A hike in the hills
Gina. Bahia, Ecuador.
Since there had been a few days of on-and-off rain in Bahia, Clay decided that the boys didn’t need to water the trees on Thursday, so instead he decided to go on what we thought was going to be a pleasant morning hike through the hills collecting seeds from some of the native trees that they would then plant in the fall. I decided to tag along since I like hiking, collecting things, and being outside. It was a very hot morning, but I still suited up with my sun hat, long sleeved light-weight shirt, and bandana that is embedded with permethrin (a bug repellent) that I like to wear around my neck so I don’t have to put DEET on my face.
We caught a truck to the same beach area where I went with the kids for our bird watching hike. The land belongs to Ramone, the Bioregional Education teacher and a friend of Clay’s. The truck ride was a fun experience since we actually stood in the back of the truck. These are a common mode of transportation around Ecuador—a regular pick-up truck with a wooden fence built up around the bed of the truck. It was exciting and a bit scary. The Ecuadorian roads are full of pot holes, and even though the drivers are pretty good at swerving around most of them, there were a couple of jostling moments where we all stumbled around the back for a minute. The best part of the ride was when we drove along the beach. It was really a beautiful view with a big, empty white sand beach, cliffs, giant rocks sticking up out of the sand, and the receding waves of the ocean. Steve and I were both a bit sad that we couldn’t spend more time on the beach and instead started right up a very steep, dusty hill trail.
The first bunch of seeds we found were in cow poo. I guess the cows eat the seeds but they either can’t digest them at all or can’t digest them fully, so there were just piles of golf ball sized seed pods that were basically collected for us since they were in neat little poo piles. I let the boys handle collecting these seeds and instead wandered around the path a little looking at the giant mud mounds that were at the base and in the branches of a handful of trees. Clay later explained to me that they were actually termite mounds. Most of them just looked like piles of dark mud, but later on in the day I found one that must have been under construction or recently broken because I could see the tunnel holes as well as some tiny, finger-like mud parts that must have been the beginnings of new tunnels.
After the boys had collected a bunch of the poo-seeds, we continued on through the hills following the same path I’d taken with the kids. Now, Steve and I went into this hike thinking it was going to be a normal half-day of work, finishing just around noon in time to get back, take showers, and grab a cheap set lunch at one of the restaurants or grab some fruit and vegetables and a loaf of bread at the market before it shuts down around one. We knew that we would be hiking through, back to Bahia, and then catching a bus, but we didn’t know just how far and difficult this would be. We ended up not getting out of the hills until around 3:30. I was very tired, hungry, dirty, and unhappy. I just don’t appreciate not being given all of the information I need. Important points that weren’t revealed to us were that we would be hiking way past lunch, that a large part of the hike would not be on a real trail, so we would be bushwhacking through walls of vines and very tall grasses. If I would have known this all beforehand it would’ve have been a big deal. I would have brought more water and food. As it was we only brought a little bread for a snack since we were told it would be a normal day and we’d be back for lunch. I honestly don’t know if Clay just underestimated how long it would take us or what. We did stop a few times to collect seeds or rest that I’m sure added to the amount of time we were out there. But we were going out there to collect seeds, so that time should have been factored in. Anyway, I was mad. And Steve was mad. And we were so tired and hungry that towards the end we started stumbling over all of the vines and roots and everything else. It was also ridiculously hot and humid outside which just added to our general discomfort.
But on the happier side of things we collected a lot of different kinds of seeds and saw bugs and plants that were really interesting. I got some pictures of this crazy grasshopper that was so big and colorful that I actually stopped along a very steep dusty downhill slope to first ask Steve if I was real, and then to take photos. This was one of the last sections of the trip which was basically just sliding down a dusty hill on our butts because it was so steep and so overgrown with branches and vines that it would be impossible to try to walk down. But it was a really cool grasshopper—blue, yellow, and red with spikes on its legs an almost as big as my hand. I also got pictures of a giant spider with baby spiders in its web, a walking stick that was hanging out in Steve’s lap when we stopped for a snack, and a wasp nest we had to walk under along the trail. I saw tons of butterflies, one kind was big and beautiful with bright reddish orange spots on its wings, but they were all too fast and skittish for me to try to get a picture of. But they were really lovely.
By the time we caught the bus back to the house we got quick showers which weren’t even that refreshing since I was literally soaking wet from the hike. I didn’t feel better until I was dry and in clean clothes. Then we walked around town until we found the one restaurant that was still open, even though they were no longer serving the set lunch at 4 o’clock. I ended up getting a not-so-good shrimp and rice (it was really salty) because they were out of my first two meal choices and a really good watermelon juice. When we got back to the apartment I laid down in the hammock and slept until it was dark outside. It was a very long day. I guess I’ve learned from this experience that other people, even people who are supposed to be ‘in charge,’ aren’t always organized and/or considerate of other people and I should ask a lot more questions.
Tags: Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador
montarsig
Leave a Reply