The Frost Laboratory: Plant Integrative Biology and Chemical Ecology
Peru Field Course Packing List
General Advice:
Wearing long pants on the trails is good practice. Around the lodge, shorts are acceptable. As you will see below, I recommend packing a full change of clothes in a sealed plastic bag to be opened on the day we leave Peru, so you will have nice clean set of clothes to travel in. You will be grateful to have this "untouched" set of clothes at the end of the expedition!
Mosquitoes generally are present during dawn and dusk at the lodges and common on the trails, but usually in relatively limited numbers. That said, mosquito densities can increase rapidly when we are doing field work. So, protection is important. The most effective strategy to avoid mosquito bites is through a combination of clothing and repellant. I usually walk around with a long-sleeved shirt just in case. Please avoid bringing 100% DEET products. 35% DEET is sufficient. There are also a number of really effective alternatives to DEET now on the market. Either way, I spray my clothes with repellant and limit the amount of repellant that I use on my skin.
Pack as lightly as possible. LATAM airlines current rule is a limit of ONE checked bag weighing a total of 50 lbs. I do not figure you will get close to this limit, but it's there. Really, you should be able to carry all of your luggage with you at all times if necessary. You will likely not have to carry all of your luggage at all times, but you get the point. I typically have one set of 'clean' clothes that I use around the lodges (and wear after showering), 2-3 sets of field clothes that I cycle through. These field clothes get pretty dirty ("jungle funk"), but can be hand washed in the river if necessary. Then, I have a set of travel clothes that stay in a plastic bag until the departure day.
Since you will essentially travel to Iquitos in one complete day, I'd recommend you wear one of your sets of field clothes on day 1. Note: In the unlikely event that a checked bag goes missing in transit, we will have enough resources within the group to share clothes, etc. This is very rare (I can't remember the last time it happened), but I mention it just in case.
Also note that all the lodges will have generator power for a number of hours in the day and evening for charging batteries. So, items like phones, cameras, go-pros, etc. can all be re-charged as necessary. At the ACTS Field Station, there are a limited number of charging outlets, so sharing is a necessity. At Napo and Explorama Lodges, there is wifi, but it is really slow and not particularly reliable. It might work, it might not.
A few notes about money. Any cash you bring must be clean and crisp, with no tears of any kind on the edges. This is because Peruvian banks will not accept such bills for exchange, so locals have learned not to accept them either. For trading, smaller bills are better. We can exchange money in Iquitos if we need to, and bigger bills will be useful for that. While at the lodge, you might want money for sodas, purchasing items from the Yagua, purchasing molasses when we visit, or huito (a natural skin dye you will learn about). Last year, the molasses was $8/bottle, and the huito was $5. Sodas are $1. Explorama accepts US dollars. Most stores in Iquitos and Lima accept credit cards, but people in the market will not.
I must admit that I tend to like cotton clothes: t-shirts, underwear, jeans. I guess I'm pretty old-fashioned. But cotton doesn't perform too well in moist, tropical environments. It tends to collect moisture and is pretty hard to get completely dry in the places we will be staying. There are synthetic and wool alternatives to cotton that perform well, particularly for socks and underwear. These fabrics can be quicker to "dry", and therefore may not build up quite the same smell. They may also be more comfortable to re-wear than moist cotton (which could mean needing to pack fewer items than I suggest below). In practice, I still lean towards cotton for socks, underwear, t-shirts, and long-sleeve button-down shirts, and opt for quicker drying materials for pants. Last year, the faculty and TAs on the course had differing advice on the best fabrics for the moist tropics, but remember that our goal is for you to be as comfortable as possible. We had one student who wore jeans almost every day on during the course and seemed to do fine, and others who opted for quick-drying fabric pants.
Notes about swimwear. I wear a synthetic, rashguard-type shirt, and have both long and short sleeve, and then "regular" swim shorts. Also, I often get asked about the spiny candiru, but this is not an issue you need to worry about. A more important issue is the intensity of the equatorial sun, which is why I typically choose a long-sleeved rash guard shirt for swimming.
What's below is a general packing list. Feel free to add or subtract.
Essential general items
- PASSPORT!!
- Money
- Binoculars
- Camera/smartphone
- Head lamp (with extra batteries; I use an energizer headlamp I bought for $20 at hardware store that's bright at 100 lumens and has a red LED for night vision)
- Water bottle (I sometimes bring a camelbak as part of my fanny pack as well)
- Fanny pack and/or backpack (for keeping gear and water)
- Sunscreen
- Insect Repellant
- Journal (a write-in-the-rain journal is ideal for field work)
- Pens and pencils
What to wear to the airport:
- long pants (convertibles are generally good for this expedition)
- clean socks
- 2018 Field T-shirt (color coordinated with group would be ideal!)
- Long-sleeve button-down shirt
- Cotton underwear
- Handkerchief
- Backpack (additional fanny pack optional)
What to pack in your backpack and/or fanny pack
- PASSPORT!!
