Bird hotspots, hot springs, and bumpy roads through the mountain rainforest.
Before leaving the riverbed in Cuyabeno, I had some time to take a closer look at the Yellow Rumped Caciques, known as many do with weaverbirds, which had built their colony in carefully woven pouches. The many pouch nests hung from the tree branches in clusters. The birds were jet black with a sharp ivory-colored beak, blue eyes, and, as the name suggests, some lemon-yellow accents on their wings and tail.
During the boat ride back up the river, we often had to jump out of the longboat to push it over obstacles due to various groundings caused by rocks, branches, and mud. Fortunately, the canoes are built sturdy enough to navigate up and down a sometimes challenging river. My pants were wet from walking through the river water. Luckily, the sun was high in the sky, so after lying out for a while, they were completely dry and ready to be packed into the backpack before the long bus ride.
The journey now headed back west, on the only road for miles around. Gilbert drove with us for about an hour until we reached his village. Thanks for this time – it was a pleasure to explore a small corner of the world’s largest rainforest under your guidance!
We passed an area with lucrative oil fields, where a giant flame burned from what is commonly called an “onshore oil rig.” Fortunately, the Ecuadorian population has recently elected a new president who is reportedly against clearing more rainforest to increase oil and resource extraction.
During a stop at a gas station, we stocked up on various fruit and nut snacks. Apparently, there are many tasty ways to prepare bananas. I will have to explore the wide range further in the future.
The bus driver, Bryan, and David sitting in the front seat spotted a roadside stand where some children were selling fruit from their family’s plantation during the late afternoon. They bought a handful of Guaba, which is a roughly 40-50 cm long fruit with a green “shell” protecting a mass of seeds surrounded by chalk-white flesh. They tasted sweet and delicious, like a true tropical fruit.
With a few hours of driving left to Hollín, we made another stop at a charming chocolate-themed café. It was fitting that we could taste some locally grown coffee and cocoa as we passed through this lush region.
After another couple of hours of driving through increasingly hilly terrain, we arrived at our accommodation in the evening, where Rio Hollín Chico flows into Rio Hollín Grande. Along the way, we witnessed a beautiful sunset, with the silhouette of the 3,990m high Sumaco volcano contrasting against the orange hues.
For dinner, we enjoyed another delicious Locro de Papa, this time served with popcorn as a side. It was a new experience for me, but I actually think it works really well to add them to a creamy soup.
Took a much-needed shower before going to sleep to the sound of a roaring waterfall. It sounds like a lot of cubic meters of water flow through this bottleneck, so I look forward to taking a closer look in the daylight.
The body’s internal clock is gradually adjusting, so a little before 6 am, we got up to a new day. Our accommodation had a cozy garden system with a large variety of different flower-bearing trees and a few hummingbird feeders scattered around.
As the sun gained more and more control of the day, the lightly buzzing sound of the ubiquitous hummingbirds’ flapping wings intensified.
After breakfast, we took a walk in the area, where from an opening in the forest canopy, we had a view of the green foothills. A couple of White-throated Toucans sat in some treetops. We also spotted an adult Green-fronted Lancebill hummingbird feeding its young. Like many other birds, it fed by inserting its long, pointed beak, almost as long as the rest of its body, into the throat of the recipient. It is precision work if the maneuver is not to go wrong.
The garden’s flowering bushes were a big hit among the many colorful butterflies and hummingbirds. However, I had an appointment with the aforementioned Cascada Hollín. I must say that the waterfall visually looked at least as good as expected. Actually, it probably exceeded my expectations. Surrounded by green fauna, the water masses flowed diligently into a large rock basin, from which they ran further down through the terrain with smaller falls.
After packing up, we headed towards the day’s final destination: Papallacta. There was about an hour’s drive to the first scheduled stop, Wayra Reserve. Upon arrival, the sun was high in the sky. The reserve is located in a forested area with around 350 hectares of protected nature and was established by local enthusiasts. Around Ecuador, more and more small “reserves” are emerging as the local population realizes that there is money in nature conservation. As a visitor, you pay an entrance fee, typically ranging from $10-$30. We went down to a small hide, where we had a good view of a lot of wildlife. I especially liked the Golden-tailed Sapphire hummingbird, which had a beautiful plumage. We also had a visit from a group of Black-capped Tamarins. It is a small, black-furred species of monkeys, smaller than cats. They feasted on some of the bananas the reserve uses to attract passing or resident wildlife.
It was also here that I experienced the largest number of Swallow-tailed Kites, a white and black raptor with a long forked tail that resembles that of a swallow. In total, more than 20 individuals hovered around the area, catching insects in the air. Since I first encountered it in the bird book back home in Denmark, I hoped to see this uniquely looking raptor.
The bird I remember best from the visit to Wayra Reserve is the delightful little Gorgeted Woodstar hummingbird, which according to my bird book measures only 6 cm. It’s not much larger than a bumblebee. Unlike other hummingbirds that whip back and forth between various food sources, this one behaved quite differently. Til forskel fra andre kolibrier, der pisker frem og tilbage imellem diverse fødekilder, opførte denne sig helt anderledes. Like a bumblebee, it moved systematically and with calm movements from flower to flower, ensuring that no nectar was missed. It was an interesting contrast to the hummingbirds I have observed before.
On the onward journey through the lush mountains, we made a brief lunch stop in the town of Baeza, where I had a reasonable meal with chicken. In general, most restaurants we have visited so far have a selection of pollo, trucha y beef – chicken, trout, and beef.
Papallacta is a small mountain town located in a valley at about 3,300m altitude, overlooking the north side of the Antisana volcano.
