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Alamanda, Heliconia, Jake's Sunday Post Focused Attention, jama ecuador, Let's Be Wild Photo Challenge Now, Muddy Roads, The Rainy Season Jama Ecuador
Ready, Set, Let’s Go NOW!!
After weeks and weeks of slow, gentle rains, the skies lightened yesterday, and I joined my fellow locals and mudded my way to town! Although my kitchen held a generous supply of basics, I’ve learned to always be prepared for unstable weather to flex its muscles and hang around for weeks. I pulled a few weeds in the yard, which was a bit too muddy for weeding.
The test crop of quinoa (see Q is for Quinoa!) is quite happy in this cool moist weather!
Hmmmm. Should I walk to town in the mud or chance going later in the rain? The trek would give me great material for this week’s challenge of “NOW” at Let’s Be Wild. Oh yes, I looked forward to snapping images as I mudded to town and back!
I love my life n this last bend of the river.
Would you like to tag along? Let’s Go!
Thirty steps away from the gate, I stopped to admire five species of birds.
Why would the municipality fill a drainage canal that aided the shrimp industry year round? Fill it they did, so much that the edges were higher than the road. Surely they had enough vision to know that the slightest rain would turn the road into a small stream!
The new fill seemed less muddy than the road!
At this point I was really happy to be wearing mud boots!
I wasn’t surprised, after our first big rain, that heavy equipment began emergency work to open the clogged channels! They dumped more material onto the road, and made a lovely mess of patching the problem! Another week passed, and heavy rains fell for days and days. Like a child, I looked forward to inspecting the worst spots of the road!
An agricultural delivery truck gave me a ride! I hopped in the back with two workers!
A colorful line of laundry always catches my eye!
We went a short distance and turned onto a muddy side road! I think they forgot I was in the back! (He laughed after I took his photo and showed him the results!)
I bailed out and headed back to the main road.
(Above: Birds in Sawyer’s shrimp pond) Later in town, I had lunch with Sawyer. He said, “Lisa! I saw you walking beside one of the shrimp ponds.. My worker said, ‘Oh, that’s Lisa!’ Everyone knows who you are!”
Itty Bitty Bird Tracks!
Before the new road ‘improvements, a line of small thorny “Garrobo” trees lined a stretch of this road. Vermillion flycathers, Peruvian Meadolarks and many other species flitted from tree to tree. Quothe the raven, ‘Nevermore.’ A lone tree stands here or there, a token memory of that shady stretch of road.
The lone Garrobo tree guards the entrance to a side road.
At lunch, I suggested to Sawyer that we convert the road to a 4-wheel-drive race track!
Like a child, I anticipated exploring this lagoon!
What fun! Here comes a big truck, and I know who this is!
My dear gentle friend who tolerates the artist’s thirst for taking photos!
Kerspllllllllllash!
The guy in the back took the water jug, and I climbed in the cab!
Some people think that third-word countries are dangerous; thankfully there are sweet angels who enhance the quality of my days! I often feel as if I’m in a time warp and am back on the farm of my childhood in Mississippi!
Always polite, always gentle and kind, most Ecuadorians have a high code of honor!
After returning an empty water bottle to my friends’ corner market, I walked to the center of town in search of more photos of NOW.
This guy, focused on his latest text message, zipped past!
Taking a break from her municipality job, this lady wished she could be outside NOW!
How’s this for a classic tandem ride to town?
Approaching the center of town, I sensed a break in the clouds. Or was that wishful thinking?
Mototaxis lined the side street beside the central park.
Before leaving, I stopped by the carpenters’ shop for help with a project.
Two Brothers’ Workshop. I LOVE stopping by this place! One never knows what they’re working on, or what animals might be waiting to say “Hello.”
Brothers Amable and Luis consider ways to help me make a simple wooden swing!
Mama Cat continued her dreams…
Young gatito inspected the camera!
Bored, it stretched and ambled away!
I noted slight movement beneath a row of boards and peeked beneath!
