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.

Coca and Sani Lodge

I flew to Quito and stayed at Zaysant Eco Lodge for two nights. The buildings and cabanas were all built by Gerardo from Argentina. He and his family have a bucolic farm and garden just outside Puembo, very near the airport. They all were so kind and generous. The zipper broke on my pants and they had a new zipper sewn in within 4 hours. I met a gentleman from Norway and a few folks from Poland and Vietnam. We had a lively discussion about human life on Earth and the aspects of everyday life under the watchful eye of governments. The Norwegian also new all the lines from Monty Python and Fawlty Towers. We laughed a lot. Nothing spectacular, bird-wise.
My flight to Coca ( Puerto Francicso de Orellana) took 25 minutes on an A-310. The view of the jungle stretching east was quite a sight. Coca is where Francisco De Orellana left on his discovery of the Amazon river in 1541. The Province is named after him, as well. Coca is an oil town which was built up by Texaco in the 70's, now owned by Chevron. There are discos and prostitutes. The people are a mix of  Amazonia tribes, black and Spanish. Very interesting features. It is hot and muggy. The Napo river joins the Coca river and Payamino river here. The current, when I arrived, was swift and at a flood stage. The waters a creamy brown. The altitude is about 730 feet, which means the water flows 2,800 miles but only drops by 730 feet. I saw the head of a man (alive) bobbing as he floated down river. The police woman said he was loco. Everyone gathered around a tree in which hid a common possum. The Hotel Auca had squirrel monkeys and agouti's foraging in the gardens. Ticked off a few new birds such as black breasted mango hummingbird. I will provide a link to a few photos of the birds I have seen at the end of this blog.
Luis was a little late on arriving in the afternoon and I was a little nervous. His plane ran late and he was a nervous wreck as he hates flying. I had told him to pretend he was a condor but that didn't work so well. We immediately went in search of beer and strolled down by the river. The fish they pull from the river are brightly colored, as is everything in the selva. Our motored canoe would leave from La Mision in the morning, though we were not sure of the exact time. I told Luis we would come early, at 7:30 am. We had a few beers along Rio Napo and talked about politics in Ecuador. Luis comes from a well-heeled family of educated people. He was concerned about the inheritance tax proposals.
In the morning I settled our bills and we went to the river docks to wait for our ship. We discovered that it would not leave until around 9am. There were just a few folks coming to Sani Lodge. We climbed in and took our seats and headed down river. The river is half a mile wide in some areas and is dotted with sand islands and islands with trees and vegetation. Most of the sand islands were inundated. The eddies in the current were fascinating. One could easily drown in this powerful river. The Napo joins the Amazon river just outside Iquitos, Peru. I would love to float down the length of this river. The weather cooperated and the rains held off. I could imagine what it might have been like to make this venture 475 years ago. There is a painting here of a Conquistador shaking hands with a native. I doubt that occurred. I doubt they smiled.
We arrived at Sani Lodge with the waters at flood level. Water at least 4 feet above normal. The boardwalk into the jungle was flooded so we climbed in paddle canoes for a half-hour cruise through the selva. This is all primary forest. Giant Kapok (Ceiba) trees. Orchids, palms, vines tying everything together. Birds calling, frogs chirping and insects making any noise they could. We paddle across an ox-bow lake to the lodge. In the large hut we were greeted with a Cuba Libre and told of what we might expect. At more than $330 a night there will only be electricity between 4 am and 11 pm.- maybe. There might be hot water. WiFi by the bar only until 10pm. Don't drink the tap  water. No air conditioning. Yes, there are spiders here, big ones. Meals are served at prompt times and there is no menu. Yes, it can rain for days. They provide rubber boots. Then you are given a local guide who will be with you at all times when you venture away from the lodge. Julio was our guide. A native young man with eyes that could spot one green insect in a sea of green, and ears that could here a bird fart a mile away. No English spoken. My Spanish improved quickly. I was so fortunate. I had two bird guides, Luis and Julio. Between them I had the best of enthusiasts. I was watching the birds when we were being told the rules. Scarlet-crowned barbet, black-fronted nunbird, white-eared jacamar, masked crimson tanager. I'm not looking at the lodge manager. I'm in bird land. I hear birds everywhere. Welcome, they tell me. They hand me a rum and coke. Cheers!
