Ban Ki Moon asked Israel and Palestine to stop fighting today. That was nice of him.
And now for something completely different.

I Left Guayaquil at 6 am and headed toward Olon and Montañita. After a brief deboarding along the highway so the men could be searched for drugs, - I waved my Passport a lot- we arrived at 9 am. I explored the surfing town for a couple hours and had breakfast along the beach. People were talking about a plane being shot down. I smiled, sternly, then read BBC.

A Scotsman on a horse rode by..

Montañita smells of piss and vomit on a Friday morning. I finally had enough and took a taxi to Ayampe. The owners of La Buena Vida are Keith and Marilyn and their 3 kids. http://surflabuenavida.com  This was my second visit here. Marilyn gave me a warm hug and I met the rest of the guests. Jack and Boone from Virginia, Their son and his wife and kid from Bogota. Mark and Sheena from Dubai, Titus from Amsterdam and Marshall from Louisiana. We were joined by a doctor and his GF from Oregon. Nice group. I took Sheena on walk into the Jocotoco reserve and we saw two species of trogons in one tree. I told her husband to buy her binoculars for Xmas. She's hooked on birding.
The whales off shore were a spectacle. Every time I looked out to sea I saw whales breaching. We all took a whale-watching tour in Salango and ate lunch at a restaurant that asshole Bourdain ate at. Octopus and barnacles on the menu. I had shrimp and squid. 8 people had seafood and beer for $92. Wonderful experience. The boat almost tipped but it was fun. Next day Boone, me, the young doctor and Devin went to buy Panama hats in Montecristi. The doc is a pediatric oncologist in training. Glad he isn't my oncologist, he seemed confused. Nice guy and we all had fun.
Marshall is a 36 year-old exploring new drugs in South America. Good luck Marshall. He said pot cures cancer and I promised him it does not, without revealing too much. I was surprised  the doctor didn't discern my condition. I did say I had a hernia when they asked me to help pull in a fishing net. The doc and his girl #2 brought beer from Portland, Or. Why?
I enjoyed them all and we all had a lot of laughs. Marilyn explained that because I left Ecuador and returned they stamped my passport with a new 90 day visa. So tempting to stay but I need to go see my doctors. Bus back to Guayaquil.

Ecuador -356 new species. Perú -103 new species. North America 408 species over 45 years, Costa Rica 153. Life total 1020. I saw more species of birds in 3 months than I had seen in 45 years. I am very satisfied and thank all my guides. This has been an incredible trip into so many ecosystems. I have experienced everything from dessert scrub to sleet and jungle. I have seen life forms that have absolutely amazed me. I have eaten food which had more flavor than anything I had ever tasted- except Cui. I never fell off, out, over or tumbled. I talked to people whom have been dead for 3,000 years. I was in awe of their legacies. I cried at their creations. I was deeply saddened by a team's defeat. I paid a child for his knowledge. I listened to language, music and laughter that is a vital part of Ecuador. I envy them. I will miss them.
Thank you, everyone of you, for touching my life with your enthusiasm and kindness. I have met so many interesting people from all over the planet. Most importantly, I learned a lot.
adiós

