Dia de Peaton

Imagine a city of 600,000 people without cars, trucks, or buses for one day. The city is filled with bicycles and people walking. To learn how this feat is achieved every year in Bolivia's city of Cochabamba check out The Democracy Center's Bolivia Blog. Like the author states, I would love to see the day that San Francisco, Portland, Miami or any number of cities in the U.S. could for one day, shut down all motorized traffic.

Skywatch Friday: Bolivian Skies

It's Skywatch Friday so go check out all the other blogs out there. In honor of my dear friend Rupp who is returning from Peace Corps next month I present you with a series of shots from our Andean Condor hike. The sky was beautiful and full of condors.

We saw a total of about 30 Andean Condors on this hike. They would circle us in the sky, each time coming in for a closer look. All photos taken October 2007 near Samapaita, Bolivia.

Water Tank in Bolivia

Above is an aerial view of Ipita. This little town is located in the Chaco of Bolivia. The Chaco is categorized as a semi-arid lowland region which is divided between eastern Bolivia, Paraguay, northern Argentina and a small portion of Brazil. My friend Emily Rupp lives there as a Peace Corps volunteer. She has been working as an environmental educator but she does a little bit of everything there from teaching to working with a women's group to starting a tree nursery. Her big project is to build a 50,000 liter water tank. The dry season in Ipita lasts for over 6 months and I can attest that there is no running water or sufficient water tanks to supply the town. Her project will catch water off of a corrugated tin roof covering the basketball court of the local school. The water collected will be directly used by the students for drinking and hand washing. That large building in the picture above shows you the basketball court roof. If you'd like to donate to her project please go to her Peace Corps donation page and help make this dream a reality.

These are a few of the children of Ipita that you will be helping. Picture taken October 2007 while I was visiting Ipita.

Rupp with her dog Chapare living the Peace Corps life.

Ruwanzakah Ends With the Fireworks

Fireworks are destructive. Fireworks scare wildlife and people; they are a waste and they can be dangerous. All of that said I still enjoy having a little fireworks show on occasion. Now, I don't shoot fireworks often but once a year, maybe twice, it happens. And I don't shoot them on Christmas or the 4th of July. Instead, I save my fireworks for Ruwanzakah.


If you don't know what Ruwanzakah is, that's okay. It's a made up holiday that my friends enjoy. We call it the Mennonite New Year in honor of our favorite Mennonite friend Rupp. She sparked this holiday and each year the celebration ends with the fireworks. And yes, each year this day is probably different depending on if and when we obtain the aforementioned fireworks.

Rupp couldn't join us this year due to her Peace Corps job in Bolivia. But if she looked in the northward direction over MLK weekend, she may have seen our show...

Though Rupp missed the Ruwanzakah countdown, I know she has been enjoying herself celebrating Carnival in Bolivia. Here she is, second from the left in a nice clown outfit before one of the many Carnival parades.

The Link Between Us and the Heavens

While I was in Bolivia I had the extreme pleasure of observing over 30 Andean Condors. The whole experience was an adventure and is found here, in a previous post. Bolivians take great pride in their condors and representation of the condor is even found on their national flag. In this Washington Post Condor article, one Bolivian is quoted by saying the Andean Condor is very important because the native people believe it is a link between us and the heavens. If you have seen these majestic birds soaring through the mountains, you probably understand how they could just keep right on floating upwards into the heavens. The ones I saw certainly gave me a euphoric show.

It's great to see that restoration efforts are in place to preserve this bird species in South America. I met quite a few travelors that weren't so lucky as myself and missed the condors on mulitple trips. I know the article is over a month old, but if you missed it, definitely it's worth a read and the picture of the condor chick is at least worth a view.

My Top 10 Nature Moments of 2007

2007 was a year full of many changes for me. I finally settled down and lived in only one state (compared to 3 states in 2008). I also took another full-time job and actually made the majority of my trips this year in my new home state of Florida. Here is a breakdown of my top 10 nature moments of 2007 (meme from Earth, Wind & Water):


10. Wekiwa State Park Camping (December 7-9) - I love camping and all of my camping adventures of this year make it on my top 10. This is a sign that I need to go camping more and it will certainly be one of my resolutions for the New Year. This was my first time holding a scorpian.


9. West Coast Florida Trip (February) - This was only my 3rd time seeing the Gulf Coast and with the help of my friend Kim, I hit all the hotspots in the Fort Myers area. I really enjoyed seeing hundreds of bats leave their bridge roost at sunset near Pine Island. And of course visiting Sanibel Island was great, along with the Red Egret feeding at Ding Darling N.W.R. I picked up a few lifer birds including a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher.