I discovered another curious young hiccup of a puppy!
This bird does NOT like me! It totters away whenever I approach!
Returning home via mototaxi, I spent the remaining hours pulling weeds and working in the garden. I dashed for my camera when this fisherman paddled by in his canoe!
Is a simple life really so bad? If not, why do so many people work in high-stress jobs?
I never tire of watching those lazy canoes! Maybe one has to have had that high-stress life before embracing a quieter one.
Classic Beauty. Often times, my biggest stress comes from foliage eating caterpillars (and goats!)
The softness of the end-of-day light prompted me to take one final photo.
Ah, little did I know that I’d stay up til 3 working on images from the day!
Thanks for hanging with me! I hope you enjoyed the trek to town and back! Visit other entries for Let’s Be Wild “NOW” as well as Jake’s Sunday Post of FOCUSED ATTENTION.
What an adventure that was… How much fun it must be just to get into town? Your life seems very simple yet so very rewarding on many levels!!
thank you for taking us along on this field trip :-)
thank you for tagging along! i enjoy my walks to town; there are several areas where i try to sneak up on egrets, herons, stilts and whimberlings. in the rainy season, i look forward to ‘incubating’ – reading books, drawing, painting, watching the river and the birds! every so often i go to town for a healthy dose of interacting with society! z
Thank you for the trip! a day in your life is very adventurous!
thank you for going with me! when i can’t be outside, i feel quite trapped! my life here suits me well, as even if it’s raining, it’s still refreshing!
Your enthusiasm for getting back outside and exploring came through your fantastic post. There is absolutely something wonderful about a simpler, less space and time. And it’s proof with your gentle spirit and love for the your environment.
Thanks for sharing the day Z! It is an amazing look at a different part of the woods. Hugs – B
for sure it’s quite different from your area, so it’s nice to swap stories and photos to compare the differences! your cooking trumps mine! z
Forgot to mention I love the close up nose photos!
thanks! they were both quite curious! z
who would’ve guessed that they have illegally-texting drivers (on bike) there too? ;)
hahaha! he looked so odd all focused on his phone and not watching where he was going! thanks! z
Thank you for sharing your day with us! Glad you were wearing mud boots :)
“Why do so many people work in high-stress jobs?” Why. I wonder often…
many people thrive on deadlines and pushing themselves, which is fine as long as they don’t go ’round with a a body and spirit filled with tension!
When they (most people) find out what they have done to their body and spirit, it’s kinda too late…
so true.
Excellent adventure. And LOVE the quinoa!
i was so happy to see that the quinoa seeds, which had been ‘dormant’ in the soil for at least six weeks, jumped from zero to a foot tall in — about two weeks! this equator living is sometimes magical! my plan is to use the leaves for salad, since i can buy the seeds at the local market as well. i am hopeful that the plant will keep making more. thanks, gemma!
I sure hope you picked up some of those bell peppers and tomatoes, they sure looked good. And did you remember to clean your camera lens to get the kitty’s nose print off?
ha ha! you are so right about the kitty nose prints.. and the puppy nose prints!
every time i go to town, i return with a bumper crop of ‘something.’ the grapefruit have been 8 for a dollar, but recently they’re absent from the selection. i bought red cabbage to make sauerkraut and bought already-shelled green peas and always carrots, onions, tomatoes, garlic. lemons were four for ten cents, and the young cilantro had roots, so i planted the cilantro. the swiss chard is always beautiful, and i have a young friend who is now growing nasturtiums and kale and a few other unusual goodies! my problem is reminding myself that the bags will get heavy if i am walking back home!!!