We go to our rooms, mine a stand-alone hut with two beds and screened windows. Oropendulas and caciques call out from the trees. White-winged swallows skim the water. Hoatzins are squabbling amongst themselves constantly. Lunch will be served at 1:30. After lunch we stroll to find manakins in the bosque. The path is flooded and we can't cross. Dinner at 6:30. After dinner we take our flashlights and look for anything that moves. Most things do not move but Julio finds them anyway. A giant red-velvet tarantula. A huge bright green chameleon-like lizard. Salamanders, katydids, scorpion spider. Frogs of every size from 1 pounders to 1 gram. And of every color. I go to bed listening to them all communicating.
Up at 4:30 am for a trip to the observation tower. They provide birders breakfast at 5 am. It is pouring down rain and we are given ponchos. There are floating islands of vegetation and we can't find the entrance to the path that takes us to the tower. Our ponchos don't keep out the wetness and I am soaked. Back to the lodge and wait for the rain to let up. It does and we head out again and hack with a machete to find the trail. The observation deck is in the top of a Ceiba tree, a huge kapok. A wooden platform holds us at canopy level. We see white-throated toucan, channel-billed toucan, golden-collared toucanet. A great potoo sits just above us. We stay for an hour and head down to find the black-tailed trogon which is calling. We find him. Back in the canoe and we search for a sun grebe, which I never see. Blue and gold macaws cross the sky. Black-capped donocobius sound like car alarms going off- beautiful birds. Back at the lodge other guides have found an anaconda in the jungle. A lady at dinner wants almond silk milk. We don't see her the next day. Back out with our flashlights and more jungle jewels. Luis takes great photos and is looking for frogs. His camera falls from the tripod twice and he puts it away and I take the photos. Not nearly as good as his photos.
Next morning the three of us are off to Yasuni national park on the other side of the Napo, up river. It is a beautiful sunrise on the river. Julio spots a ladder-tailed nightjar. We pull up the canoe on an island and search for birds there. Oriole blackbirds and Parker's spinetail. We get back in the canoe and head up to have a park ranger greet us on the river and sign in. We go the the parrot lick which is world famous. We wait and hour before the hoards of  cobalt-winged parakeets come by the hundreds. The noise is loud and Hitchcock-like. They get trace elements and nutrients which help them digest the fruits of the forest. Amazing! We treck up the path and find screaming pihas, the typical jungle call you hear in movies. Julio goes back to get our box lunches which are being brought to us. Luis and I continue on the path and watch golden-headed manakins do there dance to attract females. Julio does not come back so we return to the parrot lick and see Julio coming up the trail. We eat a meal watching the parakeets. On the way back to the canoe we see red brocket deer and peccary. Butterflies are everywhere, as well. True beauty on wings. We go down river to a observation tower. A very, very high observation tower. 131 feet of shear terror. I do it, I climb it. I am here. I told Luis I would find him a king vulture if he got me the sun grebe. I find a king vulture and Luis is happy. The view of the jungle is forever. The Earth curves away to the Amazon. I breath fresh oxygen. I do NOT want to leave. We go.
On the way back we stop and see tropical screech owls at Julio's home. I see small children in a dug-out canoe along the bank of the river. Very small children. Children who learn the many dangers of their environment quickly. Things you shouldn't touch, or taste. They learn where to look for this bird or that frog and those snakes. The jungle bites back if you are not very careful. I am surprised that mosquitoes are not thick and annoying. No chiggers. I love this place.
We decide to do the Sani observation tower the next morning if it is not raining. It is raining the next morning but I am up at 4:30am. We don't make it there but take a few canoe rides along the lagoon in search of that damned sun grebe. Nope. The staff collects our bags and we take the 3 hour trip up river to Coca. I say so-long to the Amazonas. I will be back. Large-billed tern along the way.
Back in Coca I change my flight back to Quito so I fly back to Cuenca on the same day and have just a 2.5 hour layover. I am still in Coca and went for a walk over the bridge this morning. They wanted almost $200 to take me to Limoncocha so I passed on that. I will wash my clothes when I get back to Cuenca. I have a new apartment to move into.
I have seen 9 species of monkeys. Almost 80 new species of birds. We might have done much better if the river had not been so high. I am so glad I took this trip. I am drawn to the Amazon. It is such a special place. I will do more trips here. My clothes are all dirty so I have bathed myself in cologne and will hit the streets of Coca tonight for local flavor. Yum!
Here are some bird photos for Mr. Meadows!

