Ecuador 2014
General thoughts:
delicious local organic foods,
beautifully presented
Formal and reserved friendliness
Short people
Crazy drivers, but “organized chaos”
Once beyond Quito
everything is peaceful
“Cloud forest” is exactly that,
ever-changing clouds clinging to treetops
orchids and bromeliads on just about
every tree
“toilet roulette”: you never know when you will remember to not
flush down the paper!
Quechan, the indigenous Andean
Ecuadorians
Quito
"Land of the Hummingbird" literal translation
Sacha "forest" literal translation
rare birds are common, common birds
are rare (don't see many of the same bird in a flock, but there may be twenty
species in one flock)
09-28-14 Sunday & 09-29-14
Monday Left
Glide at 12:30PM,
drove to Portland. Flew to LA.
We had to leave the terminal, go outside, then re-enter through
ticketing and TSA checkpoint. Flight to Miami
left 12:30AM,
and we arrived there at 8AM. No sleep and very cramped seats. I felt almost like passing out at one point,
got hot and shaky. Low blood sugar?. Miami
to Quito, 8:45AM-12:45PM seemed like a short
flight. We were met by our driver who
held a sign for our hotel, Casa Joaquin.
The drive took almost one hour, passing through old historic part of the
city (read: crummy poor old stores,
broken masonry, falling down buildings, road construction). There was a very long tunnel going into the
business district, the heart of Quito
with high rises and upscale businesses.
Our boutique hotel is on a narrow
crowded street, with many bars, laundries, restaurants, cantinas, delis, and
markets. We got checked into our
upgraded suite immediately. It is a
beautiful room with polished wood floors, fans, gorgeous glass shower, sofa,
and a view of the street activity.
Quaint Victorian furnishings, bottled water, heavy velvet drapes, and
all rooms overlook the four-story atrium with the common reading room on the
first level. Very peaceful, especially
up on the fourth floor outdoor terrace.
The view of Quito
and surrounding volcanoes is breathtaking.
We napped for an hour and a half, and woke up feeling distinctly
rummy! After showers, we walked to the
Plaza Foch and picked one of the outdoor restaurants to eat. It was called BBQ & Co. Ron had a giant delicious burger, and I had a
plate dinner of pulled BBQ chicken, grilled veggies and potato wedges.
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| Casa Joaquin, Quito |
09-30-14 Tuesday We slept almost twelve hours, waking up
feeling human and recharged. My sinuses
had cleared up, so I was happy I only had airplane sinus congestion and not a
cold. We were served a great
European/Spanish-style breakfast: cheese
wedges (brie!), salami, cinnamon pastries, delicious brewed coffee (I declined
something special from the espresso machine) , fresh fruits and juices, French
toast, croissants. Then, our waiter came
around and asked us how we wanted our eggs prepared. All Casa Joaquin staff (male) wear gold
starched monogrammed shirts and black ties, black dress slacks, and black dress
shoes. All are immaculately groomed,
formal and professional. Vinicio, the
best of the English-speaking staff, called a taxi to take us to the botanical
gardens. Our driver, Jose Pruna, was so
helpful and spoke flawless English. He
dropped us off, we spent over three hours in the gardens (we ate lunch there at
a small outdoor cafe) and had one of the staff call Jose back for our
return. When we got back, Ron ran across
the street to the bodega for two Pilsener beers, the Ecuadorian beer. We drank them up on the terrace, read and relaxed. We walked back to Plaza Foch Yeah! We ate at a small cafe called Coffee &
Co. Ron had a grilled chicken sandwich
with fries, and I had brochetta (beef and chicken shish kebabs). Later, we packed for our move to San Jorge tomorrow afternoon at 2PM.
10-01-14 Wednesday It was a noisy night! We had much the same breakfast, but alas! No
cinnamon bites. After breakfast, Ron
went back up to sleep some more and I went up to the rooftop terrace and read
until 11:15AM. Then we cleared out of the room (noon check-out) and stored our bags in
the secured room at Casa Joaquin for the next 12 days until our return. We walked over to the Magic Bean Coffee Co.
for lunch. We shared a gigantic plate of
super nachos and blueberry cheese cake.
A nice place with a varied American-style menu. It is also a hostal, so many of the customers
were hippie-type backpackers along with some young professionals, and older
tourists like us. We met Jose, our taxi
driver from yesterday as we were walking and he was driving by us. He honked, pulled over, and asked if we needed a ride. How bizarre was that, only here one day and
already a familiar face! At 1:30PM we headed back to our rooftop
terrace at Casa Joaquin to wait for our 2PM
pick up for San Jorge Eco Lodge-Quito.
Vinizio, the English-speaking hotel desk clerk/concierge told us our
ride was already waiting for us. Our
driver, a young man named Fernando, spoke little English, so our crazy ride up
the city (straight up cobblestone and dirt roads) was mostly silent. Our rooms were rustic, on the main level.
