…

…and after such a long time of thinking people were having me on about there being monkeys here in the city (curiously always seemed to just miss them for some reason…) I finally spotted one!

On Friday night there was (yet another) do in a local haunt, this time for the currently graduating biologists – lots more live Brazilian music of course, and I was even taught how to dance in the proper Brazilian way. Not as easy as they make it look…

To change things up a bit, on Saturday night, Carol, Fábio and I decided to have a quiet night in and do something English – so naturally we had a curry!

We spent much of the evening chopping up locally available vegetables – turned out to be a bit of an English-Brazilian-Indian fusion, but turned out pretty successful in the end. Which is more than can be said for the fairly miserable apple pie that came afterwards… but we were too full by that point to care much anyway.

On Sunday afternoon the Ecologists got together once more – this time to celebrate the birthday of Professor Julio, another honorary Lancastrian (and fan of the White Cross). Here we discussed the possibility of the creating a beer-making module in the department, over a couple of bottles of his own very nice home-brew. Perhaps it’s a good way to teach sustainability…

(Julio and his team of beetle scientists)

We were also happy to welcome the renowned Hannah, a PhD student from Lancaster who had just flown in the day before. It was nice to hear a familiar northern accent as we shared some common experiences of Lavras – mainly of embarrassment through accidentally using the wrong (often very inappropriate) words for things, and of the incredible vanishing ant swarms that seem to completely disappear even seconds after they have been taking over the kitchen.

After that busy weekend it was time to literally get back to the grindstone, with lots more samples to prepare for the next stage of testing.

(The soil workshop, run by the witty Pezão – or Bigfoot)

In the next few days there are still quite a lot of things still to do! Next week will (hopefully) see a finishing off all the sample processing in an increasingly frantic race against time, including the all-important carbon and nitrogen elemental analysis. Fingers crossed things will all work out before catching the overnight bus to the airport on Thursday night… I’m starting to think even two months in Brazil isn’t really long enough, there’s still so many things I want to see and do!

Aside from the busyness, I’m also going to spend the last few days simply enjoying being in Lavras too. I’d like absorb as much of the sense of what it is like to be here, and appreciate the company of the friends I’ve made, before the long journey home…

Back at ‘home’…

So we arrived back to a warm welcome at the ecology department, where we started to unload the mountains of equipment, plants and soil we’d brought with us (and a parasol it turns out we’d accidentally stolen from the place where we were staying! Well, might come in handy for the next project…) and practically filled the lab with stuff.  

(Back at the ecology building on top of the hill)

It was good to be back in Lavras and to see some familiar faces (and some new ones too), and to finally crash at home with an evening of catching up and reflecting on the last three weeks – followed by a day of reorganisation in the labs, the beginning of the analysis, and rediscovery of some of the secret spots around the university…

The first weekend back was an eventful one, (as every weekend seems to be here…) hitting off on Friday evening with the Brazil game, which we caught outside of the student halls on campus. Plenty of flag-waving, some rather uncomfortably close explosions, and lots of shouting and excitement as usual (well, it was good while it lasted…). After grabbing a bite at the local mall we went to celebrate our victory by joining the masses out on the main street, which was crammed with people merrymaking and basking in the glory of the day’s result. It was nice to have the opportunity to enjoy such an atmosphere, one I had to explain to my friends that we didn’t necessarily experience so often back home…

Saturday brought another evening of very Brazilian festivities. Although it was technically already July, we hadn’t missed all of the aforementioned Festa Juninas here in Lavras, and there was still the ecology department’s own fest held at the house of a friend. It was slightly different from the one we’d visited in Penedo – this time odd traditional side definitely came out a bit stronger.

Everyone was dressed in famer’s attire, donning straw hats and checked shirts, and sharing huge pans of delicious home-made chilli stews and punch. Here I even met some friendly characters that I’d already met in Lancaster, as well as some new ones that would quickly become very good friends. It really doesn’t seem to take very long to get to know someone here in Brazil.

A little while into the festivities, the lively Brazilian country music was interrupted by an announcement that a marriage was about to take place, performed by our very own St. John the Baptist. It was a slightly surreal experience, seeing a bride and groom emerge from the house to be presented in front of the congregation, particularly as no one had really explained what was going on… After some comical banter, the knot was finally tied and we celebrated the unification with some traditional folk dancing out in the road – a bit like a ceilidh, but with everyone joining in together and with a little more improvisation! (at least in our case). Definitely a lot of fun and something to think about importing…

The next day I got to see the Sunday market in the square in the centre of town, with its collection of little craft stalls and home-made food (complete with live music – seems every day there’s some sort of celebration going on!). A nice calm way to relax before the beginning of the week…

But if I thought things would ease off after returning, I was mistaken! There’s still a lot of work to do, with hundreds of samples to be painstakingly processed and plants to be identified, and a thesis to write of course… But its quite exciting learning processes and tricks every day to try and find out the secrets of the ecology of the places we’ve seen.

So there’s been quite a bit lab work recently, with long days of drying things and weighing things, analysing the chemical composition of the material, and the slow process of plant identification. The amount of stuff we’ve collected does mean that each little step has to be repeated at least 75 times, which can get a bit mind boggling after four or five hours of painstakingly transferring little samples into tins, and coding and measuring everything.