8. Seminole State Park Camping (May 4-7) - My Tallahassee friends took me to a great little park in Georgia where we enjoyed swimming in the lake and birding the trails. I even saw my first Blue Grosbeak. On the way, we stopped at Bird Song, the best viewing station for feeder birds I have ever seen. It was a great trip and I even slept outside on a wooden platform with just my sleeping bag, which was a first for me, platform in below picture.


7. Paynes Prairie State Park Camping (May 25-27) - Another camping adventure but this time it afforded me a chance to see bison grazing. Other than the ticks and deer flies, the hike in to our campsite was fun and we saw a few nice birds along the way.


6. Florida Trail: Ocean to Lake Trail (August 4th) - This was my first time hiking the Florida Trail. As promised the trail was flooded at times and the rest of the time my feet were covered in sand. I loved this all day hike that took me through Jonathon Dickinson State Park. I did the East Loop Trail that winds through the park. One day I would love to hike the whole Ocean to Lake Trail.



5. Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge Backcountry Camping (November 12-13) - There's no better way to experience the outdoors than by canoeing through a wildlife refuge. As always, the Okefenokee didn't let me down. We saw alligators, Sandhill Cranes, and lots of migrating American Robins. We also had a lot of fun singing songs and enjoying the peaceful swamp.


4. Keys Trip (July) - This was my first time to the Keys and I was more than happy. My mother and aunt accompanied me for a little snorkeling and a lot of driving. We took lots of silly pictures with large mermaids and road signs. From Key Largo to Key West it was quite an adventure.



3. Everglades National Park Trip (April 16-17) - My first time in the Everglades was a great experience. I loved the expansive river of grass and the breathtaking scenery of the bay at Flamingo. I saw quite a few life birds, Summer Tanager and Blue-headed Vireo, and even made a new friend at the Everglades Hostel.



2. Green Cay Nature Center (January 22) - After a whirlwind year of traveling and change I moved to Palm Beach County and started working at Green Cay. The bird life is amazing. I have had numerous experiences with our resident bobcats and of course, there is always something new to see in the marsh. We had a few unusual birds this year including: Eared Grebe, Shiny Cowbird, Bronzed Cowbird and Black-bellied Whistling Ducks. In the last month we have had visits from a Bufflehead, American Wigeon, and a Gadwall. Green Cay continues to amaze me.


1. Bolivia, South America (October 6-21) - The first time out of the country for me in almost 10 years proved to be the best experience of my life. Bolivia deserves its own Top 10 list. The highlights include hiking up mountains, swimming in waterfalls, soaking in natural springs, birding in the Chaco, and enjoying the city of Santa Cruz. I loved every minute of my time there and I had a great traveling companion to see me through the experience. I saw many life animals including a Spectacled Caiman and 53 new life birds.

Bolivia re-visited

Originally I planned to finish up my post about Jekyll Island's Hotspots but I'm going to postpone that until tomorrow. Instead I thought I would shed some light on the controversy happening in Bolivia right now. This small land-locked country is often overlooked but there are grand things happening right now. Though the country is struggling to find resolution, this could be the beginning of major reform for the indigenous groups that are strongly represented there. You can read about it at the Democracy Center's Blog.

After visiting this beautiful country in October I am even more tied to the political processes that are occurring. My dear friend Rupp is still in Bolivia working for the Peace Corps promoting environmental education. We spoke last night and other than daily phone calls to the office and orders not to travel, her life isn't majorly affected by the political tensions. From my understanding most of the political roadblocks and rallies occur in the cities and are not felt in the countryside. But when the voting takes place, it will be the indigenous campesinos that make the decisions since they hold the majority of the vote.

Below you will find a picture of us while on vacation. The Jesuit Mission Circuit is an off beaten track to follow but I would recommend it to anyone traveling to the country. This is us outside of the Concepción mission.

Bolivia Flora and Fauna

My first day in Bolivia we went to the Botanical Gardens just outside of Santa Cruz. It was here that I saw my first Spectacled Caiman. I wanted to pick it up; I blame all those Animal Planet TV shows for this. Rupp had better sense than I and eventually talked me out of it. I also saw one of the weirdest trees in the world, the toborochi tree. People in Bolivia refer to them as the pregnant trees due to their bulging base.

Another tree that caught my attention was the rare Bibosi tree. This tree can grow right on top of the rocks in the Chiquitania. Our guide explained how their roots will find their way down to the ground to find nutrients but they live on rocks and other trees, especially palms. This sounded just like a Strangler Fig back in Florida. After returning home and doing a little research I realized I wasn't too far off base. The Bibosi, Ficus boliviana, is a fig tree just like the Florida species. As the tree grows it will eventually shade out its host tree, the palm, and will kill it. In the case of the Bibosi living on the rocks, they will even break the rocks apart into smaller pieces.


