Quito and the Beginning 16-20th February 2018
I was dreading the middle of the night alarm call, and the
shutting up of the house in the dark. Then Jill’s cousin came up with a superb
solution. As you have a very early flight then why not spend the night at
Manchester Airport. So we began our trip a day early with a relaxing evening at
the Crowne Plaza which is so near to Terminal 3 that we could have walked. The
flight via Amsterdam to Quito was long but everything ran to schedule and we
were a few minutes early touching down. Carlos met us at the airport and drove
us to our hotel, La Casona de la Rocha, in the historic centre.
Our first full day, Sunday, was a free day to ourselves. We
walked slowly down to the Plaza Grande where a military band was playing. Then
we took a taxi up El Panecillo to visit the huge statue of the Virgen de Quito.
Back in town we had coffee and carrot cake before deciding that was enough for
the first day. It rained later so we did not venture out again. 
It was on the Monday morning that Milton came to call. He
and his driver spent much of the day with us as we retraced our steps of
yesterday, then came back to the Plaza Grande for the changing of the guard, a
weekly event watched over by the President. Then we were driven via the
Basilica out to El Crater restaurant above the caldera of Pululahua. After
lunch we stopped at Mitad del Mundo, the monument at the equator, a beautifully
kept area and fascination exhibition. As the afternoon rains began we were
returned to our hotel and spent another quiet evening.Napo Wildlife Centre 20th – 23rd February 2018
Carlos arrived promptly on Tuesday morning to take us back
to the airport for the flight to Coca. After a short delay, Coca airport having
closed with a safety issue, we got on board for a very short trip downhill into
the Amazon rainforest. Here we were met by a team from the Napo Wildlife Centre
who ushered us onto a long and fast narrow boat for a 2½ hour journey down the
Napo River, one of the major tributaries to the Amazon. At the entrance to
Yasuni National Park, we were transferred to small canoes that were paddled for
1½ hours up a narrow creek and out onto the lake in front of the Centre, a
vision of paradise. We were allocated our room and our guide and, after a brief
rest, attended a slide show and had a welcome meal. 
Next day, Wednesday, began with a 5am wake up knock on our
door, a very hasty breakfast and a 6am departure from the jetty. Delphin our
guide for our entire stay helped paddle across the lake and led us on a walk in
the gloaming through the jungle to a 120ft tower of metal steps. This we mounted
with some trepidation but felt much happier when we got to the top and stepped
onto a wooden platform in the uppermost branches of a huge tree emerging above
the canopy of the jungle. Here we had almost 3 hours of the best birding of the
holiday, identifying over 35 species. We returned to the lodge for a siesta
before we finished the day with a sunset paddle around the waterways.
On the Thursday we were awoken even earlier, at 4.30am for
an all day trip to the salt licks to watch the macaws and parrots. We set off
in total darkness back towards the river which we reached at first light. Then
we transferred to the larger boat for a 5 minute cruise down the Napo River to
the clay-cliffed river bank where flocks of parrots came for their daily
tasting of digestive supplements. We then sailed back up the river to the
village, the home of the people that had established the wildlife centre. Here
we watched a demonstration dance by the women of the village. Then back to the
boats for another visit, this time a walk through the jungle to a bird-hide
overlooking another salt lick. Here it took a little longer for the parrots to
arrive but we were entertained by some scarlet macaws before the main show
began. Suddenly the birds turned and all flew off as one. The show was over and
we returned to the boats and the lodge for a late lunch and siesta.
Bellavista and the Cloud Forest 23-25th February 2018
Again we received a 4.30am knock. Long lie-ins are not a
feature of Amazonia. No time for breakfast today; it was straight into the
canoes for the long paddle back to the Napo River. During the 2 ½ hour fast
boat up-stream, we received some breakfast boxes which assuaged our hunger. The
flight up to Quito was brief and early and we were soon back in the highlands
driving around the outskirts of Quito and down the western side of the Andes. The
cloud-forest was exactly that, cold damp clouds clinging to the mountainside. And
Bellavista certainly was on a mountainside, situated on a ledge above huge
drops, invisible in the mists. The rain set in as we arrived and it poured down
all afternoon and night. We were freezing in our rooms situated in an old house
adjacent to the lodge. 