- Photocopy of your passport photo page (keep in ziploc in your bag, or laminate)
- small, folding umbrella (OPTIONAL)
- binoculars
- headlamp with spare batteries
- a few spare Ziploc baggies (or similar brand)
- water bottle (some now available with small charcoal filters!)
- camera
- smartphone/phone
- computer (optional, I bring mine sealed in a plastic Ziploc)
- ipad/kindle etc (optional)
- tissue packs
- money carrier (OPTIONAL: Either neck or hip are fine. I don't use these anymore, but they are convenient for storing your passport too.)
- sunglasses
- pens/pencils
- individually wrapped snacks (e.g., granola bars, etc. – but avoid chocolate covered products)
- other snacks (e.g., trail mix)
- essential medications
- one extra change of clothes (socks, underwear, shirt, pants/shorts)
- journal
- trial-sized toothpaste
- trial-sized sunscreen
- toothbrush
- any necessary toiletries (for example, I carry contact lenses)
- light-weight rain poncho
- Hat (wide-brimmed or with some type of neck coverage is preferable)
- Handkerchief (this can be used with a hat to provide neck coverage from the sun)
What to pack in your checked bag
- 5-10 pairs of socks (one per day for these is not bad!)
- 12-14 pairs of underwear (one per day for these isn't bad!)
- 3-4 short-sleeved shirts
- 1-2 long-sleeved button-up shirts
- 2-3 pairs of pants (light weight is best)
- PJs (I typically sleep in my "clean" lodge clothes, but others prefer to have sleep clothes)
- insect repellant
- non-emergency medication
- chewable pepto bismol or immodium AD
- necessary toiletries (soap is provided in lodges, shampoo isn't but you can purchase empty 4oz bottles from Target or similar into which you can put some shampoo. IMPORTANT: Put any such liquid in an individual sealed plastic bag in your bag, for both security screening and in case they explode in transit!)
- sunscreen and lotion
- bathing suit
- flip flops (for shower and around the lodge)
- Rubber boots (nice for walking in muddy conditions; can be left at the lodge or traded if you have the correct size boot)
- sandals
- Bandaids
- Feminine products
- Razor or shaving implement if desired
- Trading items (e.g., baby clothes are a big hit, shoes size 48-50, t-shirts)
- A bit of empty space for trade items
- Towel (the lodge provides towels, but some people like to have one. It's optional in my book, and I typically don’t bring one unless it's a quick dry kind)
- 1 full change of clothes for last day, sealed in a Ziploc to keep fresh!
- Extra snacks (you will be eating very well in the lodges, but just in case)
Wearing long pants on the trails is good practice. Around the lodge, shorts are acceptable. As you will see below, I recommend packing a full change of clothes in a sealed plastic bag to be opened on the day we leave Peru, so you will have nice clean set of clothes to travel in. You will be grateful to have this "untouched" set of clothes at the end of the expedition!
Mosquitoes generally are present during dawn and dusk at the lodges and common on the trails, but usually in relatively limited numbers. That said, mosquito densities can increase rapidly when we are doing field work. So, protection is important. The most effective strategy to avoid mosquito bites is through a combination of clothing and repellant. I usually walk around with a long-sleeved shirt just in case. Please avoid bringing 100% DEET products. 35% DEET is sufficient. There are also a number of really effective alternatives to DEET now on the market. Either way, I spray my clothes with repellant and limit the amount of repellant that I use on my skin.
Pack as lightly as possible. LATAM airlines current rule is a limit of ONE checked bag weighing a total of 50 lbs. I do not figure you will get close to this limit, but it's there. Really, you should be able to carry all of your luggage with you at all times if necessary. You will likely not have to carry all of your luggage at all times, but you get the point. I typically have one set of 'clean' clothes that I use around the lodges (and wear after showering), 2-3 sets of field clothes that I cycle through. These field clothes get pretty dirty ("jungle funk"), but can be hand washed in the river if necessary. Then, I have a set of travel clothes that stay in a plastic bag until the departure day.
Since you will essentially travel to Iquitos in one complete day, I'd recommend you wear one of your sets of field clothes on day 1. Note: In the unlikely event that a checked bag goes missing in transit, we will have enough resources within the group to share clothes, etc. This is very rare (I can't remember the last time it happened), but I mention it just in case.
Also note that all the lodges will have generator power for a number of hours in the day and evening for charging batteries. So, items like phones, cameras, go-pros, etc. can all be re-charged as necessary. At the ACTS Field Station, there are a limited number of charging outlets, so sharing is a necessity. At Napo and Explorama Lodges, there is wifi, but it is really slow and not particularly reliable. It might work, it might not.
A few notes about money. Any cash you bring must be clean and crisp, with no tears of any kind on the edges. This is because Peruvian banks will not accept such bills for exchange, so locals have learned not to accept them either. For trading, smaller bills are better. We can exchange money in Iquitos if we need to, and bigger bills will be useful for that. While at the lodge, you might want money for sodas, purchasing items from the Yagua, purchasing molasses when we visit, or huito (a natural skin dye you will learn about). Last year, the molasses was $8/bottle, and the huito was $5. Sodas are $1. Explorama accepts US dollars. Most stores in Iquitos and Lima accept credit cards, but people in the market will not.
