Puyo and Tena

A one-hour bus ride carried me to Puyo along the deep ravine of Rio Pastaza. Such a beautiful vista at speeds faster than a bus should travel. I checked into Jardines Restaurant y Hotel, the most elaborate in Puyo at $45. There is a wonderful walk along the river Puyo where I saw tamarin monkeys last year. No such luck this year but there were a lot of birds. Swallow tanagers are so beautiful. Lunch was a bit expensive for a chicken meal at $13. Nice place but overpriced. I walked up an observation tower during a clear sky and was smacked by the view of Sangay, a perfect cone-shaped volcano- with snow on top! Another snow-capped peak was a former volcano which had the top blown off many thousands of years ago. Fascinating. I had run into friends from Vilcabamba in Banos, and they were here as well. Clint Ivie is a musical artist who has played with fame in the USA. We shared a few beers and they moved on to Cuenca. It was nice to be with some friends in Puyo.

Next morning, off to Tena on the 9am bus. We passed the John F. Kennedy Parochial school along the way. A remote jungle school. I met a French 62 year-old woman who wrote a book on medicinal plants but did not know who JFK was. More on her later.

Arriving in Tena I took a taxi to my hotel, Los Yutzos. It is hot and humid here.  The rio Pano and rio Tena come together at a central point in town. Now there is a pedestrian bridge swathed in lights to welcome the new year. I wonder what it was like 500 years ago. I moved to Casa Blanca hotel where a lady from USA and her Ecuadorian husband run a perfectly wonderful hostel. My room with private bath is $20 a night and includes use of a kitchen and washer/dryer. A young girl from Cornell/Berkley doing her doctorate on pollination of cacao provided interesting conversation for a few days. Gary, born here, recomended a lodge down river at Ahuano for birding. I went and stayed one night at Sacha Sisa Amazon Lodge. One and a half hour by bus and 20 minutes by canoe. Rustic at $20 a night. I met Juan's entire family and saw the home where he was born. A cabin. Lincoln had a nicer one. Just boards on stilts, with square holes as windows. Juan is 40 and has grandkids. He also speaks English, Spanish, Kichwa and French fluently. Perfect French. He never went to a college. Hell, his schooling was in the Amazon. He has never left Ecuador. His education is minimal. As is the education of most gringos who spend $70,000 on a college education and still struggle with English. I find him fascinating. As a bird guide he was average. I showed him a few birds he had never seen.  Marie, from France was there. She wrote a very nice book on medicinal plants, which she autographed and presented to Juan. She seemed interesting at first. She became more bizarre with conversation. She was in Ecuador for ayahuasco, the drug of choice here. At 62 she was just discovering herself after a relationship with a Cherokee woman in the US. Then she developed a relationship with a Shaman who talked her into giving her a lot of money. I felt sorry for her. I have grown tired of French and Germans in Ecuador, with a few exceptions. 

The Kichwa of the Amazon either came to the jungle from the Andes as a result of Inca raids or Spanish raids. I am not sure which. They are looked down on by Andean Quichua and they look down on native Amazonians. A social strata by altitude. They all claw at life but are very content. Amazonians are river folk, for the most part. I admire their fortitude, but they destroy the selva without care. They do not live with nature, they exploit Pachamama. A jaguar is a skin to be sold.

I love their smiles. The look of wonder in their eyes. Especially when they look at me. I am not sure what I represent to them. Money, primarily. But I try to understand what it must be like to be born in a treehouse in the Amazon and then get on a bus to Quito, for the first time. What would you think as a 14 year old? A 8 year old? Or a 60 year old who has never been up river?  Most here have never seen the Pacific. They love hotdogs and Coca Cola. Hey-lo meester, they say to me. Most of the tee-shirts have a logo from the USA.

I take a walk every morning. Today I saw an orange-fronted plushcrown, amethyst woodstar and a lettered aracari. Life birds for me. I dream about taking a boat down the Napo to Iquitos. Dreams are easy here. Still, everyone smiles. I may spend Christmas in Otavalo. Quito is a 3 hour trip. 8,000 feet up. Cooler weather is needed. Cotapaxi fumes.
Monday, me voy.

                                                                   Sangay

 

Napo

Tena

Tena

Napo Lodge

Pastaza

Juan's Wife

Juan and His Grandpa's house

On the Move.