We must have looked pretty miserable the next morning,
totally unprepared for the hikes on vertiginous paths running in rain-water. So
Richard, the owner, organised a day out to the local town, Mindo. He gave us a driver/guide,
who was a superb birder so we had a wonderful day at some bird-watching farms
and looking round the butterfly-breeding centre. And we had a visit to a
chocolate factory. The weather was improving all the time and we finally got a
view from the lodge and a good evening was enhanced by a talk from a visiting
scientist about the new species of mammal, an olinguito, that had been
identified and was sitting conveniently in a tree about our heads eating a
banana.
The Pan-American Highway
25 - 28th February 2018
On Sunday morning Carlos picked us up and drove us back up the mountains, stopping briefly at the mirador at Pululahua before picking up the Pan-American Highway at Quito and driving for another hour or so to Lasso where we turned off down a bumpy lane to the amazing Hacienda La Cienega, a magnificent old house at the end of a drive of eucalyptus trees. The next morning he returned to drive us into the Cotopaxi National Park. As we gained altitude, the clouds cleared off the volcano and by the time we arrived at the Limpiopungo Lagoon, the mountain was clear and in all its glory. And to add to the stunning views, a halo appeared around the sun, a 22 degree halo with rainbow edges. We walked round the lake, enjoying the gulls and ducks on the water and the birds of prey above us. Then we retired to a small tea shop in the botanical garden and then went back to the hacienda, our hotel, for a quiet afternoon. We met a pair of Americans, Diane and Richard, who had bought a house near Quito and spend some of each year travelling through Ecuador. We invited them to join us for a meal in the evening and had a very pleasant evening chatting away about our different experiences.
It was time to move south. So we got away quite early on
Tuesday morning for a drive towards Latacunga and the Quilotoa Loop. By then
time we arrived at the edge of Quilotoa crater we had lost yesterday’s
beautiful weather and dark and threatening clouds were rolling in. We declined
Carlos’s suggestion that we walk down to the lake and chose instead to drive
back to Latacunga and have lunch in a small restaurant. Then we came back to
the Pan-America for the long drive south to Riobamba. It was late afternoon
before we pulled up outside the Santa Isabella Hotel. It was dark before we
settled in so we had no chance to explore the city centre. We ate at the hotel
and got an early night.
We had an alarm call for 5.30am and were driving by 6am with no time for breakfast. Carlos took a short cut out of Riobamba and then took some time in finding his way back onto the Pan-American Highway. So we arrived in Alausi with very little spare time before the train was scheduled to depart. We had tickets for the Devil’s Nose train that runs down a spectacular gorge to Sibamba, waits an hour and then returns the same way. We shared a carriage with a party of German’s so fared badly in the elbow-pushing competition to get the best views.
The train had to reverse at one point to lose height down a
cliff. At Sibamba, the bottom station, there is a lovely new station with café
and toilets. A local dance group gave a performance for our benefit. Then the
train driver whistled us back on-board for the return trip. The ever southerly
drive continued through magnificent mountain scenery, steep-sided green hills
farmed to the highest point. Our next port of call was to the archaeological
site at Ingapirca where Inca and Canari ruins had recently been unearthed. As
we descended into the outskirts of Cuenca, the heavens opened and the side
roads became raging torrents. But it had stopped by the time we were queuing in
the Cuenca traffic, waiting to arrive at our lovely hotel, Santa Lucia, the
nicest by far on the trip.
Cuenca & Guayaquil
28th February – 5th March 2018
Our guide Carlos wanted to take us on a trip out of Cuenca
but we were adamant that we had heard great things about this city and wanted
to spend all our time here. So he took us for a morning walk around the
historic centre, the rose and flower market, the panama hat museum and the
Pumapunga archaeological site and then left us to ourselves. We would not need
him again. So after we parted from Carlos, we spent a day and a half just
wandering the lovely old streets, sampling coffee shops and micro-breweries. We
even found and enjoyed an Imax film at the planetarium We took a ride on the
tourist sightseeing bus and did a bit of shopping. Two restaurants had been
recommended to us. On the first night we went to Tiestos and sampled all the
wonderful sources that were brought to our table. Jill had swordfish which
looked delicious and we finished with a huge piece of cake and ice cream. The
last night we made a reservation at El Mercado, supposedly the best restaurant
in town. Here we had a table in the window overlooking the river and the new
town beyond. We were joined by an American couple that we had met in our hotel
and we enjoyed lovely company and stimulating conversation.
On Saturday morning (5th March) we were picked up
from our hotel and driven down the Guayaquil. Our driver stopped at the
visitors centre in Cajas National Park but it was not a day for hanging around.