Darkness fell shortly after our arrival at a small hotel, whose driveway was adorned with a statue depicting the iconic Spectacled Bear. It is a herbivorous bear that is the size of humans, although like other bears, it is heavily built, with a weight ranging from 100-200kg.
The small mountain town is best known for its thermal baths – and that’s where we were going this evening 😀
After packing a small bag with a towel and swimwear, we walked through this upper part of the town, where there is only one road. It could be felt in the air temperature that we had returned to higher altitudes, so it was back on with a fleece sweater. On the approximately 1 km walk, we passed an area with fish farms, where they breed some of the many trout eaten in this part of the country. Expectations for the evening’s activities grew steadily during the 10-minute walk to the wellness resort where the springs are located.
As far as I remember, it cost around $10 to buy admission.
The feeling of sinking the body into the hot water was absolutely fantastic. I think I can speak for everyone when I say that it was precisely what we needed after spending so many hours in seats on long bus and canoe rides. After some time relaxing in the hot water, we started experimenting with jumping back and forth between a teeth-chattering cold pool and a steaming hot one.
A few hours later, we all had prune fingers and toes, and it was an appropriate time to return to our lodging for the night. Following a good dinner, we jumped into bed exhausted. Fortunately, Joakim and I had made sure to turn on our electric heater, so the temperature was very comfortable inside the stone cabin, which would otherwise be at risk of being influenced by the low outdoor night temperature.
The next morning, we met in the dawn daylight, with the goal of experiencing the highland nature before breakfast at 9:30 am. We had 3 hours and 30 minutes to make the most of it, and they were to be spent walking as far uphill as possible along a gravel path through the northern end of the valley. One of the excursion’s “side quests” was to catch a glimpse of a Mountain Tapir, which had been seen on one of the surrounding mountain slopes before. It succeeded after a few kilometers of walking, and at the same time, the sunlight had taken a firm grip on the day. If we couldn’t see a Spectacled Bear, a Mountain Tapir is also very cool.
Antisana’s 5,753-meter-high glacier-shrouded top increasingly appeared as a majestic backdrop behind us as we climbed up to the level of the mountains that surrounded the valley. The air was incredibly clear, and the absent clouds truly provided an unforgettable view of the dormant volcano. Along the way, I turned around again and again to take in the sight as much as possible. During the hike, we could observe several different mixed species bird flocks. These are collections of several different species that travel together while foraging. After about 400 meters of climbing, spread over 5 kilometers of walking, we turned back. At the turning point, we saw a Purple-backed Thornbill hummingbird, whose shiny emerald green throat is a beautiful feature in its plumage.
I really enjoy experiencing an area by running, cycling, or, in this case, taking a hike.
With Bryan at the wheel, we left a little after 10 am towards the Chocó region on the western slope of the Andes. On the trip, we had to pass through Quito, but first, we stopped at an area with Polylepis forest at around 4,000m altitude. These plants grow in the high Andes mountains and are the plant species with a trunk that grows highest above sea level. In such high-altitude forests, a fine little bird named the Giant Conebill lives. By playing the species’ song on a speaker, we managed to attract an individual in record time. It’s cool that such a small bird has adapted to live only at around 4,000 meters altitude. Its appearance is somewhat similar to our Crested Tit back home in Europe.
In the northern part of Quito, we had lunch at a restaurant next to the main road, where we really got to know Empanadas, a classic South American dish, for the first time. They typically consist of a mixture of, for example, chicken, beef, or cheese, wrapped in a kind of dough, which is either fried or baked. I ordered one of each kind, with chicken and beef, and I must say, they were quite delicious! I definitely need to have more empanadas during the rest of the trip 🙂 The main meal was topped off with a dessert from the neighbor – an ice cream shop. There were about 10 different flavors, and I decided to go with the two with the coolest names in Spanish: Maracuya and Guanabana. The first is a Passionfruit, while Guanabana ice cream is white and tastes both sour and sweet. I was very satisfied with my choice.
Here on the outskirts of Quito, we passed the equator line once again. David explained that Quito is a contraction of the words qui and to, which as far as I remember mean center and world, respectively. So, Quito is the center of our world.
As we descended the western slope, the surroundings became greener and shrouded in a heavy blanket of low-hanging clouds. We stopped at a café in the Nanegalito area and experienced a plethora of new hummingbird species visiting the set-up feeders. It wasn’t cold; I wore a t-shirt, but the rain continued to fall. In the time we were here, I didn’t even manage to glance at the menu. The camera and the Merlin app were working at full throttle – there was so much bird activity 😀
Un Poco del Chocó is a research station / nature reserve located at around 1,100m altitude, in the cloud forests west of Quito. The owners, Nicole and Wilo, bought the area back in 2008 and converted it from being a farm to being protected nature. The research station is used to conduct research on all the flora and fauna in the area.
We turned off the paved road and continued on a narrow gravel road that wound along a ridge. The moisture in the air had really condensed, and visibility at this late afternoon time was no more than 10-15 meters. You could sense that at times there was a long way down before the mountain slopes leveled out. Bryan steered the bus through the terrain as if he were a machine – you would think he had driven here many times before 😀
However, the good driving skills were not quite enough to overcome a suddenly yawning hole, almost a crater, in the road. The bus was completely stuck. It’s the first time I’ve tried it, but it’s the kind of experience you’ll look back on with a smile in the future! Who just got stuck on a remote dirt road in Ecuador?
We all got out of the bus to make it a bit lighter and started pushing it free while Bryan put it in full reverse. We managed to get out of the crater after some efforts, and we started filling the hole with some of the suitable stones and branches we found by the roadside. In the twilight, we managed to overcome this unforeseen obstacle, and after about 15 minutes of further driving, we finally reached our destination at around 6 pm.