My vacation in Bolivia encompassed many types of activity. We hiked, we swam, we ate at nice resturants, and we even went to Aqualand, Bolivia's big water park. But my favorite activity was birding. Now, we aren't expert birders and though Bolivia is teeming with birdlife we didn't come back with 400 species like we would have if we went with an organized group. But all in all, I was pretty satisfied with the 66 bird species that we DID identify. That's 54 life birds for me and 59 life birds for Rupp. Not bad for a couple of amateurs birding on the side.

Here's a list of our birds (in order of appearance during the trip):

Least Grebe
Pied-Billed Grebe
Olivaceous Cormorant
American Anhinga
Turkey Vulture
Crested Caracara
Common Moorhen
Wattled Jacana
White-Winged Dove
Rock Dove
Blue-Winged Parrotlet
Green Kingfisher
Surucua Trogon
Blue-Crowned Motmot
Olivaceous Woodcreeper
Great Kiskadee
Sayaca Tanager
Black-Backed Grosbeak
Crested Oropendola
House Sparrow
Tropical Kingbird
Plush-Crested Jay
Squirrel Cuckoo
Green-Cheeked Parakeet
Blue-Crowned Trogon
Purplish Jay
Blue and White Swallow
Saffron Finch
Black Phoebe
Rufeous-Bellied Thrush
Andean Condor
Blue-Crowned Parakeet
Turquoise-Fronted Parrot
Scaly-Headed Parrot
Narrow-Billed Woodcreeper
Tropical Parula
Blue and Yellow Tanager
Red-Crested Cardinal
Golden-Billed Saltator
Red-Crested Finch
Rufeous-Collared Sparrow
Shiny Cowbird
White Necked Heron
White Faced Heron
White Cheeked Pintail
Ringed Teal
White Rumped Sandpiper
Baird’s Sandpiper
White Woodpecker
Three Striped Flycatcher
Crowned Slaty Flycatcher
Barn Swallow
Ultra-Marine Grosbeak
Black Crowned Night Heron
Roadside Hawk
White Monjita
Greater Rhea
Rufescint Tiger-Heron
Toco Toucan
Smooth-Billed Ani
Fork-Tailed Flycatcher
Black-Throated Mango
Rufeous Horneo
Vermilion Flycatcher
Grey-Breasted Martin
Snail Kite

The Chiquitania had the most insect activity of the whole trip. I first noticed the cicada like insect while hiking in the rock formations outside San Xavier. What I thought were car alarms going off or horns blaring on the streets were really this insect above. They have a tremendous sound and they are about 3 inches in length. While bathing at Aguas Calientes we saw another large insect, something that resembled a giant water diving beetle. My favorite insect of the trip had to be the rhinoceros-like beetle we found in the square in San Xavier. It was the size of my palm and somewhere there is a great picture of me holding it.

Insects and caimans weren't the only animals I tried to touch on this trip. My second night in the country I quite foolishly touched a tarantula on a dirt road and I picked up a bee which stung me right in the middle of the thumb. After that, I resisted all urges to pet the wildlife and merely watched them through my binoculars or from a safe distance away. Okay, I did eat some sugar ants in Concepción and I may have got pretty close to a venomous lizard on the Condor Hike but at least I came back in one piece.

Chiquitania

In the Eastern plains of Bolivia's Santa Cruz department we found the Chiquitania. This area is unlike anything else that we encountered on our trip. The landscape is a lush green sprinkled with palm trees and the large rock outcroppings are stunning. The first inhabitants of this area, the Piñocas, used these rock areas for ceremonies. The picture below shows you some of the rock formation of Piedra de Los Apóstoles. The Piñocas worshipped this area as the home of their god Nupayaré (a god that they depicted as bird like). Every year, a traditional dance still takes place on the Day of Tradition. The Jesuits were so successful in this area because they wove the traditional Christian beliefs in with the natural areas around them. Christ was referred to here amongst the natives not as "the Redeemer" but as el Yiritux, meaning "He who is adored in the hills and valleys."



The Jesuit Mission churches are not only beautiful but mesmerizing. Our first stop on this journey would be to San Xavier. The church there was built in 1749. This is the second UNESCO World Heritage Site of our trip. All of the restored churches in the Jesuit Mission circuit are under this heading and were dedicated on 12 December 1990. 80% of this church is original material including parts of the tile floor, wooden pillars, and of course, the artwork. The church at San Xavier is the only one of the circuit that is painted from top to bottom on the inside.