It was wet windy and cold and the views, similar to the Lakes or Scotland
matched the weather (just like home!). The descent to the coastal plain was
through a peasouper of thick fog. How the driver kept to the road, I have no
idea. Eventually we came out into tropical heat and humidity. We understood why
our hotel in Guayaquil, the Wyndham, had air conditioning. It was the first
time we had needed it on our trip.
We were pleasantly surprised at how nice a city Guayaquil appeared.
We had a city tour by car on the morning of our only full day. Then we walked
slowly and sweaty up and down the Malecon (waterfront) trying cafes and a great
restaurant that sold local food very cheaply. It rained a lot so we were never
without our umbrellas.
Galapagos 5th
-10th March 2018
On Monday morning we were taken to the airport, very nearby,
for a morning flight to San Cristobal. Here we were met by our guide to be for
the week ahead, Billy from the yacht Majestic. A very short bus ride took us to
the jetty and the zodiac out to the ship where we had a late lunch with our new
companions. Then back to shore in the afternoon for a bus ride across the
island to visit a giant tortoise breeding unit. Back on the boat we had dinner
and then turned in early whilst the boat sailed through choppy seas to Floriana.
When we awoke on Tuesday morning we were anchored in Post
Office Bay. The zodiacs took us to the beach for a wet landing (Teva sandals!)
and a walk inland to visit the post box and hear about the history of residents
on this little island. Jill tried a snorkelling trip after lunch but I stayed
dry. Then we all went ashore on a different beach and visited a freshwater lake
full of flamingos and then we walked across the peninsular to watch turtles and
rays swimming off a storm beach whilst Blue-footed Boobies and Brown Pelicans
roosted along the shoreline.
That night the boat set sail during dinner so I declined the
meal and went to lie down as we ploughed through big seas. Next morning,
Wednesday, we found ourselves anchored off Española. Here there was supposedly
a dry landing but it proved problematic getting the zodiacs across the rollers
that were traversing the landing jetty. But we got ashore and had a very rugged
walk across part of the island passed colonies of sea lions, Blue-footed and
Nasca boobies, to a view point overlooking a blow hole. Then it was back the
same way for lunch of the boat. The afternoon consisted of a snorkelling
expedition and a beach walk. I opted out of these and heard later that a zodiac
had almost overturned in trying to beach in the strong seas. A last dinner and
another night-time sail took us to Santa Cruz. 
We had breakfast, packed our bags and went ashore for our
last guided trip, a bus ride to an area of Giant Tortoises. Here we were shown
a lava tunnel created in an ancient eruption of the volcano. Then we drove back
via two enormous sink holes, the Twin Craters. Back on the jetty we took
possession of our bags, said our goodbyes to our new companions and were on our
own. A taxi driver knew where our hotel was in Puerto Ayora, wandering round
its shops and cafes and visiting the Charles Darwin Research Centre. On our
last night, we reserved a table at the Finch Bay Hotel and were joined by six
of our North American friends from the boat for Annette’ s birthday meal.
The Journey Home
The programme of guides and transfers came to an end on
Santa Cruz but the agents back home soon got us fixed up with a pick-up and
transfer to Baltra airport on Saturday morning. A two-hour delay in our flight
was not that important as we had a long connection time at Guayaquil. All looked
to be on time for the international flight. The KLM plane arrived on time and we
boarded as scheduled. But we soon realised that all was not well. The
temperature on the plane was soaring due to faulty air conditioning. Just
before people started to faint, the cabin crew made the decision to get us all
off again and back in the terminal. In all we were delayed nearly three hours
which, although a tail wind got us back ahead of the normal flight time, left
us with only had 40 minutes at Schipol to get over to our connection flight. We
just made the Manchester flight with five minutes to spare but our bags did not
travel with us. So at Manchester we had to fill in lost baggage forms and travel
home with only our hand luggage. The bags arrived the following day.
Retrospective
This was one of the most comprehensive and extensive
explorations of a country that we had ever undertaken. In three weeks we
experienced rain forest, cloud forest and mountain habitats, three major cities
and the most unique of island archipelagos. It was a well-designed trip through
the Andes and most of the travel plans worked perfectly. Talk of highlights is
a complex issue, very subjective and influenced by factors such as weather,
guides and accommodation. But the three days at the Napo Wildlife Centre stand
out from all other visits. Our stay in Cuenca was our favourite city break and
our days in Cotopaxi and Mindo will stay with us for ever. The Galapagos trip, long
anticipated, was memorable for the demonstration of a population’s ability to
live in harmony with its wildlife. Long may it continue. 
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