Head in clouds, hands in coffee, feet on green earth

This past weekend in the Cloud Forest and in Mindo was super sweet; rejuvenating and a small dose of soul fertilizer for positive growth. Juan Manuel, our gracious and multi-talented host, was a pleasure to be with. Painter, musician, chef, plant-bird-tree lover/knower, and that is just what I know from a couple of days with him. The forest was lush and alive with the sounds of MUSIC...birds, that is. Looooots of birds. Hummingbirds galore, and orchids too. Lots of lush.

Juan Manuel has painted many birds (and plants that they might land on) for bird books and posters: mainly birds of Quito, the rainforest, and Ecuador, from what I saw.

These pics show where I stayed (in the green guest house) and the next pic is of some pals getting the low down on what to do with the coffee trees that Juan Manuel is using to reforest part of his land that was shredded up good from them darn cattle!

Thanks to Juan Miguel we had a nice jam session with (from left) Juan Manuel, Juan Miguel, our program coordinator, and Nick Biddle, our history and political science professor. Next is a spider the size of your head...no not really...

Juan Manuel showed us his elaborate collection of local insect species....this is only two boxes, amongst about eight or so...One night as I walked down the driveway in the dark I encountered, and was slightly badgered by, what seemed to be a big bird that flew like a bat....but it was a huge moth...heads up!

(Click on me to get a bettter view!)

Juan Manuel took us to the largest tree around. In the pic below, he could have hid behind the giant trunk that came out like a thick ribbon. The tree is basically, in English translation, a killing tree, because it surrounds and kills another already rooted tree...we could see light coming through from the other side, barely.

This is the view from JM's porch. Dub V with palm tree?

My friend Melissa discovered quite an interesting mariposa (butterfly) right before the coffee tree work. The images have not been altered.

Later we all went to Mindo, which is famous for its natural attractions and loads of butterflys and orchids. We went to ride a trolley across a huge ravine to hike down to some cascadas (waterfalls) and I could not resist stripping down to the undies and hopping into the fury that is gravity and water.

Lago means lake....but I couldn't help but read this sign without the 'o' and get a phrase that sums up what happens when you are in a very different and new place. This was a place to recycle and dispose of trash. (I recommend the first two R's in that equation: Reduce and Reuse...then the third R is a good thing to do...after those first two R's)

The place we stayed at in Mindo was set beside the river and was utterly divine and simple. They had five hammocks that were well used by all. The flowers in this country are super...I have taken hundreds of pics already...here are two of them. The first is a plantain tree, I think, looking up into its huge flower that is being nibbled at by insects. The second is an unknown flower to me...many of the flowers and plants have structures that retain water, as you can see.

School is coming in hot and my Spanish has served me well so far....lots to learn on that subject! We are all getting a good foot in the door to understand how corporations work and what has led to our financial crisis in the US and in other Westernized nations.

Do we learn from our mistakes? Sometimes. We have been experiencing a lot of thriving local microeconomies in the countryside and the typical overabundance of products that people don't really need to live a happy and productive life...yet it is not my place to say what is needed or worth it or not...as I type on this computer and listen to my reggae music. Live and let live....but with government regulations?!

With many thoughts of you who are part of my life, be well,

Cory