In an Instant

I met with Scott McNeil in Cuenca and we rode together on the Izhcayluma shuttle to Vilcabamba. I figured I might as well stay at Izhcayluma for a few days until I figure out my next move. The climate and scenery here are a perfect combination of warmth and beauty. I went birding in the hills behind Izhcayluma and found all the birds I was looking for. During this time of year the mountains are all verdant and lush. They will be brown again in a few months when the rains stop falling. I put the word out that I was looking for an apartment and immediately found a few to inspect. I have settled on a 2 bedroom casita which is minimally furnished, but comfortable. I have a yard, security, a view and birds. There are Andean Tinamou's in my backyard. My landlady is a New Zealander from Lima. I pay $265. I will stay here a few months. I finally found the Pacific parrotlets that live in the valley. They are a small, 5 inch green-blue ball of feathers which like the drier side of the valley.

Last night the moon shone through my skylight into my kitchen. Last month, at El Crater Hotel, my bed was directly below a skylight and the moonlight was like a tractor-beam shinning down on me. The full moon here is so silver and bright. Next full moon I want to be somewhere special. Maybe the coast of Perú.

As I lay in bed reading last Saturday night, I heard a strange noise. It was a low hum of vibration. Then it became a rattling sound growing louder. Then the floor moved, the bed moved and the roof shook. I ran outside to see the Cosmos flowers swaying side to side. It lasted about 30 seconds and stopped abruptly. My initial thoughts were of awe, fear and confusion. All at once a wave of varying emotions. Cry? Laugh? I got dressed and called my sister Sally and told her that we just had an earthquake and it seemed very bad, but I was safe. I pulled up USGS and within 8 minutes saw what had happened. 400 miles northwest was a 7.4 near Muisne, where I had been last January. Then they upgraded it to 7.8 and aftershocks followed. My thoughts flashed back to Mompiche, Canoa and Ayampe. Were folks I had met there safe? I went back to bed.

The news in the morning was emotionally crippling. I cried. Pedernales gone. Bahia de Caraquez gone. Portoviejo gone. Imagine you are on the beach watching the sunset. It is Saturday night and you hear music coming from a home nearby. You smile. In two minutes everything you have will be gone and buried in rubble. Your child might be dead. You, might be dead. Every aspect of your life will change in a matter of seconds. The ground moves so violently that you cannot walk. Now, what you hear is an eerie quietness. Then the screams begin, the crying amplifies. Calls for help. What do you do? 

There have been more then 28 aftershocks this week. All in the same area. Everything in Ecuador has just changed. I have cried each day. I can do nothing. Who do I give money too? I was asked to help in an environmental capacity but heard nothing back from officials. Ecuador is crippled. It took several days before I heard from people I know near ground-zero. All alive but some badly injured.

I am very distraught. There is nothing I can do. In the last week the people of Ecuador have proved themselves resilient and compassionate. Help has flowed to where it is needed most. So I hear. It will take years to recover. My heart aches for Ecuador. I hope I can contribute to the recovery.

In June the whales will return to to coast. I will visit Ayampe, San Lorenzo and Salinas. I am considering a trip to Peru. Maybe 2 weeks of hard-core birding. Marvelous spatuletail in Chachapoyas. Great grebe along the coast. I will probably go alone as I can't count on anyone but me. I am fortunate. My days are numbered, also. But at least I know it is coming.

