Frogs and toadstools

The mists cleared this morning and voila! The view of the mountains again is gorgeous, framed in wispy clouds bejeweled in sun beams spattering the landscape below. Patricio was able to somehow fix Big Blue the other day with Coral, revamping some parts on the engine, an altimeter, coils, god knows what and how he does it. Patricio used to work in the oil fields of the Oriente, in the middle of nowhere in the remote reaches of the jungle and from what I hear is like the Latin version of Macgaver. A good guy to have on your side no doubt. No matter how good Patricio?s mechanic skills though we cannot get out of here unless we have a full day or two of clear sky?s and no rain. At the moment Big Blue is mired in a quagmire of mud in the most truest sense. With this sunshine though there is hope it will dry out enough to muscle our way out on Saturday. We hold off on calling Stu to arranging some sort of pick up and can only hope the weather has changed for the best.

After natural history class in the morning we took a natural history walk in the afternoon. Meandering through the shrubby paramo and pines and into the dripping eaves of the cloud forest below. A lesson in detail and observation, finding small frogs hiding amongst the puya and the leafy remains of bromeliad leaves munched by bears. We saw big bright red inflorescent stalks emerging from the canopy on limbs weighted down with layers of thick moss, ferns, and wild orchids in bloom. We chanced upon a mixed flock of birds foraging in the forest, each species filling a different niche and traveling together. Brush finches working the under growth, wood creepers working the limbs and bark, tanagers foraging for fruit, and boisterous hummingbirds following their flower trap lines for nectar. On the way back we collected a feast of wild edible mushrooms for dinner. A harvest brought on no doubt by all this rain.The bounty of the forest sautéed up with onions and garlic by candle light. The winds finally died down and the mist almost cleared up enough to glimpse the stars.