(75 samples for checking fertility…)

(and 90 more for soil density…)

I’ve also been basically adopted by the soil department because I seem to be spending more time there than in ecology at the moment!

But it does mean I get to relive a bit of the enjoyment of the sample collection, receiving some friendly greetings from little hairy stowaways and familiar spikey aquaintances…

During the hours spent processing the material, there’s time recall each site and reflect on the days we spent out in the field, and the interactions which might be going on between the plants and their surroundings. Its also a little strange as our physical experience of the forests –the views, the smell of the earth and sensations of being under the canopy during those long days in the trees – are slowly and steadily converted into numbers and spreadsheets. I’m also not really sure why  the organisation of little pots of soil in to neat grids seems to be a recurring theme in my life.

(Drying the soil and the leaf litter in the ovens..)

The week’s work was broken up with a couple of evenings spent with friends, going for a twilight run with population ecologist Gui one night, and another little gathering at Gabi’s house – which turned out to be not as relaxing as we’d hoped, as we fired up the barbeque and took in what would be the fateful game that dashed Brazil’s world cup hopes… It was a fairly tragic experience I have to say. But despite the crushing defeat, we did the Brazilian thing and broke out the guitar, forgot our troubles and sang and laughed into the night. At least as my friends remarked, they’d managed to squeeze as many public holidays out of the tournament as they possibly could have! It’s good to remain optimistic.

A fairly crammed weekend kicked off with another early start on Saturday morning, to get onto campus and weigh some more bags of leaf litter that had been cooling over night.

On the way up I was greeted by a beautiful wet and misty morning, another one of the ever-changing faces of Lavras. You never quite know what kind of a day is awaiting you until you step out of the door. And even then you can’t always be certain. Following the Fábio’s advice, its best to be prepared for any eventuality as sometimes you can experience all seasons in one day here during the winter season!

But as usual the sun broke out and the day became another glorious one, so it was time to get out of the labs for some exploration of new corners of the city that I hadn’t seen yet…

(The inside the ornate Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Rosário  – the oldest church in Lavras, around 250 years old)

Later on, after being introduced for the first time to the inside of a república (a sort of fraternity or student community house belonging to UFLA) by big mammal enthusiast Fernando, I was taken to yet another event in the town. This time it was a student-organised evening of very cool Brazilian style reggae, performed by local artists under the open sky.

On Sunday I jumped at the chance to head back out into the field to get some more experience with PhD student Evelyn, this time a little closer up in the hills relatively near Lavras – not too far from where Eduardo, his kids and I had camped all that time ago during my first week here. Of course it meant another pre-dawn wake up before hopping into Jurema again, and watching the day unfold during the drive out and up on to the cliffs.

Here Evelyn is studying the dynamics of the gallery forests (quite narrow but nevertheless fairly dense bands of woodland) that meander along the contours over the tops of the hills.

 

The forests here definitely had a different feel to the ones we’d spent so much time further south, with its own particular mixture of trees and bromeliads, and the cooler air of slightly higher altitudes.

By now a lot of the observations we were making were becoming second nature, measuring trees for their size and shape to add to the five years’ worth of information that had already been collected on the changing structure of the forest.

(Luiz, Evelyn and her accountant-by-day husband Daniel eyeing up a Myrcia splendens)

(Another picnic out in the field, and a wonderful quiet place to spend a sunny Sunday out of the city…)

After the hard work was done, I was treated to a little tour around the area – firstly with a little visit to the picturesque town of Carrancas, apparently often used for recording well known soap operas and tv-dramas, owing to its scenic location and traditional old buildings.

A trip to this corner of the wilds wouldn’t be complete without seeing some of the many beautiful waterfalls that this range of hills has to offer. So we rounded off our excursion with a wander along the rivers and forest trails to uncover some of these hidden treasures, all the while listening to the gentle murmurs of the water tumbling along under the trees.

So a pretty tired bunch finally arrived back at home, to witness the final chapter of the long story that has been the World Cup, Brazil 2014 (most people being fairly relieved that bitter rivals Argentina didn’t take the title…).

Its been quite a full few days since arriving back, and with just under three weeks left to go I’m wondering what other experiences and challenges may come my way. But for now its time to continue the methodical work, and to enjoy being in the department and part of the lab team. It’s definitely good to be back.

Moving on…

Well a lot has happened during the last week, with a few endings and some new beginnings. After wrapping things up in Area 2, it was time to go and collect the data in the last stage of the study – an almost completely developed fragment of recovering forest directly on the edge of the reservoir.

The first day here began with an atmospheric boat ride across through the heavy morning mist, and I wondered what was awaiting us there in the shadows as we slowly made our way over the water to the otherwise inaccessible pocket of jungle.

It was quite a big difference working here compared to the areas of initial regeneration. There were none of the tangly Mixirico shrubs we’d come to know and love, just colossal trees and a forest that converged completely above us. We could actually stand up whilst walking through the plots! Well, almost. Navigating through the bush there had its own challenges, with some pretty severe slopes and a thick layer of leaf litter and debris covering the forest floor, so it wasn’t always easy staying upright…

Here underneath the shade of the tall canopy the air was cool and still, and there was definitely a sense of age that was lacking in the more recently disturbed places we’d seen.

