Chased by a Tortoise in the Land of Butterflies and Waterfalls

This is made of beer bottles!

Last weekend, I went to Zamora, an interesting little town about an hour and a half from Loja by bus.  Zamora is at the junction of the rainforest and the Andes mountains, with an altitude about 4,000 feet.  It's home to Podocarpus National Park, one of the most biodiverse regions in the world.  It's a birders paradise; there's also lots of other wildlife.   

On the busride over the mountain, the landscape changed quickly from trees to ferns and palm trees, with waterfalls everywhere.  From the bus window alone, I saw about 20 waterfalls, some huge, some little trickles.  

Getting off the bus, you immediately feel the humidity.  The temperature itself is not that different than Loja (when it's cloudy anyway), but the minute you start moving, you sweat.  When the sun comes out, the temperature increases by about 10 degrees instantly.  

The first place I went to in town was the Tzanka Animal Rehab Center.  I paid the $2 fee and started exploring.  Almost immediately, I ran into one of my co-workers.  He's another English teacher who works at our sister school in Zamora.  Turns out this is where he lives!  In a zoo!  Anyway, he was cooking lunch in an outdoor kitchen.  We chatted for awhile and he admitted that the macaws and parrots are noisy, but otherwise it's very peaceful living there.  Last week, he said, a monkey got out of its cage and was hanging out in the courtyard.  He'd had no idea where else to go.  He said it was pretty funny.

Speed Racer -- The tortoise on a mission to get me

I made my way around, talked to the parrots and walked the narrow trails until I got to the monkey cage.  On my path, I had inadvertently startled a tortoise that was having a snack in the plants.  I noticed that he was walking towards me but I ignored it, thinking once he sees me, he'll alter his path.   After talking to the monkeys for a few minutes, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the tortoise getting fretfully close to my leg.  I sidestepped to the right and the damn thing adjusted its path, again seeming to aim for my calf.  I moved in another direction and the thing changed course yet again. It was after me!  I laughed outloud and continued to stay out of the little guy's way.

Here is one of the monkeys I was looking at while being chased by the tortoise.  I'm not sure what the other thing is...he wanted to visit me in a bad way.  He was pawing at the air, as if to try to touch me.  I love the nose holes!

I decided to try the other side of the monkey cage to get away from the tortoise which was starting to freak me out for some reason.  This monkey here put on a show for me, swinging back and forth, around and around, then he stopped to pose for a photo op.

After visiting the zoo, I took a taxi truck out to the national park.  It was $4 to get out there, down a long dirt road.  Although my Lonely Planet book claimed that the walk is one of the few easy, flat walks in the park, it is not.  It's straight uphill immediately and had very few flat parts.  It was absolutely beautiful out there though.  Trees and plants of all kinds, with the sound of Rio Bombascura in the background and waterfalls up ahead.

This sign wasn't until about half an hour hike into the forest.

Typical section of the path

After about half an hour on a path like this, you arrive at the Ranger's Station.  You sign in (it's free), use the bathroom and continue on your way.  There is a hostel there, where you can evidently stay for $3 a night.  I peeked inside and they look to be as nice as any other hostel I've seen.  I would have definitely stayed here if I had planned for it.  You need to bring your own water and food though, as there are no services around.

I continued to Cascada Poderosa, the famous waterfall here.  I was extremely overheated at this point, and I welcomed the cool spray coming off the falls.  After relaxing on a rock and cooling down for about 20 minutes, I continued on.

La Cascada Poderosa

I had run into a group of teachers from Canada House, another school in Loja ,on the way back from this waterfall.  They had just been arriving.  We discussed where one could swim out here and I told them the Poderosa is too shallow for swimming except where the water is coming down very strong.  They suggested I go back to the ranger's station and take a little path to the left, to a smaller waterfall.  So I did and here it is!

Nobody was there -- I could've easily skinnydipped but I already had my bathing suit on so I kept it on and went into the water.  It was very cold but my body was so hot, it felt good.  I crouched down to get most of my body in the shallows, then once I was used to it, put my head under in the middle where I could stand.  The current was strong though, and it was hard to stay in one place.  After getting used to the water, I jumped into the current and put my legs up, letting it carry me a few feet.  I felt very happy there, as I always do when I'm in water.

I laid down my REI travel towel on the rocky ground.  It was just enough to put my butt to my shoulders portion of my body on and looked up at the trees.  I felt that happy feeling again, like I was one with nature.  It was an amazing moment.

Back in town, I jumped on the next bus back to Loja and ended my adventure.