Another traveler, Kathy, arrived in another vehicle at the same time as we
did. She is from Seattle
and is three weeks into a seven week trip in South
America. (We were to
become close friends for the next week.)
Ron immediately set up the camera and tripod for the amazing six species
of humming birds at the feeders. George
Cruz, the owner/guide met us outside on the patio. It got quite chilly outside, 10500 feet, and
we bundled up in our fleece and long pants.
Dinner at 7:30. Fernando came in our room to build a fire in
the stone fireplace. It kept going all
night long and soon the covers were flung off.
10-02-14 Thursday San Jorge Botanical Reserve/Quito Our room was really cold when we arrived, but
started to warm up after Fernando made the fire before dinner. It warmed up the room so much that we got rid
of most of the blankets. We got up at 5:40AM for our 6AM
breakfast. Kathy King ate with us. There was another family, a mom and two
daughters. Very friendly! It was beautifully prepared and presented. There was a lot of fruit, fresh juice
(smoothie?), scrambled eggs, and a scone/biscuit. Our guide, Miguel Hipo, took us on the trail
behind the lodge. It went up and along
and above a canyon to a “waterfall”.
There were quite a few birds, including two antpitta sightings. Miguel speaks a little bit of English (hard
to understand) and is an amazing bird mimic.
He made sure we all saw each bird.
Four hours later we were back for lunch.
We dined al fresco, on the patio, just Miguel, Kathy, and us. Vincente served our four-course meal: cheese empanada (light and fluffy with thin
strips of green pepper), bean soup, fried tilapia (sweet and light, not like
any frozen stuff from Safeway!), fries
and steamed veggies, and pineapple. All
courses served with some garnish of flower, petal, or sweet herb. It was
lovely, mild and sunny. After
lunch Miguel drove us to the north side of Quito
for birding along an old dry sandy windy area called Jerusalem Dry Reserve. We went to Pululahua, an active volcano. As
recently as one hundred years ago it erupted.
There is an active agricultural area inside it. We quickly went through an Otavalo
market. Could have spent lots of money,
but did not buy a thing. (As it turned
out, we never had another chance to shop.)
Our dinner was again beautifully prepared, and delicious. We met a family from Sydney: Brad, Merrilyn,
and thirteen year old daughter, Genevieve.
Brad is a bat scientist, Merrilyn a science teacher. They are on a three month voyage of discovery
of South America. (We were to meet them again and again for the
next two weeks.) That evening I was
nauseous and headachy, maybe due to the altitude, even though I was taking my
meds for that. But, we had only slept a
few hours last night, and did a vigorous hike up to 11,000 feet that
morning. I took aspirin, ate sparingly,
and went right to bed after dinner which is served at 7:30PM. By the time we got back to the room it was after 9PM.
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| Miguel Hipo & Kathy King @ Pululahau |
10-03-14 Friday Yanacocha old Road/Nono/Tandayapa Road We slept much better. We enjoyed a wonderful
breakfast. There was an artfully
arranged fruit plate with flower petals, mashed grilled potato, eggs, and
blackberry juice/smoothie. We met our
new guide, Luis. We all loaded into the
van: Brad, Merrilyn
& Genevieve, Kathy, and us. Vincente
was our driver. Our gear was driven to
Tandayapa Lodge. We started with a two
mile road walk on the Yanacocha old Road, very nice and easy. We piled back in the van and drove on Nono, at Villa Doris for hummingbirds. We were welcomed into a beautiful home with lots
of gardens and many feeders. The owners
are a couple from Argentina. We were in
and out of the van from Nono on. We ate
our picnic lunch along the banks of the Rio Alambi. We each
had a huge bag of food , plus hot drinks served by Vincente. We walked for another two hours on the Nono/Tandayapa
road. As Luis was trying to locate the
Torrent Duck he actually slogged upstream through the rapids and at one point
was spread-eagle over four rocks. I wish
I had a picture! He is fearless, and can
hop up and down the trails and banks like a deer. The lodge at Tandayapa is beautiful, with so
many hummingbirds you don't know where to look first. Our rooms are very nice, lots of bamboo on
the walls, ceilings, furniture. The bathroom has marble floor and walls. Ron went to
the bird list countdown at the outdoor dining room, surrounded by all the
hummer feeders. I did some hand washing
and organizing of our gear. At dinner we
met the other guests, including a family from Illinois. The
daughter and son-in-law recognized Ron's Point beer cap and t-shirt. The server/manager/guide is Estalin, his wife
Pilar is the wonderful cook. Dinner, as usual, delicious and gorgeously
presented: eggplant appetizer ,tuna/rice
soup in a rich broth, rice, beef, and cabbage main course, and cake for
dessert.
