A Tentative Plan for the Americas

In the last week or so I have started to get together a list of places of interest, as well as beginning to look at a tentative route for traveling the total distance of the trip.  The first leg of the trip will take me up to Canada, over to Alaska, then down to the tip of Argentina, the furtherest point South that can be driven to, and back up to Rio de Janeiro.  In the middle, my scooter will have to be shipped from Panama down to Colombia or Ecuador over the Darien Gap.

Yes, that’s right, I’m planning to scoot to the northern most part of the continental of the Americas, and the scoot down to the southern most part.  Along the way, I plan to see major archeological/historical sites (when possible) and conservation centers, but the major focus of this trip is to meet with scholars in conservation biology, anthropology, as well as politicians and conservation staff to get a better understanding of real-world issues faced in each country.

The trip is likely to start with a month of intensive Spanish language over in Mexico to help revive my active Spanish skills after a decade living almost entirely in the Chinese language.  Once my language skills are back to their former fluency, the plan is to find a volunteer opportunity at a conservation center and spend a few months getting familiar with the workings of these organizations as well as any issues they face.  This will hopefully help form the base of my experiential learning so I can learn the ropes of what is required for the day to day functioning of these projects.

From here, I will head south, making stops in cities based on a pre-determined interview schedule, as well as national parks and conservation/reserve areas and their surrounding towns, with attention to towns where research has shown a history of conflict between wildlife and human populations.  Interviews in these areas will hopefully reveal/clarify these issues.  

The map above shows the terminal destination for North America as Panama City; the reason for this is that it is not possible to safely traverse the Darien Gap between Panama and Colombia, so vehicles must be shipped at this point into Colombia or Ecuador before continuing on.  Because I plan to take a scooter down, this means putting myself and my scooter onto a plane for about $400, applying for temporary registration when I land, and then trekking onwards along the final leg around the southern tip of Argentina and then north to Brazil.  My hope is to ship my scooter onwards from Rio de Janeiro once I have completed the Americas, but I don't want to get too ahead of myself just yet.

As things stand, I will likely spend about three weeks in each country, with exception of the two countries where I will volunteer longer-term with local conservation organizations.  It’s not a whole lot of time, to be sure, but I’m hopeful that if I’m able to organize well, I’ll be able to get the major interviews with public figures done as well as a number of interviews with locals, particularly with indigenous groups, about their perspectives on human-wildlife interactions.  If I’m lucky and organized, I’ll be able to fit more time in National Parks enjoying the conservation efforts of these countries with organizations dedicated to their preservation.

I guestimate it will take me around nine months to round up the rest of the money for this trip, which will take around 22 months and cost around $30,000 plus the cost of my scooter and gear.  When possible I plan to camp or couch-surf, and during the times I am planning to volunteer, I will make sure that I find opportunities that provide accommodation.  My hope is that I will not spend the full 30,000 since it is a padded number, rather I anticipate spending around $1000-$1100 for the bulk of the trip, which will leave me closer to 25000 for 22 months.  

When I previously traveled through Central America, I was able to eat almost exclusively local food (mostly just rice and beans with some veggies since I’m a vegetarian) for the 4 months I was there.  Because I really love rice and beans and never once got sick of it, I do not really intend to eat at higher end restaurants or any foreign restaurants while I am traveling except as the rare treat.  However, the budget is padded in case things are more expensive than intended or if there is an emergency that requires cash.

Travel Plans

A Travel Plan

While traveling has always been something that I enjoy, I began to feel like it would be an empty venture if there wasn’t something greater I could contribute.  Over the last month or so, I have really re-defined my goals for my next major trip; I would like to participate in some sort of project.  I want this project to be meaningful and provide some sort of important information that will be beneficial to the world.  I want to make it count. 

My tentative plan is to start building a conservation database of conflicts at the human/nonhuman animal interface (think humans developing land and the difficulty in sharing this space) and trying to explore pertinent culture and conservation related issues for each country.  I will also strive to explore the political and historical context for these issues and examine the ways each country is moving to resolve these conflicts.  This way, I hope to create a more holistic, dynamic picture of these types of issues.

The reasoning behind this topic is that there are many issues that fly under the radar of the international community that deserve consideration, especially for smaller countries that are generally not as well-represented in the media.  Information regarding these types of human/wildlife conflicts generally are even less represented in the media because much of the world’s media seems to cater towards a more sensationalist view.  Therefore, unless the story is particularly moving, it is generally omitted in main stream media outlets.  

