For those of you who have asked for the details of the Amazon trip, please see the linked schedule and details below.
Linked Experiences of Quito was our un-replaceable agent for this trip, and we've sung their praises in Google Reviews and elsewhere.
Here's a file with active hyperlinks.
diary with disabled links follows.
Schedule and diary
12/26
Arrival Quito from Isabella Island via Balta Island,
Galapagos
San Jose de Puembo Hotel
/ conference center/ hacienda near the Quito Ecuador airport
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Luke soccer with Gavin
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Spa and Pool
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Dinner with Vance and Sandy
12/27 Transit to Napo Wildlife Center
-
Breakfast, ride to airport
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Meet Milton, our naturalist guide
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Bus to Napo river
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Powered river canoe downriver: 2 hours, 80 km
-
Zigzag trip down river / rain
-
Landing and hike to canoe transfer point;
weaverbirds in tree by river
-
1.5 hour paddle up river with Milton, Ivan and
Marin
-
Caiman, stinky turkeys
-
Rain
o
https://www.napowildlifecenter.com/
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Up the tower, 100’
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Weaverbirds
12/28 Napo Wildlife Center
-
Luke’s birthday
o
Breakfast with balloons and gifts
-
Canoe ride
o
Anaconda sleeping in grass
o
Long nose bats on stick inn water
o
Caiman near lodge
o
White-faced swallow (bird)
o
Lots of stinky turkeys
o
Anhingas
o
Macaws in the air
o
Jesus bird walks on water
o
Caiman lizards in tree (2)
o
Monkeys
§
Capuchin
§
Squirrel
§
Barking at us as we follow them down river.
§
3 otters: Mom, dad, baby
o
Belted Blue Kingfisher
o
Blue Morpho butterfly
-
Lunch at lodge, siesta
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Later afternoon hike
o
Ate lemon ants
o
Owl moth
o
Spikey caterpillar
o
Dragon blood tree
§
Medicinal
o
Jungle tabaco
o
Armadillo hole
o
Tapir tracks
o
Tarantula spider on the tree trunk
§
Female, large body, shorter toes
o
Luke’s birthday reprised
-
At night:
o
Milky Way form the dock
o
shooting star from the dock
12/29 Napo Wildlife Center
-
Morning canoe
o
No anaconda
o
Otter World!!
§
3 otters with fish
§
Caiman nearby, canoe goes between
o
Tiger Heron
o
Jesus bird
-
Afternoon hike / canoe across lake
o
Monkey hairbrush
o
Frogs
o
How to trap animal lesson from Ivan
o
Walking sticks
o
Tree-runner Lizard on tree
o
Sandy’s watery slip into the creek
o
Owl asleep in tree
o
Scarlet macaw
o
Kapok Tree—and tower up to the tree top
§
Toucans robbing weaverbird nest
§
Blue and Gold Macaws
§
Scarlett Macaws
§
Caracara hawk
§
Bat hawk
§
Parrots
§
600 mm lens
-
Night Hike back from tree and tower
o
Red fire flies
o
Katydids…extremely noisy
o
Tarantulas (2)
o
Wolf spiders
o
Frogs and toads
o
Scorpion Spider
o
Bullet ants
o
Paddle back across the lake at night
12/30 Napo Wildlife
Center
-
Canoe and Hikes
o
Baby chick zigzag heron (rare)
o
Night (owl) monkey
o
Photo night with family from Los Angeles
o
Anangu Community visit
§
Welcome dance
§
Turtle shell and drum
§
Crafts
·
Bracelet, satchel
§
Parrot Clay lick
·
We see four of five possible types: Dusky-billed Parakeet, Blue-headed Parrot,
Yellow-crowned Parrot, Mealy Parrot & White-eyed Parakeet
§
Boat/hike to parrot clay lick “house”
·
100s of parrots in the trees, noisy
·
3-4 macaws, scarlet
o
In trees, and at water
·
Little Peep tries to stay, but Lauren retrieves
him.
§
Boat and canoe back to lodge
-
Evening dinner.
o
Milton MC’s recognition of staff
12/31 Napo Wildlife
Center
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Last breakfast together ☹
-
Mel’s late for canoe ride back to Coca
o
Trying to get every last moment 😊
-
Four otters!
o
One otter runs across land
-
We pass the Canadians from the Galapagos
Legend…They’re arriving; we’re departing.
-
Motor canoe upriver back to Coca
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Bus to airport
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Vance leaves fanny pack at terminal gate
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Charter plane back to Quito
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Fanny pack is found before we leave the plane.
o
Saga of the fanny pack’s travels
-
We say good byes
-
Sandy and Vance recover at the airport Westin
hotel
o
…..
-
Lauren, Luke, Mel driven to Termas de Papallacta
o
By Carlos, our local Quito Guide.
o
Stopped by the Old Ladies of the Old Year
(photos!) along the road
o
Spa and Thermal Springs 1.5 hours to the east,
across the Andean ridge
o
Natural hot springs feed pools among the lodge
rooms
-
New Year’s Eve at Papallacta
o
Meal, music and dancing
o
Burning the effigies of the old year
1/1/19
-
Cool and crisp weather
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Playing in the hot spring pools
-
Massages
-
Top of the Amazon basin ridge
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10,000’ elevation, nearby ridge at 13,000’
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Mel and Lauren hike
o
This land is an equatorial Switzerland !
o
Equatorial alpine meadows
o
More variety of plants per square meter seen on
a nature walk than it is possible to imagine.
Thousands of varieties…
§
Tropical, flowering, trees, bushes, etc.
o
Cabbages the size of basketballs
o
Llamas in the pasture
-
Chinese tour group (40+ people) arrives with
traveling outdoor kitchen. Yikes!!
-
We shift to a different room
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Chill out and photo review in a ‘private’ lobby
1/2/19
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Early morning departure with Carlos
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Back to Quito airport, Avianca flight to Bogota
-
Driver to Chia
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Back in Chia overnight until we leave for
Medellin in the morning.
o
Insane!!!
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