In the courtyard of the church complex is a recreated bell tower. They know from the remnants left behind that the original not only stood in this spot but looked similar in shape and size. The greenish colored bells pictured below are the original bells used. They were built sometime in the 1600s and carried by wagon from Uruguay during the time the church was built.

The highlight of our trip to San Xavier occurred later that night. Our guide during the day, Magno Cornelio, arranged for us to be taken to the Aguas Calientes. These hot springs are 9 miles outside of town and are reputed by the locals to have curative powers. Our driver picked us up in his red Toyota pickup and off we went in search of the springs. We rode on a horrible road full of potholes, dust, a small river, rickety bridges, and breathtaking scenery. As we watched the sun set behind the palm trees we quickly found many types of insects coming to life. The countryside lit up with fireflies and large beetles. Finally when we arrived at Aguas Calientes, we realized that we had neglected to bring flashlights. So after paying a small fee, we cautiously waded into the spring. The hot water bubbled up from the pool and in the darkness we could only make out the first few feet in front of us. Due to the cloud cover, we were immersed in darkness but our ears took over listening to the sound of exotic insects humming and bats skimming across the water. It was another one of those moments when you know you are truly alive.

San Xavier not only rejuvenated our bodies with its springs but it also was the location of our first Toco Toucan sighting. We didn't do much birding but it's hard to miss a Toucan when it is hopping about on a tree overhead. On the ride to San Xavier we also saw another life bird, the Greater Rhea out in a cattle field. The Piñocas used the Rhea's feathers during their celebrations. The men would dress as Rheas and dance around to ask for another prosperous year of hunting and food gathering.

We left the "Cheese Capital of Bolivia," San Xavier, to go to the next town on the circuit, Concepción. Once again we were lucky to have another PCV along to show us the best place to eat and the local entertainment. After settling into our hostel we walked to the Represa Concepción for a swim. The local school kids were out and swimming in full force. With a little coaxing, Rupp and I both jumped from this bridge overlooking the dam.

Due to the bus schedule we were stuck in Concepción for a day in a half. We spent this time lounging in the hammocks at the hostel, sitting in the plaza, eating ice cream, and birding. My favorite bird of Conce would be the Vermillion Flycatcher. We had a beautiful male bird that perched himself above us for at least an hour. It was great to watch him fly off, catch an insect, and circle back. There's something about red birds that make them so attractive. Even our Northern Cardinals back home get so much reconigtion and admiration, even though they seem to be so plentiful and ordinary.

The church at Concepción is beautiful as you can see from the picture above. All the roads in Conce are made of firm red clay and it makes the town quite charming. We took two trips inside and around the church before deciding that we would skip San Ignacio, the next church on the circuit, and head back to Santa Cruz. After an all afternoon micro ride, we were back at the Hotel Milan and ready for my last two days in the country.

Ipita

After spending some time on the road it was nice to arrive in Ipita. For the next few days we would relax, wash my clothes by hand, take bucket showers, and hike around the town in search of new birds.

Chapare would be our constant source of entertainment and frustration while I was here. He's a loveable dog that surprisingly knows fun tricks. He can sit, lie down, shake, roll over (sometimes) and even stay (though for only about a minute). He also is quite the mischief maker. He tried to bring a goat skull into the bedroom multiple times even though he knew he wasn't supposed to and his knack for biting for no reason was a little disturbing. I think he's just a campo dog that needs to get his wildness out. Above is a picture taken of Chapare after he had a nice bath in the mud laguna. Despite his shortcomings, I came to really love Chapare, and I consider him a great companion for Ruppie while she's in Bolivia.

Each day we would wake up, lounge about the room playing the guitar, eat lunch with the family, and then go for an afternoon hike. The Chaco is a really interesting area full of cacti and big trees like the one above. The roads are dusty, the cows are defiant, and the people are very friendly. Everywhere we went there was a chorus of "Emily, Emily! Chapare sit!" All the people in Ipita know Chapare and the kids like to yell English commands to him.

One of the best hikes we did was to the top of the TV antenna tower hill. This place gives you a great view of the whole city. The large plaza is in the center and is mostly devoid of plant life due to Rupp's pigs (or I should say her family's pigs). The large structure near the plaza is the covered basketball court where they have school assemblies. Rupp's counterpart, Pedro, works at the school and he was one of the friendliest men I met while in her site. Really, the whole town of Ipita is quite charming and I'm glad that she's in such a nice place for the next 2 years.

