Macas

Hi all,

I spent 3 weeks in Ecuador last Nov. Absolutely loved it, keeping in mind that no place is perfect. I spent 11 days traveling north to south with side trips to eastern towns. This was with an Ecuadorian brother-in-law and sister of some Ecuadorian friends of mine who live in Atlanta. What a hoot! I speak little Spanish and my friends' relatives spoke little English. Some great stories resulted.

The rest of the time was spent in the Guayaquil area with a 2 day side trip up the coast. My contacts in Guayaquil are involved in native wildlife rehabilitation with interest of re-introduction of native animals back into the wild.

I am interested with working with their non-profits but with reintroducing native parrot species in the eastern area of Ecuador. I visited Puyo, Tena, Zamora, Vilcabamba and other eastern towns with a location for a parrot release site in mind. Somehow I chose not to go to Macas but I may have missed a gem. There is reputed to be a lot of natural landscape and 2 major native cultures intent on keeping development at bay. The parrots I want to work with first are native to the lower slopes of the Andes and not the Amazon itself so I could escape the heat and humidity of lower altitudes. Macas seems to fit that bill.

I will probably visit again in late July to mid-August to firm up the relations with the Guayaquil area organizations. Anyone with any input on Macas? I hope to spend a few days there but want to make it productive.

I will return to the US but hope to move permanently to Ecuador by the end of the year.

Thanks in advance,

Xaminer (legal research not porno)