A sneak peak at the Trail Guide

And, just like that, our time at Las Tangaras is almost complete.  Katie and Luke will soon be taking over manager duties, and we will depart for a colder (and probably no less rainy) summer in Scotland.  Our Reserve rain totals so far, for those of you keeping score at home: 740 mm for January, 590 mm for February, and 610 mm and counting for March.

At the moment, we’re focusing on our reserve “legacy” and finishing up ongoing projects.  The garden fence, made of lianas woven through bamboo posts, is now complete enough to deter Pablo and the peccaries.  The lek blind and back porch are freshly varnished.  We’ve installed the beginnings of a nature trail, numbering several of the more conspicuous plants and trees along the paths.  This has required us to learn plants: for a pair of ornithologists, conquering the phone-book-sized woody plant guide is no small feat.  However, the contribution we are most proud of is our trail guide.

The guide is ten pages long and includes trail maps, descriptions, walking times, and all the logistical information you could wish for regarding LifeNet and the reserve.  In addition, there is a guide (complete with original illustrations courtesy of Yvan) to the most common wildlife and plants found around the reserve: bird species and families, mammals, insects, a handful of reptiles and crabs, and plants, numbered to correspond with the trail markings.

Thanks-but-no-thanks to the copy machines of Mindo, which have formed a syndicate specifically to amputate about one inch from the left side of any page and to change clarity at random, we will be leaving behind laminated copies of the guide in English, French, and Spanish, which visitors can take with them on the trails.  We will bring the originals back with us to the States in hopes of making some clearer copies that can be made available for purchase at the reserve.

So that’s our guide– or, at least, a few pages of it.  For the rest, you’ll just have to come visit Las Tangaras.  In the meantime, we will head out of our jungle lair and back into the real world, carrying with us the memory of a wonderful few months in a wonderful place.  My sister, Susanne Lamb– another talented artist– said it best in the Valentine she sent me last month:  

Goodbye, Las Tangaras.  We Ecu-adore you.