Ecuador 2024

I woke to see a message from Joe saying that there was a worldwide issue with some Windows update that may potentially affect flights.  Ali suggested we move breakfast forward to 8.30am to give me more time in case there were any issues, which was thoughtful of her. During breakfast, Rhona threatened to come to the airport with me to see if she could upgrade her flight to Business Class, she could only get Premium Economy when she booked.  Thankfully she has changed her mind.  Ali told her to ask for priority tags on her luggage so she gets it quicker.  The entitlement is strong with this bunch. Ali was complaining about being in row 1, which is a wasted opportunity as she doesn't plan on having the meal, and row 1 gives you first choice of the meal. Some of the time they get to the back of Business Class, they don't have your choice of meal left.  The hardship makes my heart bleed.   LATAM who I am flying with said on their website that they are unaff...

Our earliest wakeup yet, 4am for 5am departure. This morning we were hoping to see the local variant of Cock of the Rock, this one is red rather than orange.  We arrived at the wrong entrance at about 6am after yet another long narrow windy goat track full of potholes.  After about 15 minutes, someone turned up on a motorbike and lead us to the correct entrance about another km further up the long windy goat track.  So we almost missed them, as they come and "compete" for the attentions of the females, and once they are done squawking and preening, they all fly off to have breakfast. There were plenty there that made a raucous noise, but were mostly hidden in the back behind lots of leaves and twigs, making it almost impossible to focus on the suckers. Back on the bus again for another location within the same property, this time to see the Antpitta. By now I was hungry, and keen for the loo, and the 1st location the bird did not show for ages. I gave up and went back to ...

 This morning we headed off early to another bird watching place, this time for more toucans. The road was barely a car width wide, a dirt track essentially and who knows what we'd have done if we'd met someone coming the other way. Paulo clowning around Bird photography generally is hours of boredom with brief flurries of activity as the waited for bird arrives, and there is panic to get camera settings and focus points right to capture the prize.  We had one toucan after maybe an hour's wait, and then after another long gap, four within a short space of time. While waiting, we photographed humming birds, ate our packed breakfast, and petted the owners dog who was mooching for snacks.   Anything you want to share? There was also a reflection pool, with dragonflies buzzing around, but those suckers are even harder to snap that humming birds, there is nothing to focus on!  Reflection pool The bird reflections would have been good, except that the food used to lur...

Another 6am start this morning.  I overheard Carole saying "my friend said 'ave a nice 'oliday, I said it isn't an 'oliday, it's photography boot camp." She isn't wrong.  I'm taking advantage of a 45 minute break before lunch to try and get ahead on the blog.  I'm doing it all on my phone, it's much simpler to upload photos this way, but it is a bit slower. This morning we headed to another bird watching place, in the hope of seeing a toucan and a few other elusive birds.  It was fairly quiet initially bird-wise but we were lucky enough to see a toucan, a Motmot, a male and female barbet (they are very different colours) as well as two Tayra and and a family of Agouti. The light was lovely, and despite Jeremy moaning about the contrast, I thought it was a lovely spot for photos. The agouti is a rodent about the size of a cat. I didn't get the chance to snap the Tayra on my phone, they are quite lovely looking mammals.  About the size of...

 The floodlights did not turn off as expected and so after forcing my tired self to stay awake until 11.30, it was a bust.  Up at 5.30am for sunrise, and this time, the mountain was totally clear of cloud.  This was quite the sight, but we didn't get the same colours as the previous day.  It was very cold, zero degrees, with a biting wind. Cotopaxi clear of cloud We had breakfast at 7.30am, and loaded up the bus and left by 9am.  We drove down into the valley, pretty much back the way we had come, through lush green farms, people working in the fields, small herds of about 20-30 cows milked by hand.  Traffic jam The roads went from terrible unpaved potholes to eventually smooth tarmac as we got close to Quito.  Back to sealed un-pot-holed highways We were all amused by the power lines and don't envy the electricians that have to figure out this mess. We stopped for petrol and a toilet break, the bus is left idling while refueling despite signs requesti...

 Another early start this morning as we had planned to catch the sunrise on the mountain, which we can see from the lodge. The forecast had been iffy, rain forecast, so the plan was to meet at 5.30am and travel to the lagoon IF the weather was favorable.  At 10 past 5 the mountain was covered with cloud, so plan B was enacted which meant meeting at 6.30am, which meant I'd dragged myself up to shower at get ready by 5.30 for no good reason.  Then at 10 to 6 Jeremy messaged to say the mountain was clear.  So we all piled out to the car park to photograph the sunrise over Cotopaxi.  It was very colorful and worth the effort. Cotopaxi sunrise There was a couple at the lodge the night before who were planning to climb it. We caught up with them again today.  They were driven up the mountain late at night to the refuge to prepare for the climb and set off about 1am.  They summitted at around 7am so had a nice clear view from the top.  It toom them 6 hou...

 It rained all night and was still raining this morning, so even though I set my alarm for 5.30am, I didn't bother to go looking for birds. We had breakfast at 7am and loaded up the bus to head for our next destination. The bus wheels were spinning trying to get up the steep driveway onto the road from the lodge, and the driver had to make a few attempts with a bit of a run up.   We headed back towards Quito, up over the pass at 4600 metres, and then skirted around the edges, passing roadside stalls selling pretty much anything you could eat or drink. Roadside stall We turned left at a place called Tambillo, to head into Cotopaxi National Park.  Cotopaxi is a conical shaped volcano that is still active, though not currently. Here we are hoping for some landscape photography, as well as a few rare birds.  We stopped for lunch at a hotel just outside the park boundary, and had quinoa soup, followed by steak and chips. Steak and chips for lunch Here's some pix of t...

This morning we met at 6am for a short walk to a nearby bird hide, where there is a sheet set up with a light to attract moths, which in turn attract the birds, which in turn attracts crazy bird photographers. Moth buffet It was a bit of a bust, there were not many moths, as it had rained all night.  A couple of blue jays showed up, and some wood creepers, but that's about all. Breakfast was at 7.30am, a nice spread of fruit salad, with a buffet of cereals and toast.  Then they brought out scrambled egg, and some tortillas with ham, cheese and basil, folded into quarter and toasted.  Delicious.  The next activity for the day was to see a mountain toucan.  This was just a short walk from the lodge, up a very muddy and steep climb, which then flattened out when we eventually came to the hide.  They feed the toucans to attract them, some nice big juicy fat grapes were tied to a tall pole with a perch on top. This is what we saw for about 2 1/2 hours. Mountain ...

This is Sumaco Volcano, which gives the region it's name. It last erupted in the late 1800's. A bit like Mt Taranaki, it is rarely seen due to cloud. Taken from the bus from the side of the road as we left. Breakfast was a respectable 7am this morning, fried eggs, chopped sausage fried with celery and an empanada that was flavoured with banana and soft white cheese.  They are meant to be really puffy with not much filling, but of course the whingers amongst the group complained that it wasn't filled properly.  Sigh. Full of air, but delicious I managed to dribble some of the filling on my clean, newly purchased t-shirt from Sumaco Lodge. This view, also from the bus, looks towards the east and our guide says that from here to the Atlantic are the Amazon lowlands, with no significant elevation between here and the coast.  That makes it the largest expanse of rainforest in the world and it is so big it has it's own microclimate. Pretty much flat, alllll the way to the Atl...