Eternal Spring in Cotacachi

So what is the climate REALLY like in Cotacachi?  It is comfortable, steady, and somewhat predictable.  It is never COLD and never HOT.  Some call it eternal spring. There are hundreds of things that I love about Cotacachi, but the weather is among the top five.

Snow dusts the top of Father Imbabura

If you ask 10 locals about the climate of Cotacachi you will most assuredly get 10 entirely different responses.  Perhaps people are numbed into complacency.   You see there are just two seasons in Cotacachi, summer and winter.  No, I don’t mean Currier and Ives Christmas nor am I talking about those Lazy Crazy Hazy Days of summer either.   Winter here is sometimes rainy; summer is nearly always sunny and fair.  Summer is June through September. 

Brahma calves graze and lounge in lush grass in this pasture just outside Cotacachi in summer and winter.

The average daily temperature is 61 degrees every day all year long.  That means you top out on average about 71 and bottom out at 51.   71 feels like 78 here by the way.  It has something to do with the 8000 feet above sea level thing.   The sun also rises and sets mas o menos the same every day also.

I used to live in northwest Iowa.  Our winters there were as harsh and as long as in Minneapolis.  When my sister’s family came to visit in winter from Fairbanks they’d be chattering from the cold.  I made a promise to myself in January 2010 that I would never endure that kind of winter ever again.  I haven't.

Rachel is from Oklahoma.  110 degrees in Tulsa is not that unusual and it can go on for weeks.  Oh, and they have high humidity too.  We will never pay for heating or air conditioning ever again, ever.  We will be able to go for a walk outside in comfort every day, the rest of our lives.

I just smiled this morning as I was riding my bike along this meadow.  I could see the snow on Mt. Cotacachi and knew it would never fall in this land of Eternal Spring.

Do I miss the change of seasons?  Well I loved spring in the US.  It was always a thrill when I could find my mailbox again.  The promise of new life, color, and beauty put an extra bounce in my step.    I also loved the fall.  The color of the trees was just God going crazy with His paintbrush.  I miss that a lot.  The only thing I didn’t like was the promise that winter was on its heels.  The visual euphoria was short lived.   Life seemed always to revolve around the dread of winter.

I stopped my bike to visit with this handsome young couple walking to Quiroga for work this morning.   I was rambling away in my feeble Spanish as the young man smiled, looked directly at me, and began to speak in fluent English.  I told them Rachel and I used to live in Cuenca but we followed our heart to the Imbabura.  He said he left New Jersey to return home to his bride and live the life he knew he was supposed to live.   I just wanted to hug them both.

 

What do you wear in Cotacachi?  Well, again you will get many answers to that question.  You will see many answers to that question.  In the same moment in time you will see an indigenous man with a warm coat and hat and a gringo like me in a t shirt.  I’ll be on my bicycle wearing a t shirt and a sweatshirt over it at 7:30 AM.  By the time I get back for breakfast the sweatshirt is tied around my neck.  Eternal spring. 

Hacienda San Isidro

A week ago our good friends from Cuenca, Mike and Patty Grimm invited Rachel and me to join them for lunch at Hacienda San Isidro.  San Isidro is a well kept secret among the locals of the Imbabura it seems.  I only knew that we had to go through neighboring Quiroga and from there it was by guess and by golly.  Only a few locals could direct us to the right road (path).

We had one of those days that all of us will remember the rest of our lives.  The views from the hacienda were stunning and never seen by your average tourist.   I loveTaita (father in Quichwa) Imbabura and photograph him ad nauseum.  To see Mt. Imbabura in this way on this day was special.  All his subjects (the villages of Cotacachi, Otavalo, Quiroga, San Roque,  San Juan de Illuman, Peguche, and Atuntaqui to name a few) seemed to lay peacefully at his feet.

We had a wonderful brunch but the personal tour of the hacienda by the owner was what made our day.  Mike and Patty did a blog for this day and they took some beautiful photos.  Please visit their blog.

 http://grimmstraveltales.blogspot.com/2012/04/our-trip-to-cotacachi-part-3-of-3.html?showComment=1333983857100#c7636158647981012962

The Many Faces of Imbabura

Here is mother Mt. Cotacachi looking down on her village of Cotacachi. 

The father of the village of Cotacachi" is Mt. Imbabura and is seen here at the entrance to Cotacachi.

Ecuador has many beautiful mountains.  On a clear day in Quito you can sometimes see four snow capped volcanoes.  That may not be impressive unless you know that Quito is right on the equator where snow is not a word used in every day language.  In general, snow doesn't stay on a mountain in Ecuador unless it is 5000 meters or higher.