The new mixture of plants was beautiful to see – with the occasional glimpse of the water glistening through the trees – but dangerous too. Here there was no hidden barbed wire, but nature’s own version instead. Almost all the surfaces were covered in some kind of thorns, spines or barbs so you always had to look exactly where you were putting your hands, or any other bits of you.

Unfortunately Gabi took a six inch spike to the leg at the end of the first day, causing some mild paralysis and putting her out of action for 24 hours (I also got a taste of it in my fingers after mistakenly punching a vicious palm, which was bad enough!)

There were even some nasty little surprises hidden under the leaves (in addition to the abundant and slightly poisonous spiders), which made collecting the leaf litter all the more fun…

But by this point we had pretty much become experts in our field (literally), so after just three days here we had already completed our work – ending my three week long episode (and x field days) out here in the forests of Itatiaia.

(The dream team celebrates finishing the last plot!)

In addition to the countless bags of soil, from this last area I’ll be taking back with me fond memories of listening for wild beasts, being attacked by a swarm of (luckily relatively harmless) bees, and some minor scars. And a sense of place that I don’t think you could quite find anywhere else.

So I left the reservoir for the final time with mixed feelings – a relief that the hard work is over (at least the physical side…) but I will be sad to leave these beautiful places, and the good friends I’d made through the fun and ordeals we’d shared.

But the excitement wasn’t over completely, and there was just one more adventure to squeeze in before the journey back north to Lavras – a quick day visit to Rio to absorb a bit of a different kind of Brazilian experience.

So the next day began with a 4.30 am start to catch the bus out of Resende, the dawn breaking as we made our way along the winding roads – the outlines of the mountains forming vaguely in the eerie morning light.

Four hours and a couple of articles on succession in tropical forests later we finally arrived at the main bus station in Rio, where I caught another bus across town towards the coast. The endless traffic jams gave me lots of time to soak up the sights up on the way.

I had heard plenty of horror stories and tales of tourists meeting sticky ends in Rio, so it was with a little apprehension and socks stuffed with anything of any value that I hopped off the bus at Leme and began to explore.

I hit the beach straight away. The white gold sands of the Copacabana looked like something straight out of a film, stretching out in front of me between the mountains and the sea. I really couldn’t believe I was there, especially having just come straight out of the wilderness the day before.

(Enjoying a cold coconut on the beach after a quick dip– the best way to enjoy the first day off in a long time!)

From there it was a sunny stroll up the promenade to Ipanema, where I came across a few similarly disoriented English people, Americans and Germans on the way. There was an exciting vibe as people from all over the place had collected there for the world cup, and I met a few friendly characters – swapping cameras to take pictures of each other in front of the decorated backdrop of the seafront. Luckily it wasn’t hard to blend in amongst the many tourists.

On the way back through town I stopped off at the famous and beautiful botanical gardens, finding some trees that I’d now become acquainted with out in the wilds as well as loads of other amazing plants.

There were some spectacular giants from Amazonia that really captured the imagination, and giving me a little urge to go and see these things in their natural home…

Of course there were no heated greenhouses like the tropical gardens I’ve visited before back in Europe, everything just growing out in the open air.

So the whirlwind tour across the city was almost over. Unfortunately I hadn’t been able to see the renowned Christ the Redeemer as the weather wasn’t on my side, but perhaps I’ll get another chance one day…

(The remarkable view of the one cloud over the city that just so happened to be sitting on the exact spot of the statue!)

I was happy I’d managed to avoid being mugged, kidnapped or eaten – in fact my experience of the city had been really pleasant, but I hadn’t really wandered too far off the beaten track…

Then it was just another crammed bus ride back to the station and a late arrival for the last evening in the town. I’d grown quite attached to it and its quirkiness over the last three weeks.

(The aforementioned chocolate factory next to Santa’s grotto, weirdly surrounded by palm trees…)

Once we’d had our goodbye meal it was time to pack (again!) and load up Jurema with all of our equipment and samples ready for the next day’s departure. In the early morning, after many fond farewells, we finally embarked upon the journey to Lavras – accompanied by a new friend Renato who had come to help us transport our kit back. Thoughts turned to the next step of the project – the long process of plant identification, soil analysis and other sample processing in the labs– and then making sense of it all! I’m very excited to see what will come out of the information we’ve recorded, and what implications it could have for the land here.

The fieldwork really has been an amazing experience and I am so glad to have had the opportunity to be here. It’s been a nice time with our little family in our little Penedo home that I won’t forget any time soon. Who knows, maybe I’ll get the chance to be here again one day to see how things have changed for the Mata Atlântica up in the hills of Itatiaia…

Uncovering the understory…

So on Tuesday it was time to head back into the military zone, this time to start work at the second site. Here the forest seems to be regenerating faster than in the first since the land was abandoned – so it’s up to us to check out why that might be.

It had been a couple of cooler and wetter days (well, it is meant to be winter after all…), and the vegetation was dripping in the early morning mist as we rolled up into the hills – before the sun broke out with renewed strength.

