We woke up around 1:30 am and met in front of the hotel. We rode in a tall van with around 8 seats total. Our driver was from Quito.
We watched as we ascended a mountain. City gave way to cliffs as we crossed the Andes. Gareth fell asleep and I watched our trip. Initially the road was smooth. That was until we turned onto Route E20. This is where our trip took a turn. We endured 4 hours of endless potholes. The road was scarred with washouts and poor repairs from landslides. Everyone was in a rush to get off of this steep road that, at its highest, was around 14,000 feet above sea level. A few potholes sent us soaring out of our seats as our driver cursed under his breath. We finally reached flat land around 4 hours later as we entered the Orellana Province.
The rest of the journey was smooth. We stopped for breakfast and ate with our driver. My stomach was unsettled from the ride and I rushed to the bathroom to throw up. We continued on for another 3 hours and finally reached our meeting point, Hotel D’Mario. The hotel was in the center of the bustling border town of Lago Agrio (its official name is Neuvo Loja. This town is located about 20 mins from the border of Columbia. There is not a heavy security presence at this border crossing. It is a known smuggling route.)
*Pro tip- to avoid a long drive across the Andes, fly into Coca and take a 30 minute taxi ride to Lago Agrio. It is cheaper, safer, and easier.*
Our time in Lago Agrio was short. We were late. We were quickly loaded into a pickup truck with other guests of the lodge. We spent the next portion of our two hour drive chatting and getting to know them.
Two hours and a few dirt roads later we arrived at Tierras Orientales. We took a quick lunch break while our luggage was loaded onto a motorized canoe. This would be our means of transportation for the next week. We used the restroom in a poorly maintained bathroom (you had to scoop a bucket of water and dump it in the toilet to flush it). We gave our leftovers to begging dogs. Eventually we were loaded onto the canoe and we began our down river journey deep into the Oriente.
This part of the trip seemed more like an adventure than travel. Our guide stopped often and spotted animals and birds. We chatted with the people around us and awed at the beauty and power of the rushing Rio Aguarico. Along the way we saw the scarred land that had been farmed for palm oil. We saw the oil companies and their settlements.
Eventually we turned into the Cuyabeno Reserve. We immediately spotted one pink river dolphin hanging out near the mouth of the river. We watched respectfully for a period of time before continuing on. (We did extensive research on where to see the endangered Pink River Dolphins. Cuyabeno had the best track record for consistently spotting the dolphins. It lived up to its reputation, as we spotted the river dolphins numerous times.)
We arrived at our lodge around sunset. The lodge was tucked away in a hidden lagoon, just off of the main Cuyabeno River.
We settled into our new open-air cabins and met for dinner. We spent the night chatting , drinking, and getting to know our new friends. There was a mutual understanding that we were off the grid and only had each other for the next few days. Everyone was in their 20’s and 30’s and got along flawlessly.
We woke up around 5:30 am to the song of Andres (our guide’s) voice telling us to wake up. We all puttered into the canoe for our first adventure. We were going to see a parrot clay lick. We took our time traveling up the river, stopping often to spot wildlife. We saw dolphins again and went to the clay lick. There were only a few birds at the lick because of a fallen tree from a storm that came through a few nights ago. The birds need to eat dry clay. They were digging a new hole around 100 feet away.
We had breakfast at 8 am and had some time to rest. We split into two groups for a hike through the forest. The lodge supplied us with boots. We sprayed bug spray on and hiked for around 3 hours. We stopped often and learned about local plant life. We saw many frogs and lizards. We even ate lemon ants!
Hiking into the muddy jungle
Sleepy tree frog
Nature’s birth control - indigenous tribes make a tea out of this plant that stops menstration
Penis tree
We ate lunch and then went on another canoe ride. We saw a Common Potoo sitting on her nest and saw the prehistoric Huatson. We heard marching wasps and so much more. We watched the sunset from the canoe on our way back to the lodge.
After dinner we went on a night hike. Our guides informed us that hiking at night is VERY different than hiking during the day. We were to go very slowly through the jungle and not stray off the path. If you like spiders, this is the hike for you. We saw THOUSANDS of spiders. There were spiders on the ground, spiders in trees, spiders wandering, and spiders in webs. We also saw various insects, frogs, and even a scorpion. I was very itchy after this hike and took a shower before dinner.