Another issue behind information dissemination is language barriers, so the project will seek to make these issues accessible to a larger audience through publication.  Ultimately, the project will hopefully end (funding permitted) with a series of books that will be printed in the major languages of the world:  Chinese, English, Spanish, French, Arabic, and Hindi.  The goal will be to make this survey of human/wildlife clashes available world-wide so that awareness is spread about the nature of these classes as well as how individual countries are trying to resolve these issues.

The ultimate goal is to bring all of this information together in one place so that laypeople, politicians, and scholars can examine these topics from across the world, hopefully helping to improve our relationships with wildlife in ways that are appropriate for the individual region and for the wildlife as a result.  I would like to use a multi-disciplinary approach to this project, utilizing my MA in Anthropology to identify locally important issues, as well as my specialization in Anthrozoology to explore non-human animal behavior and the interactions between these groups.

I am at the beginning of developing this project, so the details are still pretty fuzzy for the moment, but hopefully I’ll be able to get some background research done in the next few months so I can start formulating a plan!  At the moment it seems like it is likely to be a survey of sorts that will provide a general overview of these issues, but will likely not be able to delve into too much detail (time restrictions and funding will likely be the major issues).  Even so, I’m really excited at the prospect of being able to create something that will be beneficial!  I’ll post updates on here as this project takes shape!

Bangkok Temples, Thailand (Pictorial)

Glacier National Park (Teaser 7)

Glacier National Park, Montana, USA, has had a long history of human inhabitance; artifacts have been found in this area that date back over 10,000 years ago.  About three-hundred years ago, several native tribes inhabited the region, including the Blackfeet (who were pushed off of their lands and now live primarily on reservations across Montana), Salish, and Kootenai (who were pushed off of their native lands and now primarily on the Flathead Reservation).  These tribes lived in separate areas, but all appear to have utilized larger tracts of land which they used for hunting.  For more information on Native Peoples of North America, I recommend National Geographic’s “Indian Nations of North America.”

When Europeans arrived on the American Continent, they flocked to areas like the lands of Glacier in the hopes of making money off of trapping and hunting wildlife such as beavers in order to make money from their skins and furs.  This started an interest in the region, ultimately resulting in the arrival of miners and then settlers in 1891, when The Great Northern Railway was built and provided easier access to the area.  As the region developed, people began to see the inherent beauty of the place as worthy of protection from exploitation, and in 1910, President Taft made it the nation’s 10th national park.

Although there is some interesting information about the history of the park on the park’s website, I advise anyone looking for historical accuracy to look elsewhere.  Because the park is administered by the US government, there is limited information about the history of the native peoples that were driven from their traditional lands, likely because this would paint American history in a less than favorable light.  In fact, there is very little information about the native tribes living in these regions at all, aside from the fact that they existed.  As these people inhabited this land far longer than the European invaders, I find this rather insulting and dubious. 

 Regardless, the park itself is beautiful.  According to Colorado College, Glacier has some of the more diverse wildlife populations in North America.  While I don’t doubt this is true, I have heard that it is not as common to see wildlife in Glacier as it is in other National Parks.  I am not sure how true this is, as I went before the majority of animals would be out and about.  This was true both times I went, and while I didn’t see any megafauna, the landscapes and glaciers were gorgeous.  Other reviews I have read seem to indicated that people often see large amounts of megafauna, so perhaps it depends on the time of the year you go.

There is an abundance of walking trails which are always breath-taking, regardless of where you take them; you can’t go wrong!  According to the park’s website, there are over 740 miles of maintained trails, and trails that tick all of the boxes.  Some are short 1-3 mile hikes, some are half-day or day hikes, and some circuits could take a few weeks to complete.  If you’re a more leisurely type and prefer to stay on paved paths, there are quite a few such paths in the park as well as a number of beautifully located camping spots.

Going to the Sun Road is generally considered the highlight of the park, which generally opens the first week of June and stay open until September or October.  The short season for this road is due to its high elevation and propensity for heavy snowfall and ice which makes the road impassible.  Because of the road’s reliance on weather, it is best to check the park’s website before you set out as the road can suddenly close if there is snow or debris.  If you are planning a trip during the peak season between July 1st and September 1st, it is possible to take the park’s shuttle across the Going to the Sun Road, which stops at several locations within the park.

There are a variety of activities and megafauna to see during every season, so if you are planning a trip out to the Montana region, consider stopping by Glacier, regardless of the time of the year.  If you are planning a trip especially to see Glacier, I highly recommend visiting early to mid-June to beat the major crowds of summer, but have the best chance of catching Going to the Sun Road as it opens for the season.  If you want to make this a part of your trip, make sure to double-check with the park’s website.  Generally, the road opens the first week in June but this varies every year depending on road conditions.

