FLOWERS & PLANTS OF ECUADOR

Ecuador is one of the riches places in the world for flora. Ten percent of the world's vascular plant species are located here within an area of only 0.2% of the Earth's surface (about the size of Nevada). Ecuador houses some 25,000 species of vascular plants when all of North America only has 17,000. This is largely due to the diverse ecological conditions created by the great altitudinal differences in this small land. More than 10% of all the orchid species in the world grow here. There are 124 species of hummingbirds in Ecuador, 35% of the world's total. We saw a beautiful hummingbird in our yard today with a very long "tail." By the time I got the camera it was gone...darn! As we have wandered around Ecuador, I am amazed how many plants and trees I recognize. On our hikes in the hills we see cedar, cyprus, eucalyptus and pine trees. In our yard we have hibiscus, roses, daisies, mums, lavender, vinca and honeysuckle. It seems just about anything will grow here.

Hike with Mike , Mickey and Boomer

Yesterday morning we awoke to these awesome vistas of our surrounding volcanoes. So decided to gather our buddies, that being Mike, Mickey and Boomer and assault the hills behind us (that would be West for those of you that care). Got a great workout, about two hours up and one and a half down. The dogs had a blast running amuck in and out and up and down from the stream to the canyon rim. No doubt they traversed ten times the distance we covered. Met a group of adorable brothers and sisters on the trail and shared our lonesome apple with them, but they were all quite content. As you can see we had some wonderful views along the way. We encourage any of you who have the inclination to come visit us. But you better make plans soon as our stay here in the highlands is up mid October. Otherwise enjoy the trip vicariously. Chao, until the next post, Mike, Mickey, Boomer, P&G

Impressions - After 90 Days

We have been in Ecuador for three months and are now beginning to form some distinct impressions of the country and its people. Thought it about time we shared some of those impressions with you folks back home. Bare in mind these are our observations and assessments not facts. These are just the feeble perceptions of two Gringos who have just been wandering about this magical bucolic land.
First and everlasting impression - The incredibly beautiful natural environment,
especially the highlands. Because we are on the Equator, the Andes here are unlike any mountains we have ever experienced. They are greener, alot higher up and gigantic volcanoes inter-mingle with a seemingly endless range of mountains, valleys, rivers, lakes, canyons ,mesas and yes even deserts. Everything is just soooo much higher here. Almost all of the highland cities and towns are above 8,ooo ft.
Except for the big cities the high mountain air is crystal clear. The bizarre thing is, as high as 12,000ft. you still have an array of tropical trees and plants thriving,lush,green and happy. Anyway, the photos we have posted speak for themselves.
The downside of the environment here, you guessed it, Man! The litter problem here is epidemic, trash is everywhere. The people here discard their opala anywhere any time. A couple of our Ecuadorian friends have relayed to us that when they were growing up, the signs on the buses read,"PLEASE DO NOT LITTER THE BUS THROW IT OUT THE WINDOW." Those signs are no longer on the buses, however the practice still is. This is the saddest discovery we have encountered on our journey. The level of disregard for the sane disposal of trash is even worse on the coast. We have two suggestions, Ban plastic!! and more realistic, Education....but who cares what we think. All of our gringo friends are horrified by the same issue.

To keep it simple, we thought making a few lists might be easier than running on & on. So to that end, Lists follow.....

WHAT'S BETTER HERE
Attitude:
- people are more friendly, not stressed, non-confrontational, laid
back, mellow and not in a hurry, especially the Indigenous people.
- People are generally helpful and willing to please, particularly those in the
service industry.
- Respectful and hard working people
- Family is very important and proud of their culture

Fresh Fruits & Vegetables:
- Can't beat the price, freshness or variety, every city & town have "farmers
markets" on a daily basis...4 avacados for $1, 16 oranges for $1, lemons &
tomatoes 10 cents each.

Eating Out:
- Almuerzo (local style lunch)$1-$2 you get fresh made juice, soup, main course which
includes rice and potato or plantain, meat/chicken, veggie and dessert.

Public Transportation:
- Local in town buses are $.25 and run frequently
- Between towns buses are $.45 and run every 15 minutes
- Between cities buses are about $1/hour
- Taxi's are plentiful, even in small towns, average $1-2 to go across town

Housing Cost:
- Rent, most Ecuadorians pay less than $150/month. We have friends that rent a 2
bdrm. apt. for $150 and we rent a nice, 2 year old, 1500 sq.ft., furnished, 2
bdrm. house for $300/mo. in a gated community which includes water & sewer
- Utilities, ours run monthly $5-6 electric, $5 gas

Cost of Real Estate:
- In our community, brand new 2 bdrm. condos $50K, brand new 3 bdrm. house
3,000 sq.ft. $130K, both with awesome views

Fuel Cost:
- gas is $1.48/gal
- diesel is $1.02/gal
- propane is $.35/gal

Custom Handmade Products:
- Doors, windows, furniture, cabinets, iron work, pottery, clothing made to your
specification for a fraction of cost in U.S.

