Last uploads for today...been here for more than three hours.


Just a flower I saw the other day.

Commanding view of the Iglesia Matriz. Look closely, the moon makes a cameo appearance here.

The newest volunteer and me hanging out with the tourism office ladies and a visitor from Riobamba, a woman who works with the Ministry of Tourism. I took her to visit a few of the local sights and attractions. I'm sure that when she returns to Riobamba she'll tell everyone about the gringo who took her into a mine and almost got her killed. Hey, not my fault that the ceiling was collapsing, and she did have a helmet on...

On a nice long hike above Zaruma a few days ago I didn't run into another person for hours. I did however meet the remains of a cow a few thousand feet up into the mountains. We had some good times, this cow and I.

Near the cow bones tree, another of the remaining trees held a blooming bromeliad aloft like the Statue of Liberty's torch. The flower stalks of these epiphytes sometimes reach three or four feet in height.