THE PEQUENO INFERNILLO

             PEQUENO INFERNILLO - THE FINAL GROUP HIKE OF THE YEAR

Today we struck out to the south, the same direction as last week’s hike.   The highway had lots of rock and gravel washed down from the hillsides from the heavy rains 2 days ago, more so than last week.  About 5-6 miles down the road we veered off to the left and disembarked under a large roof with a large cement floor.  I think it was a mini sports arena where kids play soccer.  The ravine where we’d be headed was called the “Pequeno Infernillo,” or, Little Hell.  The sun was out in force, seemingly bearing witness to our ignorance of where we were going. 

       THIS FIELD ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD IS PLANTED WITH SUGAR CANE

We walked on a dirt road for about a half mile, paralleling the highway.  Below where the road turned left into the ravine was a beautiful homestead with 2 huge boulders.  

Finally we entered the verdant canyon where we sighed a relief because we were now in the shade.  And finally I was now on a hike where the birds were much in evidence.   

                    HERE IS A TREE WHICH HAS GROWN OVER A LARGE ROCK.

The “trail” was not always discernible, especially when it was down the middle of the dry creek bed, but occasional horse droppings marked it well.  (About mid way we actually came across the skeleton of a horse/mule!  I suppose this could have been considered a bad omen under the negative auspice name of this place.)  I have to admit the trail was very pleasant, at least in the shade.  When the trees were sparse and the sun beat down on us, it was easy to overheat, and I was worried about how Rosie would fare.  Her cheeks were already getting red.  When we came to a place where there was some water I suggested she splash some in her face to cool off, which she decided was a good idea. 

The group of about 20 eventually became two groups, the eager beavers way ahead, and the tortoises lagging behind.  We were in the latter group, taking breaks here and there.  We eventually reached the rock wall face with a crack in the middle, where we’d be heading.  One wonders if an earthquake caused such?  

                                    HERE IS THE ENTRANCE TO THE “CRACK.”

            HERE YOU CAN SEE THE ROOTS COMING ALL THE WAY DOWN FROM ABOVE

                                                THE EXIT OF THE “CRACK”

Our eyes needed to get adjusted to the dark upon entering it.  The width varied from about 4 feet to about 8 feet, and was probably 75 meters long.  After our eyes got adjusted to the lack of light, we had to carefully pick our way along on stones or logs.  Sometimes you could not see the top, which I estimated to be 40-50 feet.  Some of the large tree roots from above came all the way down the sides, something I found truly fascinating.  It was slow going  because of having to negotiate logs or awkward turns and steps.   One of the group said he saw a bat.  This looked to be an ideal place for Oilbirds, which roost by day in caves or deep ravines, but I did not see any or detect any guano. 

Soon after we exited the “crack” I could hear voices further up, so figured we were near the end.  By then the ravine was getting quite narrow, and people were now returning saying the end was really not worth going the extra 100 feet,  so we turned around and found a wide place to rest and eat.  Fortunately we rested in a place where the birds liked also, and I spied a Black-and-Green Fruiteater and a pair of Silvery Tanagers, both colorful.  There were other birds around but I was not able to see them well enough to ID them. 

Rosie and I were not ready for lunch, so were not eating yet.  Feeling rested sufficiently, we began the hike back out.  As I suspected, others were ready also, and so began the parade of hikers going back.  Back through the crack and about 100 yards farther along was another trail that went up the side of the ravine to what was described as a lookout from where one could see Vilcabamba.  (An hour to get there). Even if the weather was cooler I don’t think I would have joined the more energetic ones taking this side trip.  My pedometer later registered 4.7 miles walked with 17 floors (9 up and 8 down?), so we were simply not interested, and 10 of us continued back down the creek bed.  

Rosie and I dreaded walking the last half mile in the full sunlight.  Wherever  there was shade we stopped.  A group of some 75 swifts and about 25 swallows overhead were a nice distraction for me though.  Right at the time we reached the large roof shelter a taxi was letting someone off, so we flagged him over and 5 got inside the king cab, the other 5 in the pick-up bed.  Soon we were back in Vilcabamba and Rosie and I headed for the square with plans to find an empty bench to sit and eat.  As we entered the square we saw a man who we thought we knew, who we met a couple days back at a small  Christmas social named Arnau, from France.  We waved, and he finally waved, but seem rather aloof.  Our paths soon crossed and we realized he was not Arnau, but someone originally from Argentina.  I showed him the group picture of a couple days ago with Arnau in it, and he had a hearty laugh as they looked so similar.  Right after that we ran into a  Frank who was on last week’s hike, and got reacquainted. 