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The Visit

I booked a flight on Tame from Loja to Quito. The airport is actually 24 miles from Loja in a low valley in Catamayo. My flight left at 7:30am so I went to Catamayo the day before and stayed in the Marcjohns Hotel. Catamayo is warmer and more humid. Rice and cane are grown in the valley. Capital City Bank canceled my ATM card and pissed me off. I have another card with another bank, thankfully. I now have my new CCB card which Sally brought with her. The runway points right into the mountains so at take-off we had to climb quickly. This means you take on less fuel to lighten the load. I wouldn't want to fly in on a cloudy night. Met a few 'Mericans who were studying herps in Ecuador and were on their way to the Amazon. Interesting guys. Arrived in Quito and took the bus for $8 to the old airport. We had booked a room at Hotel Antinea in Mariscal. I found a dependable taxi driver named Gustavo to take me back the the airport on Wednesday to meet my sisters at 11pm. The new Quito airport is 50 minutes out of town in another low valley. I took Jan and Sally to the historic center the next morning. We had to leave becuase there was a protest scheduled for the afternoon. They adapted to the altitude rather well. Then we took the Teleferico up to Pichincha at 12,500ft. I had never been up there. The ride on the gondola was a little spooky but we managed. Sally found some popcorn and sat and ate while me and Jan went for a short walk. I was out of breath as well. Met a kid from Portugal who rode back down with us and advised us on a trip to Mindo, where he had just been. First we were off to Otavalo.
I made arrangements with Gustavo to drive us to Otavalo in the afternoon. Two hours and $60. We had booked a room at Las Palmeras Hacienda and checked in to a room with a fireplace. Sally and Jan really enjoyed Otavalo. I have a friend there who owns a coffee shop on the plaza but she was in NYC. We went to Peguche Falls and Sally nearly fell off the side of the trail. Close. There was a concert in the plaza and a 17-piece band was warming up. For 45 minutes they warmed up. Then they played one song and left the stage. Next group warmed up for 45 minutes. One song and bye-bye. There are some things in this country I will never understand. We took a boat ride around Cuicocha crater lake. The weather cooperated with us for the entire 10 days they were here. They bought a lot of  cloth and chocolate at the Otavalo markets. Some jewelry as well. I bought another Kena made of bamboo. Found another taxi driver to take us to Hotel El Crater on the Pululahua volcano. Checking out of hotels and using bank cards is always tricky. They never understand how the process works and you have to watch them carefully. In less than 2 hours we were at our next hotel. We had a huge room with picture windows on both sides of the room. One had a view to Quito and Cayambe volcano and the other a view to the crater valley. Beautiful place. We went to Mitad Del Mundo, which is the equator. Well, not really. The monument and yellow line are about 400 feet off from the real equator, which is at Intiñan Museum. The Museum is very interesting. You balance and egg, show how water changes direction going down the drain, and experience a lack of resistance and balance.It is amazing. You can't close your eyes and walk a straight line on the equator. You fall off. Back to the hotel and a private taxi to Mindo. Arrived within 2 hours at Las Terrazas de Dana hotel and another large room with a private balcony where we were served our breakfasts. We sat at Dragonfly in the town and had lunch while hummingbirds buzzed around the feeders hanging a few feet away. 12 species of  hummers. You could feel the breeze from their wings as they flew around us. The owner of Dragonly is a cranky Kraut that no one likes but we had a good lunch and dinner there despite him. The owners of our hotel are from Spain and were very attentive and kind. We did the chocolate factory where they ferment cacao and make everything from tea to cocoa butter. Very interesting. We went to the butterfly farm which was another fascinating experience. I did a little birding around Mindo while the girls were getting ready in the mornings. We had visits from Toucans and Aracaris in the trees off our balcony. Mindo is very small and tranquil. I will return soon.
I found another dependable driver to take us back to Quito in a nice Toyota truck. In 2 hours were were back in Mariscal. I booked a room at Vieja Cuba which was a mistake. They put us in a small room with 2 beds. It was noisy. Hotel Sebastian had a huge corner suite for a few dollars more so we went there for 2 nights. In plaza Foch we watched Ecuador tie with Paraguay. Everyone wears tee shirts of the national team. Everybody. I had mine. The plaza was packed and we got a good table at FochBBque. I was glad Jan and Sally could experience the pride Ecuadorians have for their team. We booked a day trip to Cotopaxi the following day. The onion rings and beer caught up with Sally the next day and she could not go with us. It was a very strenuous hike along the lake at Cotopaxi and I don't think Sally would have been able to walk it. Our guide Pedro was very nice and informative. He enjoyed looking through my binoculars. We had a couple from DC with us. She was Ukranian. They were nice to travel with. We had a drink with them in the plaza later that day. For the last day we checked into Hotel Quito. Jan and Sally would fly out at midnight. We sat at the bar on the top floor overlooking Quito. I like it up there. I go there a lot. Jan and Sally left in a taxi at 8:30 and I went for a beer. I'm so glad they were able to come to Ecuador.
I flew to Cuenca and here I am in my room on the river. I don't know what I will do next. Instead of taking another apartment I might travel to Peru for a month or more. I just don't know yet. I will decide next week. Must go birding. Great grebes are looking for me.

