Ecuador provided a great getaway to experience historic haciendas, beautiful volcanoes with sweeping vistas and natural rain forest jungle in the Amazon Basin. All of this was experienced during a 10 day trip in November 2008.
Ecuador Itinerary
| Day | Date | Location/Activities |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 November 2008 | Fly from Los Angeles to Quito, Ecuador, via plane change in Miami; transfer to Otavalo (Hacienda Cusin) |
| 2 | 3 November 2008 | Explore Hacienda Cusin and visit village of Laguna de San Pablo |
| 3 | 4 November 2008 | Day trip to Otavalo market |
| 4 | 5 November 2008 | Travel south to Hacienda San Agustin de Callo; stop at the equator en route and tour the site |
| 5 | 6 November 2008 | Day trip to Parque Nacional Cotopaxi; drive through park with guide and hike around a lake |
| 6 | 7 November 2008 | Fly from Quito to Coca and a two hour boat trip to Sacha Lodge on the Rio Napo River; night hike with our guide |
| 7 | 8 November 2008 | Lower Rio Napo: Morning hike and visit to three canopy towers and wildlife viewing; afternoon hike through swamp and views of monkeys |
| 8 | 9 November 2008 | Early morning parrot clay lick viewing in the Lower Rio Napo; late afternoon canoe trip, tree canopy visit and wildlife viewing |
| 9 | 10 November 2008 | Boat trip back to Coca and flight to Quito; afternoon walk around Old Town portion of the city |
| 10 | 11 November 2008 | Fly from Quito to Los Angeles, via plane change in Miami |
We took 700 pictures and 2 1/2 hours of High Definition Video. The following videos summarize a portion of our trip.
Cotopaxi
Cotopaxi is the name of a near-perfect volcano near the Hacienda where we stayed. We saw wild horse, deer and birds while in the National Park.
Rio Napo River
We spent three nights hiking and viewing wildlife in Ecuador’s Amazon jungle on the Rio Napo River. While there, we hiked a short distance into the jungle and then climbed 120 feet to a series of three canopy towers, separated by swing bridges. It was quite high but the views were spectacular! From the towers we were able to see several types of toucans and a vulture. We also spied black-mantled tamarins and squirrel monkeys. Another morning was an early wake up call. We boarded a boat that took us downriver to the Parque Nacional Yasuni and several bird licks.
Amazon Jungle Night Hike
After dinner on our the first night at Sacha Lodge in the Amazon jungle we went on a night hike in which we saw frogs, spiders and bugs.
Amazon Canopy Walk
While in the Amazon, we hiked a short distance into the jungle and then climbed 120 feet to a series of three canopy towers, separated by swing bridges. It was quite high but the views were spectacular! From the towers we were able to see several types of toucans and a vulture. We also spied black-mantled tamarins and squirrel monkeys.
Parque Nacional Yasuni
Another morning was an early wake up call. We boarded a boat that took us downriver to the Parque Nacional Yasuni and several bird licks. These are primarily for parrots but we were also very fortunate to see scarlet macaws as well. Hundreds of parrots visit the lick each day and we enjoyed the show.