Parque Condor

The highlight of our trip to Otavalo was seeing the Parque Condor. It was in a lovely setting and they obviously take excellent care of the site. The trees and flowers are beautiful.


I loved the red buds that open to reveal delicate purple flowers.
There are trees near our apartment that have large clusters of these dainty white flowers.

But we came to see the birds and we were not disappointed.


And there he goes....
Then they brought out the eagles. Huge, magnificent birds.


They would drop over the cliff out of sight and then soar upwards. They did very little flapping of their wings. They must have been riding thermals coming up the side of the mountain. You can see the leather thongs hanging from her feet as she flies.

When they flew they went a long ways. They told us that this bird with the man in the blue shirt stayed away for four days one time but she came back. They enjoy being fed and it is not safe for them to stay away after they have been in captivity because they do not fear people and people often kill them. These eagles will kill chickens but they told us it is worth loosing a few chickens to have the rats and mice eaten by the birds.

The last event was when they brought out the smaller birds and let the children hold the birds. It was very sweet and most of the children loved it. A few of the littlest ones were a bit frightened but most looked proud.


They did not bring out the Condors. I don't think anyone could hold one on their arm even if they wanted to. Below is the female. The male has a crest on his head.

I'm not sure either sex of this species got the beautiful plumage. What do you think?

They may not be beautiful but they certainly have presence. They are BIG (the largest birds that can fly) and I watched the male tear apart a carcass. He was very efficient. Thier wing span can be 9 feet or more and they live for 80 years. It takes 8 years for a bird to reach maturity.



There was a whole section of owls
This one was my favorite. He made me laugh out loud. He looked like a cartoon and kept blinking his eyes like he was sleepy. His little ears, sticking stright up and close together made me laugh.
These four barn owls were sleeping:
Isn't the Snowy Owl beautiful?
This is a Harpy Eagle.
This sign says:
Hello, I am Olafa. I am a female Harpy Eagle born in 1989 in Eastern Ecuador. When I was a chick I had the bad luck to be in a nest in a tree cut down by a woodcutter. My right wing was broken. Some people cared for me and I was sent to Panama to be part of a project to raise birds in captivity. I was the most productive of all. I am the mother of 16 baby chicks. I am also a grandmother several times. All of my family are living in the wild, flying over the forests of Latin America. Now I am again in Ecuador, retired and resting from my motherly duties. Even though I am a grandmother my crest is still very beautiful and my claws are very strong.



Fierce, beautiful birds and lovely plants on a perfect day. It was great.

Rainbow, Plants, a tiny Bird and Jipijapa Hats

They say that April is the month with the most rain. It has been raining at least once and usually more than once a day. But it is still beautiful.

Walking to work, we saw this tiny humming bird on the sidewalk. I have never seen one holding still before. This bird must be very ill or he wouldn't wait around for us to take photos. He was trembling but his eyes were open. Poor thing.

The blue feathers are iridescent. Amazing.



Grandpa was bored one day and planted some pinto beans from the grocery store. He wanted to try sprouting them hydroponically. He created a system to support the seeds and allow them to grow and keep them covered in fertilized water. They sprouted, they grew and are very pretty. I don't think I want a large enough structure to support them while producing beans in the living room, but we shall see.

The plant in the blue cup is a cutting from the geranium plants that are growing outside the window. It was just a stick, grew roots, then grew leaves and now is flaunting buds for flowers on the top right.

In the office, I avoid calling participants as much as I can. I prefer to do the computer work rather than struggle to understand what someone on the other end of the phone is saying to me. But early this month I talked with a participant who lives in Jipijapa.

That is "hippy HA pa" to English speakers. Such a cute name. I googled it to find out where the city was located and found out that Panama hats are made from the fibers of the jipijapa plant and were first made in Ecuador. They are called Panama hats because all of the workers on the Panama canal wanted one to keep the sun off their heads while they built the canal. They are now made in many countries but they originated here in Jipijapa, Ecuador.

According to Wikipedia--A Panama hat is a traditional brimmed hat of Ecuadorian origin that is made from the plaited leaves of the straw plant. Straw hats woven in Ecuador, like many other 19th and early 20th century South American goods, were shipped first to the Isthmus of Panama before sailing for their destinations in Asia, the rest of the Americas and Europe. For some products, the name of their point of international sale rather than their place of domestic origin stuck, hence "Panama hats." The 49ers picked up these hats in Panama, and when President Theodore Roosevelt visited the Panama Canal construction, he wore such a hat, which increased its popularity. They're also known as a Jipijapa, named for a town in Ecuador, one of the centers of the hat trade.

