Lake Cuicocha

Our day of adventure began at 8:00 this morning.  We drove up the mountain to a restaurant on Lake Cuicocha for breakfast.  Our group included our family, a couple that lives down the street from us and a friend visiting here from FL.

We enjoyed the view while we waited for our breakfast to be prepared.

The larger greener humps of land are actually two separate islands in the lake.  There used to be houses you could rent but they have burned down and now the islands sit empty.

This is the same lake just looking further to the right.  The large mountain with snow on top is Mount Cotacachi......the same mountain we enjoy from our rooftop looking behind our apartment.

Our breakfast consisted of rolls, scrambled eggs, coffee, and fresh pineapple juice.  Once we finished eating we wandered down the mountain to see the lake a little closer.

The building up high is the restaurant where we ate breakfast.

This is another restaurant.  They also have boats that you can hire to drive you around the islands in the lake.

We hope to be able to hike around the mountain ridge circling the lake some time on a future trip.  We hear there are flowers and wildlife that are unique to that altitude.

Quichua weaving

This morning after breakfast we went to a place called Artesania El Gran Condor.  They sell a wide variety of handwoven items including wall hangings, blankets, sweaters and much more.  The building itself was really interesting.  It had multiple levels and a number of rooms with colorful items on display everywhere you turned.  On the lowest level there was a display of different weaving looms and materials.

After combing the wool she spun it into yarn.  Then she explained to us the different things used to dye the yarn.  Walnuts for brown, a plant for green, and a bug.......

Yes, a bug.  it lives inside the mold that grows on a cactus.  She passed the bug around for each of us to hold.  It resembled a roly poly.  When we returned the bug to her she placed it in the palm of her hand and with the thumb of her other hand she proceeded to squish it!  Once it was thoroughly squished she had a large circle of beautiful red dye in the palm of her hand.  She added a drop of vinegar and it turned into bright orange.  Then she added some baking soda in turned to a dark purple.

Once the yarn is dyed and dry it is placed on this spinner.  Then it is wound onto the spools.

She demonstrated two types of weaving.  In one method she strapped herself to the weaving a created the tension using her body.  It also required a great deal of energy because she manually manipulated individual strands of yarn and moved them with a stick.  This method is used to create beautiful double sided wall hangings . She said it took about 10 days to complete one.

She also demonstrated using a large loom with multiple levels and pedals.  They use this method to create things like blankets, table cloths, and scarves.

I enjoyed looking through the items for sale so much that I forgot to take pictures!  Prices ranged from a few dollars for a bookmark, $5 for a pair of gloves, $45 for a sweater and up to $200 and $300 for a large wall hanging.  The colors were vibrant and the designs were very detailed.  All were beautiful!

Peguche Falls

Today we hiked to a waterfall in the nearby town of Peguche.  We thoroughly enjoyed the hike and wished we had worn our bathing suits so we could get in the water.  Emily took off her shoes and soaked her feet in the cold water but the rest of us just enjoyed the spray coming off the waterfall.

 

When we got near the fall the trail split.  One path went to the top of the fall.  The other went to the bottom.  The boys and Emily walked all the way to the top.  But Liv and I decided to take the "easy" road.

The pic above is the best shot I have of the entire waterfall.  But we are still at 30-50 yards away.  The pic below is of a woman who braved the cold water.  She is right near the fall so you can get a little better idea of the size of the fall.

After our nice hike we were ready for lunch and the rest of our adventure.

Condor Park

We haven't heard of any zoos in this part of the world.  But we did find something close in the nearby town of Otavalo.  Condor Park is on the mountainside high above the town.  It is home to several birds of prey that have been rescued.  We chose the perfect day to explore the park.  We were the only visitors for the morning and the weather was sunny, clear, and beautiful.

After a warm welcome from the lady at the front door we explored gardens of unique flowers and trees......

  

Then we followed the rock path through the rest of the park.

This was an area with a rock structure that resembled a large sundial.  The sign explained that it was the "Calendar of the Condor" where the shadow actually showed the month of the year.

The feathered friends were many and they ranged from large to small.  This next little guy was about 6" tall. I took several pictures of him but his eyes were closed every time.  I was disappointed.  When his eyes were open it looked like he had enormous eyelashes all around them.

At the other end of the size spectrum was the Condor.  They were taller than Olivia with an enormous wing span.  I waited for what seemed like forever to get a picture of one of them with their wings spread out.  I finally got tired of waiting.

