So I thought I would try to show a little about where I have been living.
It is in the city of Tumbaco in the neighborhood of Churoloma in the bario of Caizan. The following pictures are taken from the window in my room.
Las Minas is the road in front of the home. Take a left and you head to town and a right is a dead end before you get to the river. You can be in Quito the capital of Ecuador in a half hour.
To the South is Ilalo volcano. It is close and I have hiked and ridden my bike there.
To the South-East when you go through the pass in a little more than an hour you can be in Cayambe-Coca National Park. One of the largest national parks in the country. Continue down the road for another half hour and you find yourself in Papallacta where you can enjoy the hot springs. Then going farther down the road you get into the Amazon jungle and river basin. That takes 8 hours or so. I have not been all the way into the Amazon yet, just to the beginning but I do plan on it.
To the east you see Las Puntas which is in the Cayambe-Coca National park. I have hiked there and plan on going back to reach the summit.
To the north in the distance about an hour and half drive is the village of Atahualpa. I really like that area.
So that’s my view. I hope that gives some of you an idea of the area where I have been living. Below is a drawing of more volcanos in the area. Some names you may recognize from my earlier posts.
Here I am close to the mountains/volcanos and within two or three hours you can see some amazing peaks. The Pacific ocean is a 5 hour drive. To reach some of the spots I like on the coast is 6 to 8 hours. I haven’t yet found my sweet spot for fishing but am keeping an eye out. The only thing I can say that is a disappointment as far as the natural beauty goes is the cleanliness of the rivers. The waters are crystal clear higher up but once you reach the cities not so much all the way to the coast. This does surprise me knowing how much the Ecuadorians relish the natural beauty of their country. From what I gather most of the pollution has been in the last 40 years as the cities populations increased. Someday they will find the funds to educate people and build water treatment facilitates to tackle water quality problems. I can remember many rivers in the USA that were at one time unfit to swim or fish in that are now pristine water ways.
In some ways it reminds me of my home in California. There I was very close to nature and the things I love to do. Such as whitewater rafting a half hour from my house, salmon fishing was a hour away, closest hiking trails were 15 minutes away, or you could be up country in a half hour entering the Sierra Nevada Mountains. In a few hours you could have your toes in the Pacific ocean. The beautiful redwood forests were only a few hours away. Yosemite one of the heavens on earth was only 3 hours away. It was a good place to live. Brings a smile to my face and peace to my soul thinking about it. I have been a lucky man in so many ways.
Thankful for all that has blessed me, family, friends and nature.
Ya all have a great day!