(Abandoned buildings, allegedly part of an old cheese factory, being taken over by the recovering forest)

Here we met José, a local who had been living in the area for decades, who helped us navigate through the thickets and over hidden crevasses to find a spot to set out some new plots. He also gave us some insights into the history and past land use in the area which was once cleared for grazing, helping us to understand the developing ecosystems.

After some careful deliberation, it was time to get straight down to business. It was a really interesting place to work in, with lots of diversity and loads more plants (and creepy crawlies) to see.

Occasionally we’d discover relics of human activity hidden in the trees, long since overgrown as the forest slowly reclaims the land. Still haven’t come across a snake (that I know of), but have had a couple of close shaves with hidden traps like open shafts and barbed wire fences that have been left behind.

It’s also pretty disconcerting hearing the echoes of explosions and gunfire resounding through the valley as the army carries out some secret exercises… Wednesday, Thursday and Friday followed suit, with a now familiar mixture of crawling around, putting dead stuff in bags, counting plants and avoiding ants – and then typing it all into the computer…

(Looking for changes in soil compaction)

(And a tired but nevertheless enthusiastic Will and Gabi arriving in the morning of field day 11)

So there hasn’t been much time left over for much else at the moment, apart from at least one very early morning walk around the local area…

…and of course some lovely evenings with Gabi at the Kiosk (our favourite establishment) where I receive my daily Portuguese lesson over dinner, trading grammar tips for English vocabulary scrawled on napkins.

On Saturday we took reinforcements in the form of Luan, managing to finish all the plots in the area in almost half the time of the first (we must be becoming experts! Or maybe we just forgot to do some things…). And so our thoughts turned to the third area, where the forest regeneration is much more advanced – the aim being to power through and finish that one off before heading back to Lavras and having a break!

As the next field site is in a slightly different location, it was time to say goodbye to the mountain I’d come to know so well, that I had first got to know as a jpeg sent to me by Eduardo months ago. It hadn’t really prepared me for what I would encounter here! (including the now infamous Mixirico shrub that covers almost everything –  that we’d been struggling our way through or under every day since we arrived. At one point it actually sounded like the Mixirico was laughing at us…)

And a last wave off to the friendly soldiers on the way out…

On the way home we celebrated with a bowl of Açaí (a very sweet and delicious purple slush made from the fruit of a specific palm tree) and watched Brazil beat Chile in a penalty shootout, to the great delight of the townsfolk who were out in force with their flags and horns as usual!

I will definitely miss the particular stillness and atmosphere of the valley we’ve spent the last couple of weeks tramping around. It will be really interesting to see what changes will happen here over the coming decades, as the Mata Atlântica makes its very slow and steady march across the hillsides…

 

The exploration continues…

 

Well its been another week or so packed full of stuff, mostly traipsing around the now familiar hillside but with a few new experiences squeezed in too. On Tuesday we all had a day off as planned. We took the chance to explore a bit in the Parque Nacional do Itatiaia, the official entrance to which is just round the corner from my study site. It just so happened that our friend Danielo, who has been helping us with the fieldwork, had recently been working there and giving lessons about the ecology of the reserve. So I was treated to a tour of the information centre and impressive wildlife photography exhibitions before being led along some of the stunning forest trails.

The park itself is massive, its borders skirting around the feet the huge mountains which tower above the rest of the landscape, almost completely enveloped in the thick dark Mata Atlântica. The highest point is known as the Pico das Agulhas Negras(the peak of the black Needles), which is about 9000 feet high, although we didn’t make it all the way up there this time! As you might expect the park is home to some pretty amazing wildlife, and it wasn’t long before we caught sight of some monkeys chilling out in the palms as we made our way through the trees (unfortunately evading the camera)..

One of the most amazing things about the reserve of Itatiaia are its beautiful waterfalls and crystal streams that cascade down through the forest. The atmosphere is pretty magical when you stand at the bottom of one of these powerful but gentle giants, the mist slowly rising up through the canopy and nourishing all of the mosses and tangles of bromeliads that cling to the rocks and trees.

The look of the clear water in the heat of the day (and friendly coercion from Gabi, Danielo and Flávia) convinced me into taking a dip in one of the deep dark pools, to find that the mountain water was slightly more ‘refreshing’ than anticipated… but it definitely got the blood flowing and I did feel a bit more ‘at one’ with the surroundings.

We stopped off at a viewpoint on the way down, from where you could see how the main river flowed out of the park to meet the reservoir that we’d been out on the day before. From up there it was the first time I could see with my own eyes how the reforestation project we are all involved in joined on to the nature reserve, and was really exciting to think about how it could lead to connecting the park with other areas of preserved forest in a big biological corridor where the river rolled out across the landscape.

(The distant Funil reservoir)

(And the view behind us up into the pristine forest)

A quiet evening of contemplation followed back at the base, with some time to sit and think about what I had seen and what was to come in the next few days out in the hills.

After that inspiring experience, the next morning I headed out again with Flávia and her team to her area that we could see from the lookout point, as we were still sorting out some assistance for me in my study site (waiting on another helper, as it wasn’t enough for the two of us who were able to go in case of snake bites. Apparently you only get an hour to make it to hospital if you get bitten in the neck by one of those sneaky ones that like to hang out at head-height in the shrubs… still haven’t seen one though! Although I have been told they pretty much look exactly like branches. Great.)

