May 30, 2019 Today started with a wonderful breakfast at the hotel made from local fruits and ingredients. We rushed our breakfast a little since our tour operator was picking us up at the hotel only a few minutes after breakfast was served. After a short drive around town, we had all of the participants…
Month: June 2019
Day 06 – The Wall of Tears and The Tintoreras
May 31, 2019 Today was our last day on Isabela Island and we decided we wanted to hike part of the trip called the Wall of Tears. Ecuador at one point in the past used Isabela Island as a penal colony and used the inmates to build their own jail. This that could work were…
Day 07 – Isabela Island to Santa Cruz Island and Tortuga Bay
June 1, 2019 We started the day at 5:30am with a ride to the dock and a frustrating experience as they had no record of our reservation even though we had prepaid for the tickets. After some time Kevin was able to secure our passage (most likely by them illegally putting too many of us…
Day 08 – Santa Cruz to Quito
June 2, 2019 Today was just a travel day consisting of getting to the airport, getting on the plane and getting to the hotel. We have had terrible luck getting a rental car. First, we tried to rent from Hertz but one week before the trip the reservation would not show up online so Kevin…
Day 09 – Quito to Chilcabamba: Horseback riding and the Cotopaxi Volcano
June 3, 2019 Our day started in Quito with the intent to get on the road as early as possible. Our destination for the day was the Chilcabamba lodge high in the Andes mountains. Kevin choose a road that was beautiful but rustic. The road was very old and was cobblestone and dirt most of…
Day 10 – Chilcabamba to the Amazon
June 4, 2019 Today was the longest driving day of the entire trip. Driving in Ecuador is not difficult it is just a little hard on the nerves. The roads so far have been great, but no one drives the speed limit, either too fast or too slow. If you are going to slow they…
Day 11 – The Amazon to the high Andes: Canoes, Jungle Trails, and Hot Springs
June 5, 2019 We tried to sleep in but there were two roosters that had other ideas, and at 5:30am they started a crowing contest. We slept well in our open air huts in the middle of the Amazon jungle. The temperature was pleasant and the humidity tolerable. The only issue was in the middle…
Day 12 – The High Andes to the Middle of the World to the Western Cloud Forest.
June 6, 2019 Our day started in the resort of Termas de Papallacta were despite being a fancy resort we had the worst breakfast of the trip. We decided to try to get two or three excursions done in the day. We decided on the middle of the world, orchids or butterflies, and zip line…
Day 13 – Birds, Birds, Canopy and More Birds
June 7, 2019 Today was all about the birds. We decided to hire a bird guide to see some of the 600+ birds that inhabit the Mindo area. To do this we got up before 5 am so we could meet our guide at 5:30 am. From the center of town, we drove about 30…
Day 14 – The Cloud Forest to the Largest Indigenous Market in South America
June 8, 2019 No pictures today. Today was a long day of driving thanks to a bus accident outside of Quito. We left the cloud forest of Mindo and headed to Otavalo. Otovalo has the largest Indigenous market place in South America and on Saturday the streets are packed. We walked the streets looking at…