The reason so many houses are unfinished is because if they finish a house they have to pay taxes on it. If you have rebar sticking out of your roof you don't pay taxes.
So I took the bus to Macas and stayed in a $10 hostel next to the bus station. Worst place I have stayed. Macas is nicer than Puyo. More to do downtown and much cleaner. Taking the bus along the only paved road west of the Amazon was very picturesque. Since I could not get a bird guide I moved on and took the 5am bus to Cuenca through a tiny village called  Limòn. The most frightening bus trip ever! From 3,500 ft to 11,700 ft. Then down, then back up on an unpaved road which was not always wide enough for a 37 ft bus. The driver was another Monte Carlo contender. I thought I would like to die like he, not screaming like his passengers. I was truly terrified at several points along the road. An hour and a half of heart pounding, white-knuckled, bumpy hell fron Hwy 45 to 594 and a town called Gualaceo. Landslides every 4 miles, waterfalls every 50 feet. Beautiful and death-defying. Xanax must be cheap here because most other passengers were sleeping. I laugh when I am scared so the ones who were awake thought I was nuts. Crosses along the side of the road don't help. Then in Gualaceo the road was washed out by a landslide. Derrumbes, as they are called here. One hour detour. Finally made it to Cuenca, Hotel Casa de Lidice, and a bar called Inca Lounge to watch Ecuador lose their game. Sad.
 I wish I had more time to spend in Cuenca. It is a very nice city. Old colonial with Italian pink marble churches. Nice Inca ruins from before Spain raped and pilaged and shoved Jesus down their throats. No Baptists here, or Methodists. One of my taxi drivers, Speedy Gonzalez, made the sign of the cross everytimg we passed a church. Catholic control. I guess I was safe.
I had to go birding so back on a bus to Loja and Zamora. At one stop an old indigenous lady, maybe 80, sat next to me, all 4'4" of her. As the driver took his turns at 40 mph she would slide into me. She smelled of smoke from her breakfast fire and she kept putting her hands in her wool bag to peel a tangerine and stick some in her mouth. Her long gray-black hair under her bolo. At one point she grabbed my leg so she wouldn't fly off the seat. I thought she would slide under the seat in front of us and I would have to grab her braid and pull her back up. So sweet. What an interesting life she has had. I meet such fascinating folks.
4 hours later -Ah, Loja- Aloha! Off one bus and on another to Zamora. 1.5 hours and I am at http://www.copalinga.com
Bird heaven! I have added 16 new species and am at 888 birds on the life list. Catherine is from Belgium and she feeds the Gray Tinamous. Blackish nightjar comes at 6:25 pm. You would never otherwise be able to see these birds. As I write there are about 15 hummingbirds buzzing me. I can fell the breeze as they fly by chasing each other. I am on the border of the Amazon at about 2,700 ft. It is jungle and cloud forest all in one. The sound of the Bombuscaro river rushing by is always a light roar in the distance. The stars last night were incredible. I love the sound of the jungle at night. Two more nights here. Tomorrow Juan is picking me up at 6:30am and taking me to Podocarpus National Park. He will cost $40 as my bird guide but Catherine told me he is not great at birds. It is worth it to me to have someone along who knows the area. One slip and you're over the edge. He is cheap- Carlos on Tuesday will be $150. Catherine knows him and said that is a good price for an all-day bird tour of 2 parks with a knowledgeable guide. If more folks were going I would split the cost, but it is just me and no snotty Brits or complaining 'Mericans.
It's almost 4pm and time for my hike down the road to a hanging bridge over the river. I walked one trail here in the jungle and it was slick and muddy. They gave me boots to wear but it is still steep and narrow. I'll stay on the road.
Dinner last night was  chicken with pineapples, rice, yogurt, bread and blackberries. Fucking delicious. Catherine says we are having filets a la Belgique tomorrow night. She is giving me a ride to the bus station at 6:45am Monday for my trip back to Cuenca. She said there are vans which drive direct to Cuenca with just a few passengers in just a few hours. Fantastique moi Caterine! She is very nice and knows her birds. She has known all my guides in Ecuador. I take her advise.
I'm off!