In September 2011 we rejoined nature tour leader Mark Pretti on a birds and natural history tour of southern Ecuador. Read more about it!
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In September 2010 we rejoined nature tour leader Mark Pretti on a birds and natural history tour of northern Ecuador. (We had been to Ecuador back in 1998 – before US dollars replaced the sucre and ecotourism took off – visiting the eastern lowlands with Victor Emanuel and Peter English.) We began the trip in the northwestern lowlands, foothills, and cloudforest. In the northwest, we stayed at the Tinalandia Lodge, Séptimo Paraiso (7th Heaven) Lodge, and Tandayapa Lodge, and also visited two reserves managed by the Mindo Cloudforest Foundation, Rio Silanche and Milpe. We also visited Angel Paz to see his “habituated” antpittas (normally quite difficult to see) and more. Click here to read more about it!
Just after Christmas, we headed off to the tropics, this time to the rainforest of the Amazonas region of eastern Ecuador. We travelled with Victor Emanuel Nature Tours (VENT), accompanied by guides Victor Emanuel and Peter English, with whom we had travelled to Belize for New Year’s 1996. From the capital of Quito (at approx 10000 ft elevation) we flew east about an hour to Coca, capital of the Amazonas province. Then we had a boat ride down the Rio Napo (which flows eventually into the Amazon), a truck ride along an oil company road, and another boat ride down the Rio Tiputini to the Tiputini Biodiversity Station. After several days there (Liza intermittently terrified by giant cockroaches), it was off to the Sacha Lodge – via boat, truck, another boat, a muddy walk, and a canoe ride. Click here to read more about it!