It was a great day of learning loads of new species, being taught by the experts William and Léo as we made our inventories of the forest patches where the last attempts at regeneration through planting had taken place. Saw some amazing trees – some that are full of milk, some that actually bleed, and the dangerous but beautiful Pau Brasil – the tree that gave the country its name.

On Thursday I finally got to make it back to my study area for field day 4, this time heading out with Gabi and Will and a new friend Luan who is studying Biology with Will here in Itatiaia. Had a great day showing them the ropes and working together quantifying the herbaceous communities, as well as swapping some vocab in between. Wound up the day counting the Embaúba with Luan, during which we realised we he had been responding in each other’s languages when calling out the diameters and heights of the trees. Think we were both just being accommodating, or maybe now I’ve got into the habit of measuring plants in Portuguese!

(Luan and Will adopting the standard shrub crouch stance)

After training up my new helpers (who were actually training me because they were more experienced than I was anyway!), the next day (field day 5) was more of the same slogging around the hillsides setting up some new plots to study. Definitely getting the hang of navigating our way through the sea of green…

Friday (field day 6) was a another big day, this time leading a motley crew of Léo, Flávia, Will and Luan to try and get the data collected before time runs out (but trying not to think about that…)

(Still looking happy at the beginning of the day before the trek up…)

Always some time for a lot of laughter in between of course – they really are a lovely bunch and I don’t know what I would do without their brilliant help!

(Stopping for a natter over some sarnies and juice)

(And a special mention to arguably the most important member of our team – the beloved, albeit pretty smelly, Jurema)

On Friday (field day 7) Will, Luan and I finally finished off area 1 – to great relief – so it was time to say goodbye to our familiar hillside and think about setting up the next area nearby.

(The morning view of the hills from outside my room, made from the outline of a lying Indian woman as explained by Luan )

It had definitely been an exhausting few days – just coming home to eat and organise the equipment for the next day before crashing out and starting all over again. Although there has also been a couple of late nights staying up researching, and discussing the design of the study to make sure I’m doing the right thing! I think I’ll miss the intensity though when its over – especially the feeling at the end of the day watching the sun set over the mountains as we make our way along the winding roads towards home.

On Sunday evening it was time to enjoy ourselves before a well-deserved day off, and went out into town for Penedo’s Festa Junina, one of many little festivals that happen in July in Brazil to celebrate the harvest. These often also manifest as parties where people cross dress as farmers or their wives, a bit of an odd tradition (and an excuse the drink too much beer as explained by the young but wise Davi a couple of weeks previous). It was a lively evening of good music, good food (the smell of sizzling snacks filling all of town) and good company – meeting another student Gustavo, keen to get some English practice in before an exchange trip to Canada.

Monday was a good chance to chill a bit and catch up with some other things (like bagging up soil and fixing broken quadrats) but also got to enjoy simply being in the town instead of out in the wilderness.

It was a great atmosphere walking home to catch the rest of the Brazil game, the fireworks and hoots of celebration rising up all around and echoing through the streets in the evening light.

As it was Flávia’s last evening here in Itatiaia, we had a farewell dinner at Léo’s beautiful home right on the edge of Atlantic Forest. The wall of old trees towered up over us and the house, illuminated by the firelight as we sat outside and took in the night (aswell as some delicious stew and my first little taste of Cachaça, a popular drink here made from fermented sugar cane). After an evening of good food, good atmosphere and good company it was time to say farewell to our fellow masters student who then embarked on the long bus ride back to for Lavras.

We slowly we wound our way home As the night thickened around us , with a head full of ideas and thoughts on the next chapter of the forest’s story as we head into Area 2, where the work has now already begun. But more on that adventure later…

 

 

The expedition unfolds…

Well it’s been an intense few days since the last post. Spent a couple of days preparing for the trip – mainly getting equipment together for the field surveys (including some errands downtown, haggling for some plastic bags to use for collecting plants and rotting leaves!) and getting to know the town even more –  starting to feel a bit more like a proper Lavrassian.

But just as I was beginning to get settled, it was time to pack everything up again and move on to the little town of Itatiaia in Rio de Janeiro state, just outside of the oldest national park in Brazil. So Eduardo and I hit the road on Wednesday morning, stopping off to register myself with the police on the way (in a city called Varginha, famous for its alleged alien sightings…) and then making our way south through Minas Gerais. The sun set as we approached the journey’s end, making our way through little villages and mountain passes in the fading light.

The town itself came as a little surprise. Having been originally founded by Finnish settlers, there is a pretty distinct European vibe here, weirdly enough manifesting in a ‘Santa’s village’ – a corner of the town littered with chocolate shops, where St. Nick supposedly comes to stay when he visits this part of the world… Aside from that the atmosphere is pretty Brazilian, with loads of activity, flags hanging in the streets, the smell of barbequed meat and multi-coloured buildings against a backdrop of towering hills swathed in dark green forest, that almost look like cardboard cut-outs.

So after months of anticipation, I finally got to meet the other Masters’ students Gabi and Flávia I’d be working with in the field, and we all got to know each other over some Brazilian cuisine in a local restaurant. As has been the case with everyone I have met so far, I received a very warm welcome and I’m being looked after pretty well – and at least they seem to have a clue about what they are doing! The accommodation isn’t quite the wooden shack in the jungle that had been described to me, complete with internet access and the added bonus of a hammock outside my room.

