PREPARING FOR MACARA, ECUADOR

I thought it would be nice to pass on the information I have found about Macara, before I go on my trip tomorrow. I think I said in my last post, that we were leaving on Saturday.. well it was pushed out to Monday due to the Easter holiday.


I pulled up "Weather Bug" http://weather.weatherbug.com/Ecuador/Macara-weather.html to see what the current conditions were of my destination. 29 degrees Celsius.  I still don't know exactly what that is so I go to the conversion chart I have in my favorites. http://www.teaching-english-in-japan.net/conversion/celsius/
I know is says something about teaching English in Japan, I just happen to like this chart because I can change the increments and its fast and easy. So I plop in my numbers and find that it is about 85 degrees F. And it is supposed to get down to a chilly 18 degrees C at nite.. 64 F. brrr..(uh, I'm joking...)

When we visited Salinas, EC in December, it was about 27C (80) with humidity.. I was croaking. I was relieved to see that the humidity in this region does not seem to be an issue.

I searched a bit further and found a website that told about Macara. http://www.ecuador.com/sierra/macara/  It seems this is an area known for its dry tropical forests, birds and growing rice. A small town, not interested in the tourists, even though it is a major crossing spot into Peru.

My host Chella, is from this region, and seems very happy to be taking someone who has never been there. She made sure to remind me of all that I needed to take, and that we would be also venturing into Peru. So my passport would be needed. Hooray. a new stamp in my passport! I have made sure to add my Yellow fever card to the bundle I am taking, just in case I have need of it crossing back into Ecuador. I learned my lesson when I had to have Randy overnight my Cedula (Ecuadorian residency document) to me in the US last November.

Since I don't have any photos yet of Macara, I will share with your the links I of found for photos of this area.
http://www.viewphotos.org/ecuador/images.php?Macara&id=59

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sofigiraldo/4315670127/

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/42342055

Oh and I hope you all had a Happy Easter! We are having a few folks over for lunch. Randy is making BBQ Pork chops and Vegetarian Refried Rice. As usual he is going for the Kimbler's take on traditional Easter Brunch! And as usual it's going to be very yummy!