I must admit that I tend to like cotton clothes: t-shirts, underwear, jeans. I guess I'm pretty old-fashioned. But cotton doesn't perform too well in moist, tropical environments. It tends to collect moisture and is pretty hard to get completely dry in the places we will be staying. There are synthetic and wool alternatives to cotton that perform well, particularly for socks and underwear. These fabrics can be quicker to "dry", and therefore may not build up quite the same smell. They may also be more comfortable to re-wear than moist cotton (which could mean needing to pack fewer items than I suggest below). In practice, I still lean towards cotton for socks, underwear, t-shirts, and long-sleeve button-down shirts, and opt for quicker drying materials for pants. Last year, the faculty and TAs on the course had differing advice on the best fabrics for the moist tropics, but remember that our goal is for you to be as comfortable as possible. We had one student who wore jeans almost every day on during the course and seemed to do fine, and others who opted for quick-drying fabric pants.
Notes about swimwear. I wear a synthetic, rashguard-type shirt, and have both long and short sleeve, and then "regular" swim shorts. Also, I often get asked about the spiny candiru, but this is not an issue you need to worry about. A more important issue is the intensity of the equatorial sun, which is why I typically choose a long-sleeved rash guard shirt for swimming.
What's below is a general packing list. Feel free to add or subtract.
Essential general items
- PASSPORT!!
- Money
- Binoculars
- Camera/smartphone
- Head lamp (with extra batteries; I use an energizer headlamp I bought for $20 at hardware store that's bright at 100 lumens and has a red LED for night vision)
- Water bottle (I sometimes bring a camelbak as part of my fanny pack as well)
- Fanny pack and/or backpack (for keeping gear and water)
- Sunscreen
- Insect Repellant
- Journal (a write-in-the-rain journal is ideal for field work)
- Pens and pencils
What to wear to the airport:
- long pants (convertibles are generally good for this expedition)
- clean socks
- 2018 Field T-shirt (color coordinated with group would be ideal!)
- Long-sleeve button-down shirt
- Cotton underwear
- Handkerchief
- Backpack (additional fanny pack optional)
What to pack in your backpack and/or fanny pack
- PASSPORT!!
- Photocopy of your passport photo page (keep in ziploc in your bag, or laminate)
- small, folding umbrella (OPTIONAL)
- binoculars
- headlamp with spare batteries
- a few spare Ziploc baggies (or similar brand)
- water bottle (some now available with small charcoal filters!)
- camera
- smartphone/phone
- computer (optional, I bring mine sealed in a plastic Ziploc)
- ipad/kindle etc (optional)
- tissue packs
- money carrier (OPTIONAL: Either neck or hip are fine. I don't use these anymore, but they are convenient for storing your passport too.)
- sunglasses
- pens/pencils
- individually wrapped snacks (e.g., granola bars, etc. – but avoid chocolate covered products)
- other snacks (e.g., trail mix)
- essential medications
- one extra change of clothes (socks, underwear, shirt, pants/shorts)
- journal
- trial-sized toothpaste
- trial-sized sunscreen
- toothbrush
- any necessary toiletries (for example, I carry contact lenses)
- light-weight rain poncho
- Hat (wide-brimmed or with some type of neck coverage is preferable)
- Handkerchief (this can be used with a hat to provide neck coverage from the sun)
What to pack in your checked bag
- 5-10 pairs of socks (one per day for these is not bad!)
- 12-14 pairs of underwear (one per day for these isn't bad!)
- 3-4 short-sleeved shirts
- 1-2 long-sleeved button-up shirts
- 2-3 pairs of pants (light weight is best)
- PJs (I typically sleep in my "clean" lodge clothes, but others prefer to have sleep clothes)
- insect repellant
- non-emergency medication
- chewable pepto bismol or immodium AD
- necessary toiletries (soap is provided in lodges, shampoo isn't but you can purchase empty 4oz bottles from Target or similar into which you can put some shampoo. IMPORTANT: Put any such liquid in an individual sealed plastic bag in your bag, for both security screening and in case they explode in transit!)
- sunscreen and lotion
- bathing suit
- flip flops (for shower and around the lodge)
- Rubber boots (nice for walking in muddy conditions; can be left at the lodge or traded if you have the correct size boot)
- sandals
- Bandaids
- Feminine products
- Razor or shaving implement if desired
- Trading items (e.g., baby clothes are a big hit, shoes size 48-50, t-shirts)
- A bit of empty space for trade items
- Towel (the lodge provides towels, but some people like to have one. It's optional in my book, and I typically don’t bring one unless it's a quick dry kind)
- 1 full change of clothes for last day, sealed in a Ziploc to keep fresh!
- Extra snacks (you will be eating very well in the lodges, but just in case)
Our Destination
The course is based at the ACTS Canopy Walkway, a 1/4 mile long collection of suspension bridges connected to platforms. The walkway allows access to the canopy of this tropical forest, with the highest platform perched in an emergent tree over 100 feet above the forest floor!