I fell asleep for a moment on the train to Ollantaytambo. I asked a taxi driver if he knew where my hotel was and he said  $25. I said 'you're nuts'. I would have walked if it hadn't been uphill. I paid another driver $6. It was very windy in the valley. Spring is coming so peaches, pears and plums are blooming. The streets of Ollantaytambo are old inca roads. Some of the houses are built on Inca walls. There are aqueducts running down many of the streets. The Incas were great engineers. Water still runs down from the mountains through the streets after 550 years. At night you smell different wood burning and the aromas take you back in time. Brugmansia blooms, sometimes called Datura wrongly, are the most heavenly scent at night. I could stand by one for 20 minutes.
But before all that, Machu Pic'chu. I caught the bus at 6:15 am. How people climb this mountain, much less a bus is perplexing. You go through the gate and there it is in all its splendor. The sun started to peek over the mountain and light up Huyna Pic'chu. I can't describe it adequately. How and why did they abandon this marvelous city. Master engineers. Everyone should see this city. It was a clear sky and amazing views from every step I took. There were also 1800 other people, mostly from Europe. It was hard to get photos without people in them. It is sacred so the signs warn you of improper behavior. At one point the path narrows along the side of a 400 ft. cliff. I tried to turn around but the whistle blew and I heard "one way". I made it down to the next level. I would have been an ostracized Inca. This vertigo I have has gotten bad. I could't climb up to the ruins behind my hotel in Ollantaytambo. I would have fallen right through the roof of my hotel. A Canadian guy passed me and I told him 'good luck' -I bought him a beer when I saw him on the street later. Everywhere along the Sacred Valley are more ruins. Some are pre-Inca. Ollantaytambo is filled with ruins. I  was allowed to walk along the RR tracks and along the river to an old bridge. The Urubamba flows fast and the Torrent ducks loved it. I walked up to an old quarry and old mud house 3 or 4 hundred years old. All the hills are terraced. Most are not used as folks today aren't that agile, I suppose. I couldn't believe some of the terraces up so high on a steep slope. The snow capped peaks and glaciers stand in contrast to the dry mountains. The quintessential Andes vista. Spectacular  does not say enough. Giant hummingbirds everywhere. I forgot to take some water along and as Rozane Rozanadana said " I thought I was gonna die". It was about 35F when I left and it was 75F when I came down 4 hours later. A fantastic hike that I stumbled upon on my own.  The Pinkuylluna ruins were on my list to visit but it was to high up. The local people are direct descendants of the people who built all this marvel and I was in awe of them. Such beauty and spirit. Pura vida.
I had a drinking buddy named Bobby who met me each afternoon. I had a beer and he a bowl of water. I don't know why but dogs would look at me and come to me. Some would follow me everywhere. Bobby didn't run with the local gang of wild dogs. They took on the behavior of a wolf pack. I had to chase them away. Bobby sat under my feet or against my leg.
 An old hunch-backed man would carry a log past me then a few minutes later, another. For an hour this went on.People carry everything on their backs so when they reach old aged they are haunched over. I wanted to help that old man but soon a young boy with a wheel-barrow came and helped him. I got emotional.
My local bartender took kindly toward me. I showed up yesterday and told him I wanted to buy the dog a bowl of water. When I paid my tab he said the bowl of water was $20. I liked him.
I took a taxi from Ollantaytambo back tom Cusco. 1.5 hour drive. He told me $22 and I gave him $40. Along the way he stopped and turned around and I was puzzled. He got out of the car and I was a little nervous. He introduced me to his wife and 5 year-old son. Such smiles. He stopped along the route and pointed out nice scenery and gave me history lessons. He deserved the $40. We came upon an accident where a taxi hit a donkey. The animal lay in the road alive and the car was nearly totaled. Sad, someone depended upon that donkey for a lot of work. They haul heavy loads. Donkeys are a necessity.  I admire how the local folks live. I hate to leave Perú. Such majesty in everything.
My last night in Cusco. Off to Inka Grill for a drink. Back to dirty Guayaquil. Nit,nite.