The most impressively high mountain in Ecuador is Mt. Chimborazo (20,565 ft).  I always have that one in my back pocket for bragging rights when my Alaskan sister brings up Denali (Mt. McKinley, tallest mountain in NORTH America).  In fact, Chimborazo is the highest point on earth.  No, it's not the highest point above sea level, it's just that the earth bulges a bit at the equator.  More correctly stated, it is the farthest point from the center of the earth.  Let's not split hairs though.  We're just talking about beautiful mountains.

 Looking out our bedroom window this morning looking towards the north I could see the mountains with summer-like clarity.   Summer- like you say?  Well, here in the Imbabura Province you get lots of definitions for the seasons.   It gets confusing actually.  This is the Land of Eternal Spring!  Bank on it.  It really is spring all year!  But for the locals, they like to call June through September summer and October through May winter.  It has to do with rainy and dry seasons.  Summer is dry, winter not so much.  Don’t bank on that however.   I’ve also figured out that when it’s raining, the locals call it the rainy season. 


I think the suicide rate among Ecuadorian meteorologists must be high.  Wait a minute; I don’t think there are any Ecuadorian meteorologists.   Why would you need a weather man to tell you the high is 68 and the low is 53 and know that you’ll seldom if ever be more than two degrees off?  Boring.    Seriously though, this is arguably the best climate in the world unless blood just doesn’t move around in your veins any more.  In that case, just move down the mountain a couple thousand feet and you’ll be in Eternal Summer.

Ok, the topic is mountains in Ecuador, I digress. 

My favorite mountain is Imbabura.   Ah, Cayambe, Chimborazo, Antisana, Cotopaxi and Sangay, you are indeed splendid.  You are all graced with year around snow.  Father Imbabura, you are special.  On clear days you frame the fields where my bicycle carries me.

And you're there to guide me home.  

But I'll never confuse you with my real Father.

The Children of Cotacachi

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.  Look at their faces!  Such innocence, joy, hope, and love comes from the little ones in Cotacachi.  It was their faces that first made me fall in love with Cotacachi.  I was in Parque San Francisco that day and the sun was typically strong keeping me toasty warm despite the cool early morning Andean air.  I saw a little indigenous girl like the one in the picture lower left dressed in her immaculately clean white embroidered blouse with her younger brother in tow.  I'll never forget the sweetness and genuine familial affection shared between them.  It warmed my heart and I knew this would be my home.  I heard someone on the street the other day talk about how the children behave here.  There's no tantrums, no shouting or screaming, no bullying.  I wish I had grown up here.  I'd at least know how to speak Spanish by now.

Too Good to be True?

Those of you who have been to Cotacachi and know that Rachel and I fell in love with it some time ago will immediately recognize the photo above to be the main church in Cotacachi with Mt. Cotacachi in the background.  Rachel took this photo on the terrace on top of La Cuadra Hostel where we are spending our short stay here.  To be honest with you, our readers, I have been so overwhelmed by the events that have happened in the last couple weeks that I can hardly contain myself, let alone put it into print.  I'm almost afraid that if I put it in print, the dream that Rachel and I have been dreaming for some months is just a dream and will go away with the ink!  In short, our condominium in Cuenca has sold, and we are building a house in Cotacachi!!!  For us, the first thing had to happen before the second was possible.  We let Miguel Mora (our developer/contractor) know back in January that we wanted to build in his development, Yana Pamba.  Miguel is a businessman and a good one at that, but he gave us a lot of lattitude to realize our dream.  He could have easily said "Go sell your house and then we'll talk", but instead he immediately went to his architect, Patricio Galarza and started working on plans to adapt our dream to a drawing.  This is called faith without a downpayment.  I met Miguel Mora a year and a half ago and knew he was special then, but didn't know at that time that he would one day build our house for us!  Heck, I didn't even know I'd be married to Rachel back then!  Things seem to move fast when you're 60.  One minute I'm an unhappy banker in Iowa and the next I'm married to the woman of my dreams and we're building a house together in Cotacachi Ecuador!  I knew God was good, but he's laid out the carpet for us to be here.  Now I guess we'll find out why.

Three days ago we became friends with Steve and Rebecca who were staying with us in La Cuadra.  We asked them if they'd like to see where we're building at Yana Pamba.  Steve and Rebecca had come to Ecuador to do a 'sniff test', not to look for a place to build.  Today they leave for the US, are putting their home on the market, and God willing will be building on one of the last lots available in Yana Pamba!  In the picture above they are looking out the front porch of the first completed home with Patricio Galarza, the architect looking on.  Patricio just happened to be inspecting the house builds while we arrived on the scene and took some time to point out his attention to detail in the builds.  It doesn't take a salesman, it takes quality work to sell homes.  We hope that our new friends Steve and Rebecca will also be our new neighbors in Cotacachi.

