From the notes on my trip to Ecuador

May 7-30, 1997

WEDNESDAY 5/7 Plane started to leave San Francisco at 7 AM but had to taxi back to starting point where it took two hours to replace a battery. Meanwhile we sat on board in the stuffy plane and waited. Thank goodness for a book to read. We arrived at Miami at 4:30 with just barely enough time to get our luggage and run up to Saeta to check in for the flight to Quito. Just as we arrived there the computer broke down and they cannot check us in without the computer. At the last minute they hand tagged our luggage and walked us in to choose from the remaining seats. But it all worked out and we arrived safely in Quito at 11:00 PM (14 hours after first boarding the plane in San Francisco). We were met at the airport by Katty (our Quito guide) and Juan (our driver). They took us to our hotel, an old Spanish hacienda, that had been converted by Germans into a hotel. The rooms were all given German city names. The rooms were old world and very comfortable. Over the next 23 days we stayed there about 8 nights in three different rooms and enjoyed our stay there very much. Almost no one spoke English and our Spanish was only minimal but they were very accommodating. They did our laundry and kept a suitcase in storage each time we left. We ate breakfast each day at the hotel.

THURSDAY 5/8 We met Helen and Elmer at breakfast; they had come in on an earlier flight the day before. Katty and Juan came for us and took us on a half day tour of the city. The old city dates from 1534 and has been designated a World Heritage Site. The owners of the buildings are required to maintain and restore the buildings, if they don’t the government will buy the buildings and do it themself. The Spanish influence is obvious and so is the Inca influence. The old buildings have stone on the bottom and then the stucco on top of it is painted white to indicate the Spanish dominance over the Incas. The interior of the churches rival any of those in Europe and many have lots of gold leaf covering them. There is a lot of wood carving and since the Incas were not allowed to sign their art work they instead made the faces after their own images so there are many different Inca faces in the art work. The wood carving is beautiful but as a result many of the surrounding mountains were stripped bare of all trees. We went up to the top of Panecilla Hill where we were very lucky to be able to see all the surrounding city and mountain tops in the clear. Mt. Chimborazo is the highest peak at 20,574 feet. Cotapaxi at 19000 feet is the highest active volcano in the world. Quito itself at 9000 feet is in a valley that is formed by the two spines of the Andes. Quito is built at the base of Pichincha, and they await the next eruption in the same way San Franciscans await the next earthquake. Quito is a very modern city and reminded us much of San Francisco with its combination of old and new. Also it is built on several hills. The economy of Ecuador is varied with oil its major export followed by roses and bananas. They also export shrimp, eucalyptus logs, and coffee. Tourism is also a major industry. Quito is the capital and Guayaquil is the largest city. It has a major port. From one hill we could see the acres of green houses for growing roses. After our city tour we went to a deli for lunch and to the well know bookstore El Libra Mundi. We enjoyed spending time in there, it is much like Kepler's in Menlo Park with a big variety of books and a relaxing atmosphere in which to examine them. That night we went to a restaurant that Katty had recommended as the best fish restaurant in Quito. It was excellent costing us about $12 each including wine. (The wine in Ecuador is not very good so most of the time I drank beer - Pilsener was the best.)

FRIDAY 5/9 Katty picked us up early and we left Quito for the Galapagos. Leaving Quito in a plane is quite an experience as we can see mountains nearby out of both sides of the plane and the plane must gain altitude in a hurry in order to clear the surrounding mountains. Saeta has never had an accident. We had to circle Guayaquil for an hour as there had been a gasoline leak on the runway and they had to foam it down. We had good looks from the plane of the Guayas river and the surrounding countryside. They grow a lot of rice in that area - we were in fact served a lot of rice while in Ecuador. Finally we landed and picked up the rest of the Galapagos passengers and a few people got off. Many people commute between Quito and Guayaquil - most work in Guayaquil and live in Quito so Fridays and Mondays are busy times. We finally arrived at San Cristobal where we were met by the guides of our ship; the Eric. They took care of our luggage and drove us through the town, a rather attractive small town. We walked to a few point while they took our luggage on board. Then we were motored to our ship where we were greeted by the whole crew with a welcome drink and snack. After unpacking in our very pleasant cabin we had an elegant welcome dinner. The Eric was built about 1990 and has space for about 20 or 22 passengers. The ship is 83 feet by 24 feet. This trip had 14 of us, 3 couples from the Boston area (Carol & Scott,Evelyn & Don, Phil & Judy), 1 Southern couple (Shirley & Stanley), a lady from Chicago (Zena), a doctor from Denver (Jeremy), plus us four; Helen and Elmer, Nancy and me. The staff was 8, the captain(Ivan), engineer, cook(Arturo), assistant cook, bar tender(Hugo), cabin "boy"(Robert), and two guides Yvonne and Graciela. Of course many did extra duty with things such as driving the pangas(Carlos) and so forth. Shortly after dinner the boat set sail heading for Tower Island.