Chigger bites are driving me crazy. They itch like hell.  They are worse than Scully/Stanton chiggers. My ankles and waist are covered in bites from the jungle trip. Worth every bite! What an adventure.  Went with http://www.wildwatchperu.com/en/   and Luis Zuñiga whose family owns property around Pillcopata, Perù. He had to pick up a Belgian family at the airport at 6:30 am so he sent his assistant Simon to fetch me at 6am and we went to a lake 30 minutes from Cusco. Aplomado falcon was one of my first birds. Puna ibis, many colored rush tyrant, Cinerious harrier, white tufted grebe, Puna teal, Giant hummingbird, on and on. The Belgies joined us, Luke, Vivian and their 22 year-old son Ramses (the first). He was a good photographer. They weren't real birders but they had enthusiasm and never slowed  the birding. Bearded mountaineer hummers are a fantastic find. On our way to Cock-of-the rock lodge we found red and white antpitta. Damn hard bird to see. Toward dark, Lyre tail nightjar and Andean potoo. From 11,000 ft down to 4,000ft and dinner at the lodge. My cabin was comfortable. There was only candle light to shower by. They started a generator for the dinner hall briefly. I slept to the sound of a river ( Guadeloupe?).  5 am out the door to go see cock-of-the-rock. I am not impressed by that bird as much as most are. Highland motmot was more impressive, as was Yungas manakin. Versicolored barbets are a treat. We drove to the next lodge in Pillcopata. This is the gate to the Amazon and as such there is little accommodation. Our lodge was merely comfortable. The birds were amazing. Blue and yellow macaw, scarlet macaw, chestnut-fronted macaw and blue-headed macaw. Went to a pond on Luis's family property and saw about 10 hoatzins. Beautiful place where they farm pineapples and pacu and tilapia. A lot of coca growers in the area also. There were fragrant balsa tress which are like magnolias on steroids. The scratching started that night. Up at 5:30 and down the road for bluish fronted jacamars. Lots of them around. Araçaris and black fronted nunbirds. Thick with birds. 87 new species on this trip and I am officially over 1,000 on my life list. At one point we walked a stream that became a narrow cave with bats. Fascinating as they whizzed by my face. Found a nesting Lyre-tailed nightjar on a roof along a river. That's impressive.
The drive back was spectacular. We drove up above the clouds to a cloudless sky. Pre-Inca burial silos. I bought some bracelets off some local young girls. Full moon rose above the snowy peaks of the Andes. Wow.
The local people make their own bricks with straw and mud for houses. The Andean flickers build nests in holes in the house so they set wires to trap them. Very strange to see flicker corpses hanging from the houses.
My guide Luis Zuniga liked to stalk single species and play back their songs to bring them in. It got a little annoying and after lunch I took off on my own. He sent the van to pick me up.  He finds the birds but I am not a fan of his tactics. Nice guy but he could learn a lot from Luis Alcivar. Smile, Luis, you are the best.
Arrived at Hotel Ruinas at 7 pm and went to Inca Grill for dinner. Met the Belgians there, very nice folks through the whole trip. I was stopped by a 10 year-old boy wanting to sell me a knitted hat for 10 Soles.  As he followed me he recited the presidents of the USA backward starting with Obomber. I gave him 10 Soles and told him he was smart, and keep the hat. I have never liked kids until I came to Ecuador and Perù. They aren't spoiled brats here.
I met a 30-something black woman at the train station this morning and we started chatting. She was doing volunteer work in the jungle and with a group going to Machu Picchu. As we boarded the train we discovered her seat was next to me. She had a cough and took a lot of homeopathic shit. Why does anyone get on a Vistadome train through the most scenic area you can imagine and go to sleep?
She wasn't very interesting but she sure as hell learned a lot about birds while she was awake! She wrote it all down too!  About 10 middle aged gay guys from the USA got on the train at Ollantaytambo and misbehaved. I wanted to throw "Joey" from the train- Miss Thang. Oh, I just love birdth too!
Aguas Calientes is very tourist filled. Damn Germans won the Mundial. Too many of them here. Beautiful area but the town is a tourist trap. Might get back on the train tomorrow afternoon and go to Ollantaytambo bird lodge called Apu Lodge. It's only a 2 houre ride.
Off to Machu Picchu tomorrow. I may go for sunrise. Moon setting and sun rising over the Sacred Valley.  Buenas noches.

