No pictures! It is still the dry season here in this part of Ecuador although there have been clouds and even hints of drizzle building up in the later afternoons. This has brought a plague of "no-see-um's"! These tiny little black flies, which bite fiercely, have emerged in their millions, waiting for the rains to arrive. This is the worst in our experience so far. They are like tiny sand flies and seem to live just everywhere. We have all been feasted upon but especially poor Robbie and Maia, despite the copious supplies of insect repellant we have for ourselves and for visitors. These flies are particularly bad at John's school at present - a walk across the new football field leaves very raw and itchy ankles!
Our two lovely white doves have disappeared. Instead of dive bombing us at breakfast time these last two mornings, we now enjoy only those regular pigeons who have obviously been taking advantage of the breakfasts we have been providing for the doves. The fear is that the doves have been caught by neighbours and are again incarcerated. They would have been easy enough to lure down to feed and then capture. They were never far from us here, so we are a bit surprised - and sad.
Yesterday we had a visit from an American Kestrel. At first we thought that there might be a connection between the disappearance of the doves and this new visitor, but that would not be possible - the kestrel is too small. It spent a long time in our 'garden' (big field!) hunting and chasing grasshoppers. Even Robbie and Maia were able to have a good look, using the binoculars.
And another spectacular was a rare visit this morning of a Giant Hummingbird. John and Robbie were able to watch this huge bird at close range, taking sugar from one of the feeders. A Giant Hummingbird is the size of a small thrush. The mechanics of hovering must test its physiology quite some!
John's Landcruiser is in hospital! On Thursday the alternator and fan belt pulley came crashing out of the front of the motor in a cloud of hot oil and bits of broken metal. Sounded as if a piston had found its way through the side of cylinder! That would have been .... the end of life as this Landcruiser knows it! But it can be repaired, though any Toyota spare parts are hard to find here and the new pulley and all the seals will have to be imported from the US. That will take at least a month. Back to the bicycle!
We all have an enforced, extended vacation. From the President's office came a 'decreto' informing all schools in the Sierra region - that includes John's school and the children's Pachamama - that they may not begin classes until September 7th. The arguments for the decision are not clear, but may have something to do with the swine flu which has hit Ecuador particularly badly. John's school will lose 7 crucial working days and the children's Pachamama a week. These days will have to be taken back later in the year, by shortening holidays and half-terms. Many schools, including the combined union of Ecuadorian IB schools, appealed the 'decreto' but to no avail. In John's case this has led to some chaos, as we already started the preparation period last week, with two days of very successful professional development activities for all teachers at Hostería San José near Puembo (see links), ready for the students to return the 27th August. Now we interrupt all that and have a holiday again. Mad!
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