SATURDAY 5/10 We are awakened each morning at 7:00 via the intercom in our cabin. Our cabin has two lower berths, a small closet to hang clothes, drawers under our bed for clothes and a high shelf to store suitcases. We have a large window to view the outside and we also have air conditioning. The bathroom is very adequate and we are able to enjoy comfortable showers. The place is cleaned twice a day. Breakfast consists of cereal and yogurt, eggs, toast, pancakes and so forth - more than we need. It is served in a comfortable dinning room with linen and china. This morning we landed at Darwin Bay - the first of many wet landings. We walked around looking at the various birds especially the great frigate birds and the red-footed boobies - those feet are really something- and then we went snorkeling. I loved it - the fish are beautiful and abundant - it is like swimming in an aquarium. We went back to the ship for a big lunch and a siesta during the hottest part of the day. Then we went to Prince Phillips Steps where we hiked across the lava and saw more nesting boobies and great frigate birds and lots of storm-petrels.

SUNDAY 5/11 Fernandina Island (Pt. Espinoza) We walked along the shores and saw marine iguanas, sea lions, and boobies. Then we went snorkeling from the panga. It was an awesome experience. I saw so many colorful fish. Once a sea lion swam right up to me, did a double take and flipped under and swam away. It was all a wonderful experience. In the afternoon we anchored in Tagus Cove off Isabela Island. We couldn't go on Isabela Island (I did in 1984) because they are hunting the goats to rid the island of them as they are ruining the island. Instead we took a dingy ride along the coast and enjoyed seeing Darwin Finches, Boobies, and Penguins. We also saw a couple of feral cats - they sure get big.

MONDAY 5/12 We landed on Bartolome Island where we walked up 170 steps for a view of Pinnacle Rock. It was so clear we could see a total of 18 Islands in a circle around us. It was a wonderful view. Then we got in the Panga and went out to the rock and went snorkeling around the rock. It was wonderful. We had penguins swimming with us and also swam above a sun ray. I am beginning to recognize some of the fish such as King Angelfish and Sargent Majors. During lunch we left for South Plaza (much of the navigation is done at night while we sleep). A school of bottle nose dolphins rode the bow for a long time - they are such a thrill to watch. A frigate bird flew with the boat for a long period of time, he was fun to watch. South Plaza was very green and full of beautiful wildflowers because they had a lot of rain the past month. We walked around and saw several of Darwin's ground finches as well as very colorful land iguanas. There was also a very large colony of sea lions.

TUESDAY 5/13 Santa Cruz Island, town of Puerto Ayora. This is a rather pleasant looking town, small but very complete. We went to the Darwin station to see the tortoises as they are raising them here and then putting them back on the islands where they belong. The sailors practically eliminated them in the last century and in this century the feral dogs and cats have eaten the eggs and young. Then we spent a hour cruising the town and doing some shopping. I didn't buy a lot but now that I am home and see what I did get I wish I had gotten more. There are some very nice handicraft items in Ecuador and they are reasonably priced. The stuff is carefully made and of good quality. One item I found intriguing was their so called vegetable ivory. The items are made from a seed pod of the tagua palm which we saw in the jungle. They look like ivory and are of necessity small. Occasionally you can see a piece of the outer shell on the item. They have lots of little figures so I bought a few of them - I wish now I had bought more, they are so cute. After a cool drink we boarded a bus and drove up to the highlands of Santa Cruz. We drove through a couple of other small villages and got into wetter weather as we went up. By lunch time it was raining. We had lunch at Fulios, very Italian. He was a doctor from Italy who built this place where he serves meals - probably by advanced arrangements. Afterwards we walked to the lava tube entrance. This is a tube that is formed when the lava flows then cools. Some people walked through the tube out the other end. I did not - too dark for me. They had some rickety ladders to climb. We drove to the craters called Los Gemelos (the Twins) and walked around them. There we got to see the woodpecker finch, the tree finch and the vermilion flycatcher. It was great to see the highlands of Santa Cruz - that area would appeal more to me as a place to live.