I haven't had a glass of milk for almost 3 months and I have drank a half gallon a day for 25 years. Maybe thats another reason I am at 187 lbs. No milk and I walk about 10 miles a day. Maybe the scale is wrong but I know I have lost weight. I may have a beer at the Mundial game later today.
Cusco is fascinating. I get winded very quickly and drink a lot of water. Tourists are eveywhere. Girls are dressed in traditional clothes and carry small lambs. They beg to have their picture taken and then ask for money. I pass them quickly. I have been offered about 30 women in the last 3 days. Usually two girls at once for a 'massage'.
My walk today took me to the local market of clothes and food. The vegetables are a sight to see. I wanted some grapes to eat but I don't trust the washing of food. The meat hangs and lays on counters in the open air. Nothing is refrigerated.
There are ceramic bulls on the roofs of houses. Pucarà they are called. They guard the houses and bring good luck. Another Inca tradition but changed from llamas to bulls with the Spaniards. The Sacsayhuaman ruins are absolutely mind-boggling. How did those little people moves those huge stones? Where are they buried? There must be a few skeletons under those rocks. $25 for a ticket. Took a picture of women with a llama and they almost attacked me because I only had 2 Sols on me and they wanted 3. People don't take no for and answer here or in Ecuador.
Bought the train ticket ($87 Vistadome) and Machu Picchu ticket ($50) yesterday. I go next Sunday.
Last night I was out until 11 pm! I go for alpaca steak each night at Inka Grill and I stopped at a Pisco bar afterward. There was a band playing progressive jazz and the kid on the sax was unbelievably good. He's about 24 and very talented, as were the others in the band. I just saw him in the plaza and wanted to say something but didn't. Bottles of Pisco lined the walls. I had one drink and I think there was ginger and orange in it, all fresh. Met a Brit couple who have been traveling the world and just arrived here from Easter Islands. Amazing folks. I did not realize the flag of Hawaii has the Union Jack on it. The shit you learn. Also ran into the couple of republicans from Arizona who sat next to me on the plane. Wealthy folks and they asked me to join them. They could not quite understand why I would just go places to watch birds. " Why do you watch birds?" Eat your onion soup you stupid ....
"Why do you travel alone?".....so I don't have to put up with...... They didn't even know there were different trains to Machu Picchu or where they were staying. All part of the tour. Ick.
Tomorrow I am being picked up at 5:30am for my 4 day trip to Manu Bio Reserve in the Amazon. Met with the bird guide last night and he informed me there will be a family of 3 from Belgium with us. I asked if they are birders and he said yes. I flat out told him that I will not go if they aren't birders. Should be interesting. He was amazed at my bird lists and wanted to know where I got a spreadsheet of Peruvian birds. Forgot I have to email him the link to Avibase.
Game time shortly. Go Brasil! Beat those sour Krauts. Miss Merkel is pissed at Obama. Jajajaja....

Last night the Ecuadorian Phil Silvers bought me a few drinks. He sang and had a wonderful voice. Unique group with a few Scottish in the mix. 4:30am came way to quickly. My flight to Lima was delayed by almost 2 hours, which meant I would miss my connection. They gave me a first class seat from Lima and I finally arrived at 3:30. Stunning Andes. I could see where the dry, desert-like slopes began and the paramo ended. The pilot had to steer a path through the mountains to the Cusco approach. Bought the Peru bird guide for $110. I have studying to do. No gasoline subsidies here. $15 taxi to Hostel Qolqampata. I am up the hill from the plaza and it was a slow walk back up. I feel something here. It is as thought the mountains greeted me. At 11,400ft the sky is crystal clear. Pachakuti made this his capital. Manco Capac was the first Inca. I will have to read more of the history. This city is fascinating. I feel connected. Pachamama likes me.
I strolled down the stone road to the plaza and the sun was just starting to set. I was offered a massage by a pretty girl and declined. The faces of the people here are different, once again. Aymara? Very Inca-shaped profiles. They seem to be more robust in stature. Beautiful eyes that can tell many stories.
I stumbled into Inka Grill to watch the Mundial. Sad that Costa Rica lost. For my first meal and drink in Peru I discovered the perfect place. Havana Club rum was tempting but I settled for red wine and water. Grilled Alpaca is so delicious. Very tender. Ted Turner needs to farm Alpacas as well. The bartender,Garson,  was extremely professional and polite. I finished with a cheesecake with a local berry sauce. I will have to find these berry bushes. After dark, 5:30, I walked the plaza and listened to an military band. I got emotional again. Walked up the narrow stone street and passed a teenager party at a bar. Several kids said hello to me. Cusco is very touristy and up-scale. I love it. Cold tonight, about 37.
I have contracted, verbally, with http://www.wildwatchperu.com/en/    Luis Zuñiga will be my guide for 4 days in Manù preserve in the Amazon. This is closer and less expensive then going to jungle lodges in Ecuador. Includes everything for $540. Several macaws and hoatzins are on my list. It leeaves on Wednesday which breaks up my week. I will do Machu Picchu next Sunday through Wednesday. I still have to buy my train ticket also.
Off to bed- it's 8pm.

