SOUTH AMERICAN ADVENTURES - Week 7 ..... The Last Stretch

On Tuesday we left Quito and headed south down "Volcano Alley" on the spine of the Andes. Of course our group loved to shop, even stopped here at a gas station.

After a couple of hours we drove into Cotopaxi National Park. The Cotopaxi Volcano is the highest active volcano in the world and one of the best shaped conical volcanoes (along with Mt. Fuji in Japan) Unfortunately when we went into the park it was covered by the clouds. However we did get an excellent view of another volcano across the plain from Cotopaxi. There were wild horses grazing in the open and we even spotted an Andean condor (one of the 75 left in the wild in Ecuador).

For lunch we stopped at an old Hacienda that was built in the early 1600's. It had nice music and we were able to get a good view of Cotopaxi which was just clearing up.

We then spent the night in the town of Riobamba. The next morning we woke up early and headed to the train station. We boarded a train car that was actually a bus adapted to the rails. Our journey was one of the most famous and beautiful train rides in South America. Some of us were able to sit on top of the train and get a wonderful view.

We pulled away from Riobamba and saw stunning morning views of the steep rolling hills and lush valleys of the area. The awesome vista of Mt. Chimborazo towered high in the background. Being over 20,000 feet and so near the Equator, the peak of Chimborazo is the closest point on the Earth to the Sun.

As we continued along we passed several micro-climates where in one valley it would be lush and green with bountiful fields and fat cows, while in the next valley it would be dry with bare sand visible amidst the more hearty plant life.

We arrived in a beautiful small town for a quick stop before descending down the "Devil's Nostril" one of the most daring railroad engineering marvels in the world.

Although it was hard to get a good picture to capture the narrow switchbacked journey to the bottom of the valley, it was still a fascinating and sometimes Disnleyland-like ride.

At the bottom of the valley we had a chance to get off the train for a moment and enjoy the view before boarding again and going back up.

You can see behind me how the trail cuts into the steep rock of the mountain.

After arriving safely back in the town we boarded our bus and went to the top of a mountain pass and had a box-lunch amidst the clouds.

We then drove south for an hour or so to the ruins of Ingapirca. Ingapirca is the largest archeological site in Ecuador and the ruins are not only from the Incas but also from civilizations that lived in the area long before the Incas.

and there were llamas....

Some of us waited while others did some shopping.

That night we drove to the city of Cuenca. The first thing we did was visit a girl's orphanage where we dropped off some supplies and donations that came from the US.

At the orphanage we had a brief tour and they had each little girl choose one of us to be a "Buddy". Then we drew some pictures for each other.

Cuenca was a beautiful city with very interesting, European architecture.

After a city tour, lunch and some free time we went up for a great view of the city.

And then we went to the Panama Hat factory. The Panama Hat is actually an Ecuadorian production that became popular with workers on the Panama Canal (hence the misnomer) The hats are made here and then exported all over the world.

That night we flew from Cuenca back to Quito. The next day we headed north. One of Ecuador's chief exports is roses. We were able to stop and tour a rose plantation.

They package the roses and send them all over the world.


The dog Jack was very friendly and even wanted to come with us on the bus.


We then went to the town of Otavalo that had the largest indigenous market in South America. After doing some shopping we headed back to Quito stopping on the way for lunch at beautiful lake-side restaurant.

We got into Quito in time to eat and pack and then woke up at 4AM on Saturday to get to the airport on time. After a lot of waiting in the Quito and Houston airports and two long flights I finally arrived in Salt Lake.

So now I'm back in Utah my five and a half month experience in South America is over. I've had a wonderful time and it's been worth every penny, centimo, headache, stomachache and minute.

So if you want to get a hold of me, there's always email (waytogonate@gmail.com). Or you can give me a call. I don't have a cell phone anymore so my parents' number (where I'm staying) is (801) 968-0382.



What's Next Nate!????



....you'll just have to wait and find out....

SOUTH AMERICAN ADVENTURES - Week 6

After the Galapgos it was nice to have a few days to relax in Quito. My parents and aunt Janae arrived on Tuesday and we were able to spend a day hanging around the city before the rest of the tour group arrived on Wednesday night.

The group consisted of my uncle Ted the tour guide, a few more aunts and uncles, a cousin, Grandma Winder and a few non-family members.

On Thursday we first went to an orphanage where we had brought a lot of supplies, toys, books and more for the children there.

We got to visit a few of the younger ones there. Here´s Mom and Dad with some of the little ones.

Next we went on a city tour of Quito. We went to the main government building where the president of Ecuador worked, complete with guards with spears.

We saw some beautiful colonial streets and squares

We visited several churches and cathedrals

We went to the top of a hill that had a great view of the city.

For lunch we ate at "El Cretor" restaurant perched on the edge of a volcano.

After lunch we visited the equator museum. Years ago Ecuador built a huge monument on the equator but in recent years with GPS technology people discovered that the monument was actually a few hundred meters off of the actually equatorial line. So somebody built a museum on the real equator.

So how do we know they´re right?

They did an experiment for us with a tub of water. They placed it in the southern hemisphere and pulled the plug. The water drained in a clockwise whirlpool. Then they moved the tub to the norther hemisphere and pulled the plug. The water went counter-clockwise. Finally they put the tub right on the equator and pulled the plug. The water went straight down! No whirlpool at all!