http://ibc.lynxeds.com/photo/hoatzin-opisthocomus-hoazin/adults
http://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/portal/species/overview?p_p_spp=303096
http://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/portal/species/overview?p_p_spp=296376
http://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/portal/species/overview?p_p_spp=597676
http://ibc.lynxeds.com/photo/white-eared-jacamar-galbalcyrhynchus-leucotis/bird-feeding-bees
http://ibc.lynxeds.com/photo/donacobius-donacobius-atricapilla/pair-singing
http://ibc.lynxeds.com/photo/cream-colored-woodpecker-celeus-flavus/male-perched-branch-0
http://ibc.lynxeds.com/photo/many-banded-araçari-pteroglossus-pluricinctus/perched-top-tall-ceibo-tree

Listen to the call of the common potoo
http://www.xeno-canto.org/sounds/uploaded/OWZTPLFLJS/XC260437-47.003.02.Common_Potoo.mp3

Cold Hummingbirds

There are a few species of hummingbirds which live at 11,000 feet, plus a few. How they manage at those cold temperatures is amazing. They feed, go into torpor, shiver awake and do it all again. The blue-mantled thornbill and violet throated metaltail are very specific to El Cajas at that altitude.I saw them both. At times I wish I had my big camera and high-power lenses. The flowers are abundant, along with hundreds of species of moss and lichens. It is one of my favorite environments. If only the wind didn't bite so hard. There are over 250 lagunas in the park. The skies have been so blue the last few days and they reflect the vivid blue hues.

The Pope was a hit. Such a popular fellow among the Ecuadorian masses. And they massed! I was so glad I was not in Quito, or Guayaquil. I watched all of his movements on TV, even to Bolivia and Paraguay. Correa has been very quiet lately. He was quite chummy with El Papa. Some wish he had flown away with Papa. He looked so tired much of the time, but then he visited the two highest capitals in the world.

The landlady promised WiFi and I had it for a few days. Then it went down and when I told her she promised they would be over to fix it. She promised about 10 times, for 8 days, then I moved out. She fought to hold back deposit money and I got all but $50, which I gave to the agent, Andrea, for helping me. I told her I didn't need any stress and she prayed for me. For almost 5 minutes, in Spanish, and cried. I gave her the blender I had bought. Miss landlady was a real bitch. She hadn't paid the guy who installed the WiFi the first time so he refused to come back to fix it. I am better off out of that apartment anyway. Now I am in a hostel at $20 a night, on the Tomebamba river, which lulls me to sleep each night. I am going to look at another apartment today.

 But first, the Amazon! I fly back to Quito on the 21st and then fly to Coca on the 23rd. Luis Alcivar, my buddy from San Jorge Eco Lodges, has a group of wealthy birders from Taiwan who have hired him for a long birding trip around Ecuador. They want him as their guide at Sani Lodge http://www.sanilodge.com, in the Yasuni. Luis told me he wanted to go to Sani before they get here so he can brush-up on the birds of the Amazon. I get a discount through Luis and he and I are going for 4 days. This is the ultimate birding adventure in South America. It is the most remote Amazon lodge in Ecuador! I am so excited to go. I am going to spend two nights in Coca so I don't have to be rushed from, and to, Quito. I might see nearly 400 species of birds in just a few days. It took 45 years to see that many in the USA. Bug spray, lots of bug spray. And I bought some malaria pills as a precaution. I can't wait to see all the wildlife. Giant otters, pink river dolphin, and lots of minkies. I bought a good flashlight for frogging. Small and powerful.

I guess I will stay in Cuenca for a while. I will be getting my visa in a few weeks and I have to pick it up from immigration here in Cuenca. I might settle in Loja for a spell. I have to make a trip there to scope out the town. There are so many 'mericans here. I have met a lot of folks here and they have been very kind to me. Just not sure what my plans are yet. I have been invited to spend time on the coast and I will go sometime in August. Maybe for my birthday. The whales are waiting for me.
Ciao!