We were in Otavalo on Saturday, market day.  If you've ever been to Otavalo on Saturday you know there are thousands of people in the market and finding anyone on purpose there is like the proverbial needle in the haystack hunt.  Just how we ran into Rick and Eve Casto, our special friends from Vilcabamba is as Rick would state was purely a Godcidence.  For those uncomfortable with a spiritual explanation, think serendipity.  We know which it was.  Rick and Eve were on their way to the US for a three month vacation and family visit.  They manage the beautiful Terra Madre resort in Vilcabamba where we met them 10 months ago before we were even married.  You'll remember our infamous horseback ride in the mountains there!  Since that time in Vilcabamba Rick and Eve have visited us several times in Cuenca where we play cards, triominos, and tell lots of tall (but truthful) tales.  To hear their voices in the Otavalo market behind a stack of alpaca scarves was just amazing.  We were both a long way from home!  They have always blessed our life and our love and this time was no different.  After some really great hugs Rick and Eve immediately changed their plans to stay in Otavalo and instead joined us back at La Cuadra in Cotacachi where we spent a couple lovely days with them.  This morning they left for Quito and on to Washington state where they will have a reunion with their Harley Davidson.  We will miss them but know that they will be visitors of ours in Cotacachi when our house is complete.

I find it interesting that some people come to Cotacachi and are bored in one week.  The rest of us think we have died and gone to heaven.  We continue to find things to do and places to go.  Many of the places to go can be done over and over without any loss of wonderment.  Two days ago we went to Chachimbiro, a little village about an hour from here where they have wonderful natural hot springs.

I happened to have had a really sore back from a sprain.  I couldn't straighten up.  No Rachel didn't beat me up.  I'm not sure what I did, but life isn't the greatest when you walk like a 90 year old man.  One day in the hot springs and I'm pleased to report that I'm feeling just a shade over 40 again.  The weather in Chachimbiro is just a shade warmer than Cotacachi and we all got a little toasted under the Andean sun, but it was worth it.  The pools are arranged in such a way that as you go higher (closer to the hot water source) the hotter the water temperature is.  There is also a cold water pool next to the hottest pool where you can shock your system like the Polar Bear club.  I think it's supposed to be healthful to do that, though I'm not reading any studies on that matter.  I will report however that my back is feeling great and if I had a cardiac arrest, it was very short lived.

On the way back we stopped for some sugar cane juice, a local favorite.  It was very delicious.  They had this really loveable donkey yoked to a mill and they threw a stalk of cane into the mill and squeezed out a glassful of juice. The donkey got to eat the remaining squeezed cane.  Note that he is rather plump. Now that's entertainment!  For all of you who report about being bored in the Imbabura, eat your heart out.

Then a little farther down the road we found the quintessential Ecuadorian approach to motherhood in play.  We have found that mothers here put their baby first in those formative years.  When the babies want love and milk, they get love and milk.  It pays great dividends when the babies turn into 4 year olds.  The 4 year olds here don't whine and complain like most of their US counterparts.  The same theory holds for bovines here as well.  When it's time for some milk it doesn't matter what part of the road you're standing on.  It's time for milk.

 

Return From Cotacachi

Rachel's ready smile belied what I know to be a deep sadness as we departed our beloved Cotacachi.  Our relatively luxurious condo awaited in Cuenca and with it the creature comforts we've been accustomed to: American TV, all the hot water we wanted, high speed internet, our CD music, DVD's, Play Station 3, our super comfortable bed, our own cooking, and maybe most important of all, our bicycles.  These living elements are available everywhere in Cotacachi but limited in the hostels where we stayed.  With all of those comforts and familiarities awaiting us in Cuenca, it was still difficult to say good bye to our friends, Mt. Cotacachi (behind Rachel in the picture above), and Mt Imbabura, the 'mother' and 'father' of the city of Cotacachi.  Our trip home was smooth and without a hitch.  No we didn't take the bus home!  Quito to Cuenca is less than an hour by air (vs 10 hours by bus), worthy of the extra dollars.  We did however hook up with the Quito bus on the Pan Am highway just outside of Cotacachi where Rachel had a fun time with the toddler in front of us.

Those of you who have travelled in Ecuador know how well behaved the youngsters are here.  They simply don't carry on and make a nuisance of themselves.  They are sweet, a little shy, but inevitably engaging and interested in the gringos that come into their world.  Rachel has learned to keep a package of cookies at the ready in her leather bag so that every little smile that comes to us gets a sweet return.  In some countries such an exchange might not be permitted.  The people of Ecuador still trust us.  I hope we never do anything to lose that trust.

