Paramo, blisters, and extreme driving!

Well it has been an eventful few days! Vilcabamba was beautiful- though a lot of strange individuals live there. Veronica's family's house is absolutely beautiful, and walking along the small river that flows near town reminded me a lot of evening walks along the Little Salmon. I saw my first Ecuadorian scorpion, which are small and very similar to the scorpions on the Bruneau River. They are not deadly, but according to Boris , Veronica's husband (who speaks from experience) they pack a very painful sting. Boris and I scooped the little guy up and put him outside. We went to a very neat open air bar, which was quite enjoyable if you could get past the extreme drunkenness of the locals and the tremendously loud music that they were booming through the speakers. Upon returning from the bar I saw my first lightning beetle. Not sure what the scientific name is, but it is about the size of a fingernail and when threatened emits a very bright neon green light. It was a bit startling entering the dark house to see this flashing green light move across the floor. Too bad I did not have the video camera with me!  The Vilcabamba journey did not end so well for me, as something that I ate while we were there did not agree with me at all! For the next two days I could not keep anything down or in, but am now recovered for the most part.

The view from Veronica's front porch!

A praying mantis hanging out on a plant on the porch.

Some beautiful flowers from our evening hike along the river. 

Monday and Tuesday were very productive days on campus. We are getting our interviews, mapping dialogue, and questionnaires finalized and ready for translation. On Wednesday, we went on a "Greg style" adventure and drove/hiked up to Las Tres Lagunas. These are the lakes that the entire research team is working to try to obtain Ramsar protection for. It was really wonderful to see them, the new dirt road that now dissects them, and their potential uses. It puts things into perspective for us as we prepare to talk to the area communities about them. The road is thankfully not that great and construction of it has been temporarily blocked by the federal government. Driving in South America is a lot like living in one of the fast and the furious movies on a daily basis. I was riding in a vehicle that Veronica was driving (a female driver in Ecuador is a bit rare, but Veronica is one of a kind) and she is a safe driver for Ecuadorian standards, but still provided excitement for us. After a river crossing, several necessary pushes through mud patches, and quality driving over/around wash outs, the road became so bad that we had to hike the rest of the way. Jaz and I loaded our packs with food and other equipment that the aquatic team needs for their studies of the lake and began the trek.

Finally at Las Tres Lagunas!

The road dissecting the lakes.

Up in the paramo and cloud forests of Ecuador- where they receive 14 meters of precipitation in an average year!

The social science research crew: Jess, Veronica, Rosanna, and Jaz.

A few views will hiking back down to the vehicles.

A bromeliad- common food for the Andean Spectacled Bear. 

A part of the road.

Turns out that I did not break in my Asolo boots as well as I had thought- and proof that gorilla tape is just not the same as duct tape!

Once back to the vehicles the drive out went as smooth as could be. We then drove into Ona where we talked with several local government officials that were very glad to be of any assistance. As we were walking back to our car we passed by a couple of street vendors grilling whole cuy (guinea pig). It smelled delicious and Jaz and I were very hungry, but we pushed on. We all ate at a small little restaurant and enjoyed our chicken, rice, and beets. Ona is quite small, and finding a hostel for the night proved difficult. We ended up driving back to Saraguro (I will tell you the history of these people in another blog) where we took the last two rooms available in town. The 25th of May is a holiday here in Ecuador when they celebrate their day of independence from Peru. Thus everyone was coming to town for the long weekend and the celebration. This also means that we do not have to work and get a three day weekend. To avoid the non-stop fireworks and drunken debauchery of the city Haley (one of my roommates) and I are headed off to Piura, Peru to visit one of my best friends Elena. We leave for the 9 hour bus ride tonight at midnight! Buenvenidos Peru!