It is time to travel again. Vilcabamba was getting tiring. It is such a beautiful area but it is somehow tainted by the types of people it attracts.Some are just socially inept and others should see a professional. Conversations tinged by the bizarre. I left some clothes with friends in Loja who have generously offered me their apartment in February for 2 months, and headed to Cuenca with the Izhcayluma van. We broke down in a very remote valley. The engine light came on and the driver panicked. The accelerator did nothing. After turning off the engine for a few minutes, the computer reset itself and all seemed well. No speedometer but we made it to Cuenca. Rode with some interesting guys who have been friends for 40 years. Charlie owns a farm here by the coast and Joe was from Alaska. Both engineers with families. I told them about Inca Lounge and shur'nuf, they showed up and we chatted for hours. I envied them for being such good friends and travel buddies.

Cuenca was sunny and warm the five days I stayed. Had my room on the river to listen to at night. There was an apartment for rent that I wish I could have taken. $650 is a little steep but it is a brand-new glass apartment. Shit. Anyway, saw friends and had good meals and vascillated on where to head to next. I made a reservation at Posada Ingapirca and caught the 9am bus direct. I arrived by 11:30am and checked into my room at 10,500ft. The ruins were right next door. I did the 1:30 tour with the guide and then walked the trails along the river gorge. Lots of birds. Black-billed shrike tyrant added. A good picture of a black-tailed trainbearer. The Cañar people had settled this area long before the Inca arrived and conquered them around 1450. I am always amazed how the faces of the people change with the landscape. When I awoke at 5am and took my cold morning walk, I saw that all the locals come out dressed in their colorful warm wool and milk the cows. Then they exchange the dirt under their nails for fresh earth, and work until lunch, and a siesta. You can tell certain indigenous groups apart by the hats they wear. Round white bolos here with balls dangling from the brim. Beautiful people and a very difficult language. Happy children.
After my walk I had breakfast and a taxi came to take me to town, El Tambor, to wait for a bus. Within 30 minutes a bus to Ambato stopped and picked me up. Five hours through farmland, some of which has exhausted soil. Up high mountains and down to cities in narrow valleys. This bus would continue to Quito but they dropped me in Ambato where I crossed the street and immediately got on a bus for Baños. Sunny and warm. In one hour we were in town and I took a taxi to my hostal. Baños is at about 6,000 ft and lies between steep cliffs as the Pastaza river gouges out the landscape. Cool in the evening and just warm enough during the day. There is always a wind sweeping the valley floor.
I checked in to my room with a fireplace with the 200 foot waterfall outside my window and have been here four nights. My first stop in town was to Pipa's Bar to see folks I had met here before during Mundial. Nina was behind the bar and greeted me sweetly. She is Swiss and has an Ecuadorian husband. They have a 8 year-old boy who has grown so much since I saw him last year. Nina has been here almost 20 years and has all the information. I bought her some sunflowers. I am going to look at an apartment she recomended. Who knows where I will end up. Yesterday I heard
yelling coming from an indoor arena and stopped to see what was happening. It was an all-school talent show. The kids were fantastic. Each school has their separate uniforms to indentify them. Kids sang, danced and recited poetry. Their faces all smiles. Very well behaved and very polite. I love Ecuadorians.
I had a taxi take me up to Casa de Arbol which has a swing that lifts you above a steep cliff (not me).
I got there at 6:30 am and birded for 6 hours. Beautiful hooded mountain tanagers and mountain caciques. Hummers everywhere. I spotted and Andean guan as I made my way down the road. I chased a green-and-black fruiteater for 30  minutes. Clouds swirled below me and up the valley. A fantastic day. Had a drink(s) with friends and a steak dinner and off to bed at 8:30.
My next stop will be down to Puyo, one hour east, and at the edge of the Amazon at 3,000 ft. Monkeys begin at appear at that altitude. All different birds. All different smells and flowers. And all different people. Ashuar. Jívaro. Here I come.