WEDNESDAY 5/14 Floreana Island at Punta Cormorant. We walked to see the Flamingos - so beautiful and they were doing their courting dance. They make a sound that reminds me in a way of Sandhill cranes. We sat for a while on a beautiful beach. Then we tried to snorkel around Devils Crown but it was just too rough. In the afternoon we went to Black Beach and met Margret Wittmer who was a pioneer of Floreana. She is 93 years old and does very well. She talked to us a while and it was fun to hear her talk about some of her experiences - I had recently read her book and it still amazes me the hardships she went through with her family to so happily settle for 60 years there. Her son and daughter and some grandchildren still live there. We drove the boat to Post Office Bay and then took a dingy ride around the bay and surrounding area. Post Office Bay is where the whalers use to leave letters and pick up any letters they could deliver on their way. This is also the area of the infamous Baroness and her crew from the 30's - another interesting book to read. We then sat silently in our dingy while we watch the very large green sea turtles swim by, around and near us. They are wonderful to watch.

THURSDAY 5/15 Hood Island where we saw the Blue Footed Boobies courting and the Waved Albatrosses courting and nesting. This is also the Island of the famous blow hole - it is a lovely spot - we took a long walk in the rain. I spent a quiet afternoon alone on the boat because I didn't want to go to the beach and I was tired. This was Nancy's birthday so we had a birthday cake and sang to her. This was also our last night on board so the crew had a toast of farewell for us.

FRIDAY 5/16 We packed and then sat around waiting until it stopped raining. Then we went ashore and visited the town of San Cristobal. Went to the museum and a few shops, also mailed post cards which still hadn't arrived home three weeks later. Then we came back on board, had lunch and sat around waiting until they had word that the plane was about to arrive. We boarded the bus and drove to the "airport" where we departed arriving at Quito a couple of hours later. We were met by Katty and had dinner at the hotel.

SATURDAY 5/17 We took a trip to Otavalo for the well know Indian market.The trip took about 2 hours and we had wonderful vistas along the way. We could see all of Cotopaxi (5897 meters) covered in snow. It is not out of the clouds many days of the year. We could also see Cayambe (5790 meters) and Pichincha (4794 meters). We stopped at the town of Calderon where they make masapan - art figures from bread dough. Katty was a real store house of knowledge pointing out many interesting facts. She had us sample chirimoya - one of the many fruits of Ecuador. Also we had bizcochoo, a kind of bread that is baked in wooden ovens. She pointed out to us the custom of single Indian women dressing in bright colors whereas the married women dress in dark colors. The Indian women do most of the work and we did see women carrying heavy sacks of potatoes on their backs- even saw men help load them. The women carry the children until they are about 2 years old. The Inca/Catholic influence is everywhere in the Andes and is most clearly shown in the buildings with stone bottoms and white walls.We stopped in San Antonio y Ibarra where they do lots of wood carving. There we learned about the Tagua Tree that is used to make the vegetable ivory. We also stopped at Cotacachi where they make and sell leather - they started during WW II making leather boots for Europe and have continued making leather products ever since. They had some beautiful items there. We ate lunch at the Hostel Chorlavi - a converted Spanish Hacienda. It was all traditional Ecuadorian food. They eat very well but I do not like most of the food. The soups and fruit juices are the best part of Ecuadorian food. We had lots of different kinds of corn, none of which I liked, it was large kernel and mealy.

SUNDAY 5/18 We went to Mitad del Mundo - the monument at the equator. This monument was built in 1979 at San Antonio de Pichincha, about a hour north of Quito. It commemorates the work done in 1736ff by the French, Spanish, and Ecuadorian scientists on the measurements of the earth and the location of the Equator. We had our picture taken with a foot in each hemisphere and then went up to the top of the monument for a grand view. We walked down the nine levels where they had a museum of the different ethnic groups and provinces of Ecuador. Katty gave us a lot of background history. On the way to the monument we also went to the Pululagua Crater, a extinct volcano whose crater is the biggest in the continent. The valley is a preserve and is rich in flora. The rest of the day we walked around Quito, after eating lunch at the Magic Bean, a place Americans go to eat when they get tired of Ecuadorian food. That night we saw Dan, Pat, and Jay.