I am back in Guayaquil, which means my grand tour of Ecuador is over. There have been so many moments when I stopped and said to myself 'I am here and now'. The fire juggler in the road at the stop light who drooped a flaming pin on a car. The young boy and girl who met on a bus and within 2 hours he had his tongue in her mouth and cuddled in her arms by the end of the trip. Young girls fawn over boys and boys move in quick. Driving through a rainbow in the mountains. Cuyes roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost fucking with my nose at 14,000ft. Wonderful memories. The van ride to Guayaquil this morning was a surprising $50, and not $12, because it was just me. Josė was  a nice driver. There was not a cloud in the sky up high in Cajas National Park. I could see Cotopaxi 120 miles away. In 1 hour went from 10,500 to sea level.
Cuenca is a city I could live in. Very clean, perfect climate. It was 46 when I woke up this morning and here in Guayas it is 87. I will miss the 'Merican bar called Inca Lounge in Cuenca. Had nice meals and drinks there watching Mundial.
My birding trip to Yunguilla and Giron with Carlos Lara was very enjoyable. 10 new species including Rainbow Starfrontlet hummer. Also, Pale-capped Brush Finch which was just re-discovered a few years ago. I have seen very rare birds and am lucky. Carlos liked to call in birds with recordings which is not quite my style. By far Luis Alcivar has been the best bird guide here in Ecuador. A perfect bird-charmer.
The Eljuri family, Lebanese bankers, are probably the wealthiest family in Ecuador. They have a house modeled after Russian architecture.  The Yuguilla valley is where the wealthy build homes in a moderate, dry climate. That is where I would live. Most beautiful valley I have ever seen.
My trip to Peru begins Saturday. Back up to the very cold Andes. I still have to find a bird book and guide. I just finished reading  Hiram Bingham's 1911 story of discovery. Cusco will be very interesting. I hope I can breath at that altitude-11,200 ft. I have been that high several times already and learned you just have to move slowly.
My room is ready. Manso Boutique Hotel on the river. Hasta tarde.

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!

I am currently in Puyo, Ecuador. Arrived by bus from Baños for $2. Baños is a small mountain town famous for the Tungurahua volcano and the hot baths- ding- Baños. Met a few Swiss and  few Americans. Tourist town and a lot of backpackers. My first stop was Casa De La Abuela hostal. Stayed one night- too simple for $15. Went to Posada del Arte. My room had a fireplace which I lit twice. I took a taxi to Casa de Arbol- the tree house- overlooking the town and the volcano. The volcano was in the clouds and I couldn't see it. The view was stupendous. I was told to take a path called the Virgen back down to the town but I chickened out and walked the road to Luna Runtun where I called a taxi to take me down.  http://www.lunaruntun.com
It was a little rainy anywho. Saw a turquoise jay to add to my list. That night went to Pipa's bar to watch the game with the locals gringo/Swiss crowd. I met so many nice people. I surprised everyone by having two large pizzas delivered at half-time. Ecuadorian pizza is delicious. That $12 investment payed off by having everyone buy me drinks. Ecuador won and a TV crew was across the street so, as I did in Plaza Fuch, I went and stood behind the interview. I think I have been on TV all over Ecuador. The editors probably ask who the hell is that guy? I do it every time I see a TV crew.
Next morning woke up very late- 8am. Sunny out so I took a taxi back up to Casa de Arbol. This time I walked down the path to the Virgen.  It started out just fine, and then it got steep, very steep, very narrow. My legs shook for the next 2 hours. They still hurt from walking down a slope horses and cows couldn't do. I wanted to kiss the ground when I finally saw cow shit in the path. I was so scared. I couldn't look over the edge but I did take a couple photos. Then I came to the statue of the Virgen and I am now catholic.
Bye, bye to Baños and hello Puyo. People get on the bus and ride it for 10 minutes to sell food, drinks, trinkets, candy. One old guy looked at me and asked if I was American. He said he was from San Francisco. He laughed and pointed to the next village. Such happy, shiny people. Another old guy sang to me tonight. He was selling menthol candies which he said were good for your throat. He actually had a nice voice, very strong.
 I just had a beer to watch the game ( Mexico is winning) and a young man came up and started talking to me and invited me to join him and his friends. I declined and felt bad about doing so but it takes a lot of concentration to sit with guys drinking and understand what they are saying. When someone pours you something you have to drink it. I didn't want to sit and have several glasses. He was so polite. I am not sure why but the TV at that bar had HD and that is the first place I have seen HD TV. I am on the edge of the Amazon jungle. The next village east is http://sarayaku.org. There are Waorani, Quichua, Shuar ( Jivaro) villages and that is all. It is 3,000 miles of jungle. Look east and it is just beautiful jungle.  The twilight was beautiful tonight especially knowing what lives out there, waiting for the dark. The jungle cools quickly at night. I watched black-mantled tamarins this evening with a setting sun glistening off their fur. The jungle smells like an upper-class French whore. I suppose- like I have had one of those before! Very exotic-erotic. I saw golden-mantled tamarins a few weeks ago in Baeza. The Amazon beckons you, invites you, lulls you. The insect sounds are incredible. I watched a pair of Amazon kingfishers with their long, sharp beaks, stalk their prey. They missed. The Puyo river is directly behind me. Locals swim and wash clothes on its rocks. They dig holes in the side of the hills to collect clay for pottery. Looks like great clay.The holes are everywhere.
When I arrived here the young girls who gave me my key looked Asian to me. The people here look very different than everywhere else in Ecuador. The people here are indigenous from the Amazon. Their eyes are much more slanted. Waorani and Jívaro. Very small in stature and darker skin. Hi, how long has your family lived here? Oh, about 12,000 years, maybe 20,000- we lost count. Oh, well my family came from Sweden 130 years ago. Lovely jungle you have.
I am not going into the jungle by road tomorrow for $120. I would only add about 7 new species and that's too much per-bird. To get the really great birds I would have to fly more than an hour east. I was told I could take a government plane. Omaere park is next door to me and a gentleman from U.F. named Chris told me I could catch a ride. He is showing the natives ( I hate calling them that) how to build sanitary toilets and he told me I could probably go for $20. If  I told them I worked in hazardous waste I am sure I could have gone. I have to be in Guayaquil a week from Thursday so I passed.
Goodnight Waorani. Nite tamarins and tanagers. Rub your wings and legs together bugs, big and small. Somewhere close by, a jaguar cleans its face with its paw. I hate to leave the Amazon.