Glorified during the 19th century, the Panama has since been considered the prince of straw hats. Ecuadorian national hero and emblematic figure, Eloy Alfaro helped finance his liberal revolution of Ecuador through the export of panamas. The reputation of the hat was established by Napoleon III, Edward VII, and some other aficionados.

Panama hats are often seen as accessories to summer-weight suits such as linen or silk. Beginning around the turn of the 20th century, panamas began to be associated with the seaside and tropical locales, such as Brighton or the Caribbean. They are usually preferred over felt hats in such climates for they are light colored, light weight, and breathable. The Panama is preferred for travel because its design allows it to return to its original shape after being folded in a suitcase.

Panama hat quality is a heavily disputed subject. There are two main processes in the hat's creation: weaving and blocking. The best way to gauge the quality of the weave is to count the number of weaves per square inch. Fewer than 100 would be considered low quality. There are many degrees of increasing quality, up to the rarest and most expensive hats, which can have as many as 1600–2500 weaves per square inch; it is not unheard of for these hats to sell for thousands of dollars apiece. Such a hat is known as the Montecristi, named after the Ecuadorian city that produces the best Panamas. The second best type is the Cuenca, again, named for an Ecuadorian city.

The quality of the weave itself, however, is more important. A high weave count, even an attractive-looking one, does not guarantee a well-woven hat. It is said that a Panama of true quality (a "superfino") can hold water and when folded for storage can pass through a wedding ring.

Although the Panama hat continues to provide a livelihood for thousands of Ecuadorians, fewer than a dozen weavers capable of making the finest "Montecristi superfinos" remain. The UK's Financial Times Magazine (January 7) recently reported that there may be no more than 15–20 years remaining for the industry in Ecuador, due to the competition of paper-based Chinese-made imitations, especially as a few hat sellers dominate and manipulate the market. Panama hats can take up to 4 months to weave. They usually take 2 months to weave.

Somebody has a Problem

As you can see, this house is literally falling apart. The lot to the left is under construction. They dug a huge pit and are now pouring very large concrete columns. It looks like it will be a very large structure with underground levels and parking. The house on the right has been empty since we arrived. We walk by it on our way to the Institute building. We noticed a couple of months ago that it had a crack, but at this point the corner of the house is actually separated from the roof. There is a block wall separating the properties but if I was working on the new construction I would worry that this might fall on my head. If I were the owner of the house I would be most unhappy about the condition of my house.

We have no idea what the whole situation is but I'll bet a least one person is quite unhappy.

I'm glad we are not the owners of this house. Good illustration of the importance of a strong foundation. Remember the song about building your house upon a rock? Base your testimony on a firm foundation (your own personal relationship with the Savior) rather than something that your neighbor can chip away at.

New Fruits

Hopefully I will not come home from Ecuador without learning more about the many fruits grown here in this country. Look at some of the fruits available in our grocery store, SuperMaxi, downstairs from where we live:





I have heard that the juice from the sweet tomato is very good - Tomate dulce above

You can recognize these fruits above. Sandia is watermelon.







Coco is coconut. Alyssa and Rachel and Lydia didn't much like the juice right out of the coconut even on a beautiful beach in the DR. I don't like it very much either but I love the coconut meat.

This is the babaco above. Sister Dresen peeled and chopped and simmered and added sugar and cinnamon and some diced apples and we all thought we were eating apple pie filling over our ice cream. Apparently this fruit does not have a lot of flavor of its own but takes on the flavor of its companions.

We can buy Washington State apples but they are quite expensive. Lots of good bananas are available. Ecuador is a major producer of bananas. But they are not grown up here in the mountains!

The prices are per kilo. The amount is in US dollars. A kilo is 2.2 pounds. So we get a little more than twice as much as a pound, if we buy a kilo. On Wednesdays all produce is 20% less. What do you think we should try next?

Family Birthday Photos

Nancy and Bryce had birthdays at the end of March:













April is a slow month. Only Joshua and I share April.







May is our best month. I am working ahead to hopefully keep up with the 9 birthdays coming fast. I love making these little 4x6 inch scrapbook pages of the people I love.