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| Estalin |
10-04-14 Saturday San
Jorge de Tandayapa Hummingbird Sanctuary and Lower Tandayapa Valley (highland rainforest/cloud forest) Morning routine:
meet at the outdoor dining area, surrounded by hummer feeders and bird
feeders, for tea and coffee and energy bars.
We chatted, birded, and got our caffeine fix for about a half hour. Jorge Cruz (George), owner and guide for
today and tomorrow, came in at 6:45, and said "Let's walk around before
breakfast" (served at 8:30). So, Kathy, Ron, and I were
joined by three other older folks, staying at the lodge for a night or two
before heading off to the Galapagos. We
were led up and down muddy and wet trails with George in the lead carrying his
scope and tripod and camera. After about
two miles of tramping, at 8:45 we returned to the dining area.
Everyone else was waiting for us.
Breakfast always starts with a plate
of fruit and fresh juice. Today's plate
had kiwi, melon, and strawberries, and fresh
OJ. Next course was a cheese and onion
empanada. Next came the eggs, scrambles with peppers, onions, and cheese. Aji (ah HEE'), Ecuadorean hot sauce, is
always on the table. There are many ways to make this condiment,
each cook has his own variation. It is made with South American Aji` peppers, (cayenne
is a good substitute), most had sliced onions in it. We spooned aji on almost everything! After breakfast we said our goodbyes to Brad, Merrilyn, and daughter Genevieve. At 10:45 George, Kathy, Ron and I took off for a "short bird walk, we'll be
back at 11 or so". We started down
the road, all the way down to the entrance, at least a mile. I kept thinking of the hard walk all the way
back up. But we turned off the road,
eventually heading back to the lodge, via the 4 Corners Trail. Ron leant a" hand up", literally,
on the giant steps over logs and up the trail. It was quite humid, and we were
all soaked. Kept thinking, what will the
Amazon be like if it is this hot and humid in the cloud forest? We actually got back to the dining area at 1PM. Estalin met
us with a tray of fresh lemonade. We had
another delicious lunch: three half
slices of purple sweet potato in a butter sauce, then barley and potato
soup. The main course was fresh trout
from a local source, the ponds we passed by yesterday on the way in. There was a huge serving of lentils and
salad. For dessert, a warm half pear in
cinnamon syrup. After lunch Ron took his
camera and tripod back to the dining area for a few hours of photographing
birds. I walked around the lodge trails taking flower pictures. We
decided to skip the 3PM-6PM hike with George, we were exhausted from the morning. It turned a bit cool, and the morning sun
disappeared.
10-05-14 Sunday San Jorge de Milpe Orchid & Bird Reserve
(tropical rainforest)
6AM coffee and
birding on this our last day at Tandayapa lodge. It was sunny and hot, but
really pleasant. There are only six
people left at the lodge: Carl, the
photographer with the huge Nikon lens, who arrived yesterday afternoon, Carol
(loudmouth) and her husband Bill (funny man), and Kathy, Ron and me. George was supposed to be here for a 9AM departure but he was late. Ron spent the time with his camera while
Kathy and I followed Estalin up and down the trails looking for birds. All before breakfast. We had the fruit plate artfully arranged with
flower petals, and fresh strawberry juice, thick and delicious. Puffy mashed and browned potatoes and
scrambled eggs served, too. We left for
Milpe at 9:40 with George driving and Kathy up front. As soon as we arrived there we went on a road
walk, almost three hours. It was humid,
sunny, breezy, and the tiny gnats were chewing on us every time the wind let
up. George was calling out bird names so
fast I could barely keep up. I had torn
out a notebook page and was writing as fast as I could, and ended up filling
both side of the paper. We had twenty
bird species in one tree. The dining
lodge is just about our favorite spot on the trip so far. It is a three story open air bamboo structure
with 360 degrees viewing. For lunch we
started out with Pilsener, the local Ecuadorean beer, icy cold. Then in came Miguel with the Brad and
Merrilyn! It was fun to see them all
again. We had chicken for lunch, with
cooked green beans and carrots. We got
to know George, shared photos and stories.
We left our dirty laundry. After
lunch George took us on another walk, this time on a grassy trail. Kathy had complained to George about her
accommodations at Quito (no hot water, no one to greet us, lack of
communications). Before he left, he took
us aside and gave us a sales pitch for a return visit, bringing other guests with
us. We had repeatedly asked George to
sit down with us and go over the bird list for the day. It was a good thing I took notes, as he left
with Brad's family at 5PM without a
countdown for us. We enjoyed a quiet
dinner with Miguel and Kathy. First
course was a bowl of popcorn and soup, then salad, chicken, and poached
pears. We cancelled our night walk due
to fatigue and rain. But, Miguel and
Nelson (manager and his small daughter Caterina) spotted two different owls
seen fro the observation deck. That was
good enough for us!