After a brief kip and watching sun rising over the mountains of the national park with my morning coffee, we headed out to the site where I would do my data collection. The first area that we’re looking at, being a really early stage of natural forest regeneration on abandoned farmland, happens to be located in a restricted military zone. Fortunately the army had agreed to let us come and work, as long as we registered our movements with them every day (not sure they were too thrilled at first about a random English guy coming to document the whole area…) but the soldiers and sergeants we have met have been very helpful so far.

(The military hospital in the valley)

Having gained our authorisation we sent the rest of the day scaling the hillside and fighting our way through dense 2 meter high bushes with our equipment to figure out where to set up the plots for the study, and took in the unique surroundings.

(See if you can spot the Eduardo and Sam in this picture!)

After some hard work clearing trails and hammering in the first poles, we (thankfully) called it a day early to catch the all-important first game of the World Cup (but not before coming very close to a family of wild boars in the forest which Eduardo was surprisingly keen to pursue, despite their violent reputation…unfortunately didn’t spot one though). Back in Penedo, our neighborhood in Itatiaia, you could feel the buzz of excitement in the air, and pretty much the whole town had turned out to watch the game that was being shown out along the streets. Everyone was fairly ecstatic with the result, celebrating each goal with plenty of noise and fireworks.

The last few days have followed a similar routine – up before dawn for breakfast then driving out to the field, then coming home in the evening for dinner totally wiped. The work itself is pretty tough going, firstly dragging all of the equipment up the mountain and then having to open up paths through the dense tall shrubs  After that its crouching and crawling through the vegetation trying to avoid the venomous Jararaca snakes in the canopy, the venomous spiders in the soil and the flies in the air that plant larvae in your skin (have been informed by our happy helper Denilson that this is pretty much unavoidable…pictures to come!). And then the data collection begins. Who would have though digging for soil samples up the side of a mountain in a million degrees would be so hard? Although challenging I’m (so far) still enjoying counting all of the little plants, and studying the trees is really quite satisfying. My Portuguese vocabulary is also slowly expanding, but not sure how useful words like facão (machete), foice (sickle) and picareta (pickaxe) will be in regular conversation…

(Digging for carbon…)

But of course all of the lugging around is definitely worth it when you get to work in such a beautiful landscape.

And you can always catch a little rest in the shade under the shrubs…

(Rubber snake protectors evidence of compliance with the risk assessment)

At the end of the day its time to hit the showers and grab something to eat, then spend some of the evening pressing and drying the plant samples for identification when we get back to Lavras in a few weeks time.

(An enthusiastic Eduardo and Gabi after a long day…)

(…and a typical day’s  haul of soil ready to be processed back in the labs)

Its been a hard slog for the girls who have already been working here for two months with only one day off a week, so they are occasionally a little delirious (leading to much hilarity), but tomorrow we’re going to take a break and check out some of the peaks deeper in the national park. It will be a good opportunity to see some more wildlife, hopefully including the howler monkeys that live in these parts. Although you don’t have to go far to come across unusual (for me) things, like the humming bird I saw on the way through town on Sunday morning. I’m starting to get more and more familiar with the tropical plants now, and Its also funny to come across some exotic but familiar species growing in the wild that I got to know during the garden center work last year. Its nice to see some old friends in their natural habitat.

Today I accompanied Flávia and her helper Léo to her study area, directly next to the reservoir which the reforestation project is centered around. Here she has been counting and measuring a lot(!) of trees to see how things have changed over the last few years since the last attempts at planting (and a very good opportunity for me to practice numbers…).

(Our boat driver Tião and Léo settling a height-estimation related dispute)

(Flávia in full expedition mode – looking rather dangerous)

And after another long day of clambering through the forests we enjoyed a beautiful boat ride home.

After tomorrow’s exploring it will be time to spend a few days finishing the study in my first area, before moving on to some older forest fragments to look at the soils and the trees there – and now that Eduardo has headed back to Lavras its just the students who are running the show. Having now spent some real quality time with the flora and fauna, which has (in some cases literally) got under my skin, I’m looking forward to the next step deeper into the rainforest.

 

Heading for the hills…

Friday saw another sweltering day in the labs, ironing out the last details in how to calculate the amount of carbon in the soil for 30 400m² forest plots, and a bit more exploring around the town and the local forests…

… and a fun evening trip to the local mall to take in a movie and a burger with a couple of friends was followed by another early morning pickup by Eduardo and his kids, this time the destination being the lofty mountains of Minas Gerais.

The trip up was pretty spectacular, the tarmacked highway eventually turning into miles and miles of dirt road which we followed up into the hills. On the way the various vegetation communities and the history of the land use were explained to me by an expert Eduardo, as we got to take in the beautiful views and exotic wildlife that happened to cross our path (including toucans, unfortunately too quick to be photographed!)

After half a day’s drive following the old royal roads, and a restaurant break in the scenic little town of Mindurí (decorated especially for the world cup), we reached our destination on the tabletop mountain where we would spend the night.

