Jevon Forest, Washu Project

Today, we'll leave the capital early in the morning and head for the Jevon Forest reserve, located in the heart of Ecuador's Chocó region. Along the way, we'll be able to observe the different altitudinal ecosystems, as well as one of the greatest threats facing this type of area: the deterioration of the forest due to deforestation, which is reflected in the various monocultures present. After lunch, we'll walk to the Jevon Forest Biological Station, where we'll be spending the next few days. During this first contact, we'll observe several villages and communities surrounding the reserve and enjoy our first wildlife sightings in one of the region's rare remnants of primary forest, with significant biological diversity. In the evening, the Jevon Forest team will give us an introductory talk.

Dinner and overnight in the reserve.

After a hearty breakfast, we'll start the day with a walk along the reserve's trails. Our guide will explain the dynamics of this ecosystem, its particularities and the links between the flora and fauna present. We'll look for bird and primate species associated with this biodiversity-rich region, some of which are difficult to observe and listed as endangered, such as the Banded Ground-Cuckoo (Neomorphus radiolosus), the Long-wattled Umbrellabird (Cephalopterus penduliger), the Buffon's Macaw (Ara ambiguus) and the Brown-headed Ecuadorian Spider Monkey (Ateles fusciceps). We'll return to the house for lunch, and in the afternoon, we'll follow one of the researchers on the camera-trap wildlife monitoring project. We'll talk about the protocol used in the reserve for this study and visit the places where the cameras are placed to retrieve the information, which will later be analyzed at the station. We'll be able to observe the species photographed, such as the Puma (Puma concolor) and Jaguar (Panthera onca), among others, and talk to the researchers about the importance of this technique for biodiversity analysis. After dinner, we'll take a night walk in search of amphibians, reptiles and arthropods. We'll have the opportunity to observe the charismatic chachi frog (Hypsiboas picturata), the Mashpi stream frog (Hyloscirtus mashpi), the pygmy boa (Trachyboa boulengeri), the tropical fly lizard (Echinosaura keyi) and a variety of phasmids, arachnids and amblypygids, among other nocturnal species.

Today, we'll spend the morning walking in the reserve's estuary area, to more deeply understand the relationship between the Chocó's flora and fauna and the bodies of water. During this walk, we'll be able to observe species associated with aquatic ecosystems, such as Kingfishers, Herons and other bird species. We'll visit the waterfall, where we'll have time to relax and enjoy a tarzan-style liana jump. In the afternoon, we'll accompany the researchers in their search for mammals, by following their tracks. We'll learn how to observe their presence and differentiate between species based on the shape of their footprints and other types of tracks. While tracking, we'll make plaster casts of the tracks we find. At night, we can take a nocturnal tour to observe different species of birds and nocturnal mammals such as the Spectacled Owl (Pulsatrix perspicillata) and the kinkajou (Potos flavus), as well as amphibians and reptiles.

In the morning, we'll visit a sustainable cocoa production farm "Nacional Fino de Aroma". One of Washu's projects with local communities in the buffer zone of the Jevon Forest reserve is the production of chocolate with a different approach. The aim of developing these community-based production activities is twofold: on the one hand, to protect the forest and the species present in the communities' territory, and on the other, to create sustainable economic alternatives for their inhabitants, such as sustainable cocoa production. After lunch, we'll enjoy an artisanal chocolate tasting session, so that we can return to Quito with the best taste in our mouths.