Back in Loja

I took the bus from Olon to Guayaquil and saw a few Chilean flamingos in the salt ponds along the road. Always birdwatching. Saw a kelp gull, as well. In Guayaquil I caught a car service to Cuenca and was in my hotel by 4 pm. The room just above Inca Lounge, of course. Stayed a week and watched the Super Bowl with way too many gringos. Disgusting half-time show all about race. When I woke up Monday there was no traffic. I thought it was Sunday. Carnaval holiday, no van service to Loja. I caught a bus and I believe the driver was drunk. The chica next to me played with her phone and had sharp elbows. I growled at her and she moved to another seat. In Loja I checked into Hotel Carrion and got the same room I have had in the past. I asked for the room and as there was no one in town, all businesses closed for the holiday, the hotel was empty. Loja has a very strong middle class and everyone goes to vacations homes or warmer climates for the holiday. I called Sharon and Scott McNeil and made arrangement to see the apartment they are letting me live in while they are in the States. They have been wonderful friends whom I met just before I moved to Vilcabamba. They are remodeling a house near Vilca and we get together for a few (several) beers when we can. Their apartment is in the best neighborhood in Loja and has a great view. I am so grateful for the friends I have, everywhere.
I immediately search out places nearby to go birding. And there are a couple great spots within a 10 minute walk. It has been raining almost everyday but I have enjoyed a few walks in the sunshine. No new birds but a few I haven't seen in a while. A black-chested buzzard eagle flew past the window a few minutes ago. A speckled hummingbird hangs out along the flowing quebrada just up the road. I paid a taxi driver $12 to take me up to the ranger station at Podocarpus National Park, Cajanuma entrance. It rained and I was cold and damp for 6 hours but it was worth it to see a Chestnut-naped antpitta scratching for worms in the cloud forest. I met one of the rangers who has offered to take me up to the laguna. It is a steep, long trail that I would not do alone. There is a hummingbird that lives up there, Neblina metaltail, which I need to see. It is getting harder and harder to find new species of birds. I have to go deeper, higher and further to see new species. It is more difficult, more time-consuming and, at times, more expensive to go to these remote places. But I am just gonna fucking do it. As soon as the rains let up in a month. The Galapagos are tempting but I need to get a low airfare to make it worth-while. Like a $220 airfare RT. Then, maybe. Money is getting tight. I will also head to Peru in a couple months. By bus. I read and article in NYT about Uruguay. It is probably the best country in S.A. Another temptation.
I went to Vilcabamba for the weekend and saw friends. I will probably take an apartment there when I feel the need to settle down. Either there or Otavalo. I'm not making decisions right now. My sisters, Jan and Sally, are coming to visit March 16-26. I will fly up to Quito and we will tour a few of my favorite places. I will probably take them to Mindo. Mindo is birders heaven and popular with the amateurs. I have been all around Mindo but not to the little tourist town. It is 2 hours from Quito and in the cloud forest, my favorite habitat. Jan was in Quito in 1974. A lot has changed! The three of us will have a great time. I will have decisions to make after they leave. More on that at a later date.
Last night I found a new bar, The Viejo Minero, the oldest bar in Loja. This might be my new hangout. Perfect little hole-in-the-wall. The craft beer place, Zarza Brewing, is just too expensive and I don't like the beer. I like Club and Pilsener and they just serve their own beer. It is also a friendlier atmosphere at Minero. I'll go back tomorrow.
The clouds have descended and the sunshine is gone for the day. Please, God, take that fucker Kanye West and gives us back David Bowie. Thanks!

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                                                                     Podocarpus Trail

 