(The camping crew: Davi, Alina and Eduardo)

We set up camp in a cosy spot between some rocks on the edge of a cliff(!), before we did some exploring (with a very excited Davi) to discover some unusual flowers, cacti and rare orchids that were clinging to the stones.

And of course there was some time to sit and admire the view…

But we weren’t the only residents of the loft hilltop. The view over the landscape was punctuated by hundreds of termite hills, standing like sculptures in the fields.

From up there we watched the blazing sun sink below the horizon, turning the whole landscape a deep orange before disappearing behind the distant hills.

As the night closed in (which happens around 6pm here, and doesn’t really change from season to season), it was time to get our campfire going to fend of whatever wild things might be lurking in the shadows – but also serving the dual purpose of roasting our hotdogs.

After dinner (and a couple glasses of Gato Negro) we went for a twilight walk across the ridge, leaving our torches behind as the way was completely illuminated by the silver moonlight. Looking up the sky was thick with stars, and the kids pointed out unfamiliar constellations and explained the myths behind them as we wandered through the night.

The next morning I was woken up by an exclamation by Eduardo, and on crawling out of my tent I saw why. The expansive view that had rolled out before us the previous day had completely disappeared underneath a thick blanket of cloud – leaving us on a little island in a sea of mist which stretched out as far as you could see, its edges lapping up at the mountainsides.

The milky shroud below slowly lifted as we descended into the forest for a wander. Here the forests were completely different again from the ones I had already experienced, with every available inch covered with thick vines or something spiny and succulent. Even the trees themselves were practically dripping with weird and wonderful plants, but there was a strange sense of stillness up there which was deepened by the faint sounds of trickling waterfalls that you could only just make out through the dense knots of forest.

The ride home was just as eventful as the way there, as we stopped to find the prints of some big cat in the sand and spotted some new larger birds scanning the fields.

So we managed to avoid the panthers and returned home (relatively) unscathed, save a few cactus prickles here and there. Now I’ve got a proper taste for the wild lands here and I’m even more excited about leaving for Itatiaia in a few days time. Its time to see what else is out there.

Settling in…

The next day began with another early start so Fábio could teach me how to get to the uni by bike. Lectures tend to begin at 8am here (or occasionally at 7.30 – we don’t know how lucky we are!) which makes sense considering there’s about 12 hours of daylight between 6am and 6pm. Unfortunately after pumping up my tyres at the local petrol station it turned out I had a puncture, and as I struggled to make the rest of the journey on my own (pumping myself up at each petrol station on the way) I was really blown away by how much strangers are willing to help when you look like you are lost or having trouble. A couple of guys filling their tank taught me how to use the automatic air pump machine, while one handy garage attendant helped readjust my tires too! Amazing what people do, especially when communication is pretty much limited to grunting and flaily hand gestures. In the end I got fixed up at a local car garage, getting to know a couple of the locals in the process.

Being accustomed to cycling to university at home, I thought it would be no problem doing the same here, especially as it’s a similar distance. However, on approaching the university (having only been there in the car) it became apparent that this wasn’t to be the case. Turns out the hill leading up to the campus is pretty infamous for being so long and steep. Quite a challenge at 28 degrees with your textbooks on your back! Now I understand why there’s always a load of students at the bottom trying to hitch a ride up…

(Warning: hills may be steeper than they appear)

After a few hours in the lab and several discussions about how on earth the fieldwork is going to be done next week, it was off into town again to register myself as a citizen and become a student of UFLA – and another great chance to have a look around.

Then it was back to the labs to chat to some of the other folks in the tropical forest research group and to browse through the three huge tomes of Brazilian trees that I’ll need to be familiarising myself with… who knew there were so many??

Another chilled out evening of tea, Lancashire parkin and more pizza followed (complete with a spontaneous ant invasion), listening to blues and discussing the importance of ecological models, the problem of  reconciling conservation practice with ecological theory, and whether the Robert Gillow is better than the John O’ Gaunt.

(Fábio after having just explained that despite an administrative boundary reform in 1974, the English County Palatine of Lancashire actually still includes the areas of Merseyside and Greater Manchester)

During the last couple of days I also had my first supermarket experiences. Despite a close shave due to a mix up between bottled water and clear washing-up liquid, I think I’ve pretty much got the hang of how the system works here…

So for now it’s time to continue preparations for the fieldwork – which includes spray-painting a load of metal poles bright red. Very sciency! Although did have a very interesting consultation with the head of the soil laboratory today who is going to help us out with some analyses and equipment to estimate some forest carbon stocks. It’s getting interesting!

In between all of the excitement there’s also been a couple of opportunities to take in the natural scenes with a couple of wanders through the local forests with my sketchbook – although for the time being I may stick to the paths after a pretty harrowing experience this afternoon with a startled vulture who was hanging out in a big hole in the ground that I happened to climb into… Other than that the moments in the trees have been really quiet and calm, with just a gentle hum of activity that permeates the whole tangle of the canopy.

