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....