A small brown frog - perfect camouflage for the jungle floor
Colorful grasshopper
Every time I look at this photo, I see more spiders
A small scorpion
*The mosquitoes are only in the dense rainforest. I wore long pants tucked into rain boots, a long sleeve shirt, and bug spray when entering the forest. I did not get bit by a single mosquito.
We woke up early and went on a canoe ride searching for wildlife. We found birds and monkeys. We ate breakfast and spent some time resting. We loaded up into the canoe around 10 am to go piranha fishing.
Now piranha fishing is not easy. You splash the top of the water to call the piranhas. The splashing is like a dinner bell. The blood also attracts them. They do not bite the hook. The nip at the meat that is on the hook. When you feel the nipping, you yank the pole as quickly as you can to the side and hope the hook catches the fish. We spent hours feeding the piranhas raw chicken. Our guides sacrificed a small piranha when we ran out of chicken. I did not catch a piranha, but I did come close.
One of the piraña we managed to catch
Carlos unhooking a piraña
Our intricate fishing pole
We went back to the lodge after only catching around 5 piranha. Someone suggested a swim and the group agreed. Everyone met at the main river and went in. I was weary about getting in because our guide was not swimming with us. I asked him why we couldn’t swim in the lagoon and he said there were electric eels in the lagoon but not in the main river. I accepted that answer and jumped in. The eels became an inside joke for anyone that strayed too far from the dock. “Don’t go too far, there’s eels over there”.
We ate lunch and I spent the afternoon in a hammock reading. We reconvened for an evening hike through the jungle. We hiked for a few hours and watched the sunset. Seeing the forest change from day to night was whimsical.
Sweaty and hiking in the jungle
More spiders - of course
We ate dinner - piranha. (side note - the kitchen staff managed to clean a pirhana jaw off and gave it to me. I was able to bring it back with me to the USA and currently have it in my house).We also ate another large catfish that was caught earlier in the day. The chef made a cake and spirits were high. Gareth and I had some cheap rum and brought it out to share for Gareth’s birthday the next day. This was the last night our entire group would be together before some people departed the next morning. Everyone, even our guides, spent the night drinking and chatting.
Our guides opened up about their difficulties protecting the rainforest. There is a huge lack of government support. The indigenous people tend to support the oil companies because of the money they bring. The oil companies are attempting to breach the preserve and explore for oil (which involves using dynamite to blow up the river banks, which is devastating to local wildlife). Their first hand experience was eye opening as to what devastation the rainforest is facing. Waita is trying to change the narrative by promoting ecotourism as a money source instead of oil. So far it is working and Cuyabeno is protected. Fun fact: Waita means to feel connected to nature. It lives up to its name.
This was our last full day in the reserve. We woke up later in the morning and ate breakfast. The people that were staying an additional night piled into the canoe and went up river. We all scurried onto paddle boards and inflatable canoes. We spent the morning floating back down the river towards the lodge. Our group decided to play human “Pooh Sticks”. We all lined up and let the current carry us down river. We admired the silence and power of the river and rainforest.
Everyone agreed to go for a swim when we returned. The sun this day was HOT. We played in the river, tossing a tennis ball around in a circle for around an hour. Our guide Carlos watched us. Our silent guardian Angel.
Playing catch in the river
Part two
We ate lunch and rested. Some of us chatted, some of us read, edited photos, and played games. A Quechua woman visited our camp with handmade jewelry. We were able to buy souvenirs and support a good cause. Profit protects.
Around 4:30 pm we all piled into the canoe with a case of beers. We visited a canopy tower. The tower was over 80 feet tall. We looked for birds over the canopy and watched as the sun dropped.
Views from the top of the bird tower
Sweaty after climbing all the stairs to the top
Watching the sun drop lower and lower
The bird tower
Our next stop was a sandbar in the middle of the main Rio Aguarico. We watched the sunset while drinking beers and chatting. The sunset was stunning and peaceful.
