Paisajes, Landscapes

One day I was looking for the Thomas who does the announcements on the loudspeaker in Oyacachi and passed the door of the subcenter of health...it's a crowded place when the doctor is in town...a woman was standing with her daughter waiting to be attended, and I asked her if she had seen Thomas...she said no. When I inquired as to what was the matter she said her daughter had sever cramping and they were waiting for medicine. Causually I mentioned that I had Ibuprofen and did she want it? She suddenly became very passionate and said "Por Dios!" Literally this mean Please for God. So I walked quickly back to my house and got the pills, "six is good..." I thought, "because she will want to take some later as well." When I returned they were gone but the doctor was free. I asked where they had gone? He said they left with painkillers and they could have more tomorrow. I said "ah,...then they wont need these" He said "No no no. They can have more tomorrow..."

Never did it occur to me that these wonderful people could poisen themselves with Ibuprofen if given the chance. I come from a culture and family that understands the valors and possible consequences of Ibuprofen, a cheap readily available painkiller. Take a little every 4-6 hours as needed. Eat something with every dose to avoid liver and kidney damage. I just never thought that this woman could, and would, take ALL of the pills I gave her at once. Naive, I am.


Here is the old local health center and the newly constructed one. The new health center is very impressive and was constructed by the villagers...but I understand they are still having staffing issues. Again the problem where no one wants to live in Oyacachi, very unfortunate considering the terrible need.

The station above is a cold and empty place but it is also beautiful. The woodwork is gorgeous but the silence is un-nerving. Especially on cloudy days when the solar cells cannot charge the battery, and there is no soft whine. On these days obviously the radio won't work...and the Guarda Parques cannot communicate with the other stations in the 3700 square kilometer park. All of this adds to the sad ominouness of cloudy days when the silence is large....Those days especially, we start when we hear the far off buzz of a moto or the scratch of car wheels on the gravel road. No other human sounds pass. One cloudy misty day, I saw benados mating...I think. How beautiful! Then they dissapeared in the paro grass and mist.

But on some days...special days...Oswaldo has his harmonica out on the desk. These days are different. Here he was filmed by a friend who was learning how the camera works. Try to apreciate the sound more than anything visual, but it is nice to have some idea what it looked like there...



Salve Faccha is more lonely, becuase almost no one passes...no one. There are 8 guards who do rounds on the drinking water emprezza for EMAAP-Q. That's all. For 8 days, then 8 days off. Lots of time to think......

There is a plant called sumpfo that grows in the Paramo where it is extraodinarily cold and wet. It likes precipices of rock, corners basically where enourmous quantities of water pass in clouds. We would make herbal infusions of it. You really feel when you are trying, with icy blue hands, to clutch the cup of steaming sweet liquid.

Here are horses that belong to Gloria. How beautiful. Just roaming around paramo...grazing and being beautiful.

But when you go to Oyacachi take care.... When you are invited..."Vamos a ver ganado" this means lets go to look for the cows. You will be taking a small path that is filled with mud to your hips, as you dodge spiny vegitation for 3 hours in minimum. I had a love hate relationship with the grasses because you need them to hang on tofor dear life as your feet slip in every direction...but they will also slice your hands deeply, and this apart from the fact that they are filled with water that will leave you sopping wet for the rest of your day. Then you arrive at the bottom of the glacial valley to sludge through swamp at least to your knees as your companera yells in a shrill "keeeeeeeeech keech keech keech keech!!!"
The cows will slowly gather around you...

When you have finally seen all the cows...you can hike back up the valley to where hopefully your ride is still waiting. It's burly. You have been warned. But you will love the views.