Selamat datang!
Well, I hate to have a repeat of my last blog post, but I seem to have entered a new realm of arachnophobic suffering.
After another week of planning in Palu we left the city to camp at Tambing Lake. The park is home to stunning views and diverse wildlife. Many fanatic bird watchers are also camping here, as Lore Lindu is home to more than 771 endemic bird species!
I’m not sure when my fear of spiders actually began. According to my Mom, even as a baby I would scream and cry when I saw them. Ecologically, spiders are very important organisms. Spiders play an essential role in their ecosystem’s food web, serving as both predators and prey. They are a wonderful, natural form of pest control. The diverse behavior of spiders is also interesting! Some build complex webs, some actively hunt, and some exhibit cooperation. And spiders don’t like humans, and they don’t really want to be around us!
I have a B.S. in Biological Sciences with a concentration in Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology, so I know a good amount about the ecological importance and behavior of spiders. Unfortunately all the knowledge in the world cannot convince my brain to not be terrified of the little creatures.
I do want to add this as a little reminder: just because I am scared of spiders does not mean I am okay with killing them. They are essential parts of our ecosystem, and we need them in order to survive! We need to work towards conserving nature, and we must fight to protect our planet against individuals who seek to exploit it. Spiders are a part of the equation and deserve to be protected.
The bathrooms at our camp are unfortunately (for me) crawling with spiders. My nervous system cannot currently tell the difference between going to the bathroom and being chased by a murderer.
Now, let me go back to the time of the last update. On July 9th, Team Tarsius and I sat down to begin planning the rest of our summer. I am continuing to work on behind the scenes paperwork, and my current goal is to make the most of the rest of the time I have left!
The team and I decided to visit Lake Tambing in Lore Lindu National Park. The lake is located around 1680m in elevation. However, many members of the crew have other jobs in Palu (and I DO NOT want them to get fired), so we had to delay our departure until they could wrap up their work. Because of that delay we spent some more time seeing Palu and building connections. We finally made it to the mysterious floating mosque. One of our friends described it as “tragically beautiful,” as the mosque was not originally floating. This mosque, built along the coast, was struck during the 2018 earthquake, tsunami, and soil liquefaction event. Visiting the mosque and learning about the events of 2018 was a somber experience. It reminded me of how important it is to learn about the history and people of the region you are studying.
On July 11th, the team gathered to see the full moon rise on the outskirts of Palu. Palu is almost entirely surrounded by mountains, so you cannot watch the sunrise or sunset. Palu looks huge from afar and the view was stunning. We spent time talking about nature, tarsiers, and laughing together. I will miss the team when we head back to the U.S.
On July 12th, Team Tarsius took a trip to Wera Waterfall. We hiked along the trails to a stunning view of the waterfall. I say trails, but we were really climbing over rocks with occasional treks on dirt paths through vegetation.
After our adventurous weekend, we got back to work! We purchased supplies for camp, mostly food and rain gear, and prepared transportation. We arrived in Lore Lindu on Thursday the 17th, and immediately got to work setting up camp. As always, the assistants were extremely impressive, they created our mega-tarp roof, set up a kitchen, and got all of their tents up in less than an hour. I am proud to say that I contributed to this process by setting up my own tent. I am still useless.
We are about 1/3 through our camping time, and its going by too fast! After we wrap up camp, Diana and I will return to Palu. From Palu, we head back to Jakarta. We will spend the weekend there sightseeing, then Diana will head off to New Zealand. After Diana’s departure, I have meetings scheduled. I hope to do one more blog post from abroad.
Terima kasih dan sampai jumpa!
Hunter by Nature 
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