A New Walk

I took a lovely walk yesterday morning.  I've been wanting to take this walk for a while but was a bit concerned that I might not be quite in shape for it yet.  It's also important to go when it's cloudy because there's little shade along the way and it's so easy to burn here.  The more I get used to it, the easier it will be, but in the meantime, caution is advised.

Here, then, is a pictorial view of my walk out to the highway and back:

 You'll need to enlarge the map to find it but if you can locate 15 on the map, my apartment is just across the street to the north of that.  I'm on Modesto Penaherrera between Bolivar and Sucre.  I walked east down Modesto Penaherrera to the Plaza del Sol, turned right and followed the road back to Bolivar where I went back down to my house.  According to a woman who trains for marathons here, it's 1.5 miles.  That will also give you a pretty good idea of just how small Cotacachi proper is.

Yes, the geese are cute but you have to look closely to see the adorable goslings.

I hadn't expected to see calla lilies growing along side the road.

This adorable flower is no larger than a nickel and it's a perfect sphere.  It's also a more vivid pink than the photo shows.

Here's the metal sculpture at the Plaza del Sol.  It's the official entrance into Cotacachi from the highway.

Also at Plaza del Sol are these statues.  I have to tell you--I have absolutely no idea what the heck they're doing.  The one with his hand above his head is holding a whip.  Go figure.  Right between them and in the background is the sign for the town's gas station (yes--the only one).  If it doesn't enlarge enough when you click on it, I'll just let you know right now that gas is $1.48/gallon and diesel is $1.03.  I'm not sure if it's a US gallon or a metric gallon but either way, that's pretty much dirt cheap.

Walls are frequently painted with murals or decorated with graffiti.

The bridge across Rio Pichavi and the welcome banner into the heart of Cotacachi.

Standing on the bridge, here's the river run below.  It disappears into a "tunnel" of folliage that is so thick it arches completely over the river.

A homeless fellow who has obviously found a military jacket and hat.  I know it's hard to tell how tall he is without some kind of reference point but it might help to know that this jacket came down below his knees.

More of the same statues as the ones by the gas station but these make more sense.  The two who are sitting down are playing musical instruments and the one in the middle is working on leather.

From there it was just a short walk home.  I had a lovely time and plan to do this again soon.