                                                             Loja in the distance

                                                                 Cloud Forest

                                                              Super Bowl Party at Inca

Las Peñas to Ayampe

A little bird stopped to say hi and at first glance I realised he wasn't listed in my book. The voice in my head said 'who the fuck are you?' My heart raced. He sat on a twig and stared at me and as soon as I reached for my pocket camera he flew. I new by his features that it was a specie of cuckoo. Back at the hotel I Googled 'colombian cuckoo' and a picture of the bird appeared. Dwarf cuckoo! According to Roger Ahlman this was the second record for Ecuador. The first cuckoo seen was in the same area in 2012. A great way to start the year. I have seen more than 750 species in Ecuador. I love this country.
Las Peñas seemed pleasant enough at first. After almost a week there I was growing tired of the muddy streets and eating the same food-shrimp and fish. I packed up and caught a bus heading south. They dropped me at the entry road to Mompiche. I asked a taxi driver to take me to a 'nice hotel with AC. He dropped me at Balcones Mompiche. A got a top floor corner room with AC for $25 a night. Mompiche is a surfer town for young Colombians and Ecuadorians. There were a lot of Colombians. Colombia dosen't have much of a Pacific coast. It is a very long coastline but dotted with few towns and no sandy beaches. It is mostly forest and mangrove, from what I can see on maps. Mompiche is a bay and the surfers have to walk around to a small cape to catch the larger waves. Tides were very high and low. The road along the beach had been washed out a few times. I had a beer, or four, at a shack on the beach with waves nearly reaching my feet. Much better than Las Peñas. I couldn't lock the door to my room and the staff pretended to be surprised. They told me not to worry. I didn't worry. I met an lady from California who invited me to see her tall house she has lived in for ten years. She was especially anxious to show me her bedroom. Top floor and open to the breeze. No windows in this house just bamboo with holes cut to allow a breeze and view. She really wanted me to stay. REALLY. She was so desperate to have me. I laughed and told her I was hungry for a burger. I found my way back down the stairs and headed for beach burger. She came by my hotel looking for me that night but I wasn't there. I had met a gringo working for Petroecuador and we sat and had many drinks at a bar. I was feeling sick from a cold but that didn't slow me down. The next day I was feeling sick in my stomach. I had to take a 2 hour bus ride back to Atacames to use an
ATM. On the ride back to Mompiche I nearly ejected my stomach. I broke out in a sweat and thought I would pass out. Something bad inside me. I held it in and made it back to my hotel. The worst had passed. This was bad. I had some spaghetti for dinner and that seemed to help some. Aspirin helped. Then I realised I had some doxycycline I could take. I caught a van service to Canoa. It was raining and there were ten of us in the van. Windows up and hot. If you don't say something nothing gets done. The windshield was steamed up and the driver could barely see the road. I thought he would surely turn on the defrost. There was a towel blocking the defrost. Ten people and no one speaks.
Finally a girl from Argentina yelled at the driver. Defrost came on, towel moved, windows cracked.
Idiots. Sometimes I get so frustrated with the stupidity displayed. I have started to speak up lately.