What a great local travelogue, and a very realistic view of your world. I see a heron rookery to the left of that canoe – I”m envious of all the herons and egrets you have so close by. I think I know what you’re talking about re the ethical code – spending some time in Costa Rica well off the beaten path I met wonderful local people who I felt very safe with. There was warmth, and at the same time a sense of dignity. I see the same look on the faces you photograph. But you won’t get those photos if you don’t approach people with respect, and clearly you do that.
you are right! not only are there herons, but also frigates, egrets, ibis, and pelicans.. they have their segregated areas, and yet they don’t! the pelicans and frigates dominate that area of the mangroves. slightly upriver on the other side is a section of great egrets, cattle egrets, snowy egrets, and a few ibis.. mixed i n near the edge of the trees are the frigates. trees very close to the house have year-round yellow-crowned night herons, and two species of kingfishers live in the banks below. ithen there are the little blue herons, etc.. that’s why losing that stretch of mangroves hurt so much.
you’d love it here!
z
Fabulous tour, can I say that I have now visited Ecuador guided by a great ‘local’ artist? Jejejeeee muchas gracias por el recorrido, Alexandra
con mucho gusto!| it’s my pleasure to guide you around this unique little area of the country! z
what a wonderful place to live your life and it is fabulous to be able to see it the way you see it…with wonder at every new turn
thanks! it reminds me very much of the slow quiet life when i was growing up. (except we didn’t have howler monkeys or palm trees!)
Wow! Thanks for taking me along on your day! I loved seeing your town and the sweet people who live there! Cheers!
you are so welcome, and thank you for taking me across that bridge for your birthday weekend! your most-recent post announcement didn’t connect. i’m ready to see that wine country! z
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Great fun. I am amused that the man and the woman on the motorbike were wearing white shoes. Such optimism.
you are so right! I can’t take two steps without getting mud all over me!
Wow what an amazing post, its lovely to see Equador!
Thanks! Ecuador has many faces; this farming area on the coast is much different than the magestic andes! thanks for the comment! z
Thank you Lisa I just loved that muddy slosh into town with you. All the interesting things you notice you would only see because you are walking. It was a beautiful look at your “stamping ground” an excellent example of “now”
We are at present having torrential rain with flooding in many areas around Brisbane. Tornados have been sweeping through as well. The electrricity keeps flickering, many areas are down. It is 9pm now and they predict the peak will pass over between midnight and 6am. I wanted rain for the garden but Aussie never does things in halves. Enjoy your weeding. Goodnight…
well i answered this a while ago, and it must be swirling round in a cloud of tornadoes! i’m glad that your gardens were drenched, and i hope that the storms have fizzled out. don’t you have unstable tropical weather on the northeast side of the country? i’ve not looked at a weather chart in a few days, but i think i remember seeing hat. we received another 1 point 5 inches of rain last night.. power out for 8 or so hours, and ‘so so’ now.
yes, i enjoy the walks so that i can ‘sneak up’ on the wildlife!
z
Storms still raging over here, dreadful disasters further north and Brisbane is going under again, only 2 years since last flood and most people just cleaned up and rebuilt since then now it all happens again. Today is the exact day they had the huge 1974 record floods. It is just reaching us now
ooooooh, you just gave me a really weird promonition; the mississippi river reached record flood levels in 1974. it’s been at record lows so far this winter, though spring flods are based on snow melts combined with spring rains…
i will keep my attention tweaked in your directon. stay safe and dry, and thanks for the update.
z
yes 1974 was a bad year in many parts of the world. The weather patterns have sure gone crazy
Thanks for the field trip, it was fun! :)
you are so very welcome! it’s fun to let that inner child play in the mud and water!
I bet! :)
Hate to think what the road will be like when the rain really gets going!
you are so right! the municipality has had trucks going back and forth for a few days with ‘lastre’ (fill material) and i suspect they’re raising the level of the road in the lowest places! yes, i think a canoe might be an easier way to town when the true rainy season hits!