MONDAY 5/19 We met the rest of the group at breakfast- we are 11, Jay, Dan & Pat, Rick & Pat, Rich & Dean, Helen & Gloria, Nancy & Penelope. Nice to be with birders again so we can all be weird in good company. (The Galapagos people just couldn't understand us birders.) We left Quito for a 40 minute flight to Coca. We had a strict luggage limit of 20 pounds each as we left on a twin engine turbo prop plane. It carried 30 passengers and was very nerve wracking, not my favorite kind of flight. We did have a wonderful view of the valley of Quito and the surrounding area. We could clearly see the jungle and the areas of clear cut. The river was so wide and snaked through the jungle. The Andes with all the peaks and valleys were awesome. We arrived in Coca, a large town in the middle of the jungle. It is primarily a town of oil and military and also a stopping off point for tourists & trekkers. There are lots of stores, buildings, hospital and so forth but the streets are slushy mud (it had rained). They are a dusty mess when dry. We rode in a "bus" - a picture is the only way to describe this vehicle - to the hotel in town where we were all advised to use the restroom. Then we were driven to the dock on the Rio Napo where our motorized canoe awaited us. It was large - taking 30 people. It goes between Sacha Lodge and Coca on Mondays and Fridays so all stays must arrive and depart on those two days. There were 22 passengers on the boat which was covered with a thatch roof to keep the rain off. All our bags were put in plastic to keep them dry. We had comfortable bench seats covered with foam cushions so it was a pleasant 3 hour trip down the Napo. They served us a bag lunch and juice.The scenery was really something. The river is very flat and very wide and not very deep, several times we had to back up and go in a different channel. It is obviously a powerful river because the jungle came right to the river edge and you could see where the river had recently knocked off some of the cliff. The cliffs were about 20 feet up from the river in most places. Thatched roof homes built on stilts were along the banks, mostly singly with a few communities of homes. We passed one town of sorts where the road from Quito comes - it takes 12 to 20 hours by bus to take this road from Quito. But for the most part we did not see many signs of "civilization". It was a lovely and relaxing ride with a few birds to keep us on our best birding behavior. Finally we reached the dock for Sacha Lodge. Our luggage was loaded into 2 wheeled carts and taken off by the employees (all of whom were native Indians). We proceeded to walk one mile on a boardwalk across the swampy jungle floor. Even though it was midday we had no problems with sun as the vegetation was so thick that barely any sunlight came through. At the end of the boardwalk we were met by the crew and several small canoes. Each canoe seated about six people and we were paddled down the canal and across the lake to the lodge. Sacha Lodge was built about 1990 by a man from Switzerland who bought the property from several local families. He also leases several surrounding acres of forest. The lodge is built over seasonally wet jungle, on stilts about 20 feet up. It is very humid and nothing was dry the whole time we were there, I couldn't even write in my notebook because the pages were so wet. Each building was connected by a bamboo covered walkway. Our cabins were quite nice, built of logs but heavy with creosote. The bathrooms were tile and we had nice showers - although you didn't need to get into the shower to get wet enough to soap up. The electricity is run by a generator and the lights went out at 10:00 at night but even when on it was very dark and hard to read. Bugs were not much of a problem because the room had very tight netting for windows. The worse bites we seemed to get were the ants. We ate dinner in the dinning room - very elegant, served buffet style, two choices of meat, lots of vegetables all very elegantly served. The cooks are also Indians from the area.