The Volcano Tungurahua in clouds

           
                                                                 Nina and Sunflowers

                                                               Black-tailed Trainbearer

                                                                   Ingapirca

Macará and Jocotoco Jorupe

Every few days I get itchy to go somewhere. So, on Tuesday I decided to get on a bus to Macará. There are two routes that the buses take and I chose, of course, the wrong one. It was 6 hours on a mostly unpaved road which was still being constructed. The buses are comfortable, the ride was beautiful, but it was tedious travel. This route took me through Cariamanga and Sozoranga. The birding website Birds in Ecuador informed me to look for chestnut collared swallows in Sozoranga. I did not see them. I use that website and its maps for all my birding trips. It is very helpful. Finally, I arrived in Macará. There were few choices for a hotel on Tripadvisor. It is a very small border town. I did, however, choose the best hotel. Hotel Arrozales, named after the mainstay of the town- the rice fields- is a new, modern and clean hotel. I asked the attendant if I could see the room first. Queen size bed, a balcony, large shower with hot water and very clean. For $20. Sold. I changed my shirt and went for a walk. There is an airport which had a closed control tower. It wasn't needed as the people on the runway were not in planes. I suppose it was a remnant from the border wars of 1940 to 1995. It is also very convenient for drug trade. It is in the middle of town and folks sure aren't going to walk around it! I ate a shrimp and rice lunch at a Peruvian restaurant and drank a pitcher of a local drink with a lot of sediment. Delectable for $4.50. One of the first things I noticed about the town was that they like to fly their flags. On the Peruvian side the cows were white and the farmers dressed in red and white. Interesting. There was a futbol game on- Ecuador vs Venezuela- but no one in public places watching it. The girl told me people watch it from home. I could hear the game from every house. I found a new bar called Vino y Tapa and watched the game with a few locals. Ecuador kicked ass. Back at the hotel I asked for a taxi at 6am. They looked stunned. How much. $30. No way. I realised that they had no idea where the Jocotoco reserve was located. " I will call in the morning" she said. In the morning the kid at the desk could not get a taxi. I don't think he knew how to call one. A kid comes walking down the stairs with an expensive  camera on his shoulder and binoculars around his neck. Bingo! "Are you going to Jorupe?" Yes, I said, do you want to share a taxi? "No, I have a car" Bingo again! So off we went at 6:15 am to Jorupe which was only a 10 minute drive. The gate was locked so we walked up to the lodge. It took an hour and we saw lots of great birds. A bat falcon was the most impressive. Thibaud Aronson is from France, about 25, speaks English, Spanish and French,( not a dumb US college kid) and was traveling from Peru with his father. He had to go back to the hotel at 8 to pick up his dad. I stayed and walked the trails. They feed pale-browed tinamou's at the lodge. Nice bird to see. When I got back to the lodge Thibaud was there with his father, Allen, I think, a notable botanist. Again, I meet such interesting people. They dropped me back at the hotel and headed back to Peru. I rested and went for a long walk down to the river at 4pm. Along the way were hundreds of chestnut-collared swallows along the electric lines. They were everywhere. Field workers stared at the gringo with binoculars. Got the birds I was looking for and back to the bar!
Christmas trees are up. They seem to love xmas trees in Macara. They also love manger sets. Very elaborate manger sets. I saw many little baby Jesus's. No xmas music though. Again I asked the hotel to get me a taxi for 6 am. I got one at 6:30 and it was $5 to Jorupe. I walked up to the lodge and birded the trails. Red-billed sythebill. Long-billed starthroat. 13 new species! And the trails are beautiful through the Tumbesian dry forest. The ceiba trees are glorious. Fantastic place. I got back to the lodge and asked the girls to call a taxi and have him pick me up at the front entrance in 1 hour, as that would be how long it would take for me to walk down. At the road I waited almost an hour. No taxi. My blood began to boil. It's hot, I'm tired and I have to walk back up. I gave the girls a piece of my mind I probably should not have shared. I had also learned that I never had to pay $160 a night for a room at Jocotoco lodges. I am a resident and the price should be $60. Now I'm really pissed. I got an email from Paola, who runs the lodges in Quito, saying that those poor girls never had to call a taxi before. Bullshit. When I did have a taxi come- and I made him drive up to the lodge- it wasn't a taxi but some kid with a beat-up car. Paola was upset because she said I called her a liar. She has never given me a straight answer, which is typically Ecuadorian. She offered me a refund which I refused but I told her I would have to reconsider doing business with her. $160 is very expensive as lodges go in Ecuador. And their food is just simple fare. She emphasized that the lower fares are to teach ECUADORIANS. I emphasized that the money for Jocotoco comes from GRINGOS. Which is true. Anyway, I didn't let this spoil my day and got back to the hotel in time to go have a beer. Or 4. And a vino verano. Or 2.
Next morning I caught a taxi at 6:30 and went to the border crossing. This is the only place where you can access the river. The comb ducks are found here. I found 4 of them! Back to the hotel and breakfast- included with the room. I was told that trucks go to Loja and I could catch one in front of the church. I found one and it costs $10 to go to Loja in a brand new 4-door Chevy truck. We would take a different route to Loja. All paved roads. A young couple with a baby also were going and they were in the back seat. The driver was the fastest driver I have had yet. The tires squealed on every curve. The baby was laying on the seat and if he had slammed on the brakes she would probably have needed a new baby. At the police check point they wanted  to see my passport. We were in Loja in less than 3 hours. Speedy Gonzalez gave me his number. It is so easy and cheap to travel here.
A friend of mine here passed away after what should have been an less complicated operation. I'll stay with my Harvard surgeons. Very sorry to see him go.
Now I am waiting on my landlord, who never tells the truth, to come and fix screens. I may move again soon. This house is a little expensive for what it provides. I should stay here and wait out the El Niño event for which the U.S. Embassy sent a warning. It is supposed to be one of the worst ever, especially along the coastal provinces. We shall see. I'm ready to go somewhere again!