You make a compelling case for the “simple life,” and do it beautifully! Thanks, Z.
yes, i’m aware that most aren’t wired for this type of simple life, though i think i could take most anyone – on a one-on-one basis – and teach them how to learn to be still – and love it.
maybe i should work on a post about that…. ha! maybe down the road i can request for a volunteer to test my theories!
i smirk at the thought! i’ve done it over and over with drawing and painting.. why not step up a level?!!!
z
Every time I visit your blog, I have this overpowering urge to travel to your part of the world and live the life you describe. Delhi is a desert… and I so love beaches… sigh…. one day perhaps. Until then, I enjoy your pictures. Keep posting them here. :)
what a kind thing for you to say! i wish there were some way i could help make that happen!
we had more heavy rain in the night, but it’s been cloudy and cool today – perfect temperature. i’m glad that my posts give you comfort! thanks so much!
lisa/z
What a muddy experience. :) Thank you for sharing it with us.
fthank YOU for braving the mud with me! z
It’s a complete story you write here ya.. i like the experience. :D
thanks! yes, a trip to town is quite the experience – never boring! z
I can feel the mud sloshing now. Love your photos and descriptions…truly keeping us in the NOW and what this day was like. Your acceptance and open attitude about these lovely people as well as the inconveniences of daily life (we take for granted) really shine through.
hey amiga!
thanks; rains resumed last night – one point five inches more, so i wasn’t surprised to awaken to zero power. the outage lasted til noon. that doesn’t bother me too much until the sun sets, and then i appreciate the luxury of electricity!
thanks so much for your comment!
z
I think part of the answer to your question about why people live such high-stress lives lies in the fact that money, employment and life-style are so interrelated. I would love to travel, to live in a new place for a while, but I haven’t the money to do it. I don’t even have the money to retire!
On the other hand, other choices I’ve made over the course of twenty years have simplified my life considerably, and left me with almost no stress! I don’t have much money, but I don’t have any debt, either. I don’t make the money my corporate friends do (or did) but I don’t count every minute of every day just waiting for it to be over. I don’t own a home, but I rent a view some people around me are paying $350K to enjoy.
And so on. The desire to achieve what “isn’t” rather than enjoy what “is” lies at the heart of so much stress, I think.
And now, for a 90 degree turn – you have vermillon flycatchers? They’re all over here, right now. They’re migratory here – I wonder if they will come back to you, and whether they’re coming or going? More exploration is required!
i’ll start at the end and work backwards! yes, i admired several vermillion flycatchers this morning – they’re so gorgeous, and i am always thankful that i can see the color red. (my sons have red/green color deficiency)
until the rains resumed this month, i have not seen them in probably half a year. hmmm. i wonder if i can use them a couriers and send you some token trinkets from each year?!
part two!
i am one of those who – at one point in my young married life – worked 100-hour weeks during planting season each year. when i reflect back on those days, and the many many years that followed, i also remember saying to my former husband, “let’s go be swiss family robinson… this stress is killing us.” later i said that i was sure the stress was taking years off the back side of my life.
yes, we had basically ‘it all,” but at what cost? it all but destroyed both of us emotionally/psychologically. moving to costa rica to a waldenesque life was like throwing brer rabbit back in the briar patch. it bothered those who knew the lisa who lived in a 7,000 square foot house/b&b, drove a sporty bmw, etc etc, but it didnt surprise anyone who knew that naturalist farm girl who was at her best in the midst of nature!
i regret that there’s so much distance between the ones i love back home and latin america, but i don’t miss that lifestyle – AT ALL! yes, i could return and live a quiet life in the woods, but there are lots of mosquitoes, there are winters, and the cost of living is much much higher. i live well here, i can sit on the deck day and night and rarely have a mosquito (true in costa rica as well) and here at the equator, the weather is rarely sweltering hot or uncomfortably cold! i am frugal, therefore my dollar goes a long way!
i realize that i’m very lucky, and that most people can’t disconnect like i did.
one day i’d like to see where you are! it sounds like you have a very nice balance and a unique life! z
I can identify with what you just wrote about your former life. I once worked much harder, lived in a big fancy house (but didn’t have a bmw!), but now my life is much simpler and although not as simple as yours, it is my goal. There is such a great since of freedom just getting rid of “stuff” and trying to live frugally and closer to nature. You are an inspiration to me!