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| Kathy & Ron @ Milpe |
10-06-14 Monday Milpe (Toucan and Falls Trails) As usual, 6AM for coffee and birding off the deck on the second
floor dining area. We spent at least two
hours birding, enjoying the gorgeous views and brilliantly colored birds. Since the floors were still wet from last
nights rains, we were allowed to keep our shoes on. No zapatas (shoes) allowed in any of the
rooms. We were literally running up and
down the stairs, from side to side, as sightings were called out. It was so much fun. Today's fruit plate had a graceful arch of
grass above the plate. The fruit looked
like a white kiwi, but much better. Eggs
and a kind of masa dough filled with chicken, peas, and onions. More birding after eating. Then Miguel led us on a hike on the Toucan
Trail. It was steamy and overcast. Not very birdy. We are now relaxing back on our veranda in
hammocks and relaxing for thirty minutes before lunch. OK, today's lunch menu: fresh warm dried banana chips, choco bean
ceviche, green banana/tuna soup (delicious!!), fries, beef, veggies, and
chocolate mousse with shaved coconut.
More afternoon photography. Met
up with Miguel at 3:30 for walk #2 on the Old Lodge Trail for the orange-billed sparrow and
rufous-fronted wood-quail. This involved
lots of up and down on muddy trails with wood log steps. We had time for showers and a half hour
relaxation before dinner. Carl, the
photographer from Tandayapa Lodge, showed up at dinner with his guide.
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| Kathy, Merrilyn, Miguel & Brad @ Milpe |
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| Toucan trail |
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| Milpe dining lodge & observatory |
10-07-14 Tuesday San Jorge/ Quito Rio Silanche (lowland tropical
rainforest) Miguel drove Kathy and us over to Rio Silanche for today's birding
expedition. It is billed as lowland
tropical forest. The heat and humidity
were both high. There were many gravel
trucks on this narrow unpaved road. Then
we came upon an active balsa wood logging operation. They did everything on site: felling, carrying by hand, no less!,
milling into specific board lengths and widths (4x4 posts, 1x6 boards),
stacking, chipping, and trucking the finished product out. No safety gear that we could see. Maybe the
tree fellers were wearing a hard hat, but that was about all we could see. High
school age guys, shirtless and glove-less, were working on the stacking
operation. Miguel told us about some
school holiday. We did see a gorgeous chestnut-mandible aracari. We returned to Milpe for lunch,
gathered our gear, and left for Quito around 3PM. We stopped in town to pick up Miguel's father
from the hospital. We met his whole
family including wife, Patricia. The two
sisters and his father crammed into the van with us for the ride. Poor Kathy, she was literally stuffed in a
tiny space. The sisters jabbered in
Spanish non-stop. Miguel was quite
animated. We turned off the main road
onto a winding, narrow, bumpy, muddy and unpaved road. The three of us had no idea where we were, or
where we might end up! Finally, arrived
back in Tandayapa where we dropped off sister #1. We drove through Quito, and recognized the road leading up to the
lodge. We were aware that part of the
road had been torn up due to sewer lines being replaced, and the road was now
totally impassable. Some cars tried to
navigate between the deep trench down the middle of the road and the muddy
ditch next to it. Pops and sister #2
decided to get out and walk. We backed
up to try another road and ended up picking up Elena. Miguel did a fabulous job of getting us up
the road despite her back-seat driving, spinning wheels, thick mud, and a steep
uphill climb. We finally arrived at the lodge after 6:30PM. We got our same room, #B, with
the rest of our luggage still in the same spot.
We took quick showers, repacked for tomorrow's trip to Baeza-Borja area.
At the dining room we met a new guest, David, a huge Aussie on the
"seniors trip with flat walking" (we laughed, and said good
luck!). There was also an older mom and
two grown daughters from Pennsylvania and Ohio. One girl
was going running on the lodge property, up to the falls. Remember, this is at 10000 feet, going up
another thousand. We declined a fire in our room.
10-08-14 Wednesday San Francisco de Borja (middle Amazon rainforest) It seemed like a short night. The late dinner hour, made even later by our delayed arrival, plus all the unpacking, sorting, repacking made for a long evening. Our bodies felt beat up from the car trip and the hot hikes. Kathy parted company with us to finish off the rest of her trip. She was a fun companion with so many good travel stories to share. With Vincente as our driver we headed back into Quito city to pick up Luis, our guide. We birded from the car and had some walking stops. We had an alfresco box lunch along Rio Guango. We did some photography at Guango lodge gazebo. We stopped along the river for the torrent duck, and a late afternoon endless march down a rocky road. We arrived at San Francisco de Borja, a small town, and our hotel, Hostal Alexandra, a private establishment not related to San Jorge lodges. Very quaint, spotless, nice beds and pillows, but only one towel each, no cup or any chairs. It was noisy, but not too bad. We ate at a restaurant in Baeza (BY' za). Some kind of tasty steak. Of course, Vincente ate every morsel on his plate!