Cuenca High Life

I have been in my apartment a few weeks now and really do not have too much to write about. I have settled into a routine that takes me back and forth to the Supermaxi grocery store. It has been very cool and cloudy for almost a week and the weather report says this will last a few more days. It is gloomy. I went with Carlos Lara twice on trips for birding. One to the east slope and some warmer temperatures and once to El Cajas and 13,000 ft. Either direction you travel you must got up and cross the Andes before you start down and into the tropics. We came across a very large landslide blocking the road on the eastern trip. People were not going to wait on the government for help so they made a road over the landslide. It worked and after 2 hours we were on our way.The birds we were looking for were easily found, with the exceptions of Black-billed and Gray-breasted mountain toucans. It is a quick drive to these areas so I will find them eventually. Carlos has a habit of calling every bird with an annoying playback. It brings in birds but it intrudes upon the experience. We will talk. He is also too expensive at $80 a pop but we use his nice car and we do get the birds. He wants to take me west to Manglares Churute for sea-level birding. It is a 2.5 hours drive to the coastal mangroves but there are birds I need there. I could take a bus for $5 and stay at a hostel for $30 and tip a guide for another $35 and spend more time in the area. I may do this next week. I need a trip to Salinas and the beach. A very beautiful beach. I have been in touch with a guy I met there last year. He drove me to Ayampe last time and could come in  useful again. And he is a very nice, balanced person.

My friend Michael Jackson in Pa.,who I haven't seen in almost 18 years, I think, informed me he had two friends traveling South America and they would be in Cuenca. We met. Nice guys, one a politician, the other a government worker. They were a little naive about traveling in foreign countries, even though they have traveled frequently. They were robbed in La Paz and lost their cell phones here, both of them, in one night. I didn't ask questions but the bar owner told me they were looking for a little escapade with some locals. There seems to be a lot of retired gentleman who come to Latin America to have encounters with the young. I meet some everyday. Costa Rica is another favorite hot spot for these activities. They end up robbed, or worse. Oh well. They will stop when their pingas turn black. Birdwatching is what they should be doing!

I spent the better part of Friday at the immigration office with my attorney's assistant. All my paper work for residency has been filed and now I wait for about 30 days. Maya is very nice and speaks english well enough but Ill be damned if she didn't want to know why I have never been married. She was late to the meeting so I had already been annoyed with her. I wanted to ask her if she was married at 18. I finally told her that she has in her hands enough of my personal business, she doesn't need to know more than that. She smiled, I think.

Big news from the USA all week long. I give a shit. Every time I read about Obamer he is giving a eulogy, it seems. What a screwed up country. I'll bring some Latins back with me and we will show y'all how to have a proper revolution! It is certainly a landmark event when SCOTUS acts like a legislature. And the bitchy justices! Scalia put Kennedy in his place. I am not religious but If I were and was against gay marriage I should have every right to do so and not bake a cake for them. Gay folks should have civil unions with all the same rights afforded heterosexuals unions. Don't mix religion and politics. I believe in FULL separation of church and state. Americans finally got pissed at the confederate flag? Gimme a break. The damn thing has been there for years.You aren't moving forward, USA. The government is the most fucked-up it has ever been.

On tomorrow's weather map- more gloom. The Pope is coming! I wonder if they wear Depends under those gowns.....I'm getting waxy-yellow build-up on my floors.
Hasta Luego!

1. 
   

Cuenca is my Home

I bought a plane ticket on Tame for $72 to fly to Cuenca. The taxi to the airport cost $25 plus tip. I decided to leave early as there was a changing of the guard at the Palace and the streets would be blocked. Good thing I did because we had a flat tire on the way. The driver changed it very fast on a very narrow street with heavy traffic. I thought he would get run over and I would have to hail another taxi! Then I put my bags back in the trunk and closed it not knowing his keys were in the trunk. SHIT! The trunk release was broken but he used a screw-driver and got it open. I arrived at the airport with more than an hour to spare. I checked the tires on the plane and made sure the pilot had his keys.
Arrived at 1:20 pm and a $3 taxi to my hotel above Inca Lounge. I was going to stay at a more expensive hotel by the Pumapungo ruins but I had an email saying they did not have a room with a view. Screw that!  Cuenca is 1,000 ft lower than Quito- 8,300ft. Checked in and stopped by a bar next door and met a few new friends. Americans. $2 Cuba Libres. I contacted the lady about an apartment and told her I would view it the next day. Very nice folks and a great apartment, but too far from the center of Cuenca. After reviewing websites and sending emails I had a response from a realtor and made an appointment for that day to view a few. The first one for $500 did not have a window to the outside. Fuck that. "Well there is another one across the street" she said. Vamos. Top floor and windows all around, same price. Sold! The landlady, Fanny, has been very sweet and welcoming. I like Cuenca very much.