Richard
oh richard, this comment made me laugh, as i’ll never forget when i met you! who would’ve thought that the artist who wandered out of the jungle had lived that life in previous years!!! did you take photos of that bogged-down rental car?
what a funny memory!
thanks for staying in touch!
lisa/z
i’ve had a bmw, but i also have had a jeep wrangler, and the jeep wrangler was much more fun! its front bumper also made a great seat, and i could sit and draw or paint and had a great back rest as well!
Sounds like you have the right combination of marvel and enthusiasm for your garden of paradise.
you’re right – enthusiasm is an important ingredient for being happy! thanks for reminding me of that! z
Beautiful entry my friend , I really love it thanks for sharing :)
thanks, jake! z
Where you live and take pictures makes me realize how 1st World David, Panama where we live really is. Your post takes me back to my youth on Guam in the mid ’50s-life seemed simpler and more fun- YOU certainly are having fun! Carry On!
ha! you are right! david is much more ‘first world’ – ecuador has many different regions and sections, but i live in the wild west section, and of course i love it! thanks so much! lisa/z
I love your laid-back lifestyle Z. Great photos!
If municipalities had vision…..well they don’t any where in the world!
Love these fascinating glimpses into your daily life Lisa :-)
thank you amiga! i’m lucky that my senses are alive and well; everywhere i look, there’s something positive waiting to be discovered! this morning, i noted a change in the color of the river – not so positive, aside from the assurance that the rainy season is a normal one, and the soil upriver is washing to the sea!
z
love it…still have to get our boots..just a bit muddy..but we know it will get worse..:)
si.. i’m pondering that walk now.. it’s a mud-boot kind of day but i hate to go all hte way to manta with those boots.. guess i’ll pack theother shoes and wear the boots all the way!
maybe they’ll help my chances at immigration if i walk in with those boots!
z
Z..I’m relishing your muddy walk into town. How far do you have to walk into your closest town? We’re in the dry season here. Everything is turning a dreary brown. The cows, horses, and pigs wander the dusty paths in search of something to eat. My house is covered with a fine layer of dust every morning. I can’t wait until the rains begin again. Love the dog and cat pics. You’re building a swing? Life really is all about the simple joys.
yes, you’ll like where the swing is going to hang!
i live about three miles from town, and yes, the dry season can get very dusty. that’s why the goats were such a nuisance – they were hungry for anything green and would all but break down a fence to get inside.
z
OH what a fun and adventurous excursion! Thanks for taking me along. Here in southern Oregon, right on the Pacific coast, we have rain and wind for weeks at a time during fall, winter and autumn. It’s quiet now but could begin again at any time. Not too much mud here as most is paved in the town bu in the surrounding hills and valleys there can always be slides where great portions of the road or highway will wash out in an instant. I am not a photographer, so admire those who are. Thank your for staying up through the wee hours to get this up for us. Blessings and love, alia
thanks! having many interests is a blessing a curse; sometimes i push my body a bit too far as i try to squeeze in word press with painting. late at night i put on an hour’s background ‘painting music’ usually selected from youtube, and wow, the times flies by. i have to eventually force myself to stop. it’s really qiet here today, ah, but there’s always the distraction of outside interests that pull me away from my painting! like watching birds, working in the garden, cooking, or tromping to town in mud boots!!!
thanks so much!
z
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Oh my, you made me feel so much better about our 2 days of rain!!! Good post!
hey amiga!
thanks; si, sometimes we have to endure the rain so that we can appreciate the sunshine when it returns!
z
Amen to that Z!
Delightful post,deserves more than an award.Beautifully said.Rain is a blessing and some times we have to accept the bad part.Thank you for liking my post (human body ) hope the coming days bring more joy to you.Sincerely jalal
thank you for your genuine feedback; we continue to get lots of rain, and yes, in a few months we will be wishing for it to return!
z