We met new friends in Cotacachi and reunited with Cuenca friends who for one reason or another were there at the same time we were there. 

  

In fact, at one point we shared a table with four of our very best friends from Cuenca who 'coincidentally?' were in the Imbabura province exploring.  We didn't arrange for the meeting.  It just happened.  Six friends from 300 miles away meet by chance.  Would you believe me if I told you that it was in the Serendipity Cafe in Cotacachi?  The serendipity that we experience in Ecuador is so profound and frequent that we have become accustomed to and even expect it.  Only with careful reflection do we then realize that indeed there is something special and magnificent going on in this place called Ecuador.  I'm pretty sure that the epicenter of this mystical and cosmic place is indeed Cotacachi.  If you've never been to Cotacachi, give your heart, your spirit, and your mind what they long for and visit.  Rachel even had an important birthday (it's impolite to ask) while we were in Cotacachi.  Our good friend Bo from Cuenca (a new transplant to Cotacachi) and Reggie (our new Canadian/American/Cotacachi friend) and I shared Rachel's delightful meal cooked in our hostel's self help kitchen.         

Bo even bought a birthday cake for Rachel.  The serendipity part was that he didn't KNOW it was her birthday!!!!

Our trip to northern Ecuador had a two fold purpose.  We hoped to receive those elusive residency cedulas while in Quito and we hoped to find our new home in Cotacachi.  I'm pretty sure we were at least 50% successful!  Our cedulas can wait.  

We revisted a home in the country between Otavalo and Cotacachi.

The home showed promise, had great privacy, plenty of room, and was in many ways a great 'fixer upper' with unique character.  In the end however, it was the concern over our desire to bike from our home to town that created an insurmountable negative.  The road that passed by was simply to treacherous for our two wheeled passion. 

We spent a lot of time with our friend and favorite developer in Cotacachi.  I met Miguel Mora a year ago when I first came to Cotacachi.  Rachel and I hooked up with him again a couple months ago in our last visit to Cotacachi.  What struck us most profoundly about Miguel in that visit is his respect and passion for Ecuador and the Imbabura province.  His building projects around Otavalo and Cotacachi are done with sensitive care and respect for the indigenous people and the interwoven Spanish colonial culture.  Miguel believes that a development that in any way takes away from the integrity of the countryside or causes concerns among the indigenous should never be built.  Not all developers have this commitment.   His family of highly educated historians, artists, engineers, architects, physicians and statesmen permeate his personality and his vibrant enthusiasm.  Miguel's family reads like the Who's Who of Ecuador.  To Miguel, his good name is more important than revenue.  Quality build, magnificent views, and customer satisfaction are the hallmarks of Miguel's nationally prominent architect, Patricio Galarza.  I was introduced to Miguel's and Patricio's latest project, Yana Pamba, a year ago before they even had permission to build and months before Rachel and I shared our commitment of love for each other.  I knew then there was something special in this project.  Little did I know that I might some day be able to share it with Rachel, the woman I met as a girl of 12.  Then again, I should expect serendipity in major proportions here.

    

Miguel is careful to explain how his construction methods deny water migration from the ground to the walls of his homes.

and how extra care in engineering assures earthquake resistance

two obvious enemies to homes built in Ecuador.

Foundations are built with aeration and strength in mind.  They are broader and deeper than any other construction in the area.   An impermeable rubber membrane between the foundation and the home walls keep water migration and necessary wall maintenance to a negligible level.  Patricio does extensive soil testing before construction to insure foundation stability and construction does not disturb the soil surface except in the foundation channels.

Fire brick is used in the walls of Miguel's construction.  It is more expensive but ultimately much stronger than the more commonly used adobe brick commonly found in other local construction.

 Open beam ceilings are beautiful, strong, and are treated for another enemy of construction in Ecuador....termites.

Even the porch roofs are built with beauty and structural integrity in mind.

Awe inspiring views from Yana Pamba include pastoral fields speckled with dairy cows

The river gorge below

and the sometimes shy father of Cotacachi, Mt. Imbabura

  We intended to be gone a week to 10 days.  Three plus weeks later we returned to Cuenca.  I'm amazed that our plants survived the neglect.  The Imbabura experience still lingers as a dream yet slowly fades as we reacclimate to the faster pace of city life in Cuenca.   Rachel, my anchor and gift from God, shares my surealistic feeling about our latest adventure.  God willing, we will return to the Imbabura to build our home.