THE MOVE
When I first made lodging arrangements I left the 2nd half open. I felt I would have a better idea of where I wanted to be or go after having been in Ayampe for a bit. There are lots of so so places to rent, small rooms, airbnb cabins, and similar. There are a few lodges as well. Some are decent to be sure. I also did not want to limit myself to Ayampe as well. I read about a place at the south end called Punta Finca Ayampe, said to be an eco lodge of sorts, and that a long stay could be negotiated. So I went there about half way through my stay at the Orishas. I met the manager named Wilson who showed me a cabin and quoted me $700 for a month which included breakfast.
So after checking another place, I decided the quoted cost was acceptable, so emailed the place and was contacted by the owner Aldo. I called him the next day, and since he was there, I walked over to meet him. He said $720 for the month. So he said to think about it and get back to him. I did so in a day, and so the lodging was secured. Another plus is that it is quiet here, something that is a priority with me. I need my sleep. The big party town to the south, Montañita, is anything but quiet at night. The town in between, Olon, is far better than Montañita, but can still get noisy at night, so I hear. My experience here has been mostly during the week so far, and I expect the weekends to be busier and maybe noisier with more people. I’ve not seen Aldo again as he went to Quito, and later on I heard his wife was pregnant and due soon, so he is not expected back anytime soon. He is in his mid 50s, and his first son is older than his wife...... (his son was born March 11)
When the time came for me to move, on February 22, Aldo was up in Quito, but had arranged for a taxi to pick me up at his expense. This was nice. There was even a worker waiting at the other end to carry my suitcase up to my cabin. It took me a few minutes to unpack and put my clothes away. Most of my clothes were needing to go to the laundry anyway, so there was not much to put on the shelves.
The place is on 2 hillsides. The main restaurant is a little ways from the cabins, and is 3 stories high. The 2nd floor is the restaurant which is quite spacious. The west end is outside with a small shelter and a few tables. That is where I’ve been eating as the view of the ocean can’t be beat.
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| Here's me before breakfast at the restaurant. It was always nice up there. A little breeze kept the insects at bay. You can see 2 small islands offshore. |
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| Part of the usual breakfast |
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| Occasionally there was a motorized flying contraption sailing around with pelicans. |
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| Pelicans were a very common site |
Plus, there are trees all around which attract the birds. I’ve taken many photos of birds up there during breakfasts. Tomorrow I’ll be going up prior to opening time which is 08:30 for more of the same. This morning there were 3 iguanas in 3 different trees there. I had not seen any in Ayampe as yet, but had in adjacent towns.
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| This Iguana almost always was in the top of the same tree every morning |
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| Iguana |
Here are some shots of the birds seen every morning at the restaurant
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| Tropical Gnatcatcher |
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| Male Thick-billed Euphonia |
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| Male Green Honeycreeper |
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| Boat-billed Flycatcher |
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| Male Black-masked Dacnis. This was one of the most spiffy birds seen on this trip. I saw him every day in a big tree next to the restaurant, but he was always high up and the lighting was always so poor to do photography. One day I saw him fly into another tree at eye level nearby. So here is the best shot of him, after at least 200 other shots in poor lighting. |
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| Ecuadorian Thrush eating a berry |
I’d say the entire place sits on about 10 acres. Unlike most places here, this one has a large variety of plants and trees evenly spaced out, creating a personal touch of sorts. There are 2 landscapers, Adolfo and Fernando, who I’ve gotten to know. There are papaya trees all over, most with fruit hanging. If you’ve been to the tropics, you know that the leaves fall from the trees on a regular basis, instead of all at once like our northern climates. This makes for a lots of raking. You may assume rightly that there were flowering bushes all over. My favorite is the hibiscus with the large flowers with the long stamen. Having two landscapers appears to be full time employment with everything to care for.
The cabins are on the small side (at least some are) but are clean, well built, and appear fairly new. Amazing how much bamboo they use here. There is a small pool which I’ve used about 5X so far. Since it can get so humid, when I start sweating, I can head there and cool off. I could not remember how to get there from my cabin the first time, so I walked up the steps and around a few cabins to get there. On the way out I took a different route, down to the road and back to my cabin which was much easier. My cabin and all the others are on an adjacent hillside from the restaurant, all with a great view of the ocean.
The first night here, I had to figure out how to deal with the bugs. Some are small enough to go through the screening. I noticed the floor beneath the porch light had accumulated a number of bugs, halfway stunned from the light bulb. I started stomping on them. As there was an overhead fan as well as a small, circulating fan, I had both going so they might blow the bugs away, or at least keep them at bay. Plus, there is some insect netting to be used over the bed. After 3 nights I think I have developed a good strategy of dealing with them. I turn on the porch light after dark, so at least many will be attracted to it and hopefully stay outside. I close the drapes to help prevent some from coming in. I keep the fans running all night. So far I’ve not been bitten at night, so maybe it is working.
As this is a more birdy place than the last one, I decided to keep a list of birds seen here. After 3 days it is now at 35 species.
Another benefit of being here is that it is at the south end of town, meaning the south end of the beach. So when I head to the beach, if I want to sit on the rocks they are close to where I enter the beach. My first morning here I went to the rocks, and kept walking south. I was actually hoping to see a Wandering Tattler, a bird I see in spring and fall migration in Oregon. Ka-Ching! I found one. First time I’ve seen one on his wintering grounds.
Plus, being at the very south end of town, it will be quiet here. The whole town is actually very quiet, and Ayampe is known for that, and attracts those who prefer such. But still you will hear dogs during the night, and around 04:00 a rooster will be the alarm clock. That should not be a problem in the present location. I am concluding that in small towns like this, they don’t pay near as much attention to the Covid restrictions, about 1 in 10 wear masks, and most of those are the locals. My kind of place, really.