Smugmug

Jocotoco Buenaventura

The Jocotoco Reserves are areas where land is purchased in order to preserve certain species of birds. There are 11 reserves, I believe. I went to another reserve for 4 days. The Buenaventura Reserve and the Umbrellabird Lodge are closer to the coast, northwest of Loja. I took a bus to Loja and then the bus to Piñas, a 5 hour trip. My bus driver looked like an Ecuadorian Ralph Kramden. In Loja an indigenous woman asked for the time and I showed her my watch. Then I realised she could not tell time so I told her the time, which I should have done to begin with. In Piñas I took a taxi west for 40  minutes to the reserve. It was a holiday here in Ecuador. The Day of the Dead, when all go visit their relatives stacked in tombs. The bus took a route which carried us over a narrow dirt road for 2 hours. My vertigo has diminished considerably. Along the way I saw folks bathing in the rivers to cool off and wash themselves. I had to close the window on the bus to keep out the dust. It was hot. The sun was bright in town but as we neared Jocotoco in the taxi the clouds descended. I was in the cloud forest again. The muddy road to the lodge was about 5 miles long. As it was a holiday there were many local families visiting the lodge to watch the hummingbirds. Many were trying to touch the birds. Two Coatis came and one shit in the corner. Everyone laughed. I was shown to my cabin and immediately headed out on the trail to bird (verb). White-shouldered tanagers, blue-necked tanagers, club-winged manakins- check! There were birds everwhere. I, I, I say, everwhere. The cloud forests are truely amazing places. The variety of plants and flowers are astounding. At the lodge was Bruce Sherman from Texas. He was in Ecuador to photograph birds. He had an elaborate setup for pictures of hummingbirds. There were 5 flash mounts  on tripods. One of the ladies tried to look through the flash. Bruce dosen't speak Spanish and told her slowly 'it's aaa flaaashh..'  She was a little embarrassed. Bruce seemed  to think if you spoke slowly enough everyone understood English. A 30-something couple from San Francisco showed up at the lodge and Ivan intoduced himself as a board member of Jocotoco. Not much personality. His girlfriend  is an Ecuadorian who has lived in D.C.  The 4 of us had dinner and chatted about the foundation and how they had to split the tour business away from the foundation. Jocotocotours are a separate entity. I was in bed by 9 and up at 5 to meet my guide, Leo. We walked the old road up  to a higher  elevation to look for the El Oro Parakeet, which is one of the birds of special interest. There was a derrumbe which  blocked the path  and I was afraid to try to scale it--- long way down. I dipped on the parakeet as I  did at Tapichalaca and  the golden-plumed  parakeet. I'll git em one day! My guide was a nice guy but not a great birder. I had nice looks  at white-tipped sicklebills and club-winged manakins were abondanza. They make a sound with their wings. Watch one HERE.
The next day I walked the trails alone and saw many more birds. The long-wattled umbrellabird is the most fascinating crow-size bird. The males resonate their calls through the wattle, which is  longer then the bird is tall! I heard  one  calling and tracked him down. Not easy to do in the jungle.
Ivan and his GF departed and were replaced by an older man with white, unkempt hair. A Brit was here. Not your average Brit, mind you, but an O.B.E. Brit! Nigel Simpson is the benefactor of Casa Simpson at Tapichalaca and founder of Jocotoco. A  pharmaceutical chemist who sold the company and gave money to preserve birds in Ecuador. At dinner Bruce wanted to know if Brits liked the Queen. I wanted to know how he came to have a frog named after him. He funded the exploratory project. He was quite interesting and very personable. I enjoyed talking with him.
I stayed an extra night. It is hard to leave the cloud forest jungles. The beauty and strange sounds are enchanting. Eleven  new species of birds. But soon I was back on a bus headed home. A man threw a glass bottle out the bus window and I finally said something. Shame on you, I said.  He wasn't phased.  I'm sick of adults littering here. Shame, indeed.
My porch spider lives. I thought she was dead when I found her dangling from her web one morning. I lowered her to a bush and she climbed under a leaf. Maybe she had just ate her husband and it made her sick. She's better now. She greeted me this morning and had a juicy June beetle to suck on. I'm so glad.