Canoa and it is raining. I walk a block and check into a hotel for $10. It has AC and weak WIFI. I drop my bags on the bed and walk to the beach and within 5 minutes find a bar with gringos. US gringos. Cheeseburgers and chicken wings. So I am like oh my god do you like have onion rings too cuz that would be so awesome? David Bowie songs are playing. I had cried that morning when I found out he was dead. A couple from New Hampshire welcome me to Surf Shak Bar and Grill. Ahhhhhhhhh. Beer please.
Within an hour I meet 8 new friends. Everyone was so helpful. Elizabeth owns a hostel down the road and tells me all the news I need to know about Canoa. The waves are much bigger here than in Mompiche. Not as many young punks running around. Few Colombians. The next day I move to a better hotel for $10 a night. I stay a week. Elizabeth arranges for me to go to the finca where she keeps her horses. I buy rubber boots for $11. She arranges a driver to pick me up at 6 am. I go birding and have to slip a fiver to a guy at the farm to leave me alone. He wanted to show me all the birds with pretty colors. A very nice fellow but I wasn't going to get my birds with him yaking. He finally walks off but his dog follows me the rest of the morning. No new species but a lot of good birds. My driver picks me up at 9:45am. Nice day. The doxycycline made me hypersensitive to the sun. Burned. Drinks. I feel better. Elizabeth has another driver pick me up early the next day and he takes me to La Segua marshes about 30 miles away. I dip on the white-throated crake. I get a lot of birds again but nothing new. I pay the driver $40 for the 4 hour tour. Drinks. Cuba Libres 2 for 1. I'll have 6 please. Feeling better. I put $5 on the Super Bowl pool. I tell Cathy that I won't be here but if I win give the money to the local kid's charity. I also donated my rubber boots to Elizabeth's hostel. I have a $3 breakfast in the morning and catch the bus to Manta. At the terminal I ask for a bus direct to Manta.  The trash along the side of the road is enough to make me angry at Ecuadorians. Damn they need to learn not to throw their trash out every vehicle window. Filthy. In Jipijapa I catch the bus to Manta. The buses are so frequent that I rarely spend much time in a terminal waiting on the next bus. I am in Manta by 11 am and take a taxi to the hotel I have stayed at before. $60 for a 1-bedroom on the ocean. KFC 2 blocks away. SOLD! Beer on the beach. Love me some KFC. Slaw. Original please. Bed.
In the morning I have a slowly prepared breakfast and I go back to the terminal and ask for a bus to Ayampe. They lie and I get diverted to Jipijapa where a bus takes me to Puerto Lopez. I am in Ayampe by 12 noon. I gets hugs and kisses at La Buena Vida. This is my third visit with Keith and Marilyn in Ayampe. This is the best spot on the entire coast. Whales have moved south but will be back in June. I tell everyone I meet to come visit Ayampe and LBV. There is a Jocotoco Reserve just up the hill where the dry scrub becomes a lush rain forest. The Esmeralda hummingbird is a rare endemic and found here this time of year. Keith drops me off at Las Tunas and the home of a lady with a garden of verbena. I pay her $5 and wait 1 hour but a male in bright plumage arrives and feeds for several minutes. Bird number 1,238! I start to walk the 2.3 miles back and a bus finally comes by.
I sleep so well here. I may come back in April and rent a beach house. It is just too hot now and it is season so prices are a little high. I took a German lady up to the the forest yesterday to see birds. She seemed impressed. It is hard to tell what Germans are thinking. I had a shrimp dinner and the local cat sat on my lap pawing at my plate. She ate well last night. A group of California 30-somethings showed up last night. They came from Cuenca and had been on a 'retreat'. An ayahuasca retreat. I guess they found their inner selves. So they said. This morning they bitched about what they were going to do today. I guess their inner self was still sleeping.
I saw a scaled pigeon this morning. 1,239. I saw a tidal pool with small shrimp and anemones and urchins. I found a perfect cone shell. I will go back up to the forest at dusk to look for owls. I talk to the forest. There are jaguarundi's in the area. I call them. A full moon coming again. I talk to it too. My inner self gets up when I do. We talk all day.