I am still waiting for someone to put a stamp on a document so my binoculars can be sent to Quito. Probably tomorrow. Another day without birding. I went to the plaza yesterday and saw a bird soaring up high. They have guys in the plaza who's job it is to help people find what they want. He asked me what I was looking for. Ideas get jumbled in translation sometimes. I said 'birds'. He said 'well they have chicken' I said 'no, with feathers' He looked horrified. 'you eat the feathers?'
In the restaurants servers have to wear a hair net. Everyone does except the bartender unless he also  serves. I can just see Marc Anderson with a hair net!

So, I am a Mundialista. I have the shirt and all the accoutrement. I have been watching all the futbol matches at Quito Pub where Tito takes care of me. He always knocks a few off the tab. Before the Ecuador game, Colombia played and won. Big crowd of Colombianos. Very exciting. I was so dissapointed when Ecuador lost to those damn Swiss. There are flags of countires everywhere in the bars. Swiss, Korea, Italy, Uruguay etc. There are no flags of England or USA. None, no where, no how. It isn't' that they don't like us, they just don't give a second thought to USA. USA ignores Latin America and they ignore us. They know all our sports teams, especially baseball and basketball. They just don't give a shit about our goverment, and frankly, I don't either. Americans could learn a lot from Ecuadorians. They have the highest middle class in Latin America. They are sharp, dress well, take care of each other and very polite. They walk arm-in-arm down the street, boys and girls. Men hug and kiss the cheek. I have had hug patrols come hug me several times. I love this country.

I was going to go to the deep Amazon for 4 days but it costs about $1,100. Instead, I am going to fly to Cusco, Peru, for $300 RT from Guayaquil. I will stay about 12-14 days and visit Machu Picchu. Today in Cusco it is 32 with a high of 59. It is winter here. Ollantaytambo is a little warmer. I figure no matter where I go I have so stay in a hotel, so it might as well be Peru! Now I have to find a field guide to the birds of Peru. I am going to a mall shortly.

Time is going by too fast. One year ago last week I was told I had two years to live. I am not in a hurry to come home. Gotta go, feather caught in my teeth.

