During a visit to Carlos, one of our friends in
the Ecuadorian capital of Quito, he suggested that we visit his
parents who were managing a large hacienda, north of Quito near
a place called Calacali. The country just north of Quito is quite
forbidding, dry, windy and dusty. The sparse vegetation struggles
to gain a hold on the steep-sided gorges and washouts in this badly
eroded land. This arid area can only support plants such as yuccas
and bromeliads which somehow find a foothold on the slopes while
on more even ground the ever present Faique (Acacia macracantha)
grows. These rather dry looking trees are the only plants that can
survive the onslaught of roaming goats, the forbidding spines on
the trunks even discourage these destructive animals. Here and there
small Indian farmhouses can be seen, the adobe walls and dust covered
roofs the same colour as the dismal landscape beyond.
Kiwis In The Mist
