| 21 July 2007: The Stuck Truck/ Armadillo/ Telemetry |
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| This morning after breakfast, Steve, Rachel, and I decided to ride along with Estela and Miriam to scope out the road for our last nocternal transect tonight. We drove along a dead-end road made of sand. At the end of the road we got out to take pictures of the horses in the field, and when we got back in the truck and tried to leave the rear tires sunk right into the fine sand. We (mostly Steve) dug and dug and we pushed and pushed, but the truck seemed to just dig itself in deeper. Miriam took off on foot back to the farm to get help, but Steve wouldn't give up. We finally were able to push it out, only to have it get stuck again right away. This time we dug and dug and then decided to use the principles of physics to help us out. Steve dragged over a giant tree which he wedged under the back of the truck. Then he said, "Amy, come over and hold this for a minute." Silly me, I thought I was going to help him hold the giant tree, but he let go! After nearly getting crushed, I found my muscles and was able to lift the truck out of the hole all by myself using a simple machine made out of "natural tools'!" :-) With our giant lever and some more pushing, we finally got the truck back on solid ground. Needless to say, this is not the road we will use for tonight's nocternal transect. |
| After lunch we all piled into the truck to head back to the field for various tasks. As we were driving along the dirt road, Ariane, who was driving, suddenly slammed on the brakes. I'm sure you can imagine all of us in the back of the truck tumbling around. Claudia jumped out of the passenger seat and took off running into the grassland. She was in persuit of an armadillo that had just crossed the road. She caught it and we were all able to hold it and take pictures. The poor guy was so scared as he was passed from person to person (we know this because of the non-stop feces coming out of him). This armadillo was so ugly that it was cute! |
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| Our Armadillo! |
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| This afternoon was our last chance to do radio telemetry. Steve and I had really struggled with this and gotten very frustrated, so we volunteered to go with Claudia and give it one last try. Today we mastered it! We found both Tom and Tequila's signals and were able to record locations in a circle all around both of them! |
| Tonight was our last dinner at Los Alamos. Sad! I can't believe we are leaving tomorrow! After dinner we did one last nocternal transect. We were not as lucky tonight as we were our first night. All we saw was a hare. It was really cold and I think everyone was tired... it was a pretty quiet ride. Tonight was also my very last time checking the traps at 2am. I went out with Miriam, Estela and Rachel. I was hoping for one last trapped cat, but no luck... |
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| Last dinner at Los Alamos |
| Steve & Amy: Masters of Telemetry |
| 22 July 2007: The Last Day |
| This morning at 8am, one group went out for the last trap check and then they closed the traps. Some of the volunteers went out horseback riding again at 10, but Rachel and I just stayed behind and packed. The owners and workers at Los Alamos set up an amazing Farewell Argentine BBQ for our last lunch. It was yummy: Ribs & sausages, lots of wine, and a yummy dulce de leche dessert. I, unfortunately wasn't brave enough to try the blood sausage. After lunch we finished packing and then had some fun with the camera self-timer as we waited for the van to take us back to Bahia Blanca. I had everyone stand behind the camera and then run into place once the timer started... pretty funny, but we got some great group pictures!. The van came at 3pm and took us to Claudia's place in Bahia Blanca where we had mate, coffee, and snacks before we had to head to the airport. The team was so amazing, they drove to the airport with our bags in the back of the truck because we had too much to fit into the taxis. At the airport we said goodbye. It was really hard to leave. Our 10 days here were packed full of adventure, and even though our arrival seems ages ago, the time has flown by! These are definitely people and experiences that I will never forget! |
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| Left: Farewell BBQ & Team Gato Right: Group timer pictures |
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