Hey Ya'll

How can I possibly sum up the last 16 days with out wasting the next 16 in doing so? Here is a quick snippet for those of you chomping at the bit dying to know what is going on in the life of Tristan (which we know is all of you :).

We were stationed in Moka, a village south of the capital Malabo of Equatorial Guinea. We stayed in tents at the Moka Wild Life Centre to conduct our research projects (they do accept donations). Originally, I planned to study chameleons, but found myself fascinated by the birds in the area and promptly switch projects to the two types of Turacos at Moka.

The yellow-billed turaco is the smaller of the two species of turacos on Bioko Island. This medium sized bird (40-43 cm) has predominantly blue and green feathers and brilliant red underwings, a red crest, and a mostly yellow beak. The great blue turaco (70-75 cm, ca. 1 kg) has blue, black and yellow feathers, a long tail, a black crest, and a yellow bill tipped with red. They both have very distinctive calls that can be heard from afar, and to the untrained ear may be mistaken for a monkey.

On the subject of monkeys, much to my dismay I saw none . Several of the group members saw a few, but only 2 out the 9 species were spotted. This is sad because not 20 years the area had a rather abundant monkey population. However, with the increase in the country’s wealth (from oil) the demand and price of monkey carcasses has risen. Last year’s ban on the killing and selling of monkeys has done little to deter the hunters. This is due largely in part to the lack of enforcement of the ban.

The hunters are not hunting these monkeys for food or protein, rather the great profit that comes with a kill (an averaged sized monkey carcass can bring in up to $200). This is a fair amount of money considering a full time position earns that much per month on Bioko.

One night we hiked 6 km to Lago Biao and it rained for the first hour of the hike. This, of course, is to be expected when visiting a rain forest. We were rewarded we a splendid view of the lake after the rain stopped. We then dropped our gear and went for swim. The water requires no purification and is the freshest water I have ever tasted.

Camp was set up in the only possible place, that which, unknown to us, a hive of bees also called home. I escaped unharmed and stayed up most of the night star gazing. Jupiter is frequently visible from Moka, and tonight was no exception. Tom, our teacher pointed out several constellations, but the one that stuck with me most was Scorpio[S2] . It is spans such a large portion of the sky of the sky and dominates your view of the sky.

The next morning I awoke at daybreak to the unbearable sound of what seemed to be thousands of bees. I quickly assembled my gear (which weighed roughly 40 lbs.) and ran my ass out of there as fast as I could. My cross country coach would have been proud. I must have been a sight to see, running with a huge bag bouncing this way and that, spinning, swatting and cursing their maker. Had I been spotted by a local, I am convinced they would have thought I was possessed by some sort of evil spirit. Had I seen myself, my thoughts would not have been far off. For as you know, from even a few feet away, bees are invisible and silent menaces. By the time you either see or hear them you are among them and it is too late.

For my readers who are not personally acquainted with me let me firstly thank you for reading. Secondly my hatred for bees is not unjust, I, like my upstanding gentleman of grandfather, am allergic to bees. I do like honey however; I prefer my bees at a distance.

-Tristan John Schreck I

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