Reserva Ecologica Pachijal Mindo

... the waterfalls. Being the weekend there were LOTS of Ecuadorian tourists, who all gave us pitying looks as they drove past in cars, leaving us to taste their dirt. It was a longer walk than we anticipated (uphill as it always seems to be). Eventually - after a couple of hours - one guy stopped and insisted on giving us a lift the rest of the way. Unfortunately he took us past the place we wanted to stop and dropped us much further away. Visited the ...

... billig aber sehr gut. (mit Suppe und Hauptgang 5$) Ach ja hätte ich vergessen bezahlt wird hier in Dollar. <br>Am Dienstag erstmal ein wenig in der Stadt umschauen, der alte Teil ist recht schön. Super prunkvoll ausgestaltete Kirchen. In einer sollen 7 Tonnen Gold verbaut worden sein. In den meisten werden auch noch aktive Gottesdienste veranstaltet, wenn ich es richtig verstanden habe 4 mal am Tag und da gehen auch ...

... difference, as she has demonstrated. She built a lodge on her property to accommodate birders and her volunteers. When we arrived, we thought we would be joining a group of mist netters, but we were the only volunteers there, so we had to work independently. It was a steep learning curve for me. the handling of the birds was fine, but extraction is a whole new ball game. This is also the first time we have handled tiny hummingbirds; the poor things ...

... photos of the view back east across Quito which eventually I´ll stitch into what should be a delightful panorama. At this point the only way of continuing up was to leave the stairs we´d climbed so far and begin to clamber up an extremely narrow spiral staircase. Every 5 metres or so was a new level and it was possible to step out onto wooden platforms; first was the inside mechanics of the clock situated in one of the church´s towers. There were a few more ...

... At nighttime, some traffic lights display both red and green, which confused me. Vincente, or my host father, told me that it mean yield. They also use yellow lights. We arrived at the apartment where I was to stay; Vincente told me that the elevators didn&#8217;t work at this time of day. I asked him how many flights of stairs. He told me, Diez (10). I almost had a heart attack! Later, I noticed the smirk on his face which told me was just kidding. You can&#8217;t joke with me at ...

... now to put the rest of our deposit for our galapagos trip. We found a deal and are going to go to GALAPAGOS!!!! yay! We´re so excited. Can´t wait to snorkel &amp; see the wildlife there. This trip has been so much about wildlife so far.. there really are some amazing creatures here. The ATM´s only let you take out small amounts per day, so it is taking us forever to pay the travel agency. Anyways, until next time - miss everyone. Love Michelle &amp; Russ

... I won´t bored you with the remainder of the week but suffice to say it mostly involved weilding a machete and hacking the forest to bits (at this is the point I refer you back to my earlier comment about ´conservation´. Where´s the bit where we plant trees and stuff? I spent the whole week chopping things down).<br><br>By the end of the week our dorm room was beginning to take on a certain aroma which wasn´t all that pleasant so.....<br><br ...

... other things. today is labor day for ecuador. this was actually like a retreat for the engineers that work for diego. his gf works there too. it was basically a day for time to spend time together, away from the office, and learn more about one another. although the ride home was miserable, and we got pulled over for having too many people in the back of the truck, and i was freezing ...

... of nowhere ! worst = soggy pizza in Chivay, in the dark and Mc Donnalds after a 10 hr trip to Cuenca...but Luciano loved it! Most adventurous eater = Alex ate anything that once had a pulse. Wildlife best = watching humming birds feed oddest = watching "Nutz" the dog feed....Alex said he wanted one just like him! Big shout out to the group for making the trip sooooooo much fun, 36 days is a long time to spend together. Alex and ...

... we celebrated with the traditional plate of rice...... no more, just rice!!!!! I felt like she should have showered me with it as they do when the bride and groom leave the wedding. She didnt, so I upturned the plate on my head, scoffed at her all too familiar "what the ****" expression.....and like that I was gone. From here the direction would be south....familiar territory would greet me....... I was happy to leave...... Mindo scores...but only slightly......