Author: Curtis

Rain. As in Forest.

Posted on by
I’m going to write about rain. Specifically, rain in the rain forest. During our trip to the Amazon Rain Forest in eastern Ecuador, we expected rain. After all, it is a “Rain Forest”. And we experienced rain. Not very much, but it was there. And it was different.

 

The time of year was late February. This is the end of the dry season. Upon our arrival aboard the Manatee Amazon Explorer, we were told the river was very low. They were expecting the rains to come any day now. Once they came, it would rain until June. Glad I’m leaving in a week.

 

The dry season comes with many benefits. For instance the river is low, so that means the forest is very open to hiking, as it is dry. During the wet season, the forest floods, and you must take canoes into the forest. The dry season also means fewer mosquitoes. I can’t think of any time during the whole trip we were pestered by insects of any type. Don’t get me wrong, there were plenty of bugs, but they were for observing, not for swatting!

 

Rain As In Forest

Sunset over a sandbar

The dry season also comes with issues. Since it is dry, many trees and plants are not flowering or producing fruit. Because of this, there is a lot less animal activity. Less activity means less encounters and fewer animals seen. Although we saw a fair share of wildlife, our guide said there are many more during the rainy season.

 
Read more →

The Kāpŏk Tree

Posted on by

To properly set up this adventure, I am going to describe to you a little about the area we are in. We are on the Napo River, a major tributary of the Amazon River’s headwaters. The time of year is the end of the dry season. The rains are expected any day now. Further upstream and in the Andes Mountains, it has already started raining. Because it is the end of the dry season, the water level is very low. Our boat, The Manatee Amazon Explorer, has had some difficulty navigating the last couple of days. Although the Manatee’s draft is only 4 feet, in some places that has not been enough, and several times we could hear the boat dragging along the sandy bottom. Captain Dali has had his hands full on the bridge, safety navigating the boat to each day’s destination.

At various points during our excursions, I would take out my iPhone, allow it locate us on PocketEarth, a great mapping app that does not require Internet access. Once a GPS fix was acquired, I would then take a screen shot. Now, I had our Longitude, Latitude, Time, Date and a map which I could compare against the various pictures we had taken, to know where they were taken, and generally recreate each day’s adventure in more detail. This map is the end result of that  record keeping, and would have been virtually impossible otherwise. 

Map of The Kapok Tree Adventure

Map of the Kapok Tree Adventure
Link To An Interactive Map

This is a story of one amazing day in the Amazon. It was a Saturday. Read more →

Pages: 1 2 3

We’re the cannibals!?!

Posted on by
Curtis holding a Huaorani Spear

Curtis holding a Huaorani Spear

On our recent trip to the Ecuador Amazon Rainforest, we learned about the indigenous peoples living in the area, mainly the peaceful and very populous Kichwa, the Huaorani and un-contacted Tagaeri tribes. Most of the modern history of the indigenous people only goes back a few decades. Prior to that there was some westerners, or outsiders, who traversed the area in the 19th century, mainly to capture the natives and ship them off to be slaves in the rubber production camps downstream along the Amazon. Those who were captured were never heard from again by the local indigenous population. This lead to rumors about the “outsiders” actually being cannibals. This in turn caused the locals, like the Huaorani tribes, to become very aggressive and violent and fight outsiders fiercely. They just didn’t want to be eaten. Read more →

My Dental Experience: Ecuador Style

Posted on by

As Kathy and I plan our eventual retirement to Ecuador, one lingering question we always have is how is the healthcare. We talk to Expats everywhere we go about their experiences with hospitals, doctors, even the dentist. We want to make sure we have access to basic services once we live here and that those services are good enough for us and our own standards.

What better way than to see first hand for ourselves. Today, we decided to stop in a dentist office just around the corner from our apartment. I didn’t have an appointment, so I just walked in. Read more →

Don’t fall in that hole!

Posted on by
Open construction hole on the sidewalk

Open construction hole on the sidewalk

I came upon an interesting difference between the USA and Ecuador (and other countries for that matter). Taking a nice stroll through town this morning, we came across some construction areas. The first was on the corner of the street we live on and Main Street. A very busy intersection, just across the street from an outdoor market. There is a lot of foot traffic and pedestrians here. Right on the corner, in the middle of the sidewalk is a hole. It’s about 18” square and 2 feet deep. Around it there are no signs, no barriers, no orange cones, nothing to indicate the hole is there. And you know what? Nobody falls in it. Really, nobody is dumb enough to fall in that hole. Read more →

When a camper is home and a house is camping

Posted on by
We recently had to take the RV in for some maintenance and repairs. The oil needed changing in the engine. The electric was still out from the Great Ice Storm of 2013. The ice maker wasn’t working. The shower had a leak. The oven pilot light wasn’t working right. And a bunch of other small things. Just a list of things that needed fixed. It has been almost a year since we bought the RV, so it was time for our first maintenance and service.We called the dealer where we bought the RV to request service. This was right before Thanksgiving. Their first opening was Jan 2. Really? Wow. So we made the appointment. Read more →

Jacks, Gas, Ice, and No Juice

Posted on by

   The great Ice Storm of 2013 was nearing. Of course at the time, we didn’t know it was the great Ice Storm of 2013. The forecast called for a chance of sleet and freezing rain, and some cold temperatures. Rare for Texas, but not completely unheard of.

Being our first winter in the RV, we were not all that comfortable with winter yet. Would the pipes freeze? How will this affect the waste water system? Will the heaters work well? What unforeseen problems might we encounter? The list of concerns goes on.

We were running a bit low on propane. So that’s an easy fix. The RV Park has propane service up at the front, we just have to drive the 100 yards and get it. No problem! I came home early from work the day (Wednesday) before the bad weather was expected. We packed up the loose stuff, strapped down the furniture, pulled in the slides, got the engine started, disconnected shore power, water and sewer hoses, and lowered the TV antenna. I aired up the suspension and lastly went to the command console and retracted the leveling jacks. Read more →

Maples Leaves

Maple Syrup-ery

Posted on by
Sugarbush Farm

Sugarbush Farm

We visited a maple syrup farm in Vermont called Sugarbush Farm. Here you can wander through the woods and explore the more than 5000 maple trees. There are information signs posted and you can read about the maple syrup process along the way. We had no idea of what went into making maple syrup. We had no idea maple syrup tasted so good. Now that we do, there’s no going back. Read more →

Leef Peepers 100

Posted on by
This is what Leef Peeping is all about.

This is what Leef Peeping is all about.

In New England, the locals called the hordes of visitors who come each fall to witness nature’s spectacle of color “Leef Peepers”. In Vermont, Highway 100 runs north and south right through the heart of the state and the spectacle. It’s a great scenic drive on its own, let alone the added color benefit of fall.

Read more →