Rain Brings a Sigh of Relief

The rain began in the afternoon and lasted through the night. The river trickled over rocks in the morning but by afternoon had overflowed its banks. Five times as much water flowed down from the mountains where it had rained much more. Humidity increased. You could almost feel or hear life cycles enter a growing phase. Insects, reptiles and mammals leave their burrows. Tree limbs, weakened by insects and disease, snap. New sounds emanate from the greenery. Frogs come to life. Time to build nests and webs. Within a few days everything will take on new colors as moss, lichens, mildew, leaves, and flowers grow. Even rocks have different hues and shades of color. I love change. The valley is green again.

 Every night just after dark, a spider starts building her circular web on my front porch.  The web is large and she sits patiently in the middle all night long. Then, at first light, around 4:30, she begins cutting the tie lines. Within a few minutes she and her web are gone. I greet her each morning and evening.

I took a trip to the Jocotoco Tapichalaca reserve. I caught the bus at 6 am and headed south. We picked up school kids along the way and dropped them off at Yangana. These are rural kids, mostly indigenous backgrounds, whose family subsists off the land. Most of them smiling and all of them with the clean, bright white clothes. Their uniforms perfectly clean, tee shirts bright and stainless. The bus driver insisted he knew where I wanted to get off. When we came to Valladolid I told him we passed the reserve and he assured me it was in front of us. I got off the bus and asked if there was a taxi service in the town. No. Then I spotted a taxi coming around the plaza. I called Jocotoco and she explained to him where I wanted to go- 4 miles back. He told me the taxi 
service is new in Valladolid. How lucky I am when I travel! I arrived at the lodge at 8 am and was given a forest-ranger guide. he knew his birds and their calls. After watching them feed the Jocotoco Antpitta, I saw 3 more species of Antpitta- a very reclusive, ground dwelling bird. My meals were excellent and I finally bought a shoulder harness for my binoculars. They no longer hang around my sore neck. The hummingbird feeders were a constant buzz of activity with 5 species coming regularly. At night bats came to feed on the nectar. Amazing. This lodge has camera traps set along the trails and pumas and bears have been photographed. The cloud forest jungles are so breathtaking. So much growth and life abound.  I still dipped on the gray-breasted mountain toucans. Shit, these birds avoid me every time I am in their habitat. I will return and get them. I did see 14 new species (1155). At 11 am the next day I heard the bus coming up the hill and it stopped to pick me up in front of the lodge. I was home in 1.5 hours. So simple. I have forgotten how easy it is to travel in Ecuador. Bus fare was $3. I will be going the to Jocotoco Buenaventura Umbrellabird lodge next week. They are running a special for the holiday- Cuenca's Independence Day. $100 off- sold!

As I get to know some of the locals, mostly U.S. expats but a lot of Canucks and Krauts as well, I am very much aware of how tolerant I have become. Yes, tolerant. Few of the nuts that live here bother me. Just yesterday I was told again about the UFO's that hang over Mandango at night. I hear how safe we are here, away from the Empire and the chemical trails from jets. Honestly, some of these people are certifiably crazy. They take pills to kill all their parasites, then drink booze for 3 hours. Of course everyone has a cure for cancer. Sometimes you have to ask yourself if maybe these are the most intelligent people in the world in my valley and I am the nut. The bird voyueur. They are good people, for the most part.

There is a Halloween party this weekend at Montesuenos. I feel like I should take the invitation and go. I will have to take some B-12 and stay up late. I really don't want to miss my favorite holiday party. The Wood-Logic parties in Atlanta were the best ever, but this could compare. I'll make up my mind Saturday. In the meantime, I am going to a bar to watch the World Series with some friends. He and his wife have a beach house in El Salvador they are trying to sell and it needs painting. I am invited to go with him for a few weeks. Tempting. So is the $350 roundtrip airfare to Sao Paulo, Brazil I saw yesterday. The birds I would tick-off there!Fuck.
Each day I discover something different. A new trail or a new stream or valley. I have squirrel cuckoo in my back yard and something always blooming. I like it here, with my spiders.

