Guess its time for a little update! Without my camera the photos have been a little more sparse and are primarily only taken with my iPhone. I have included a few in this blog. I will eventually upload numerous photos from my iPhone and a few from cameras that I have borrowed but that will have to wait until I have my laptop again (in December when I return to Costa Rica). Unfortunately I am a little limited with what I can do with this website using only the app. Also, I apologize because there has been a lot going on lol – this is gonna be a long blog I suspect 😊
When I last left you I had just arrived in Bahia de Caraquez and started my work with Planet Drum. This is a front line organization that is working in a dry tropical forest along the coast of Ecuador. My time with Planet Drum was (yup I said was, more on that soon) educational and gave me numerous tips/ideas that I will pass on to my brother and sister in-law as they embark on their reforestation project. I participated in numerous activities including seed harvesting/gathering, seeding, transplanting, community tree planting and larger scale composting. I also learned different tooling and my body got the work outs of it’s life as I used hole diggers and machetes to plant and built respectively lol.
Me learning how to build using bamboo, a machete, hacksaw and wire!
This is the seed bed we built!
Aside from the direct work with Planet Drum organization I find myself incredibly conflicted about Bahia de Caraquez and the surrounding area. When I first arrived I truly was not in the best headspace. The robbery in Costa Rica had me on slightly shaky ground and it took me a while to shake that. I am aware that I observed Bahia through slightly jaded eyes and have tried to keep that in perspective BUT I also have to fully acknowledge that there are many things about Bahia that just did not resonate with me. I will try to explain lol.
Bahia is a city, a small one albeit, but a city nonetheless. I just simply am not a city girl anymore. Couple that with the fact that this city was devastated by an earthquake in 2016 (rebuilding is slow and the scars of that earthquake are everywhere) and I just found the energy there draining. Between it being dry season, a heavily damaged city and a people struggling to reestablish livelihood I simply felt heavy and sad. It’s not that there wasn’t some amazing (it’s why I am conflicted) but I simply was not thriving there and knew I needed to find different (which I will eventually get too lol).
So many building destroyed by the earthquake. The city appears to be a shell of what it once was.
Aside from the green tinge of the Ceibo tree bark, everything in the Bahia area is so incredibly dry and devoid of life at this time of year
BUT I am still conflicted. The people I met in this area were incredibly friendly and hopeful! The children were engaging and curious. Community planting events were fun and I enjoyed them tremendously. The beaches were stunning and the history of the area is incredible. I suspect I will have to return in the future, once the city is a little more rebuilt and perhaps my perspective a little less jaded.
Amazing sunset at Punto Gordo
Pre Columbian artifacts found on the beaches in Punto Gordo! These artifacts can be found all over the place. Yes, the artifacts are protected by law.
San Vicente – one of the areas where we planted fruit trees in the community. The views were stunning!
Someone’s backyard garden in one of the communities where we planted trees. The people I encountered were truly wonderful!
I also had the opportunity to work with some amazing young people on this project and am constantly in awe of the passion this generation has for conservation! A couple of good friends were made and I look forward to our paths crossing again (I will talk a little more about one of them in a bit and the other needs to get her butt to where I am now so our story can continue!).
I spent a couple weeks struggling with a decision about whether to complete my 8 weeks with Planet Drum or to do something different. As I had committed to 8 weeks originally this was not an easy decision for me to make (you all know me and how high I hold my word). As I was struggling to decide though three things happened that compelled me to leave. 1. Camille (one of the volunteers I mentioned above) left to Mindo; 2. Ramon (an Ecuadorian friend and coworker from Canada) came home to Quito and 3. I learned of a bucket list project in the area that was looking for volunteers (more to come). The combination of these three made the decision for me and I decided to leave the Planet Drum project and head to Quito! I am thankful to Planet Drum both for what I learned but also for understanding and supporting my need to move on. I look forward to reconnecting with this group in the future in some capacity.