10-09-14 Thursday Papallacta Pass We were ready at 4AM for today's excursion to Papallacta Pass and Cujuja, high barren plains and high Amazon rainforest. The defroster in the van was pitiful, and Vincente kept grabbing handfuls of napkins to dry off the windshield and windows. After two and a half hours we arrived at Laguna Papallacta, a stunning rectangular lake in an Andes valley. We walked through a muddy cow pasture down to the lake edge and saw gulls and shorebirds. Our next walk was down another rocky road. Excellent birding. Lots of local traffic, including buses. Our box breakfast was huge, a thick meat and cheese empanada, juice, choco milk, cookies, and banana. Vincente served hot drinks. Drove to Hollin Falls, a local tourist B&B, restaurant, trail system and butterfly garden. There were literally hundreds of butterflies in the parking lot. Luis was very excited about that. We spent over an hour there, photographing butterflies, birds, flowers, and the falls. Ate lunch at Paradero Restaurante . This was a planned rest stop for us because yesterday we asked for a break from the intensity. There was a covered overlook with no seats, so we sat on the hot concrete and gazed out over the forest. It was very pleasant. We then drove to Sendero Jumandy at the pass, but the fog never lifted enough for it to be productive birding. So we drove back to Borja. I raced through an icy cold shower while Ron went to investigate the cause of no hot water. We were told to move rooms to the complex across the road. Luis and Vincente helped us move, and got a kick out of me enduring
the cold shower. Our new room was a bit
nicer, in that there were a few rugs and a small table and plastic chair. We ate at Dona Cleo, a local family
restaurant. We had a delicious dinner of
roasted chicken and fried plantains with rice and veggies. Vincente could not help himself, he started
bussing our table. We had a good laugh
over that.
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| Papallacta Pass |
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| Cayambe Coca |
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| Hollin Falls |
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Luis & Vicente
|
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| Pink Actinote |
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| Cyan Emperor |
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| Superb Nnumberwing |
10-10-14 Friday San Jorge de Cosanga-Yanayuca Bird &
Wildlife Reserve (road to Las Caucheras & Guacamayos trails, Sumaco) Andean cloud
forest/highland Amazon tropical forest We took off at 6AM for our drive to Sumaco, beyond
Baeza. There are a lot of dairy farms
along here, and all the farmers are out milking and getting the stainless milk
jugs ready for pick up. The milk truck
is a small Toyota truck that came screaming down the road to load up
the full milk jugs. There was fog and
clouds clinging artistically to the hills and trees. Warm enough for short sleeves. We only walked for about an hour before
driving back to Baeza for breakfast at Andrea B&B. There were stunning views of his gardens with
lots of humming bird feeders. It was a
wonderful American-style meal that included large mugs of coffee, French toast,
bacon, scrambled eggs, fruit (a plate with a whole sliced banana, papaya
slices, strawberries drizzled with chocolate syrup). On to San Jorge de Cosanga-Yanayuca Cloud Forest Bird & Wildlife Reserve
where we hiked for a short while. There
were lot of butterflies on the trail but the birding was not very
prolific. Drove back to Quito lodge. We are
getting very familiar with the roads in Quito, recognizing lots of businesses and
intersections. The weather was cold,
dark, and rainy back up at 10000'. Met
up with Carl again, familiar faces all around!
Met another young couple from Florida in the dining room.
Spent some time catching up on emails and face book. After getting our clean laundry from Rosa we decided to have one last load done before we head off to the
Amazon. It was cold in our room, we
asked for a fire. Ron decided to take an
altitude pill.
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| Sumaco |
10-11-14 Saturday After
breakfast we left for Antisana with Luis, Vincente, and Carl. It was cold and still raining. The main street in Pifo were lined with Quechan caballeros on horseback, all coming
down from the mountain communities. The horsemen and women and children were
garbed traditional clothing: colorful striped woolen ponchos, woolly lama
(or alpaca?) chaps, Andean or cowboy hats.