The information building had a nice poster that displayed the actual size of the Condor's wingspan.  The girls standing in front of it helps with perspective.

There were several birds of other sizes as well.  Some we recognized, like the Harpy Eagle and Bald Eagle, and others that we've never seen before.

One section of the park was really neat.  It was arranged in a large circle.  There were nearly a dozen different birds in this area and they each had their own perch and shelter.  The cool thing was that you could sit on a small wall and watch the birds on their perches only 6ft away with nothing between you.

Most of them sat quietly looking around.  They all seemed entertained by the birds that were flying in the air. My favorite bird in this section was the Bald Eagle.  They are are such beautiful birds.  And this one didn't sit quietly.  He moved around watching everything, including us!  We moved around the area and he watched each of us individually.  We felt like we were his entertainment for the day.  Then he got vocal and started squawking at us.  We were very entertained.

The park isn't large.  In just under two hours we were able to walk the whole park and take our time watching the birds.  The views were spectacular.  I wanted to pack my bags and move in to one of the storage buildings.

The picture above is a nice view of the town of Otavalo. The picture below is a section of the Pan-American Highway that stretches between Otavalo and Cotacachi.

Twice a day the park performs a show with a few of the birds.  It gave us a chance to see some of them very closely and watch them fly and land repeatedly.  

The man showing the birds wore a leather pouch filled with chunks of meat to feed the birds as a treat each time they returned to him.  This worked for all but one of the birds.  After a couple of flights he decided he would stay gone a while.  We watched him fly around freely for about 15 minutes.  The man said they will all do this now and then.....one stayed gone for 4 days.....but they all have returned eventually.  The fact that they are all rescued birds makes it difficult, if not impossible, for them to live in the wild on their own.  At the end of the show they brought out an American Kestrel and offered to let us take turns holding it.

First was Connor and then Emily.  We tried to get Liv to hold it too but she chickened out.  I still can't tell you much about the birds other than how old they are and their normal life-span.  Why?  It was entirely in Spanish!  And the age and life-span was all I could understand.  Oh well.  We enjoyed the show anyway.

Posting Comments

Some have commented that they have been unable to post comments to the Blog or they have been required to sign up in order to post. Well I have opened comments up to allow anyone to post comments. Of course, it is still moderated so I have to approve the comment before it shows up on the Blog. That should keep the riff-raff from taking over.....and we all know who I am talking about :)

Parade

Parades are very popular here.  In the 5 weeks we've been here we've enjoyed two major parades and several smaller ones. The smaller ones seem to break out at any time of any day for any reason.  They usually include homemade fireworks in the lead and somewhere in the crowd there will be a religious statue hoisted on a stand and carried on the shoulders of 4 men.  One of the large ones took place on Ecuador's Independence Day.  It caught us by surprise but we were able to watch it from our rooftop.

Today we were able to enjoy the largest one yet.  We heard about this one in advance so we were poised and ready with our cameras.  It started at the entrance to the town and traveled down the well-known "leather street" until it reached the bull ring.  We were told the parade ended with a mock bull fight.  Even though the bull wouldn't really be killed we chose to forego that part of the event.

Once the street was completely cleared of traffic and the side streets blocked then the band started playing.

Following the band were several different groups of horses and riders with a vehicle in the lineup every now and then.  The first group of riders wore full chaps and ponchos and were carrying a stick between them.  On the stick hanging by their feet were 4 chickens.  Not sure what that was about.

The horses came in all sizes and colors.  And the riders in each group were dressed differently.  We came up with several ideas as to what the different groups represented but we were unable to confirm any of them.

Each vehicle was decked with an enormous stereo and speaker system.  And each one played their own music.

Each of the groups was small but they usually contained a variety of riders.  This group included both young and old.

This next guy wasn't in a group.  He was all alone but he was having tons of fun waving at everyone and showing off.

Some of the groups included ponies.  This one even had it's colt following behind.

This little guy had his very own horse.........on a stick.  Even though his horse was different from the others, he was dressed the same as the others in his group and he led the way dancing and performing.

The entire parade passed us in about 45 minutes.  The horses were absolutely beautiful and it was so interesting to see the different ways the riders were dressed.  While some groups just casually strode by most groups actually performed as they passed.  Some of the horses walked past in fancy high steps.  Others performed a dance routine as a group.  And yet others were lone dancers that really showed off.  We were very impressed!

And no parade in South American would be complete with a live.......Mariachi Band!!!

And the grand finale.......little Quichua girls tossing oranges to the spectators.