Even though Ipita isn't the most exciting place in the world it was definitely a fun part of my trip. I loved seeing Rupp's site, meeting her family, and just playing with Chapare. I will never forget our breakfast of homemade brownies and strawberry soda (Misky), our night of playing cards and trying to teach Don Richard the rules of speed, and drinking poro on the back porch. Before I left I managed to snap a picture with her host sisters and the neighbor children (above).

If you want to know where to find Ruppie, just swing by the Pension and she should be out back drinking mate and chatting it up with the locals. Oh and that yellow box in front of the restaurant is an ice cream freezer. I think it's very fitting that the ice cream loving girl manages to live at the only place that sells ice cream in town.

The Condor Hike and La Pajcha

On our last full day in Samaipata we hired a guide and our trusty taxi driver to take us on an all day adventure. We woke up early, grabbed some bananas, and found our taxi waiting outside. I love the taxi drivers in Bolivia because they will drive you anywhere. They will ford through rivers, go straight up dusty mountain roads, and of course, they will avoid potholes and speed bumps by swerving and going off-road. Most of the drivers are very friendly and our driver in Samaipata would even hike with us all day providing useful information. Below is a picture of the inside our Samaipata taxi. The Bolivians like to decorate their vehicles. Almost all of them have this plush dash guard, fringe optional, and all of them hang teddy bears or hearts or something from the mirror. I think it's perfect that the speedometer is on the opposite side from the driver.


The first thing on the agenda was The Condor Hike. There are few times in life that I have felt like my body will die but this was one of them. On the way up to the top of the 2500M mountain my lungs decided to rebel against me. The hike is straight up and the whole thing is very rocky and dry. I tried chewing coca to help with the altitude but the fact that my asthma was kicking in required that I spit the coca out and just concentrate on breathing. Our guide was very understanding and somehow Rupp coached me to the top. Like all great things in life, the battle may be hard but the reward is sweet. We settled into our spot to eat lunch and watch the Andean Condors bathe below.

Our seats were literally on the side of a mountain. Our feet dangled off the edge and if we leaned over we could see the Condors perched on a rock below bathing in a waterfall. The Andean Condor is considered to be the largest flying bird in the world with a 10 foot wingspan, 4 foot height, and a weight of up to 30 pounds. They belong in the vulture family and usually soar in the thermals looking for carrion. The trick we used to get them close was to lie back and wait for them to circle by. At one point we saw 30 Condors either bathing or circling the valley. Our guide and taxi driver left us to get a different view and that's when the show got even better.

We decided that since our 3 hour hike up to the top left us both exhausted the Condors must have smelled death in the air. This female (above) came within 6 feet of us. Her red-eye gaze was piercing as she swiveled her head at us to get a better view. A mixed group of males and females started circling us as we lay motionless on the mountainside. Our guide would later tell us that we were very lucky to see so many at one time. The whole hike up I thought that we would miss them because we stopped so often to rest but the birds came through and gave us a show that neither of us will forget.

Riding the wave of adrenaline we quickly descended our mountaintop in just 2 hours (that's 1 hour quicker then our ascent). The views down were beautiful and I even enjoyed the hike though my chest was sore and my legs ached. On the way up we crossed through this farm and paid a small fee to access the mountain. On our return the whole family came out to greet us and brought a drink to share. Up to this point I had been avoiding leafy vegetables, the skins of tomatoes, and anything remotely unclean but here I was exhausted, thirsty, and when the little lady offered me the gourd to drink her Kool-aid like drink, I happily tipped the whole drink back. Surprisingly, I never got sick and it was just one more part of the day to remember.

The adventure wasn't over though. We scrambled back to the taxi and made our way to the base of La Pajcha. The 80M waterfall left us breatheless. We didn't hesitate to strip down and jump in the frigid waters. Normally, this would be a pool that I would just look at but with our sore muscles and hot bodies, we dove in and swam to the deepest part. Lying on our backs, looking up at the waterfall, I realized that this may be one of the best days of my life.

This is our group shot before leaving the waterfall. Carmelo is the young guy in the brown boots. I don't think he even broke a sweat on our hike up the mountain. He was an excellent guide, showing us not only where the Condors nest but also picking medicinal plants for us to use later. Our taxi driver, Pincillo?, is dressed in the jean outfit. We were loyal to him for our whole stay and he provided us with the best experiences that Samaipata had to offer. The whole day was amazing and one I will never forget in my life.

Ruppie's thoughts on the hike: It was a torturous hike up, but lying on our backs on the edge of a cliff, looking into the eyes of condors not 10 feet away and listening to the air rush under their wings made the hike more than worth it.