LiveGreenNOW

Wanderlust is such a beautiful word to one whose favorite seat is labeled exit aisle or bulk head. For us, the map of the world is never blank: it becomes a picture filled with the most varied, animated figures. Nothing can be more improving to our senses than an adventure to a distant country; we have that innate, burning desire to rove about the globe.

The Mora grows at greater than 6x the rate of other plantlife, covering and strangling whatever is within reach, and with the aid of endemic birds who eat the seeds, thus is distributed throughout the island. The Mora also creates a barrier that prohibits these same endemic birds from returning to their nests. Mora has no natural enemies, either. It is the perfect storm.

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.”
– Charles Darwin

Follow dispatches from our LiveGreenOrleans globetrotter in the Galapagos.

We each took our turn trying to stand an egg on a nail, walking the equator line in a DUI-type test, muscle strength, and watched the water empty straight down versus clock-or-counter-clockwise. The guide also gave us a tour of the indiginous cutlures that inhabit Ecuador. In particular, she enjoyed showing us their shrunken head from one of the tribes in the Amazon. It was about 150 years old. Make a fist with your hand–that would be the size of your shrunken head.

Upon arriving in Quito, we were greeted by our in-country coordinator, Gaby Cadena, and whisked off to our family homestays followed by a quick orientation. There are 8 of us in all. Four volunteers at the Animal Care & Park Maintenance in the Amazon; one at the Jambeli Animal Rehabilitation Project near Guayaquil; one doing Cloud Forest Conservation; and two of us heading over to the Galapagos. On Tuesday, we will arrive on the Reserve, after a quick trip to the Mitad del Mundo (Equator line). Greetings from the center of the planet!