Tips:  

1. Glacier Park is open all year round, regardless of whether Going to the Sun Road is open to traffic.  There are maintained roads at the base of the park from West Glacier (entrance) to McDonald Lodge, allowing for an abundance of activities such as hiking and skiing.
2. The closest airport to Glacier is Kalispell, where it is possible to rent a car and drive the hour or so to the park.  It is also possible to fly into a number of other, larger airports, such as Missoula, and then rent a car and drive up to the park.
3. Glacier borders Whaterton National Park on its northern side, which is part of Canada and requires a passport to enter.  If you will be in Glacier, I highly recommend driving up to Waterton, so bring your passport!

Teaser 7: Name that place!

Hints for this week:

1.  This is a National Park.
2.  The archeological record shows that humans occupied this area over 10,000 years ago.
3.  Around 300 years ago the area was occupied by Blackfeet, Salish, and Kootenai tribes.

Can you guess the name of this National Park?

Ode to Souffie Dog

Souffie in Quarantine on the Balcony, tucked in for bed time

Souffie, the Formosan Mountain Dog, came to us about six years ago after suffering some sort of injury that we assume was an incident with a scooter.  She couldn’t fully walk and mostly hobbled around, keeping weight off of her back legs as much as possible.  I had been watching her for a few months since she lived on the street near where I worked at the time, and when she was approaching her first heat, a pack of male dogs decided to stay close and harass her.  Given that she was injured, this was an unacceptable situation, so I scooped her up, put her in a cab (after getting the OK from my partner), and brought her home.

For the first few weeks, she was quarantined outside on our balcony; we needed to make sure that she didn’t cause an infestation of some sort in the house or pass any parasites on to Peanut, our other dog.  After the vet check came back clean and she had at least three pesticide baths to kill all of the ticks feasting on her, she was allowed into the house.  This was when her training began, and it took some time to figure out how to get through to her.  She was born and raised on streets of Taiwan, like many dogs, and so did not quite understand the concept of training at first, and there were very few things we could offer as a reward that she would respond to; she had no concept of toys or treats, and was highly suspicious of any food put in front of her.  The only thing that seemed to work was cuddles.  She loved cuddles.  She still does.

But then, she started to watch Peanut, our Beagle and resident food monger.  She started becoming less suspicious of food and more opportunistic.  She learned how to catch kibble in mid air, and she learned more advanced activities like wait, leave it, inside, outside, find it, and up.  She was unstoppable.  However, we began to realize that she learned very differently from Peanut, who throws herself into an activity until she gets it right (usually quickly) in order to get as many treats as possible but then forgets about a week later and needs reinforcement. Souffie tends to take a bit longer to get something right, but once she does, she’s got it for life.  Both dogs love food rewards now, but Souffie will still take cuddles, while Peanut prefers food or toys. Souffie still doesn’t play with toys much outside of the puzzle toys we give her (which she seems to love since there’s always a tasty treat hiding in them) and generally prefers to lounge around the house when at home unless there’s a treasure hunt prepared for her.  

Today, Souffie is a certified therapy dog in Taiwan, and will hopefully pass the certification test here in the States in April.  She is not a cold weather dog but hopefully she’ll do alright in the US; she is pretty resilient, so I have a feeling she’ll be fine.

It is not an exaggeration to say that Souffie is my best friend.  She is highly sensitive to my emotional state (even pre-training), and is incredibly loyal.  Her intelligence has made living with her a joy, and since she has learned to communicate her own desires which makes life a breeze.

Souffie is just one of thousands of Formosans leaving on the streets of Taiwan.  Formosans are known to be incredibly loyal (she will protect the house and is wary of strangers) and highly intelligent.  They were originally bred by the indigenous populations of Taiwan as hunting dogs and have historically been used, in packs, to hunt black bears.  They learn quickly and never forget; along with this, they are also very sensitive to input from their humans, so yelling at them or berating them sets them back considerably, but if you have the patience to understand their communication style, you can have a loyal, well trained dog for life!  

If you are interested in learning more about these amazing dogs, there are plenty of sites (though most of them are in Chinese) though wikipedia does have decent, but limited information.  If you think you would like to include one in your family, there are plenty of organizations in Taiwan that ship these dogs abroad at a cheap rate (usually $200-$300) plus minimal donation to cover vaccinations, such as BARK.  Import/export is an easy, straightforward process for most countries, and for the price, you can’t beat the feeling of rescuing a dog in need, especially for someone that will undoubtably be your best friend for life. 

Acrobatics Pictorial, Beijing