This equator of this globe is right on the equatorial line.

This eclectic museum also had several exhibits on the native peoples of Ecuador. Here is an actual shrunkent head from the jungle.

And we got to try the blue-dart gun.

Then we went to the "false" equator with its monument.

On Friday we boarded a small plane and flew to the jungle town of Coca where we took a two-hour boat ride to the site of the Sacha Jungle Lodge.

From the plane we got a great view of one of the many volcanoes in Ecuador.

Also during the flight we were able to come up and see the cockpit and get pictures

After our boat ride we took a short walkt throught the jungle and then took a canoe across a lake to the lodge itself.

We crossed paths with these leaf-cutter ants - some of the most interesting insects in the jungle.

The lake house was the first thing we saw as we approached in our canoes

Then we went into a little inlet where the lodge was waiting for us.

After going to our rooms one of the first things we did was take a dip in the lake.

We were divided up into smaller groups of six. We each had a naturalist guide and a native guide. We ate three wonderful meals a day and had a great time at the lodge.

On Saturday we woke up early and went to the huge canopy walk they have here at the lodge. It was three high towers connected by a narrow suspension bridge.

Our guide brought his telescope and from the top we were able to see a variety of birds. But one of the first things we saw were a group of Red Hower Monkeys high in the treetops. If we placed our digital cameras over the eyepiece of the telescope we were actually able to get some good pictures of what was in view.

Here are the howlers.

Here is a Spangled Cotinga

An Ivory-Billed Aracari (relative of the toucan)


The rare Ringed Woodpecker

The White-Throated "Fruit Loops" Toucan


Here a Golden Orb Spider had made its web on the canopy tower.

We went on a nature walk through the jungle and saw more wildlife.

Here´s an anole lizard

A Ruby Poison Dart Frog

They also had a butterfly house at the lodge complete with strange caterpillars.

Emerging butterflies

And a whole bunch of butterflies

We were lucky to see a group of Squirrel Monkeys pass near the lodge

We went pirahna fishing and I was lucky enough to catch two. This Silver Pirahna.

and this Red-Bellied Pirahna

That night we went on a night walk where we saw some huge bugs.

A huge Smoky Jungle Frog

A variety of walking stick insects

Some Amazon Tree Frogs

This Blunt-Headed Tree Snake

The Amazon Climbing Salamander

The next day all of us went by boat to a place near the lodge on the banks of the Napo river where there was a clay lick. Parrots flocked here in great noisy numbers and we got some good views.

Here are three Mealy Amazons and some Dusky-Headed Parakeets

Here is a Blue-Headed Amazon

We passed this tree trunk with 15 little bats sleeping

We also stopped at a local village to learn more about life in the jungle and we got this group photo with our group, our guides and some of the local kids.
Back at the lodge these Agoutis were a common site. They are huge rodents related to the Guinea Pig.


One guide caught a Tree Boa that we were able to hold
And a few Black-Mantled Tamarin Monkeys were seen scampering around the lodge walkways.
And nearby the cabins lived the world´s smallest monkey, the Pygmy Marmoset.
We took several interesting canoe trips

During one of them we spotted this five-foot caiman lying still in the water.


We also got to climb the wooden tree tower and watch for birds.

Here´s a black vulture
And the Russett-Backed Oropendula. They have the coolest call of any bird in the jungle.
Everyone had a great time in the jungle and we flew back to Quito on Monday.

With the help of our naturalist guide we were able to keep track of most the animals we saw during our stay. Besides the ones listed above, here is some of what we saw...


Snowy Egret - Striated Heron - Greater Yellow-Headed Vulture - Slender-Billed Kite - Swallow-Tailed Kite - Double-Tailed Kite - Roadside Hawk - Plumbeous Dove - Cobalt-Winged Parakeet - Black-Headed Parrot - Orange-Winged Amazon - Great Ani - Smooth-Billed Ani - Neotropical Palm Swift - Straight-Billed Hermit - Chestnut-Woodpecker - Wedge-Billed Woodcreeper - Long-Billed Woodcreeper - Black-Faced Antthrush - Drab Water Tyrant - Greater Kiskadee - Boat-BIlled Flycatcher - White-Winged Swallow - Social Flycatcher - Pink-Throated Becard - Black-Tailed Tityra - Rought-Winged Swallow - Purple Honeycreeper - Rufous-Bellied Euphoria - Flame Crested Tanager - Yellow-Rumbed Cacique - Oriole Blackbird - Yellow-Headed Caracara - Green Acouchi - Cocoi Heron - Green Kingfisher - Rufous Kingfisher - Black-Crowned Night Heron - Green Honeycreeper - Blue-Grey Tanager - Opal-Rumped Tanager - Palm Tanager - Pale Vented Pigeon - Many Banded Aracari - Pied Puffbird - Plum Throated Cotinga - Hoatzin - Tawny-Bellied Screech Owl - Yellow Crowned Amazon - Yellow-Tufted Woodpecker - Spix´s Guan - White-Throated Nunbird - Crested Oropendula - South American Common Toad - Yellow-Spotted Amazon River Turtle - Bulldog Fishing Bat - Kikajou - White-Faced Capuchin Monkey - Northern Amazon Red-Tailed Squirrel


...and a lot of bugs.