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Otavalo to Las Peñas

I arrived in Otavalo at about 2pm on the 21st. I had forgotten how much I had liked Otavalo the last time I was in Ecuador. I went to the hotel I was at last year and he gave me the same room overlooking the Imbabura volcano.  I went to the Daily Grind coffee stand and met the owner Bonnie. She hails from NYC but keeps her horses in Virginia. She was an advertising consultant and now gives children the food and educations they require. A very sweet lady. I also met a very handsome gentleman named George who was in Ecuador to climb Cayambe. He aspires to visit every country in the world and climb the highest peaks on each continent. He has accomplished much of that already and will climb Everest this year. He wanted me to confirm that a picture he had taken was, indeed, a condor. It was. I got my bird too. A much smaller tropical doradito which is difficult to find among the reeds of Andean lakes.
I finally bought a Panama hat in Otavalo. The markets are fascinating. The fabrics and colors brighten every corner. I also bought a Quena, which I will learn to play. A musician told me I paid too much and should have bought the bamboo instrument and not the one made of wood. Live and learn.
Christmas was very special in Otavalo.The children's parades and the music was enchanting and calm. I spent the evening listening to Andean music and drinking a local wine.
Birds were on the agenda and one of Ecuadors top birders, Roger Ahlman from Finlandia, told me  where I should visit. The area is called the Chocó region and has birds found only in the NW corner of Ecuador and SW Colombia. Last year the FARC's were farking around and mines were exploding with people on top of them. Things have calmed since then and so I took the bus to Ibarra to spend one night before I set off in a bus for San Lorenzo. Ibarra is very different from other parts of Ecuador. The people seemed very tense and unhappy. The locals asked me if I spoke Castellano, as they do. What? The further north and west I went the more difficult it was to understand them. One night was enough. Let the birding begin!
I took the 8am bus to Gualchan and arrived at Hacienda Primavera by 10:30am. The driver was waiting to take me the rest of the way to the hacienda. The same family has owned the lodge for the last 90 years. $92 a night includes all meals and free horseback riding. A few Germans invaded and broke the tranquility. Alexander introduced himself then his wife, from Iceland, complained that she expected the hacienda to be bigger. She mentioned something about an embassy so I Googled his name and sure enough, he was the German Ambassador to Ecuador. He had been Ambassador to Japan. We had a nice conversation. His wife said there were only two people from Iceland in Ecuador and that the other one lived in Vilcabamba. I told her I had met him and she seemed astounded.
Alex the manager, spoke English and drove me up to the cloud forest at 5:30am. I asked that he come and retrieve me at 11. I made the mistake of starting to walk back instead of birding the upper elevations. I dipped on several species of bird that I might have seen had I stayed up top. I did see plate-billed mountain toucans. And the Germans drove by and stopped to chat. "Did you see any big
pretty birds?" one asked. I wanted to tell her there were beautiful seagulls in the trees.
After my biding walk, Alex drove me to Lita and I checked into a little hostal for $10. I intended to explore this area but needed a driver, The owner's nephew, Alejandro, drove me around  to explore a little and afterward I bought him a few beers and we chatted. He was 30 with 3 kids but he lived alone. He was amazed by Google Map on my phone. It is incredible that people in rural areas have no idea what a map is or how to read one. I know more about Ecuador than they do and I have been told that by several people. I know where I want to go but depend on them to get me there and when they can't be shown on a map I have to convey detailed descriptions. It usually works out.
I left Lita on the 9am bus toward San Lorenzo. I had directions for the driver to drop me at Tundaloma Lodge on the Tululuvi River. The bus was crowded. We passed homes which most folks I know would not use as a shed for their tools. The closer we got to San Lorenzo the culture changed. It was mostly black folks descended from a slaves which had colonized here as a result of their ship running aground. Or a mutiny. Who knows. These folks were among the poorest I have seen. And the most overweight. I could barely understand the Spanish they spoke. The bus drooped me at the lodge and a skinny kid and his wife and baby met me to carry my bags. I carried the heavy one. The lodge was on the river and set in the forest. Perfect for the birds I was seeking. $34 a night for a cabana. My first bird was a white-tailed trogon! Black-cheeked woodpecker was next. I birded the entire time. I must have sweat off 5 pounds. Hot was not the word. Sweltering. No breeze. Humid. Birds everywhere. I awoke to my favorite bird calling. A common Potoo. In 2 days I racked up 11 new species. As the new year was coming I needed to beat Noah Stryker who was doing a big year around the world. His stay in Ecuador was in March and he ticked off 625 species. I was at 604. I finished 15th out of 100 for the year on eBird. I have seen 724 species total in Ecuador and have a life total of 1225. I am happy with that.
San Lorenzo was like nothing I have ever seen. A quick trip to town to get seabirds, all of which I have seen before. The shanty houses are over the water on stilts. They have no bathrooms. They were all getting ready for New Year eve. At the cash machine most were taking out a $20. Most had to have help using the machine. They could not read. I took out $260 which is more than they live on in 2 months. Boats were ferrying folks to Colombia for $10. I was tempted to go for a ride. For birders, this is one of the most dangerous areas of Ecuador. The taxi driver warned me of thieves. I do not blend in well. Some girls wanted to look through my binoculars. I held the strap and let them peer though. They loved it. All eyes were upon me. Time to go back to the lodge.
Next day rain. It's the holiday so not many buses running. A taxi driver took me to the terminal where there was a bus ready to go to Esmeraldas. Drop me in Las Peñas, por favor. So here I am. I had rum drinks and beer and watched people dance to some great Latin music. Mostly Colombian bar owners. A thin, Iman look-alike took a shine to me and made my drinks strong.  Blue eyes pay off sometimes.
The hotels are packed and I had a $10 room which sucked. I just got a much better room for $15, right on the Pacific Ocean. All the people will leave tomorrow and I will have it all to myself.  The Holiday is over. It is raining. The dirt road is lined with beach shacks which serve as restaurants and bars. I like it here. In a day, or two, I will pass through Esmeraldas and go to Mopiche.  I have a sore throat but that won't slow me down. I don't have to sing for my meals or drinks. But I could! I hope I make it through this next year. Saludos amigos.  


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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