After eating we got a taxi home.  As we felt we had walked enough, the $1.50 was justified.  Now that we are home, we can see we have a little sunburn.  A little sunburn from the Pequeno Infernillo………guess we escaped with minimal burning…………. 

CHRISTMAS

Christmas greetings to all our relatives and friends.  We hope this letter finds you blessed and looking forward to all the great events in store for us during 2023.  Most of you probably know we are in Southern Ecuador, and we are here through the holidays, and beyond. Merry Christmas from the Equator!  We won’t see any snow here. (It is in the 70s here all year long) The nearest snow is on Mt Chimborazo, a days drive to our north.  It has the distinction, that when measured from the center of the earth, and due to the bulge at the equator, is the highest mountain on earth.  Even higher than Mt Everest! 

But we can send our wishes for good weather your way.  That said, we are glad to be away from the cold and rainy PNW for a change.  As Rosie’s mom passed away on 3/1/22, she has no good reason to not… travel with Bill, and it seems he has taken a liking to the country of Ecuador.  He is here for his 5th time, Rosie her 2nd.  And yes, they do celebrate Christmas here as well.  

Here is Bill and Santa.  Ho Ho Ho!  It almost looks like they have the same hair color………….but he is missing those white teeth!

As the country is predominently Catholic, there is certainly a healthy holiday sentiment here. But it is much less commercialized here.  Families do get together, but there is much less of a gift exchange thing.  There is even a nativity scene out on the square in front of the town’s Catholic Church. 

They even eat turkey here for the holidays!  Not sure if they have cranberry sauce though.  We did learn of a small group of Christian expats here who meet every Sunday, so it was fun to  be with them and have dinner afterward.  Tis great to be with like-minded people for such occasions.  After all, we just don’t have the opportunity for a family gathering back in Oregon this year………guess they will have to survive (the ice storms) without us.  

It is nice that modern technology affords us great communication abilities, so we’ve been texting friends and family, as well as sending pictures.  Bill has been sending out blogs also.  

Come the first week of January we’re headed north to the city of Loja and then east over the Andes for a week of birding in the Oriente, or, Amazon Lowlands.  It is likely to be warmer there.  (85 degrees on average, but this is during the dry season there) Someone we know, who grew up there, says it is not the rainy season there now, so we should be OK.  However, we are entering the rainy season here in Vilcabamba.  Some think it is a little later than usual this year, others not.  Bill is curious to learn if the rainy season also incentivizes the birds to nest.   

A rehash of the year which is ebbing away.  January found us at home, enduring the usual dreary weather.  Bill was supposed to be in Ecuador, but as those plans fell through, he remembered a friend who was possibly going to be in Mexico, so contacted him.  This was just in time as he was gathering a small group to bird the state of Oaxaca, where he grew up.  So Bill flew down there last of January for 18 days, 14 of which were hard core birding and traveling. 

The last few days of February were trying as we watched Rosie’s mom go downhill, and passed away March 1st.  She was a real warrior, never complaining about many things most of us would have.  So preparations began for a memorial service and settling the estate.  In the meantime, we started seeds in our greenhouse to be ready to plant the garden.  

But planting the garden was a challenge because the cold wet spring hung on til into June.  Due to a cold snap in April, our grapes had to start over, so in the end did not produce very much.  But the green beans and tomatoes did OK.  The broccoli and kale got eaten up by aphids.  The summer squash and cucumbers did well.

It turned out that Rosie’s sister’s family wanted to obtain the house and property where they all grew up, so after coming to terms, that became settled.  So we’ll be able to keep relatives as our neighbors for another generation.  

In late August we were walking on a trail near the Willamette River, the main waterway which dissects the Willamette Valley, when Rosie said her heart was palpitating.  Bill checked her out and agreed her heart was racing.  As we were already walking, we decided to continue walking the last mile to the car.  Her heart was still racing.  We drove the half hour home.  It was still racing, too fast for the oximeter to register, so we headed to the ER, where they took her right in and stuck an IV in her arm.  In a few minutes they infused some adenocine in her, which brought it down close to normal.  Since then she had to wear a heart monitor for 2 weeks, see a cardiologist twice and now has an order for a prn in case it happens again.  We are glad to report it has not happened again.  This did delay us finalizing our vacation plans to Ecuador, but as you can see, we did make it here.

In September we took a couple of jaunts in our truck/camper, one to the south coast of Oregon, and the other to the north coast of the same. In October Mark LaBell came to reside with us, and as we needed someone to watch our cats while we were gone, this was a real Godsend so we don’t need to worry about how they are doing. 

Here they are.  From left to right: Buster, Tux, Handsome, and Chubby.  But Tux disappeared the day after we left, so we assume he is gone for good. 