I am a Mundialista, but I will get to that another time. Firstly, my trip through San Jorge Lodges, http://www.hostsanjorge.com.ec  to the eastern slope of the Andes and into the Amazon highlands has been the most exciting trip of my life. Jorge Cruz Jr. emailed me about joining a group for 4 days. They picked me up at 7:30 am on Sunday and we proceeded to the town of Baeza. First we had to drive up to Papallacta Pass and look for birds in the paramo (highlands), Luis was the guide once again and he is excellent. Fernando drove our Toyota van. He is about 30 I think with a family, I think, and always had a smile. Very courteous. Great driver too. He is ready for Monte Carlo! The other folks were Simon from South Africa and Bob and Virginia from Colorado. Simon was quite a character. Barefoot the entire 4 days, through sleet and jungle mud. He could walk on any surface and never flinched or complained. Great birder, as was Virginia, At 13,400 feet we stalked all the endemics and saw most of them. Luis is an expert at calls and locating birds.  The wind howled and the temperature was about 38. Sleet began to come down. We descended. It is amazing how 500 feet of elevation can change everything. Tawny antpitta's displayed themselves readily. I added another 60 species, roughly. I asked for Torrent duck and Luis produced. He was a little nervous when they were not located at the place he has seen them every time. It was raining and the rivers were high. But just down the road he yelled out  as we passed over a river. Male and female Torrent ducks- amazing creatures. Within 45 minutes we went from 12,000 ft to 3,500 and 70 degrees. With light fading we arrived in Baeza/Borja and our modest hotel. Dinner and tucked in for the 4 am wake up.
We left the hotel at 4:45 am and drove down the easter slope to the upper Amazon jungle. My binoculars fogged up. I could only see through one lens. Pissed! (Minox is sending a new pair within a few days-$127 to DHL mail them to N.H.)
 Sumaco Reserve and Cayambe Reserve were so beautiful. It rained a lot in the morning but we got our white-throated toucan. Rufescent tiger heron-check. I can't describe the beauty of the jungle. The butterflies with numbers (98) were every where. The botanical life is astounding.  Tamarind monkeys came through the trees in troupes. I found a very strange string,worm-like creature in the road.  Luis was looking for a fulvous shrike-tanager which would have been a lifer for him. I found one and Simon saw it also. It flew just as Luis honed in on it. I felt bad that Luis missed it. Simon and I teased him.  Simon was stopped in the street by an older woman once. Everyone looked because he was barefooted. I really envied his ability to feel the soil and rocks between his toes. You meet very interesting people as a birder.
We encountered red-breasted blackbirds on the eastern slope which were out of range. I posted our findings on eBird.com. We made it back to Quito around 8pm.
Next morning they picked me up again at 7am for a day trip to Antisana Reserve. Our peak altitude was just under 14,000 ft. We arrived about 10 am and the first bird to locate was Andean condor. There are only about 50 in Ecuador. We stopped at some cliffs where Luis said they would be sitting.They were  not there. He promised we would see them. We drove on. Ecuadorian hillstar hummingbird-check. Luis was so quick to identify birds. It saves a lot of time when someone knows what you are looking at. 13,300 ft a meadow (paramo) with cows grazing and  Simon spotted the condors. They were not on the cliff because they were feeding on a carcass on the paramo. Four condors, or was it five. HUGE.
They flew and returned to the dead animal. The volcano Antisana in the background.The quintessential Andes-Ecuador vista. Condors, black-faced ibis', Andean lapwings, paramo pipits, silvery grebes, Andean gulls and a 18,417 ft volcano twisting the winds. Glorious. Lunch- avocado sandwiches-along a rushing stream. Luis made me nervous sitting along the cliff edge. He moved back a little. Somewhere near-by a puma waits until dark to reclaim its meal from the condors. We took a break on the soft pillows of grasses and I wanted to stay all night. I could imagine the stars. 30 minutes later we were back at 70 degrees and a warm sun looking for the giant hummingbird- missed it. Yellow billed pintail- check
We drove another hour to north Quito and a reserve called Jerusalem. Completely different microclimate. Very dry. Beautiful blue-and-yellow tanagers. A full moon rose and Cotopaxi volcano (19,347 ft) shimmered in the setting sun. WOW!
Taxi, hotel Vieja Cuba. As soon as my binocs arrive I want Luis and San Jorge to take me somewhere special. Thank you Fernando, Luis, Simon, Bob and Virginia for the most fantastical day of my life. Sincerely.