With a newfound excitement, I traveled to Manta and then hopped on a plane to Quito to spend a few days with Ramon and his family! I cannot tell you how much my spirits lifted as soon as we flew over the mountains and forests! Ramon and his family were amazing hosts and I am so grateful for the time I got to spend with them. Together we toured Old Town Quito (Centro Historico), Otavalo, Cumbaya, Cascades de Peguche, Lake Yawarkucha and numerous other treasures. I was able to see this part of Ecuador in a way that I simply would not have had they not shown me. Thank you so much to each of them for making me feel at home! I will be back my Ecuadorian family ❤️.
The view as I flew to Quito. Was elated to see green, mountains and the ingenious ways that Ecuadorians have worked the land. Sadly, these agricultural areas are highly fragmented and are devastating to the incredibly rich biodiversity of Ecuador.
A church in Otavalo
Solar Calendar (Pre Columbian) found at Cascades de Peguche
I could admire the doors in Otavalo all day! They are all unique, handmade and stunning!
The churches in “old city” Quito are incredibly beautiful! So many altars etc crafted of pure gold.
Centro Historico (Old Town Quito) is absolutely incredible!
From Quito I jumped on the bus and headed to Mindo to see my friend Camille (from Planet Drum). Mindo is an amazing little town set in the cloud forests of Ecuador. This bird life in this area is unbelievable! Every day I found myself wishing for my camera lol. When I have my laptop I will try my best to pick some photos to share with you of the birds I saw but for now just trust that I was blown away! Dozens of species of Hummingbirds, Plate Billed Toucans, Quetzals, Parrots, Manikins, and the infamous Cock of the Rock are only but a few of the species seen. This area is truly a bird lovers paradise and my time here was amazing although too short lol. Camille was a wonderful guide for the area and I am going to miss her dearly ❤️
An amazing view from San Tadeo, a little backyard sanctuary for viewing hummingbirds and tanagers. An amazing way that an Ecuadorian has found to both earn a living and preserve his land!
The river at Las Tangeras, a beautiful reserve near Mindo
The cloud forest during our hike to find the Cock of the Rock at Las Contingas (another private reserve around Mindo)
Before I move on in my story though, I want to share an event that happened. As indicated above, I am in awe of the people I am meeting and the passion they have for conservation. On one of our unguided hikes we emerged from the forest and came upon a farmer spraying the natural growth around his plants with a herbicide. We were disappointed to see this, but me being me, I readily accepted that he was doing his job in the best way he knew how. I wasn’t happy to see the toxin being utilized in an area so rich and diverse with animals both thriving and endangered but just simply accepted it. But my dear friend Camille was immediately tasked. In her damn near perfect spanish she asked him what he was doing and started to explain all the detriments of what he was doing. I have to be honest… I was mortified!!! Fear kicked in for me immediately, we were going to be judged, yelled at, condemned – these gringas – what do they know. At least these were all my initial thoughts. Can you imagine my utter shock, when even in my limited understanding of spanish I heard him ask what he should be planting instead? He wanted to hear from her, to learn what her ideas were, to better understand ways he could both make a living and manage his land in a more ecologically friendly way!!! He took us to various parcels of land that he had and now him and Camille are going to collaborate on some agro-forest plans. I was simply dumbfounded- dumbfounded and incredibly proud of this amazing woman not to mention amazed at this mans willingness to listen and desire to do better! It was such an inspirational moment for me.
Camille and the farmer discussing ideas for his land! They are on the far right in this photo, I am far away, holding back happy tears and trying to be discreet.
As I mentioned above, the third reason I decided to leave Planet Drum was that I learned of another project here that was looking for volunteers. After a few days with Camille in Mindo, I packed my bags and headed back to the coast to join an organization called Equilibrio Azul. Most of you will know that one of my absolute favorite animals is the sea turtle and I am fortunate enough to be working with this group in their conservation efforts with primarily the Hawksbill turtle!!!! I started here on Monday and am currently doing beach patrols looking for the initial signs that the nesting season in this area has started. Soon I will be patrolling at night, monitoring nesting females, egg counting and egg relocation IF required. I am beside myself with excitement!!!!
One of my beach patrols – only me, the beach, the ocean and a lot of hope for the world
I think that is it? Will have more to share soon. Cannot wait to see what the next month brings my way!
Love and Light
Mary Lou
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