Our first stop was at Tambor Condor Restaurant, a gorgeous wood open air
building. There was a scope in the
dining room trained on the Andean condor across the valley on the cliffs. It
was sitting with wings spread out, one of three birds we saw. The Andean condor has the world's largest
wing span. They are beautiful black and
white birds, magnificent in their bearing and sheer size. Then, with one swivel of the head, looking
right outside the window, was the world's largest hummingbird, the giant
hummingbird. Wow!! With a few other stops along the road, we
arrived at Antisana National Park. Luis said he was up there a few
days ago and the sky was blue and clear,
with astounding views of the surrounding mountains, craters, and volcanoes. Today it was raining, windy, and foggy. The walk across the cushion grass was
bizarre, like walking on top of a foam mattress. However, there were masses of
wildflowers. We did see most of the
target birds even with the less than perfect weather. We were all bundled up, with only our eyes
visible! The walk to La Mica was cold
and miserable, very windy. We ate our
lunch, quickly, standing next to a cement building. Vincente made me some coffee. I kidded him
that he could be a barista at Starbucks. As we drove through Quito, we dropped Luis at his home. We arrived back at Quito lodge around 5:50PM. Met Linda from Colorado. She was
older, on her own, easy to talk to, and she was a s-l-o-w talker. I shared a packet of Starbucks instant coffee
with her. Just us, Linda, and Carl for
dinner. Fernando made a fire in our
room, and it felt wonderful.
10-12-14 Sunday Casa Joaquin Quito Chatted with Linda and Carl before breakfast. shared
some more Starbucks. We were packed up and ready to go after
eating. Gave Rosa and Vincente their tips and paid up our laundry and drinks tab.
Ron spent time photographing around the patio. Fernando drove us back to Quito, Casa Joaquin, and got lost. Some streets were blocked off to traffic
because it was a Sunday, and open only to bicycle traffic, so that did make it
difficult to navigate. Finally some
streets looked familiar and we directed him to our hotel. We only had to walk a block due to the road
closure. Even thought it was only 11AM we got in our room immediately. We were greeted warmly by Vinizio. I ran across the street to drop off our
laundry, which would be ready this afternoon.
Next, we repacked our duffels for the Amazon. Ron went across the street to the corner
store and bought us sandwiches and Pilsener for our rooftop picnic. Late afternoon we waited out a downpour which included
thunder and lightening. Then we walked
to The Magic Bean Coffeehouse for dinner.
He really enjoyed the cold Coke.
Our clean and beautifully folded laundry was delivered while we were out
eating.
10-13-14 Monday Coca/Napo River/Sacha Lodge Ron accidentally went into the wrong room at Casa! We were on 2nd floor, but he went into same room on 3rd floor. The door wasn't locked, and Ron walked in on a huge sleeping snoring Chinese man who never woke up. We laughed about that! Jose Pruna, our friendly taxi driver, arrived early while we were still eating breakfast. We ran into Brad and Merrilyn at the airport. They were also headed to Coca, but staying at another Amazon lodge. We kept waiting for the Sacha Lodge rep to appear, and finally found her around the corner at baggage check-in. We got our packets and were put on a bus which drove up to our Avianca Airlines plane. The flight was only thirty minutes long. Coca is an old dirty town of about 20000 people. It was very hot. We claimed our bags which were loaded onto a pickup truck, and would be waiting for us in our room at Sacha. We walked down the street to Sacha Lodge office. We were served cold drinks, fruit and snacks. We also each received a small knapsack with a Sacha Lodge washcloth and water bottle. After about 45 minutes rest we each picked up a life jacket and walked to the dock. The "canoe" was a long narrow covered motorized boat. About 25 of us climbed aboard and headed down the Napo River. It was quite enjoyable, the boat went fast enough to keep us cool. The river is huge, the major "freeway" up and down the region. Many people had their Go-Pros out and hanging over the side of the boat. After about one hour we disembarked at a park for lunch. We met our personal bird guide, Oscar Tapuy. Ron recognized his name from several articles and guide books. Since we were the only birders in the group it would be us and Oscar for the remainder of the trip. We walked around the park birding and photographing butterflies. The rest of the group had to do the museum and cultural talk. Ha ha, we got out of that! Another thirty minutes in the canoe brought us to Sacha Lodge property. We then walked a mile on a raised wooden walkway to Pilchicocha Lake. We got in canoes again and were paddled across the beautiful lake to the welcome lodge, an open air restaurant. We were served cold lime drinks and a plate of appetizers. Then we were taken to our rooms, walking over more raised wooden walkways. Oscar gave us 45 minutes to settle in and then met us back at the dock. There we met Ernesto, the Quechan guide, who paddled in the back, and Oscar paddles up front. We each had a seat in the middle. This was the seating arrangement for the rest of the week. Late tic, the breeze was cool, and it felt
heavenly. When we got back to the dock
everyone else was jealously watching us!
We were the only ones out on the lake.
Forgot to bring the camera, darn!
When we got back to the room we showered and unpacked quickly. Then back to the upper level of dining building for beer and countdown with
Oscar. He is very formal, not real
friendly, but the countdown was exactly what Ron missed at San Jorge. Dinner, as are all meals here, is served
buffet style with too many choices! We
had a table reserved for just the three of us.
We really wanted to mingle and meet the other people. But each group eats with their own guide for
all meals, every day.