THINGS THAT DRIVE GRINGOS CRAZY

- Trash (see above)
- Sound pollution
-electronically enhanced music-people blast loud latino music anytime day & night
not unusual to have music blasting from 4 in afternoon 'til 9 the next morning.
-loud music played on all the buses
-restaurants, stores & public offices have TV or radios playing all the time,
again at high volume
- Total lack of pedestrian courtesy, you take your life in your hands if you think
that you have the right of way as a pedestrian, drivers do not give way for anyone!
- Constant use of the horn in any vehicle, the normal non confrontational Ecuadorian
turns into a demon behind the wheel
- Smog pollution in the cities is bad, old diesel buses are the biggest offenders
- Plumbing issues, there is no uniform building code here, they don't vent their
plumbing here,i.e., it can smell like sewer in your house, water pressure often
sucks, hot & cold are often reversed so be careful
- BUREAUCRACY
-Best just not to go there if you can avoid it. Everything you ever heard or
imagined is true. As far as government is concerned this is still a
"Banana Republic". ALL rules, regulations and laws are a moving target that can be changed
by a new administration , officer or worse, interpreted at the whim of whatever
official is currently in front of you. Our advise..... go with the flow.
-DO NOT ASSUME GOVERNMENT IS LOGICAL or compare it to what you are used to.
-If you ask an Ecuadorian a yes or no question they will always answer yes,
so be careful. We are poking fun here a bit but this really does happen.
-PUNCTUALITY
-Being on time for an appointment or invitation just is not a value for the vast
majority of Ecuadorians. This holds true for Professionals and Gov. officials.
-MONEY
-All clerks hold bills up to the light to check for bogus bills.
-Making or Having change here is a big deal. They hate breaking "big" bills,
which they consider anything over a dollar. Often times a shop owner will have
to go next door or down the block to get change. Then the change you receive
is most often just that, change. Five dollars of change might come in all coin.

Most of these things don't bug us anymore. We laugh alot and are finally accepting the things we can't change.

Through The Sugar Cane Fields to Chachimbiro Hot Springs

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Recently a group of expats living here in Cotacachi got together, hired a van and took an excursion to the Chachimbiro Hot Springs, which is alittle over an hours drive north. As the road descended through more arid terrain we passed through large fields of sugar cane where we came upon a small "cottage" sugar cane processing plant. Having grown up in Hawaii, Grey was fascinated by the primitive yet effective process of harvesting and processing the cane. It was like being transported back to another century. The cane is cut by hand, loaded on the burro, taken to the crusher, cooked to extract the cane juice, boiled to evaporate into a very thick syrup and then poured into molds. After cooling it becomes a solid sugar cake, called panela, is boxed and shipped off to stores where it is found on the shelf just like regular refined sugar.

After a few more miles of winding through hilly countryside, we arrived at Chachimbiro Hot Springs which is situated above a cold mountain stream running through the narrow canyon. The entrance fee of $4 allowed use of all the facilities for the day, including hot showers, steam room, several geothermal pools of varying temperatures and a "agua frio" pool to cool off occasionally. A good & relaxing time was had by all! On the way home we stopped in Ibarra and restored our energy with a carnivorous feast at a Argentinean Parrilladas, where the portions were huge and a glass of wine was full to the brim. And of course, we couldn't pass through Ibarra without a stop at SuperMaxi to gather some of our favorite gringo food.

THE FACES OF ECUADOR 7

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This series of photos, "FACES OF ECUADOR 1-7," are a collection of the various faces of the people we have encountered on our travels throughout Ecuador. We hope you will get a feeling for the diversity, character and beauty of these unique and special people. They are a diverse group made up of Indigenous, Mestizo (mixed Indigenous/European)and Afro-Ecuadorian. It is refreshing to be in a country where the Indigenous people and their culture are still intact. The majority of Ecuador's Indigenous people live in the highlands, and they have distinctive differences in dress depending on their region. Someone familiar with highland dress can tell exactly where an indigenous person is from by the color of their poncho, the shape of their hat, color or style of their dress, etc.

THE FACES OF ECUADOR 6

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THE FACES OF ECUADOR 5

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THE FACES OF ECUADOR 4

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THE FACES OF ECUADOR 3

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THE FACES OF ECUADOR 2

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THE FACES OF ECUADOR 1

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INTI-RAYMI - Festival of the Sun

Originally, Inti-Raymi was an ancient religious ceremony of the Inca Empire in honor of the god Inti, which is the Sun God. It marked the beginning of a new year and celebrated the Winter Solstice and the Harvest. However, over the years Inti-Raymi has been combined with Baila de San Juan (Dance of San Juan), which celebrates John the Baptist's saint day, making it a strange combination of ancient Inca practices and old Spanish Catholic ritual.

Here in Cotacachi, the celebration is truly a unique and peculiar interpretation by the Quichua, the local indigenous people. The festival is a week long celebration, beginning with ritual bathing in Laguna de Cuicocha, a nearby high mountain lake, and followed by days of group dancing in the streets surrounding the town square. Although the women and the children have their respective days to dance, the men dominate the majority of the days. The costumes worn by the participants are a bizarre combination of mostly Spanish vaquero (cowboy), i.e., chaps, whips & homemade black cardboard hats (part witch part sombrero) and a few Inca symbols & masks. The Dance is more of a rhythmic march than anything else and is accompanied by shrill whistling and conch blowing. The men’s dancing tends to become very aggressive as a result of high adrenalin levels and excessive alcohol consumption and fights often breakout between the various village groups. Over the last few years there has been a formative police presence for riot control. The use of tear gas has been a regular occurrence to control the aggressive behavior.

The final day of the festival is a culmination of food and family, a peaceful counter point to the previous days of male macho strutting and aggression. The images that are shown here do not include any of the “men only” dancing, as we were not excited about getting close to residual tear gas. For those of you who would like to see and hear more about the men’s dancing, you can go here and check it out: http://blog.pro-ecuador.com/ecuador-culture/cotacachi-dance-of-san-juan-sunday/