We thought we’d save $400 by taking a night flight to Ecuador, which landed us in Charlotte, NC for an 8 hour layover. (Not likely we’ll do that again)  Then it was on to Miami, and then to Quito, Ecuador for the night.  We each slept 8 solid hours. The next day we took a domestic flight to southern Ecuador to Catamayo in the Province of Loja, an hour’s drive from Vilcabamba where we have been since Nov 4.  Early on Bill arranged to head to the dentist as his 4 upper front teeth were really wearing thin.  The dentist thought he could place veneer on them, but after working on them decided to crown them, just what Bill was hoping.  Along with those, veneer was placed on the upper canines,  so now many have to wear sunglasses when he smiles.  As we were needing new glasses, we went to a local optometrist where they made such happen.  While the dentist spoke fairly good English, the Optometrist did not, so it was an interesting challenge communicating with her using our google translate apps. 

We are settled in after almost 2 months and enjoying life here.  It is a unique place, nothing quite like it anywhere else in this country.  After our jaunt over the Andes we’ll be here til Ferbruary 3 when we fly back to Quito for the night where we’ll meet 2 birder friends of Bill’s, and then head down the west slope to Mindo for a week of hard core birding with them.  After a week they leave back to Quito, while we stay in Mindo til Feb 27, and then we’ll fly back the next day. 

Once again, we hope this note finds you well and enjoying life as we look forward to the soon coming of Jesus Christ. 

THANKSGIVING WITH THE BOWEN’S

THANKSGIVING WITH THE BOWEN’S

About a year ago I began corresponding with Brittany Bowen on JP and Amelia’s chat group for expats and would be expats to Ecuador.  Over that year I learned she and her husband Blake and 4 kids had moved to here in September of 2021,  and were having a house built (it is finished now).  At one point she mentioned they had 5000 coffee plants.  We continued to occasionally correspond and I was able to learn bits and pieces from her about this country and the area of Vilcabamba. It was nice to have someone “on the ground” here who would have accurate information I could depend on.

So when our plans finally materialized I wrote to her, relaying we’d be coming and depending on her for a few important bits of information, and she was happy to supply them.  When we arrived in Quito I shot off a quick note to her relaying we were in the country, and that we’d be taking the afternoon flight to Catamayo the next day. She replied saying her father-in-law Rich was going to be on the same flight.  Coincidence?  So when we arrived at the gate, I saw a gringo by himself and asked him if he was Rich.  He said, “You must be Bill.”  So we had a nice chat.  As he had been to his son’s house before, he explained that the airport we’d be flying into involved a steep descent so as to give us a heads up.  And he was not kidding!  We were zigzagging between hillsides at a low altitude and finally landed.  We taxied to the end of the runway where there was plenty of concrete so as to make our U-turn and then headed back to the arrival/departure building.  We exited the plane on one of those portable/mobile stairways, went in to get our luggage, and outside we met the Bowen family.

Brittany invited us over for Thanksgiving saying a few others would be there as well.  It was great to finally meet someone who you’ve corresponded with for a year.  But since the landlord we rent from is very resourceful we have not needed much info from her, but every little bit helps.  

It turned out that, since the local Ecuadorians were all working Thursday, we’d be having the big meal on the following Saturday so we could all enjoy it together.  So when the big day arrived, we took the bus to the next town San Pedro.  We waited at the small store for another couple  and also for the taxi to take us up the mountain.  Now that was a trip!  Steep and windy,  a few miles up.  Their place is built on a mountainside and has wonderful views of the valleys below. 

I TOOK THIS PICTURE ACROSS THE VALLEY FROM THE BOWEN’S.  THEIR HOUSE IS THE ONE IN THE FIELD TOP CENTER.

One of the local families who were invited happened to be the builder of the Bowen’s house, whose name was Jorge.  He spoke very good English, and after I mentioned we were going to be going over to Zamora for birding around the first of the year, he explained he used to be a nature guide for Podocarpus Nat Park at that eastern entrance.  So he was able to give me some useful info for our trip.  

There were over 35-40 people there, and of those 13 were Americans and 2 were Canadians, and the rest locals from the vicinity.  Of the locals only Jorge spoke English, so we were not able to communicate much with the rest.  We did make friends with the expats.  

It was nice to have such an occasion.  There was one large turkey and all the trimmings which fed the group very well.  One of the Bowen boys mentioned something about lots of leftovers for a while.  As it turns out, the Bowens have some 15,000 coffee plants on their property, and another 10,000 on an adjacent property whose owners are from Tennessee.  Eventually they will be going into the coffee business, as you’d expect. 

