Acts of God (Ma Nature)

Some have asked about nature here in the Andes, so we thought we'd give you a flavor...


View of river and mountains from the porch.

Yes, we have earthquakes here. We felt one a few days ago, very mild, probably a 2-3. Rich was sitting with his back on the wall of the porch and felt it, but Nancy, who was standing on the porch, didn't feel a thing.

Yes, we're in the rainy season, winter here. No, it doesn't rain all day, every day... but when it does, the rains can be biblical... but it makes for the most beautiful cloud formations, sunrises and sunsets!

Last couple nights have been clear and cold. No frost or snow, but COLD!

(No heat, except on the porch, so we just layer on the blankies...)

We thought we could make out the Big Dipper, but, silly us!... we're in the southern hemisphere and the star constellations are different here. Still pretty.

Yes, there are bugs. No mosquitoes at this altitude (we're at about 8300 ft.), but Nancy has 'rescued' a huge furry spider thing and a flying potato bug/beetle thing from the living room floor! We've also 'rescued' worms from the social bath floor...and, we have some aphids in a couple of plants on the porch (eating slowly).

Hummingbirds galore here! We'll be putting up some feeders that some friends gave us recently, but they seem to be enjoying the flowers in the flower boxes just fine. There are also familiar (and not so familiar) bird sounds, day and night. Maybe robins? Maybe owls?

A window box at dusk.

A recent wind storm blew down a huge eucalyptus tree across a nearby road, taking several power lines (and a house!) down with it. Ordonez Lazo was closed to traffic for a few days and some were without power (we have a generator in the building, so we had power). The workers decided to take out additional trees and re-plant.

About the high altitude... well, we think it's a longer process to get used to, longer than the couple days you read about on the internet. At least, for us.

For those who need to pay attention to your sugar counts, they will most likely be higher. Our doctor told us the target for the A1C test is more like a 7.0 here. Blood pressure could be higher, too.

We think it's more than important to drink lots of water... it's imperative! We do look like tourists, carrying our water bottles around town, but we get headaches if we don't drink enough. Speaking of drinking... you'll feel booze faster, this high up. And, we've had some allergy attacks... could be just new plants and trees and perfumed products. Sinutab helps unblock the ears...

Of course, at this altitude, you NEED sunscreen and a good moisturizing cream! And, if you're a baker, you'll need to adjust recipes... water boils at a lower temperature here, so some things need to cook longer...

We think we've answered all the questions... but, keep them coming and we'll try to answer as best we can. We're still learning, too.