I still monitor the news on volcanos even though Sangay is more than 100 miles away. But there is more trouble brewing in Ecuador. Revolution! Imagine that! Reminds me of a song "He was the best President we ever had" by Pancho Maximillian Hernandez. 'Until he made the citizens mad', 'Now we're sorry we shot him'. It seems that Correa has pissed off the campesinos. He proposed an inheritance tax on the rich. If you screw the rich who will pay the poor? They have other reasons to be mad, as well. While Correa was in Brussels ( I didn't get a postcard) there were protests everywhere. Even in Cuenca. I have been told to stay away from protests. Correa tweeted that a coup was fomenting. He gets back home today, Sunday. I still like him an admire him more than Obama. I won't explain. Maduro is calling for a summit of support for Correa. Fuck Maduro. He is reaching out for friends.
I read news from home on occasion. I avoid most of it. Most of it is really shameful when you view it from down here. The racial shit the US will never resolve. China slapping our face. I watch Aljazeera. I was deeply moved by Obama at the funeral for Beau Biden.

My papers have arrived in Guayaquil and I will meet with my atorney again next weeek. I met with her Friday but we decided to wait until the papers were delivered (FedX still has them). I think I will get my residency rather than a 9 month visa. As a resident I get Ecuadorian prices. Half off most things such as airfare.
I used Skype for the first time with Sally and Jan. So easy! I gave them a tour of my apartment. I use FB messenger to phone chat.
The Inti Raymi festival is next week during the solstice. I may go up to Cañar and stay the night. I am trying to meet people with cars. I need to go birding!  Cajas national park is a 30 minute ride. Red-masked parakeets are screaming outside my window right now. Birds are calling me...I'm ready for a trip somewhere.

Off to the Cloud Forest

Time flies. I have to leave my apartment on Monday and I have no idea where I am going next. My papers are slowly coming in from USA and my attorney is anxious to see them before she advises me on my visa. I would like to stay in the Quito area although I do not want to be in the city center. Traffic is horrendous. Everyday starting at 7 am. I am in bed by 9 so I don't know what nights are like. I might get a room around Plaza Foch for a few nights.
I just saw an alert issued by the US Embassy concerning Cotapaxi. There has been heightened activity with the magma below since April. This combines with Pichincha and Tungurahua, as well. The whole chain of volcanos seem to be belching steam as the magma rises. God I love this. Thank you Pachamama. I know it could be a very tragic event, but such is life and I would love to witness it. This, plus El Niño! What a year it could be.
I am just back from San Jorge Tandayapa and Milpe with Luis. He has been such a good friend to have. So has Lorraine, my neighbor. It is nice to have such people when you travel alone. I met a family from Saskatoon at thier hotel near the Plaza Grande and we were picked up by Vicente, the driver for San Jorge. Within 2 hours we were in the clean, fresh air of the cloud forest at Tandayapa. The staff remembered me from last year. The hummingbirds swarmed the feeders. The birds were spectacular, once again. Our guide the first day was Miguel. The Canucks didn't speak Spanish. They barely spoke any English. Such quiet people. And vegetarians. Miguel helped me to add a few new species such as Barred hawk and Scaled fruit-eater. It was nice to exchange the sound of taxis and buses for frogs and crickets. The olinguito came with a baby. That is the species of kinkajou discovered a few years ago by Smithsonian folks. Much more interesting than the Saskatoons.
The next day we took the back roads to Milpe via Tadeo road, I think. I was after two birds in particular and the Canucks were not going to stand in my way. We reached a good birding area and stopped the van. Within 20 minutes I got both the plate-billed toucan and toucan barbet! I spotted the barbet immediately. Luis chipped his front tooth on a lens cap. He never complained.
The area of southwest Colombia and northwest Ecuador is called the Choco region and there are endemic birds found no where else. Choco toucan, Choco trogon, Choco poorwill. I got them all.
The Milpe lodge is so beautiful. I had a top floor room,windows surrounding the room. A bat flew in one night when I opened the door and windows. The sound from some of the frog species was unbelievable. Very vocal and loud. I slept very well. The Canucks left and were replaced by a retired couple from Seattle. They were very nice folks and Richard gave me a book dealing with the travel adventures of a Brit in southern Venezuela. Mary was from the Chicago area. We had a lot to chat about. Not birders, but they enjoyed our hike down to the river and falls. They saw a Harpy eagle in the Amazon at La Selva Lodge. I am so jealous. We told them how lucky they are.
We found poison dart frogs, the worlds second smallest frog, and a army ant swarm with antbirds following. I got a few stings and bites. The climb back up the trail was strenuous. I made it. There are giant snails the size of softballs. The Tayra, weasel-related animals the size of dogs came to eat the bananas. Rufous-fronted wood-quail, rose-faced parrots, purple crowned fairy. Heaven.
In all, I recorded 50 new species of birds and I am well beyond 1,000. I could never have done it without my guides. I ran out of cash at the end of the trip and I owe Luis a nice tip. He may try to fit me in on another trip to the east slope and upper Amazon next week. He told me I should visit Playa de Oro, near Esmeraldas, and Limoncocha, near Coca. In these areas I would rack up a ton of new species. I am thinking about it. I got an email from a lady about an apartment I like in Cuenca and I should get down there. Birds come first. As they should. In the meantime, a nice virgin should be chosen.