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| boardwalk into Sacha |
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| BBQ house @ Sacha |
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| sunset on Pilchicocha Lake |
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| hoatzin |
10-14-14 Tuesday Sacha lodge Canopy Tower We had a good night's sleep, the fan helped. We met Oscar for breakfast at 5AM. Buffet
included three kinds of juice, multiple cut up fruit choices, eggs, potato balls, pancakes, bacon, sausage,
omelets made to order, and cake. We were
on the trail by 5:45AM with Oscar
and Ernesto. We wore rubber boots. Not knowing exactly what to expect in the
matter of critters we tucked our pants into our socks and wore long
sleeves. We trekked to the canopy
towers, 120 feet up in the air. Once up
there we spent time on the platform, then moved along the suspension
bridge. It was kind of freaky! It was a whole new world up there, looking
down on to the tree tops. It was
mesmerizing. We birded from the platform
for at least one and a half hours. It
started out foggy, but as soon as it cleared and the sun came out, it got very
warm. At one point Oscar instructed
Ernesto to climb up on the bridge supports and string up the rain ponchos as a
kind of awning to protect us from the sun.
Overkill! The other groups started to appear on the first tower so we
knew our time was over for uninterrupted birding. It was a long climb back down the tower and
our legs felt like noodles once we were back on solid ground. Oscar pointed out night monkeys peeking out
of their tree hole, a crested owl pair, channel-billed and white-throated
toucan, chestnut-eared,
many-banded, and ivory-billed aracari,
greater yellow-headed vulture,
nine species of tanagers, and purple honeycreeper.
The trail was very muddy in places and we were glad to be wearing their
rubber boots. We met the other groups at
various points as we wound around the trail system. By now the temperature was around 80-85 and
quite humid. After all, we are in the Amazon Basin! We all lined up at the outdoor foot washing
station and got our boots hosed off. We
got back to our room at 10:15AM. I immediately took a cool
shower! After we caught our breath we
walked out to the BBQ house, the building on the lake where we were welcomed
yesterday. We were served snacks: small sandwiches, cake, fruit, juice and
coffee. Relaxed for a time while Ron
photographed. Lunch was served at 1PM. We had the
afternoon free, and we relaxed in the hammocks on our deck. There was a hard and fast downpour, then the
sun came right back out. At 4PM we met
Ernesto and Oscar at the dock for a canoe trip around the lake and up one of
the canals. The weather was perfect.
This time had the camera out and ready and took some beautiful sunset
shots. Our butts were plenty sore from
the low wooden benches in the canoe, so we were glad to return to the dock
after about ninety minutes. We got a
twenty-five minute break before Oscar
took us on another hike to see an owl.
We quickly changed into long pants and sleeves as instructed. We walked a few hundred yards down the
boardwalk, but did not locate the owl.
We met up again at 7PM for beer
and countdown with Oscar in the bar. It
was kind of odd being segregated from the others like that just because we were
the only birders.
10-15-14 Wednesday Sacha
Lodge
Kapok Tree In the canoe, across Pilchicocha Lake, down the
channel, hike up the trail, then climb up the Kapok Tree Tower. We spent at
least three hours up in the tree. It was an amazing experience, being literally
in this huge tree with wooden stairs and platforms built up and around it. It was
exciting at first, looking down and seeing all the birds, watching the fog and
clouds gradually clear, hearing first then seeing red howler monkeys in the
distance. But going into the third hour
the teeny biting gnats (I should have
been wearing a hat!) and full bladders (that dang second cup of coffee!) began to take precedence over the wonder.
Plus Oscar's constant "Look look look! Come! In the scope, in the scope!" for every single bird. I know, that is what we paid for. We kept exchanging secret grinning
glances. It was hot and humid when we
finally got back on the ground. Four
hours after we started we were back on the dock. At 11AM we met in the BBQ house for snacks (rolls, tomatoes, deli meat,
watermelon and papaya, and cake). This
feast was set out for just us as the rest of the group traveled to the parrot
clay lick down the river. We had the
place to ourselves for the rest of the morning.
After lunch we went into the mariposario,
the butterfly house. We were told to shower before going in. It was beautiful, and the butterflies were
landing all over our legs, arms, neck, back.
We photographed for over an hour.
It got too hot and humid and we had to escape outside! We met up with Oscar and Ernesto at 3:45PM for another canoe ride, or so we thought. We were told to bring our lights, I don't
know why. After paddling across the lake to the other boat house Oscar led us
on a walk to the Napo River. We had sweat so much in the mariposario, drank copious amounts of water, therefore had to pee
the entire two hours we were out! It was
a little over a mile each way. We did
see some stunning birds. A new group of
people arrived, passing us in clumps on the narrow boardwalk. The lodge workers, including guys we
recognized as chefs and servers, ran up and down the walkway hauling large
wheeled carts containing luggage, food, supplies. These guys are amazing! When we got back to the BBQ house it was
totally filled with people. Yesterday
Ron got bit by a flying bee/beetle insect.