Another Modest Proposal

As an avid, well, hard-core, bird watcher, I have always slept better if I had gone birding that morning. Indeed, my mood and attitude were more conducive to sleep. Whatever the world's problems were, they weren't mine. I had thoughts of what I had seen that day. Rain or shine, it had been a better day because I had gone birding. As I thought of species that eluded me, I would plan another outing with the determination of finding a certain bird. Hopefully, I would dream of birds or other wildlife. I now live in Vilcabamba, Ecuador, in the midst of the greatest diversity of life on the planet. If you are searching for birds, plants or orchids, animals or reptiles, it just does not get any better than Ecuador. My walk this morning took me from dry scrub to wet cloud forest in just an hour. One couldn't help but smile at such surroundings. An article in The Atlantic for October, 2015, describes the benefits of such activity. Not birding, per se, but any activity which brings you into an environment conducive to tranquility and awe. They call it ecotherapy. It can be the best prescription for many ailments or conditions. It can alleviate stress (hormonal) and behavioral disorders. We are an animal ourselves and we must affiliate ourselves with other life forms. Nature-deficit disorder exists! Thoreau understood this, as did E. O. Wilson. Children are more at ease after time spent communing with nature. Patients heal faster if their hospital room has a view of nature. You have less anger, fatigue or sadness if your workout is in a park, or the woods, rather than in a gym. But you can't just touch a tree and incur the benefits, you also have to have a sense of caring or feel involved. You, as a life form, are a part of this environment. You don't have to wear tie-dye and live in a commune to appreciate the benefits of nature. I propose that this be incorporated in a childs' education at the appropriate age, which I would leave to educators to determine. I am not saying take kids out to a park and have them smell the flowers. They need to be taught how to appreciate their surroundings and have a sense of belonging. Ecuadorians have a propensity to litter which could be alleviated if they are taught at a young age that trash has its place, and this place is not along the side of the road. All the populace should have this appreciation instilled in them. As a tool, teaching bird watching skills is an ideal way to accomplish this goal. It can have a set curriculum. And if you like to learn names of the birds you see, it can teach you something about Latin! Every aspect of what a child might learn by birding has multiple benefits. A teacher could 'sneak' in the science of biology and chemistry with ease. Ask someone to donate 20 pairs of binoculars to a school. Surely a corporation in your area would like to sponsor this type of education. Nature-deficit disorder can sometimes lead to a teenager picking up a few cans of spray-paint!

John W. Erickson

Vilcabamba, Loja, Ecuador.

Vilcabamba Skies

I have settled into the house very comfortably and can begin establishing routines. As the employees arrive for work next door at Descanso Del Toro, the knock on the door sets off the roosters- at 4:30 am. I look out the window to ascertain if there are clouds or stars, then ponder where I will go for my morning walk. There are so many options and I am discovering more everyday as I talk to folks who have lived here a long time. Rumi Wilco Ecolodge is a short jaunt and the birds are very active. A whooping motmot (not my picture below) resides there as do one-colored becards and a pair of Peruvian pygmy owls. There are cabins along the river and the Inga trees attract swarms of amazilla hummingbirds. There are a few trails going up the mountain which vary in difficulty. I will be taking the easy incline soon to look for the Andean tinamou which calls from above.  As the sun rises and warms the air rapidly, the winds swirl between the mountains. Sometimes these gusts are very strong. In the evening the cool air comes down from the summits and the temperature will drop by 20 degrees. Usually the skies clear and I watch satellites zip by. I saw five two nights ago. The stars are so vivid on a clear night. I had another cookout to watch the super moon last night. Chicken wings on the grill and a fantastic view of the blood-moon. $25 worth of wings turned out to be a LOT of wings! Everything is so cheap here.
I am always looking up at the sky for soaring raptors or to watch the movement of the clouds. Some mornings provide spectacular formations to reflect the rising sun. At 5,000ft, near the equator and with low humidity, the skies are ever changing and vibrant. I don't think I have ever seen such colors as I do here. I am in constant awe of everything here. At night the blossoms of jasmines and brugmansia fill the air. There is always something new to behold. It is an Eden. I have noticed a change in the air as the seasons progress. In a few weeks the rains will come and this valley will turn green. Each day the heavy dark clouds of the Amazon move further over the mountains in our direction. I am looking forward to the rain. The rivers will swell and the birds will become more active as the flowers bloom. Then the rains slack off again until January.  My $11 Wellingtons have been a good investment. I walked up river a half mile and I wear them on all my hikes now. I had made a mistake in identifying one of the common flowering trees as Euphorbia. The Erythrina are used as fence posts and they soon grow when put in the ground. Beautiful flowering fences are everywhere.

Jungle Dave http://www.jungledavestours.com came to visit and we cooked a ton of meat on the grill and introduced him to the town. He will be delivering quality meats every few weeks. Ecuadorians don't know how to butcher cattle properly. I will be going to visit his farm soon and get him on the eBird map. I go back to Cuenca this week to get my cedula. Once that is done I am free to travel anywhere. Yankuam lodge is going to be my first stop along the Cordillera del Condor.
My back is feeling much better but I still have to be cautious. As much as I would like to ride a horse up into the mountains, I had better wait a while. Horses are popular here and for $30 they take you on a 6 hour tour. I would like to do one of the over-nights to the high paramo soon. I still need to find a gray-breasted mountain toucan. I have heard that riding at night is risky to the horses as Bothrops asper snakes bite them on occaision. They are the ultimate pit-viper known as Fer-de-lance.