Friday its cinema down the mall with a couple of friends, before a weekend excursion in the hills with Eduardo and his kids to do some trekking and bird-spotting. According to him its pretty wild up there and there might be some jaguars around – I hope they don’t know how to work tent zippers! Time will tell…

 

 

The beginning…

Well, thirty and a half hours after leaving home sweet home, I finally arrived in the town of Lavras up in the hills of Minas Gerais. The trip had gone disconcertingly smoothly, the main challenge being trying not to get ripped off by duty free in Paris! After the combined 14 hour flight from Manchester, and a nice chat with a local on the plane, we’d touched down in São Paulo at about 6am local time. It was dark as we landed, so it wasn’t until leaving the airport that I caught my real first glimpse of Brazil. Out from underneath the shelter of the bus station you could see the sun rising over hazy palms and hills in the distance. Already I had seen about twenty kinds of tree that I had never seen before… even though we were in one of the biggest urban areas in the country.

From there I bought a ticket (trying to utilise my pitifully limited Portuguese!) and hopped on the bus to Tietê (the second largest bus depot in the world), where I would be able to catch the next one across country to Lavras. It was just in time to get stuck in the morning traffic, which wasn’t too bad as it gave me the chance to take in the surroundings and activity as we crossed the city.

The roads were crammed full with a mixture of old bandaged-up bangers and flashy new sports cars, all shouldered up together with trucks and lorries of all descriptions in a noisy push-and-shove across town. The city itself was made up of mosaics of smaller multi-coloured houses and buildings between huge high-rise constructions which pretty much dominated the surrounding landscape.

Despite taking another 7 hours, the ride from Tietê it was relatively relaxing – thanks to remembering Chelsie’s instructions to sit in the seat it says on your ticket!! The ride up was beautiful, the tall buildings and sprawling roads giving way to open rural spaces, interspersed of course with blankets of the forest that I’d come to see – becoming increasingly thicker and wilder as we made our way up into the hills. Also spotted some wildlife on the way, including black vultures which circled over the bus, which was slightly disconcerting…

We arrived two hours later than timetabled due to some relaxed (and frequent) breaks on the way, but I was informed by the very friendly Evelyn, a PhD student from UFLA who met me at the bus station, that thing aren’t really expected to run on time so its better to just relax and accept it! I think I might be able to get used to that.

After weeks and months of imagining how Lavras might be, I finally got to experience it first hand. We crossed the town on the way to the university and I saw immediately why I was warned that cycling here might be a little challenging! It is built on three pretty steep hills (well four, but apparently one is not as severe so it doesn’t count) which means you can pretty much see across the whole town from wherever you are, everywhere of course bustling with activity (pictures to come). A very relieved Eduardo (Prof. van den Berg, head of plant ecology at UFLA) met me outside the Ecology department, happy that I had managed to get here alive! It was nice to finally put a face to the man behind the extensive e-mails, and I was given a very warm and friendly welcome before jumping back in the car. We nipped across town again to the house I where I would be staying, picking up his children on the way. Eduardo had explained that his daughter and son were both being taught English in school. I embarrassingly asked eleven year old Davi if he enjoyed trying to learn English, before realising that his was more advanced than mine as he went on to discuss the cultural difficulties underpinning the urban expansion and pollution in the area… turns out they had lived in America for a while. Well at least they enjoyed listening to my English accent!

So a very a weary and smelly traveller was dropped off at Rua Salim Mansur, n^o468. Here I awaited the arrival of Fábio, my to-be housemate and friend of the renowned Felipe (the owner of the house), who I’d had the pleasure of meeting the week before in Lancaster. I must admit, I was slightly (but pleasantly) surprised after the 6000 mile journey to find a box of Lancashire tea and a bottle of Lea & Perrins (which I am informed is known here as ‘English sauce’) on the kitchen cabinet!!

I was greeted by a very friendly Fábio who arrived after his evening lectures, who it turns out had spent the previous year studying in Lancaster! (Well that explains the tea and the Hobgoblin fridge magnet…). Being too frail to attempt cooking or shopping, I was treated to my first taste of Brazilian cuisine in the form of a ham and egg pizza ordered from an American restaurant – very well appreciated! – washed down with Fábio’s freshly made passion-fruit juice. After a good chat about things ecological and the things to come, it was time to finally hit the sack and rest before the early morning pickup by Eduardo.

The next day began pretty foggy, unusual for this time of year, with mists hanging heavy in the air as we made our way back to the university.

I was introduced to the ecology department, complete with its own palmed atrium, and the plant ecology labs where I will be most of the time after the fieldwork is completed (which will take place in Itatiaia, on the border between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro states).

The skies cleared up during the day as Eduardo gave me a tour of the university campus – a great big area on top of one of the hills on the edge of Lavras, from where you can see a lot of the town and the surrounding landscape.

At one end of the campus lies UFLA’s own nature reserve, a protected area of about 70ha. It was here that I had my first experience of being inside a tropical forest – completely different from anything I’d seen before in Europe. It was a really beautiful sight, the interior crammed full with so many species it seems impossible to count (despite being one of the aims of the project! Uh oh..) all the while accompanied by the background sounds of parrots and other colourful birds. The atmosphere was mesmerising, the canopy full of life, and you could practically feel everything around you growing.

Apart from a bit of research and some admin for enrolling me here as a student (which seems to increase with every from that gets filled out), that pretty much made my Monday. The next few days will be a chance to finalise the last details for the project before heading out to the study site, about 6 hours drive from here. After  my first day’s experience I really can’t wait to get out there.