So here are a few shots of the occasion and their place:

                    THE VIEW OFF THEIR BACK PORCH

                                                FRUIT SALAD WITH MARSHMELLOWS

                                                            ALMOST TIME TO EAT

            HERE ARE MOST OF THE LOCAL FOLK WHO ARE FRIENDS. OF THE BOWEN’S

                                                    STILL ALMOST TIME. TO EAT

HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE THIS VIEW OUT YOUR BACK WINDOW?  THE PERSON IS DOUG.  HE GOT THE POTATO MASHER JOB WHICH YOU’LL SEE SHORTLY

BRITTNEY EXPLAINING TO THE LOCALS HOW THANKSGIVING IS DONE IN THE STATES.

                    THERE ARE A LOT OF MASHED POTATOES HERE, PILED HIGH

WHERE THE DRIVEWAY ENDS.  YOU DON’T WANT TO LOSE YOUR BRAKES HERE CUZ IT IS A LOOOOOONG WAY DOWN

THERE IS VILCABAMBA WAY DOWN THERE.  WE CAN ACTUALLY SEE THE BOWEN’S PLACE FROM OUR HOUSE……WAY UP ON THE MOUNTAINSIDE, AND OUR RENTAL CAN BE SEEN WAY DOWN THERE IN TOWN

                                            ANOTHER VIEW OFF THEIR BACK PORCH.

                                                                THE BOWEN BUNCH

                                                                BLAKE AND BRITTNEY

                                                THEY ARE NOW READY FOR CHRISTMAS

ANOTHER HIKE

Tuesday, December 20:  The hiking group set out again on a scenic venture this morning.  We went south this time, about 5 miles out of Vilcabamba, and then took a gravel road to the left.  The road went into a valley with a river.  With all the mountains and valleys around this part of the Andes, I’ve now concluded that many roads off a main road is going to go through a valley with a river.  

This time I sat inside of one of the king cab pick-ups so as to avoid the bumps sitting in the bed.  We drove along side the river for about 4 miles, past the “Trout Farm” and restaurant, and through the river.  About a mile after crossing the river, we veered up to our right, winding up the hillside.  As I’ve come to expect now, the farther up you go on these types of roads, the worse they get, this road had lots of switchbacks.  About a half mile before we disembarked, we were driving along the hillside with a steep drop off.  I was a little scared.  

            THIS IS THE DROP OFF AS SEEN COMING BACK DOWN THE HILL

We reached the end of the road, or at least as far as the vehicles were going, went through the gate and headed up the dirt lane.  A local person was hired to take us to a viewpoint (Mirador), which was probably about 2.5 miles away, mostly uphill.  The views were really worth going.  We had a river valley downhill to our left, and the tops of mountains to our right.  

Here are some of the views:

For a mile or so the uphill was gradual and enjoyable, but after that it became steep in parts, which put me in the rear, needing short rests often.  Near where it leveled out again I had to rest one last time.  For about 30 seconds I felt nauseated, so stayed put until that passed.  But once getting to the level ground I was OK, keeping up with the rest.  

We soon reached the lookout, the goal of our hike.  Most partook of their lunch now and basically enjoyed the views.  The guide had explained that there were some plants here that had red flowers at this time of year. 

We sat around in the sun for about 45 minutes eating and socializing.  Now that I’m back I can see being in the higher elevation and thin air resulted in me getting sunburned some.  At least the hike back would be all downhill, much easier. 

Eventually we made it off the side of the mountain and onto the flats where a river was, the one we drove through, and decided to rest here.  Some took off their footwear and walked through the water, but I saw a “foot bridge” just downstream and decided that was better, as did most of the others.  

I WAS NOT AWARE THAT SUE TOOK THIS PICTURE.  SHE MAILED IT TO ME LATER.

About another half mile down the road the taxis returned to take us back, and I eagerly got in the back seat again, not wanting to be jarred around in the bed from all the pot holes.  I should add here that we had some really torrential rains a couple days ago which dislodged some smaller rocks and gravel from the hillsides, and the main highway at times showed evidence of that.  

Once back in Vilcabamba  about half of the group headed to a coconut bar.  Here the owners put coconuts in a large refrigerator to chill them, take them out upon request and cut off the tops, place a straw in the hole, serving them fresh for a cool drink.  They will also cut them in half once drained so one can scoop out the loose meat to eat.  I joined them last week for the experience, but have to say that I really did not care for the fresh coconut water.  So today I had a pop cycle.  

I should add that the bird life was really sparse until we reached the river on our return trip.  I should also add that my pedometer registered over 6 miles for the hike.  It also indicates 149 flights of stairs.  I’m convinced now that it must register going downhill as well as uphill.  We did descend a lot of road on that return trip!