I had to remove another person from my Facebook page. Luis was a great bird guide but he had some issues with arrogance. Hell, he is only 25. He was going to come here so we could go to Jocotoco reserves but the only way to contact him was through FB Messenger. At one point he said he was coming the next day but I told him we have to have reservations for the reserves. Then when I had to go to Cuenca I thought I had better call him to tell him. He seemed very put off by my call. I removed him from FB so he couldn't message me. Oh well. He also lied about his last name which I will never understand. I will use local guides for birding from now on.

There is a canal system in Vilcabamba where water is diverted from the river. Once a week it is diverted to a canal in my backyard and I clear the leaves so water can flood the fruit trees. I could hear water flowing a minute ago so I looked and someone diverted it into the street. I have to find where the diversions begin. It is all very interesting. (I just found out the neighbor is emptying his swimming pool into the street).
I have been buying cheese from the blessed cheese makers in Saraguro. I wish they would learn to make cheddar, the singularly most popular cheese in the world. The were fresh out of red leichester and Venezuelan beaver cheese is out because the van broke down. They get Tilset fresh on Monday, if the cat doesn't eat it. She cat.
Time for a siesta in the hammock....

My Vilcabamba Home

My friend Gary was very kind in allowing me to live in his townhouse for three weeks. Loja is a smaller city with less to keep the average 'Merican content and ocupado. I attended the fair and found the people to be very content. The city is very walkable and ,indeed, I must have walked four or five miles everyday. The most evident difference between the USA and Ecuador is that the indigenous people here are everywhere. Their culture is unique and their faces show an amazing history. In the US we swept our natives under a terrible rug and they can't resurface. There are different 'tribes' here and one of the most prevalent around me are the Saraguro. One of the few to never be conquered by the Incas.They are very commanding in appearance. You notice them quickly. I wish I could sit and talk with a few of them as I have so may questions. They are protesting a lack of governmental attention. They have a strong voice. I am never sure how mixed bloods truly view the native peoples of Ecuador, but I know there is a little contempt. I am in constant contact with the true Americans. They work hard. They aren't drunks like our natives ( sorry redskins). They produce an amazing variety of food and crafts. They have a pride which has never been stolen. They make Ecuador so much more interesting, as they have always been the salt of the earth. (As I write, two amazing insects are crawling on my screen. For the first time in many years I have something to talk to in bed!)

I have been very fortunate in meeting people. Darnell Dunn, an 31 year old dark skinned Bostonian has been a true blessing. He is in real estate http://www.abecuador.com and one of the most professional people I have ever met. The owner of Zarza Brewing ( thanks Greg) gave me his contact information and when I came to Vilcabamba he mentioned a house I might like to see. We walked from the plaza and into a walled garden. I never would have imagined that Vilcabamba could be a home for me, but here I are. I am surrounded by 24 citrus trees in a constant state of bloom. More oranges and tangerines than I could ever consume. And birds that love their sweet taste and the insects they attract. Yellow-tailed orioles sing every morning, right after the 100 or so roosters which begin at 4:30 am! Southern yellow grosbeaks and blue-grey tanagers feed off the fruits in the trees. Rumi Wilco is a 10 minute walk from home. My landlord, Pablo Jaramillo, has been very attentive to fixing things around the house, so far. Last night he brought an electrician and they installed very nice fixtures.When I have the front gate open people peer into the yard and smile. It is a beautiful house. Each evening I meet new locals, mostly gringos, and enjoy listening to their stories. Already people say hello to me on the street.

I slipped and fell in the shower and hurt my back rather severely. Luis is coming next week and we are off to the Jocotoco Reserves in southern Ecuador. I have been in pain but I think I can make it. I practiced by climbing one of the high trails here this morning. It takes a lot to bring me down and I am determined to go birding. Tapichalaca and Jorupe reserves are too good to miss, especially having Luis with me. The locals have some good medicine for me! I will be having a party soon and grilling meat of some sort. Monika from Switzerlandia is coming by soon to help me clean cob-webs from up high. A house cleaner here costs about $3-$4 dollars and hour. SOLD!

A flock of chestnut-collared swifts are flying overhead like fighter jets. I love watching them. Blue and white swallows are looking fro nesting sites and I hope a pair chooses my porch. Cotopaxi has been quiet lately. I guess I will miss the whales at the coast as they will be leaving in a few weeks. The Esmeraldas hummingbird will replace them. There is always a reason to go to the beach!