TUESDAY 5/20 We were awakened (as we were every day) with a knock on the door at 5AM. After a breakfast of either eggs, cereal and yogurt, or pancakes we took a canoe ride to the canopy tower. This canoe ride was like a Disney ride but for real. It was absolutely quiet, very thick so that you had to keep ducking your head and simply a spiritual experience. It is a natural canal but they have to work to keep it open. Hugo, the Indian assistant guide carried a machete everywhere we went. He was the paddler in this canoe and we found out how deep the water was (not very) when he fell in. It was a great trip. Then we arrived to the tree with the canopy tower. It was a balsa tree - huge. The tower was 130 feet up so we climbed a circular staircase that was a cross between stairs and ladders. It was pretty steady but an exhausting climb. At the top was a platform - rather like a large tree house, I felt very secure (unless I looked down). It had a strong railing and easily held the 10 of us. We spent 4 hours up there and saw 45 species of birds. The colors of some of them were almost unbelievable - as though a kid got a hold of oil paints and painted the birds in vivid blues, yellows, and reds. It was great to see them at eye level. What a great way to bird. Midmorning Hugo pulled out bananas, cookies, and water for all of us. They do take care of us. Around noon we started walking back to the lodge. It took us a good hour and was hard walking. It was dark and very muddy - we had rubber boots - in fact we wore rubber boots every day on this trip and the walking was muddy and hard every day -uneven surfaces, slippery surfaces etc. After an elaborate lunch we had an hour rest and then off to the canoes, birding down the boardwalk to a farm on the river's edge and back in the dark. I do not like walking in the dark because I cannot see well enough. Had another elegant dinner, did the bird list and off to bed being in a hurry to beat the 10:00 lights out time. They did give us a candle and matches but the matches stayed so wet they would not light.

WEDNESDAY 5/21 In the earlier morning we took the canoe across the lake, walked down the boardwalk and got into a motorized canoe. We took this canoe down the Rio Napo stopping at various islands to bird. These islands are continually being formed, first some debris piles up, then the silt from the river collects until you eventually have an island. These islands do not start out with trees so they attract different species of birds so they make for a good place to bird for different varieties. These islands are continually moving downstream and changing. About five years after formation they have the trees and vegetation of the regular jungle and are no longer good birding spots. We slogged through several of these mushy islands, Hugo using his machete to clear a path for us. Sacha lodge provides a guide for every 5 or 6 people so we had two. They also always separate the birders from the other guests which was very nice. One guide, Michael Green was from New York and became interested in birding as a student at Cornell. He has been at Sacha for 5 years going back to guide birding groups in Cape May every fall. He plans to leave Sacha in October for a year of traveling around Africa. Our other guide, Oscar is a native Indian and he is phenomenal. His eyes and ears are almost unbelievable. He is self taught, having worked at another lodge until he got a better offer here. He only guides when they have birding groups - the other guides also have to do general nature tours. Oscar probably speaks the Indian language and he also speaks Spanish. I am not sure if he speaks much English but he knows the English name of all the birds and enough English to tell us where to look for the bird. He lives in Coca and has a family of about 3 children who go to school. In the afternoon we went birding in the jungle again - it was very dark and hard to walk and just as I was thinking the leader was going too fast Helen fell and broke her wrist. Rich put a splint on it and she walked back to the lodge. Then to get to the hospital she had to be canoed across the lake, walk down the boardwalk, and then the three hour boat ride in the moonlight up the Rio Napo. Of course she was in pain but they had given her something. Coca has a good size hospital as it is a military and oil town so it was xrayed and set. She stayed in the hotel in town and we met her Friday when we went there to go back to Quito. Both the doctor who managed Sacha Lodge, and the doctor (Rich) on our trip felt that it was not set properly and neither did Helen so she had to go back to California all of which she did arriving home on Sunday. She did in fact have to have it reset with pins and all so it is a good thing she went back.

THURSDAY 5/22 We took the canoe through the channel and went to the tower again for birding. We saw a lot of good birds from the tower but I have a hard time seeing any birds in the dark forest. It is also very hard to walk on the muddy and rutted trails. Oscar had Hugo get us walking sticks which I never would have used but I found they helped a lot. We all stopped tripping and falling so much when we used them. In the afternoon we did more forest birding and then we had to pack in the evening - it was hard to pack because our cabin is so dark and of course everything is wet- when I unpacked them in Quito steam just popped out of the plastic bags.

