Last Stop: A Community in the Clouds

I’m but hours away from leaving Ecuador, but I’m squeezing in one last post before I go. (There will be one final post after this one.) For our last hoorah, my whole study abroad group returned to a familiar location: Comunidad Yunguilla.

Chico, our host family’s dog, was eagerly awaiting us.

A view of the valley below Yunguilla.

We were last in Yunguilla three months ago, after visiting the beautiful Santa Lucia. Last time around  in Yunguilla, we spent most of our time doing community service work (which we did a bit of this time, too).

Trail clearing

Hammering a log to loosen the bark… after hauling it up a hill.

This time, we spent most of our time giving presentations on our projects (see my last three posts for info on my project). The venue was the restaurant/hostel Casa Tahuallullo, which happens to have aroids with giant leaves outside.

Also known as “the beard plant” by absolutely no one.

When we weren’t hard at work presenting or doing manual labor, there is a giant swing with an incredible view of the valley below.

I also got a bit of birding in, as I am apt to do.

Blue-winged mountain tanager

Blue-and-black tanager, a reasonably uncommon but beautiful species

One particularly interesting bird from an ecological standpoint is the black flowerpiercer, so named for its feeding habits. Flowerpiecers use their sharp beaks to rob flowers of nectar without pollinating.

Some pena-pena flowers pierced by a flowerpiercer.

My flight back to the states leaves in approximately 4.5 hours, but as I mentioned earlier, I still have one more post planned. Stay tuned!