On th Move- Loja and Vilcabamba

After returning from the Amazonas, I secured an apartment near the airport in Cuenca. I moved in on Friday and moved out on Wednesday. There were parties until 5 am. Richard agreed to refund my money so I decided to head south. I packed 2 light backpacks and left the majority of my clothes with a friend, Mark Quinn. The van ride cost $12 to Loja and in 3.5 hours I arrived. I checked in to a hotel which was on the edge of town so the next day, after exploring the city, I moved downtown. I had a room facing the park in a newly renovated hotel for $25 a night. Very nice. I was told to go to Zarza Brewing to meet locals (Mericans). The owner and staff are very kind and gave me a lot of information. Loja is at 7,200 ft. and a bit warmer than Cuenca. And the sun shines more often. It is a small Andean city with a wonderful Ecuadorian vibe and culture. I met two expats named Scott and Gary and we exchanged information. I had made reservations for Izhcayluma in Vilcabamba a few days after arriving here. Loja is very enjoyable and sits at the base of Podocarpus National Park, which I had visited last year on my trip to Zamora, 1.5 hours east of Loja.  I strolled up the mountain side one morning to bird the area and came across strange castles built up high. Coming down I passed 4 teenagers, one girl in a wheelchair and her 3 boy friends. They were pulling and pushing her up the steep slope and she had a look of such marvel on her face. The boys were grunting and laughing. What a sweet memory.
I received an email from Gary the next day stating that I could stay in his townhouse while he is away in Cuenca for 3 weeks. We met up and he showed me the house and how everything works. I arrived in Vilcabamba on Monday and Gary came down to visit a few days and bring me the keys to his house. The drive to Vilcabamba is so beautiful, with high rain forests and low rivers. Rugged and stunning. It is only 40 minutes from Loja. Arriving at Izhcayluma early, I decided to bird the property for a few hours. I immediately found collared antshrikes and Ecuadorian piculets. An elegant crescentchest made its debut into my life. The dry Tumbesian forest and mountains lie on the west and the rain/cloud forest on the east side. Fantastic habitats just a few miles apart. Everything grows in Vilcabamba as it is at 5,100 ft. Perfect temperatures year-round. Fruits and veggies abound. Birds are abundant. I inquired about a bird guide but none were to be found so I was on my own. I can now identify nearly any bird I encounter. It doesn't take as long for me to look them up in the book and I always study the area before arriving. I met locals, some very strange ones too, and was told to go to Rumi Wilco nature reserve and speak with Alicia. We met and we chatted about birds for an hour. I helped her with the list she keeps of birds seen at her lodge. She and her husband are plant and animal specialists. She told me an Andean tinamou could be found a few meters up the slope. I will go look for it when I return. I had already walked a few miles to meet with her. There are several species of birds which can only be found in extreme southern Ecuador. I will find them!
I spent time at the local bars, of course, and made new friends. I overheard one conversation as a man told his friends that the FBI was behind the Barney Miller show as a method of brain washing Americans. Another conversation concerned the terrible energy that our galaxy is going to pass through in September. Remember to duck in September folks. Vilca is a hippie version of Apalachicola. Many Germans are expats there. Weird ones too.  I mean really fucking weird! But overall they don't matter much. They keep to their own and normal people keep to their own. Normal people, you know.
I asked a realtor to help me locate a place to live in Loja. He told me of a house in Vilca that I could look at as well. Vilca started to feel very comfortable. Very small but interesting. Birding is an easy walk or taxi ride. I very much liked the 3 bedroom house on and acre with dozens of fruit trees and furnished very nicely. Beautiful yard and gardens, as well. The ower wants $500, which is very high for Vilca. Most nice apartmets are 250-350 range. We are going to make an offer in a few days. I would like to live in Vilca for a few months and take some trips to Peru from there. Peru is only 40 miles away, as the crow flies. Well, black chested buzzard-eagle, there are no crows in Ecuador.
I need to settle soon, I suppose. Cuenca is off the list for now. Too cold and damp. I think spending a few months here and there is an exciting way to live. I find new birds and meet interesting people. For now I will stay in Loja until Gary gets back the first week in terrible September. I am going to a take a few overnight trips to the jungle and toward Peru in the next few weeks. Traveling is a little shaky right now as the indigenous folks are angry at Correa and there is a national strike which leads to road blockages. It will be interesting to see what happens. Most people are more concerned about the volcano up north. Cotapaxi is belching gas and if it melts the glaciers and snow pack a terrible catastrophe could occur. Lahars move at devastating speeds. Still waiting on my Visa and I can't go to Peru until I have it. It will come. I love Ecuador.