I thought if my dental work got done in time, I’d consider heading to Quito or Cuenca, both in the Andes, to get away from the heat and bugs. I really think I need 2 weeks to make it worth my time. At this point, I’m leaning toward not going that for the following reasons. First, I have my doubts the dental work will be done in time. Second, wearing of masks and other Covid restrictions are more strict in cities which I don’t really care for. Third, I just got email today from COPA airlines about a change in my flight schedule. I just hate it when I get mail from COPA. It always means having to call them, find out what the change is, and rescheduling the flight. This time the flight from Panama to San Francisco was cancelled, so he was able to put me on a flight 3 days later going through Houston. This type of thing happened 3 times before leaving to come here, so it seems likely to happen again, and so it is probably best to be closer to Guayaquil where I depart from should any last minute changes take place. However, next time I talk to COPA, I’m going to see if it is realistic to fly out of Quito, and if so, I’d reconsider. But if I get too exhausted from the heat and humidity I just may risk a jaunt up to the Andes. I’ve been there 3 times previously so am familiar with my bearings there. (It turned out that I did head to Quito, and there were no more changes from COPA Airlines, AND, the man who finalized my trip through Houston did not add the final leg from there to Portland, so in Panama City I got put on Stand-by! Imagine that. But it worked out OK)
Another thing I really appreciate about my new cabin is being able to rest in the hammock on the front porch. Am actually writing some of this piece while doing so. Quite often out my side vision I see squadrons of pelicans floating by like miniature pterodactyls, usually going north. Some flocks can number up to 75 birds. There are 2 species of pelicans here. The same one we have in the states called the Brown Pelican, and a larger one called the Peruvian Pelican. At other times I see Frigatebirds, Vultures and Pelicans catching a thermal nearby, and there can be up to 100 birds in the mix.
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| The view of the south end of the beach and rocky coast |
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| Same as last pic but much closer |
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| Peruvian Pelican |
The first Saturday I was up to the restaurant about 07:30 and finally got an acceptable shot of the dacnis. Had to slow the speed way down, open aperture way up, and then crank ISO to 4000, as I remember. As it got lighter I kept lowering the ISO, but I think that was the setting I had it on. This iPad does not register the settings like my desktop does. So after a walk on the beach and a shower, I came back to the restaurant mainly for the WiFi so as to mail some pics to a few people. Pretty dead for birds now, so am sitting inside enjoying the ambiance of the place. Am noticing the construction of this building. It would NEVER pass any kind of inspection in the states. Kind of ramshackle. The supporting beams for the top floor are 4 X 6s and some of the spans seem a little long. Not sure if the main vertical supports are a group of bamboo, or if there is a hefty 6 X 6 or larger inside. Looks like support beams of sorts wherever there is a need for one. The floor under me, where I walk, is obviously not level. It sags here and there. Just figured out there are drains exposed, which no doubt are for the sinks and showers upstairs and those pipes are camouflaged by bamboo. Guess one uses bamboo for many things here, so getting creative. From the various paintings here, it seems Aldo is into abstract art. Here are a few shots from inside the 2nd floor of the restaurant
It is best not to drink the tap water here. Even the locals don’t, and I’ve noticed many times trucks carrying 10 gallon containers of water which are sold everywhere. I have a 2 gallon jug which lasts me a couple days or so, and then I head over to the restaurant to refill it. After I’d been here for a week it happened. After 10 prior trips to the tropics I’d never contracted what is called, “Traveler’s Diarrhea,” also commonly called “Montezuma’s Revenge.” Three consecutive mornings my stomach rumbled and it was then to the commode. I only needed one more jaunt there later in the day on those days. So I went to the Pharmacy and bought some Cipro and antidiarrhea pills. By the 4th day it was over, but then the opposite happened and I was plugged up for 3 days until the dam broke. Don’t you love hearing about this? A word of advice - the antibiotic Cipro is said to work very well on such, and in most of the countries in Latin America you can buy such over the counter.
About every other day, during breakfast I am serenaded by Rufous-headed Chachalacas, large, pheasant sized birds that dwell in the trees. Their call can best be described as RAUCOUS. Usually when one pipes up, his mate or another of the family clan joins in, so it is hard to distinguish what one bird along sounds like. And then, usually, an opposing group responds a few seconds later on an opposing hillside. Then first group responds back, and so it seems to become quite competitive.
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| Rufous-headed Chachalacas. They can really make a raucous! |
3/13/21. I decided to risk going to Quito, and then downslope to Mindo. The heat, humidity and bugs are nagging me each day. I will miss the good birding. My trip list is now over 200 so I really can’t complain about that. My last dental visit is today, I fly to Quito tomorrow. Taxi to airport is arranged. Taxi from Quito to Mindo is arranged. My lodging will be arranged by my Mindo birding guide Javiar. So things are falling into place. As I’ve not heard from COPA Airlines by now, it seems more sure they will not cancel my flight schedule, but you never know.
It rained lots last night but by 07:30 it had pretty much stopped so went down to the pathway to the beach and played the Collared Antshrike call. It took about 5 minutes but the male finally showed up. I got fairly good pics. While awaiting him, I saw a female Esmeraldes Woodstar buzzing nearby visiting flowers. Also got a decent pic of an immature male Thick-billed Euphonia. At one point the Antshrike flew and perched near me out in the open. I was about to snap a few frames but a Scrub Blackbird apparently did not like him nearby so chased him off.
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| A land crab |
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| An immature Male Thick-billed Euphonia |
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| Another Land Crab |
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| A Snowy-throated Kingbird |
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| Collared Antshrike |
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| A Snail crawling up the wall |
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| A typical sunset here |
Here is the final list of birds seen at Punta Finca. It totaled 60.
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