It felt like a bee sting but appears to be OK today.
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| Kapok Tower Tree |
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Helenor Blue Morpho
|
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| Acontius Banner (Catonephele acontius) |
10-16-14 Thursday Yasuni National Park parrot clay lick We started
our day at 4:30, and after
breakfast we hiked out to the river for our canoe ride down the Napo River to the parrot
clay lick. When we got there Ernesto cut
the engine and kept us in place out in the river to view the clay bank. It was teeming with parrots, literally
licking the clay. There were four
species of parrots, about one hundred birds.
We then motored down the river, and got out to bird on a few sand bars
for short birding walks. We snacked on apples and a sandwich on the river. We had a lovely walk back to the lodge,
arriving around 11AM, then relaxed
for a two hour siesta. At 4PM we met for another canoe ride across the lake and
down the other channel. Ron casually mentioned a desire to see a sun grebe, and
minutes later caught a very brief glimpse of it. It started to pour and Ernesto handed out
ponchos. Ron refused to wear his,
thinking it would let up right away.
Instead, he got soaked clear through to the skin and we spent the rest
of the evening drying out his gear! That
evening we had our final countdown with Oscar up in the bar, and we handed him
his tip. Our relationship with Oscar
has always been kind of formal. He has
always been all business, very little humor or hint of his own
personality. Lots of "Thank you
very much", "Look! Now! In the scope!". It has been a wonderful experience but we are
glad to be heading home tomorrow.
10-17-14 Friday Our last meal at Sacha Lodge, breakfast at 5:30. We had our
luggage outside our door before breakfast, and it was collected and loaded on
the wheeled carts. All the food, drinks,
luggage, laundry, supplies, garbage are loaded onto the canoes and paddled
across the lake. Then loaded onto
wheeled carts, and pushed/pulled by hand
along the 1.1 mile boardwalk. Once on the
banks of the Napo River the
gear is
loaded onto motorized
canoes. No wonder everyone is in such
great shape! Our own walk was at a much
more leisurely pace. A woman from our
group, a large Scottish gal, took a horrendous spill just as she reached the
last portion of the wooden boardwalk.
The mahogany wood was generally slippery, but the two middle boards were
covered with mesh for traction. Her
rubber boots slipped out from under her, she executed a perfect
180 degree splits. I can still
hear her painful cry, and see her splayed out on the slimy boardwalk. Our canoe ride back to Coca lasted two
hours. There were some big waves that
splashed. The Spanish woman seated
behind us got a full mouthful of brown Napo River! She
actually got soaked, Ron thought that was hilarious. Once again, we were fed some snacks back at
the Sacha office in Coca before being bused to the airport. It was hot and steamy and very crowded inside
the terminal. Ron had to go back to
check-in because his duffel had a hole in it.
It was a good thing one of the guides, Christian, was still with us as he translated for Ron
and explained that the airline just wanted to verify that bag was already
damaged. We met Brad, Merrilyn, and
Genevieve once again! They had stayed at
a different lodge, and we compared our Amazon experiences for a while.
We did enjoy our time with them, they were so friendly and genuinely
enthusiastic. The flight back to Quito was very quick and smooth, with wonderful views of Cotopaxi, the gorgeous snow-capped volcano rising through the clouds and
above. Jose, our friendly taxi
driver, was waiting for us as we walked
through the terminal. What a character
he is! He told us all about living in London , where he learned to speak English so well. During
his seven years there he worked his way up
through an Italian restaurant, from bussing tables to
pizza chef to dessert chef. He actually
invited us to stay in his home on our next visit to Quito! He also
gave us tour options and suggestions, using him as a hired car and driver. Dropped us off at Casa Joaquin and we were
greeted by Vinicio. It felt like coming
home for this, our fourth and final stay,
We walked to Magic Bean, another familiar place, for lunch.
We returned to Casa Joaquin for showers, packing, and a nap. Unfortunately, it was cool and raining, so we did not spend any
time up on the roof terrace. Jose
returned at 9PM for our
final trip with him to the airport for our midnight flight out. The lines were long
and slow. Our seats were in the last
row, and of course the people in the row ahead of us had to completely recline
their seats. We were served a lasagna
dinner at 2AM. We slept
very little.
10-18-14 Saturday We landed in Miami around 5AM. Customs was very low-key. We had to have our boots sprayed since we had
walked in farm/pasture land. I joked
that at least I would have clean boots when I got home. We
found a quiet place to spend the next seven hours. We ate croissant sandwiches for
breakfast. We flew to Washington DC-Reagan Airport and after a
two and a half hour layover were on our way to Portland. We stayed
at the Ramada in Portland, and there was a gigantic Quincinera party in full
swing. After a shower, we slept through
the night. We were on the road to Glide
at 10AM
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