Capt'n Crunch Has Landed

August 31, 3013

A couple of days ago, I took a serene, impromptu hike up a nearby dirt road on the east side of the Ruta del Sol (Spondylus). *
There are a number of these roads that lead back into the jungle, and one does not need to go very far to get into a more “jungly” environment (less than a quarter mile, becoming more dense and isolated further down the roads).

The change in vegetation and birdlife is vivid in such a short distance between the beach side and hill side of the Ruta del Sol.

Of course, the plants are more lush and the birds more colorful and diverse on the hill side.

 

I was in pursuit of a particular arbusto de ají which I heard might ripe now, for some pico de gallo that I was making for dinner that night.  I love the ají peppers here, but only the larger ones are sold in the markets now, and they're not hot enough for me.  I was looking for the little tiny ones that have a wicked bite, and a variety of ají bushes grow wild.  We used to have one ají bush in the yard of our old house until it died – I think because I flat out picked it bare using the peppers.



The aji bush that used to be in my front yard
Before I killed it

 

It was a beautiful walk.  I had to ford the Rio Olón at one point (which, as you can see from the picture wasn’t deep at the crossing).  About one hundred yards up-river was a family washing their clothes in the water and I took the above shot using the telephoto function on the Canon PowerShot A2500 I’m driving now.

 

These are some of the pictures I got on that hike.

Alas, I didn’t find the elusive ají plants that I was looking for, but really enjoyed the afternoon walk, met some really nice local people along the way, and think I’m going to have to do this more often.

In fact, I’ve been walking a lot lately.  Earlier in the week, I headed to new friend Denise Morris’s house to pick up a box of Capt’n Crunch that Karen Kimbler (“Kimbler’s Exit to Ecuador”) brought down for me on her last trip to the States (a couple of months ago).  This box of cereal has been around, to get it into my hands here on the coast. It may have more stamps on its passport than I do.
Anyway, I had a great time getting to know Denise, and then I decided to walk 10 minutes on down the highway to Manglaralto to pay some bills.
I discovered that the roadside speed detectors are sensitive enough to pick up a pedestrian walking, which I thought was pretty cool…

Trying to capture that picture showing my speed was a little trickier. If I took it while walking, the pictures were blurry. If I paused, the display disappeared.  I repeatedly backed up 12 feet trying to get a picture, finally getting this one – I believe – by taking a running start and leaping in mid-air to snap.
I’m sure if any of the kids at the school across the street saw that, they must have thought I was one crazy gringa.

Our dog Daisy is in “pseudo” heat again. We had her fixed shortly after we adopted her 3 years ago**, but the vet didn’t take everything out. For the last couple of seasons (twice a year) Daisy now gets an injection to prevent her from being receptive to eager suitors as soon as we notice the signs. That’s worked pretty well (the hope being that after a few times, her “girl parts” will eventually shrivel up before we need to put her through surgery).  But it still doesn’t stop the fellas from trying, and all the commotion that involves.  We try and keep her inside as much as possible during the love season.

And we seem to have acquired a new wannabe family member. Our Ecuadorian next door neighbor’s dog, “Keen” has taken a real shine to us, and tags along with Todd, Daisy, and me wherever we go.
He’s such a scroungy mutt, but very lovable, though we don’t encourage him, since he belongs to someone else.   Still, he sooo wants to be part of our family and proudly follows us around town all the time now, with that shaggy tail waving happily.

 

Fortunately, birth control was not a factor regarding the next picture.
I have two new grandchildren I’d like to welcome to the world!
Levi Brian and Isobel Katherine, born August 12 in England – and congratulations to proud parents Katherine and Clive Wright!


 





Just a few other shots that I’ve taken this week testing out my new camera (thanks, Scott Creasey for muling that one back from the States for me):

Nearby "Mr. Grumpy's" vegetable stand.
"Mr. Grumpy" not pictured - that's another guy in photo.
Actually, Mr. Grumpy is a really nice guy, but he
intimidated a few of us gringos initially because
he's not a very smiley kind of person

A mural in Olón

* See the post "You Say Spondylus" for more about the Ruta del Sol/Spondylus highway's name.
** See "And Dog Makes Three"