Monday, August 19, 2024
Three flights:
Tampa to Atlanta: 1:33 hours
Atlanta to New York:Â 2:15 hours
New York to Quito:: 6:20 hours
arrived at midnight.
Our hotel, Mercure:
Tuesday, August 20, 2024
Quito, Ecuador.
We had a very full day today. We started out at 6:00 a.m.Â
10:00 a.m. start an hour walk terminating on a chocolate presentation (and tasting), they make the world’s best chocolate here. We saw how they have three different kinds of cocoa pods where they make different kinds of chocolate
3 p.m. We stopped at a little stand on the side of the road where they were roasting grubs. Four of us tried one but the other 12 refused!
5:00 p.m. we reached our new resort in the Amazon river basin!
I don’t think there’s any central area/lobby to this resort other than dining area. They also have a spa, a pool and other things we haven’t seen yet. Our cabin is very rustic, one light bulb on the ceiling, a ceiling fan, no air conditioning, wood board walls and ceiling very very rustic, openings for windows with no glass, just screens, wood pegs for hanging our clothes, no closet, simple room and bathroom.Â
After dinner we took an hour walk down to the river (no mosquitoes) and back in the dark looking for bugs and grubs and spiders and whatever critters that our guide could point out for the 10 of us.Â
August 21, 2024
Quito, Amazon Jungle
Another full day –
12 to 1 another hike in the jungle where we saw wild monkeys in the trees. Some came down for bananas.
Then a boat ride with a guy paddling out in a canoe where we saw birds.
2 to 3 a presentation by some locals.
3 to 5 a boat ride in a boat with an outboard in the Amazon river. We stopped at a village on the shore where I purchased a clay oil lamp.
Â
August 22, 2024
Today we packed up at 6 AM for the trip from our cabin (with no window glass – screens only) (and no AC or heat) deep in the Amazon jungle back to civilization. We stopped on the way at a shrine and a view point – it was quite cold with the wind blowing across the top of the Andes mountain where we were.
We also stopped to get fuel for the bus ($2.75 a gallon ) and a walk to a waterfall. The mountains here are massive, they have many, many beautiful waterfalls, and they are very covered in green. Some in the distance are also snow covered.
Then we took a side trip to a massive tower marking the “middle of the world” (a spot on the equator) where we had lunch. I had shrimp ceviche up on a porch overlooking the tower.
I purchased another mask for my collection, then we hiked a bit and rode the bus back to the hotel where we started. I went up to the gym and worked out for a half hour before going down the street to a corner restaurant where they serve very interesting local meals, Plantains and some food – I have no idea what it was, but it was very good! It was a soft fried egg on top of a bed of some kind of meat and a huge helping of greens.
Tomorrow we will be going to several places that sound like fun!
Today 8-23-2024Â
We got off early at 8 AM and headed north on the “Avenue of Volcanoes” There were active volcanoes north, south, east , and west of us. One was called the Father Volcano, and another Mother Volcano. Then eons later another volcano erupted and they called that the Boy Volcano.. Father and Son volcanoes were in one range of the Andes and Mother was on another, Mother cried that her son was so far away and her tears created a lake.
But we were on our way to a different water body Laguna Cuicocha. A volcano had erupted leaving a huge hole with steep sides. Over eons water from rain filled it half way up, about 1000 feet of water and the sides are still 100 feet above that. Then the volcano pushed up some magma and created two islands in the middle. We took a boat ride around the islands. They had imported fish but the fish did not have a shallow place to lay their eggs and they did not survive. They imported deer onto the island and they are still there. There are very few birds, but there are a few ducks that live there.
On the way we stopped and got some unusual fruit, then stopped and got a local delicacy, a finger sized “biscuit” on which they put a chocolate sauce, Then we stopped at the home of a musician who makes musical instruments. I purchased one he had made,
On the ride back to the hotel we were stopped by the police, but they let us go.
