ECUADOR & GALAPAGOS PART 1

This was an easy trip choice since we both wanted to see the Galapagos. We booked a tour with G Adventures and I was glad we did. The logistics would have been a nightmare to do ourselves.

Interesting facts about Ecuador.

  • It is home to 5 UNESCO World Heritage Sites
    • Galapagos Islands and Quito were two of the first 12 in the inaugural class of 1978 that included Mesa Verde & Yellowstone
  • It is the country closest to outer space (Mount Chimborazo)
  • Currency is the USD
  • Ecuador has only 2 seasons: winter & summer
  • The Panama hat is made in Ecuador
  • Ecuador is the world’s largest exporter of bananas
  • Chocolate has a long history in Ecuador
  • Ecuador is the orchid capital of the world
  • Ecuador has more birds per square mile than anywhere in the world (1632 confirmed species).
  • Ecuador is roughly the size of Colorado and has a population of 18,305,355
  • Ecuador is 97% Catholic

I checked our 2 favorite airlines (United & Delta) and Delta was the best choice since there was just one layover and price was lower. We were scheduled to land at 8:30 PM so I decided to book a hotel by the airport. This turned out to be a good choice since our plane left an hour late. We stayed at the Wyndham hotel that was designed to resemble the wing of an Andean Condor (I hope to see one).

MINDO BIRD TOUR

We left a day early for our trip just in case there was an airline issue which seems to be the norm these days. Leann looked for a bird tour to fill our first day (shocker) and found Mindo Bird Tours.

http://216.104.175.113/index.html

Our guide was Milton. He picked us up at the Wyndham did a full day tour and then took us to our hotel in Quito. I am a fan of James Fennimore Cooper and as we looked for birds I just wanted to call Milton, Hawkeye. I could not believe how quickly he saw birds and then identified them. He was amazing and Leann was in heaven.

Our first national park in Ecuador, only 10 more to see.

We saw a bear on a bird tour!

We saw a Spectacled Bear cross the road and Leann was able to get a picture.
I pulled this off the net so you can get a better view of the bear.
Cotopaxi Volcano, 19,347 feet. We could have gone here but thought going from Ohio to this high might be a bit much for our first day,
Antisana volcano, 18,875 feet
Video was taken from the continental divide, water flows west to the Pacific or East to the Amazon.
Leann in the Andes
Closer view of Antisana
Rufous Bellied Seed Snipe
Our tour included lunch at this restuarant.
I asked Milton for suggestions and he said “get the trout”, it was awesome
We stopped here after lunch and saw more species and numbers of Hummingbirds than we have in our lifetime
Mountain Toucan

Leann added 39 new birds to her life list and we have another day with Milton when we get back from the islands.

We were both tired and decided to just eat at the hotel, it was pretty good.

QUITO CITY TOUR

G Adventures offered an optional day tour of Quito and we decided to go.

The first stop was old town

Basilica del Voto Nacional, construction started in 1887 and was completed by 1909. This is the largest Gothic cathedral in South America.
We visited on a Sunday and the guide took us inside during mass. I did not feel comfortable crashing their ceremony.
Old town with the Virgin on the hill in the background
National Independence Monument which represents Ecuador’s 10 year struggle for independence from Spain. Ecuador became a sovereign state on May 13, 1830.
Santo Domingo Church, construction began in the 16th century
Chocolate is an Ecuadorian passion. We did a chocolate tasting at Yumbos. They started with pure cocoa and went through many options. I had the best brownie of my life during our visit.
Yumbos courtyard
Santo Domingo Plaza from Yumbos balcony
The other end of the plaza
Virgin of Quito located on the top of the El Panecillo hill. The statue was designed and built by Spanish sculptor Agustín de la Herrán Matorras, talk about irony. The statue is made from 7,400 pieces of aluminum that were built and numbered in Spain. It was then shipped to Quito and assembled, talk about a jigsaw puzzle.
Quito is located in a valley between the eastern and western Andes. This results in a long (50 km) and narrow (5 km) city.
We left the city and visited Pululahua Crater.
People live in the crater and either walk or ride a horse to leave.

We are tourists and we had to visit the equator.

Lama
Tourist picture straddling the equator
One foot in each hemisphere
We visited the equator museum and they showed various experiments, this is egg balancing
Success
Leann had to try, no luck.
It is more difficult to keep your balance on the equator, there are conflicting gravitational forces that full both North and South.

STRENGTH TEST

This one was really weird. Two tests, first round was 3 feet from the equator.

#1: I put my index finger and thumb together and Leann tried to separate them but couldn’t.

#2: I put my hands together in front of me and raised my arms 45 degrees. Leann tried to pull them down but couldn’t.

We went to the equator and she could easily overpower me. I hate the equator!

Next stop Galapagos Islands

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