One of the composting toilets (all with spectacular views of the Andes!) at the eco-friendly Black Sheep Inn.  I think that the idea of composting toilets is a fabulous one.  More from the BSI web site on composting toilets:

The most popular question asked about our eco-friendliness is on the subject of the composting toilets (and somehow the topic always becomes dinner conversation).  The toilets work wonderfully. Composting toilets may seem common in ecotourism, while the developed world thinks it normal to defecate in a toilet bowl filled with clean water.  In order to bridge the gap between two very distinct norms, we built composting-toilets that are attractive, educational and productive.  All toilets take advantage of a spectacular view across the canyon.  Inside the rooms are beneficial flower/vegetable gardens fertilized with finished compost from the toilet. 

None of the composting toilets smelled.  The compost that it turns into makes great fertilizer for the garden and trees.

This is the church in the main plaza in Chugchilán.  One of the stores in the main square sells delicious coconut ice cream.  That has nothing to do with this picture here, but that's okay.

Bathrooms rarely have better views - or gardens - than this one here at Black Sheep Inn.

More on composting toilets. 

 

This is the main guesthouse of the Black Sheep Inn.  There is a library and internet access here. 

It also is a very comfortable, peaceful place to relax and sip red wine, munch on delicious Andino cheese, and read books.

I went on another hike, this one known around here as the suspension bridge hike.  It's a very pleasant five-hour hike which drops down to the Toachi river, going part of the way towards Isinlivi.

A small footbridge over a small part of the Toachi River on the way to the suspension bridge.

The Toachi River and the suspension bridge down below, as I am hiking back up the steep slopes towards Don Bosco woodshop and Black Sheep Inn and fending off aggressive dogs.

More beautiful scenery along the main road on the way back from the suspension bridge.

After the hike, I took a nice hot shower in one of the eco-friendly showers, which uses rain water from a tank above Black Sheep Inn, and then relaxed up at my room, taking in this view.  Wish you were here.

All water from showers, sinks, laundry etc. is recycled. It is collected in a settling tank and put through a charcoal/rock filter system. The filtered water is then channeled through a reed bed for further nutrient absorption. The reeds produce fodder for guinea pigs, llamas and sheep.

You really can't have too many pictures of this nice of a view, now can you?