FRIDAY 5/23 We had a lovely 3-4 hour boat ride up the river to Coca. I really felt like I was experiencing the Amazon basin. The river is so wide it is hard to picture now at home. It was fun to see the various homes and small villages just like the pictures in National Geographic. This boat does not operate as a taxi but we did stop a couple of times to let off a few employees at Pompeya where they would catch the 12 hour bus to Quito. We also met another canoe mid river to pick up some gas and made another stop along the banks where a family was waiting for us in their canoe with Sacha’s clean laundry and we left the dirty laundry with them - all very efficiently done without telephones such as we use.We saw a few new species of birds up the river and thoroughly enjoyed the boat ride. They gave us a bag lunch. We arrived in Coca and went to the hotel where we met Helen. Then drove in our contraption to the airport where we had to wait for two hours for the delayed plane. Nothing unusual but we did not have a comfortable wait. Fortunately we had some shade to sit under and we were entertained by three little shoe shine boys who danced and sang and etc. for most of the time we were there. Finally we were able to board the plane - after a cursory inspection in a small box like room and we took off for Quito. The scenery over the Amazon basin and then the Andes is really spectacular but it was a bumpy 45 minute flight. Got to Quito and spread out our damp clothes which dried in an hour. Went shopping at the book store and dinner at the Magic Bean for food pretty close to American food. The food we had was good but it was all Ecuadorian food and I got tired of it. Lots of fried food, lots of creams, fats, rice, potatoes, and corn.

SATURDAY 5/24 Today we left early and drove to Mindo. The road was only 2 years old but already was being worked on because of slides last month. We had lunch at the Bella Vista on the old Nono Mindo Road. Very nice lunch and beautiful spot. I saw the best tanager yet there - such bright blues, yellows, and reds, just stunning. We continued birding on the way to our lodge and didn’t arrive until 7:30 at Carmelo de Mindo Lodge. They greeted us with a special drink and welcome and a good and abundant dinner. This lodge fed us very well and much too much. The food was Ecuadorian. Lunch and dinner each started with a very good soup, usually potato based, followed by a plate that had meat or fish, potatoes or yucca, rice and some vegetable. We also had dessert and whenever we had one of the many different fruits either cooked or as juice, Elizabeth always brought us a sample of the fruit to show us, cut it and walked it around so each of us could smell it. She was so cute.

SUNDAY 5/25 Up at 4 for an early breakfast and left at 5 for a 2 hour drive to the Choco Forest. It was interesting to drive through various towns. They maintain the usual look of Latin American towns but the poverty and trash didn’t seem to be as bad here as in Venezuela or even in parts of Costa Rica. We spent until around 2:00 birding in this forest. Saw lots of people being driven out packed in trucks. This dirt road connects some towns with the main highway. These people were dressed up to go to church and also vote as today was a big voting day. (No liquor is supposed to be served or sold this weekend because of the voting. In fact we found out that liquor is not supposed to be served in Quito on Sundays.) We had a bag lunch that the staff had packed for us - almost no one was able to finish it they gave us so much but a staked out pig enjoyed the left overs. We drove back for an early afternoon and I finally got caught up with my birding list.

MONDAY 5/26 What a rainstorm we had last night. We were up at 4:00 and had to get dressed and eat breakfast in the dark as there was no electricity. And let me tell you it was really dark! We left by 5 in Senor Lopez’s 4 wheel drive Range Rover for an hour drive to the Cock-of-the-rock lek. This road was only barely a road. Two guys road ahead of us on horseback and picked and shoveled in some of the holes so the car could make it. 5 of us went this morning - the rest will go to the lek tomorrow. Then we had a 30 minute walk to the lek and I cannot describe this trail. The mud was slippery and up to mid calf, the “steps” were sometimes 2 feet high. At times I’d just wait until Dan had good footing and just slide into him. His guiding was above and beyond what he expected to do on a birding trip but after walking across a two plank bridge across the river we made it to the lek and what a sight. These birds are about rooster size and bright red. They are up in the trees - across the ravine so eye level with us - and displaying for the females - what a sight we were treated to for about 30 minutes - by 7:00 they were all gone. Then of course we had a horrible hike back to the “road”. I just had to use a combination of tree trunks and Dan to haul myself up. When I got back to the road my hair and shirt were drippy wet from sweat but I sure am glad I did it. Fortunately my daily walks have kept me in good enough shape so that I didn’t suffer any after effects. The next day one lady decided to skip it and one guy who did go had to take the rest of the day off and part of the next. Oh my but birding is hard work. Anyway the rest of the group had been driven up in the Range Rover so we birded down the road for the rest of the morning. I came back at 11 in the Range Rover and the rest arrived around 1:30. After lunch and a rest we walked around the area and went to the river to look for torrent duck which we missed but found the dipper instead.