My Apartment in Old Quito

I am in my apartment a few blocks from Plaza Grande. It is spacious, basic, a bit noisy, but I have adapted. My first night here I was invited by my neighbor Lorraine to accompany Marcela (owner) and she to a art exhibit opening for Farhana Khan Matthies in a beautiful old building a few blocks away. Nice food, people, wine etc. A very pleasant evening. There are a few other people staying in my building from France, Germany and Britain. I was invited by the Germans to go to Mindo for the day today but passed. If I go there I have to birdwatch. I am still waiting for Luis to get a trip set for me. I may have to hire an extra guide but I am hesitant becuase good ones are hard to find. There is a small village called Lloa up by the Pichincha summit. I may head up there for a night and explore the páramo. Cold up there. Pichincha has been rumbling according to scientists. I am waiting for all the dogs to start barking. We are also coming into a bad El Nino year. There should be bad floods here this November to March.
The sky has been so clear and blue in the mornings that I have been twice to Itchimbia. The view is spectacular. I can seee so many volcanoes and mountain tops. The birds are not numerous but I have been posting to eBird my lists. After all my efforts to keep concise lists, I have failed. It is a pain in the ass to use spread sheets so I entered all my birds into eBird data. This after removing duplicates from Excel sheets leaves me at 983 birds. There were almost 30 duplicates and some birds which have not been split. I am sticking with my eBird list. Even Avibase is off by 3 birds at 980. Yesterday I enetered my Itchimbia list to eBird and found that one of the very first birds I saw in Ecuador last year was not on my list! Cinereous conebill. Don´t know how I missed it. How many more are not accounted for I am not sure. Can´t be but a couple.
I have been making fruit smoothies with fresh fruit, yogurt, honey and water in a blender. So delicious. There are many bread shops and bakery shops near by. I am shocked sometimes how cheap food is. A bag of strawberries for $1. Gas is still $1.48 a gallon. There are many markets near here and I am amazed at the amount of produce, meat, seafood available. Three pineapples $1.
The water here is very hard. Almost grimey. I need to buy fabric softener. It´s laundry day and for the first time that I ever remember I have to hang clothes on a line to dry. The humidity is around 55% and clothes dry fast in the breeze. My lips are chapped and I asked for something for labias instead of labios. I got a curious smile.
It is also Quito Pub day and I will go see my new friend Andriss this afternoon. La Ronda is an alley of restaurants and bars here in the historic district. A 10 minute walk. I like Plaza Foch better. I had a 3 hour conversation with one of the owners of a La Ronda establishment and she was quite taken with me. I met nearly her whole family. They always ask if I am married with kids. No, my wife died I tell them. Otherwise they look at me with a curious frown.
I should stay home tonight. I think Ben Hur is on TV.
Hasta próximo!