TUESDAY 5/27 Got to sleep in until 5:30 today and then we were driven up to meet the other Cock-of-the-rock group. Birded down the road again until 11:00 when several of us took the hour drive back while the rest walked. In the afternoon we walked around the lodge. The staff had an especially nice dinner for us on our last night.They are really trying hard to develop a birding lodge here and I think they can make it. Senor Lopez is from Quito but loves the Mindo Valley so he bought this lodge and several surrounding acres of the forest. He currently has four cabins built and is building a few more. The cabins have a cement floor with a rock wall about 3 feet up and the rest is wood with a sheet metal roof. The downstairs has an entrance room, bathroom and room with a double bed. Upstairs has a small room with a single bed, a bigger room with three singles, and a small deck. We had three women in our cabin and the others each had two couples. We were pretty comfortable. They have a good size kitchen and the dinning area is plenty large for more people than just us. Another birding couple did come in while we were there. He is building a small lodge up nearer the lek so people can spend a night there and travel from there to see the Cock-of-the-rocks. He is very anxious to have a US representative and wants Dan to be one. It is great to see the conservation efforts locals are making. The town of Mindo advertises itself as a Birding town, they have some hostels and lots of signs. Now if only they had some roads that were passable in all weather they might be able to get more of us.

WEDNESDAY 5/28 We left in the morning - our bus came to pick us up. Our bus is a large 30 passenger bus and I am amazed at how well (albeit slowly) we negotiate the roads we travel. Our driver is very good and secure and the drivers in Ecuador maintain the Latin American tradition of driving. We drove to Quito stopping to bird along the way. We had bag lunches from the lodge which we ate while watching for a humming bird. Arrived in early afternoon at Hotel Palmgarten - seems like home by now. Nancy and I got our same room on the top floor - we like it, it has lots of room and a nice deck for drying clothes. We went shopping and I finally bought some souvenirs - now I wish I got more, they are nice things and not terribly expensive. It was fun. Ate dinner at the Magic Bean.

THURSDAY 5/29 Drove to Papallacha Pass (4064 meters, approximately 13500 feet). It was very cold, long johns and turtle necks were the wearing apparel. When we got to the top it was so windy and rainy we didn’t bird much but continued on down and over the pass to bird on the east slope of the Andes. The scenery was different from the west slope, not as many trees. We saw lots of waterfalls, all of which come from the abundance of rain, there was no snow. There are lots of oil pipes. We birded the main road that had lots of buses as this road is the only one to connect these eastern slope towns with the Pan American Highway. This main road was a dirt road and very dusty. We got back late afternoon and again went to the Magic Bean for our farewell dinner (farewell to Nancy and Me - the rest are going on an extension to Southern Ecuador for five days). It was also Dean’s birthday so we had a birthday cake for him with a few cards - last year we celebrated Rich’s birthday on our trip. We had a fun evening and retired to pack for our early morning start - we all had to leave the hotel at 6:00 AM

FRIDAY 5/30 The rest of the group left in the bus for the national airport, and we were picked up by Santiago from the travel agency and taken to the International airport. Had a pleasant flight on Saeta. They treat customers like airlines use to and the meals are served with linen and stainless steel flatware, and china plates. We arrived in Miami and had cleared customs quickly by 1:30. When we checked in for our 6:00 flight we asked if there was an earlier flight but were told it was too late to load our baggage and they won’t take us without our baggage so we picked up our 50 pounds of luggage and ran like hell to make that flight. I thought I’d die or at least my arm would drop off, we missed the Last boarding call but they let us on anyway and we made it - saving ourselves six hours. The flight had 70 empty seats so there was plenty of room for our suitcases but it sure was not easy to haul that stuff around. I called David on the air phone and told him to pick me up at 5:00 instead of 10:30. I sure was glad to see him - not the least reason to carry my luggage after I got off the plane. The flight itself was uneventful and we each had a full bank of three seats to ourselves. So at this point I am now home and enjoying the memories of my trip to Ecuador. I think the jungle experience was the most memorable and I really felt that this time I was in the jungle - at least it was more primitive than the other rain forests I’ve been in. Great trip all in all.

transcribed 6/7/97 from my memories of the trip