Sunset on the water
Photographing birds, as always
Drinking beer, as always
Sunset on the sandbar
We searched for caiman on the way back to our lodge. You shine a light across the water. Their eyes reflect the light and you see the caiman. We had one good sighting but saw three in total. Compared to alligators, caiman are small. I instantly felt more at peace about swimming in the river.
The chef made Gareth a personal cake for his birthday and we sang happy birthday. He celebrated 26 years around the sun in the awe-inspiring jungle.
This is the day we had been dreading. This was our departure day. We went on one last early morning canoe ride to a parrot clay lick. We had an amazing sighting of many species of parrots and parakeets.
After breakfast we said our goodbyes to the staff and checked out. We paid for our beers and tipped the guides, the canoe driver, and the lodge staff. We set out on our 4 hour canoe ride up river. We stopped every so often. Carlos spotted his first ever Black Skimmer along the way.
We all ate lunch and piled into a stuffy van. There was a running bet about how many notifications I would have when we came back online. We anxiously drove back up the dirt road toward the larger town. Eventually we got a signal. Gareth and I were the only Americans in the van. Everyone else was European. Someone received a notification that the queen died and the van erupted in unrest. Questions flew around about how she died and how much time off everyone would get. Very unique way to find out the queen of England had passed.
After an hour drive, we arrived at a bus stop and said goodbye to our new friends and Carlos. We continued onto Lago Agrio and met our driver. We took the 8 hour drive back to Quito without stopping. We arrived at our hotel around 11 pm and ordered room service.
Day 16
We woke up at 3:30 am and made our way to the airport. The Quito airport is relatively small and easy to navigate. We were exhausted and eager to get home. We went to Miami and then Charlotte before finally flying into Charleston around 6 pm. After two days of travel we were glad to be home. The longing for planning our next trip has set in. Who knows where we will go next. Wherever we go, it is sure to be an adventure.
We departed Charleston, South Carolina on a 6AM flight to Miami. We grabbed a quick breakfast and waited for our next flight to Quito, the capital city of Ecuador. We passed our time reading, watching movies, sleeping, and looking out the window. In total the flight from Miami to Quito was between 3 and a half to 4 hours.
Our first look at Ecuador was magnificent. The mountains and valleys were unlike anything we had ever seen before. The way the valleys cut into the land was phenomenal. Suburbs were perched on the edge of cliffs.
Finally, we touched down in South America. The Quito airport was very easy to navigate. Customs and immigration took about two minutes. We exited the airport and found the rental car counter to the left of customs. Come to find out, many cars in Ecuador are manual transmission. We had to wait around two hours for an automatic car since they were few and far between. Once we got the car, we were on the road to Refugio Paz De Las Aves.
We hit Quito around rush hour but easily navigated the traffic. Route 28 leaving Quito and heading towards the beach was a very wide and well paved road. We navigated the road while taking in the views with no issues.
Finally we found the sign for Paz and ascended a very steep and very bumpy dirt road. The sunset was stunning. We stopped on the side of the road and took photos of our first sunset in South America. We were greeted by the Paz family at their house upon our arrival. The day was wrapped up with dinner and an early bedtime. (Note that even though Ecuador is on the Equator, the mountains are cold at night. Please pack accordingly, as we did not.I took a cold water shower and spent the night shivering because I did not have warm clothes.)
We began the day around 5:50 am on a guided tour to see the Cock-of-the-rock bird. Our guide, Angel Paz, kept us moving. We were running late. We found another group of birders along the road and invited them to join us. We parked on the side of the road and hiked down a short trail to the Lek, where the Cock-of-the-rock performs a territorial display. We expected to see one Cock-of-the-rock, however there were three at the lek. These birds are very difficult to photograph as they are in the forest and you cannot use flash.They move often and hide behind leaves under the dark canopy.
Right beside the lek, Angel Paz used his famous voice vocalizations to call a very rare wood quail. The quail popped up out of the woods and ate worms. Angel took my phone and got an amazing photo of the mysterious wood quail.
A few people joined us as we walked up to the road where the cars were parked. Angel proceeded to see numerous quetzals and many other species of birds. We spent around 45 minutes observing numerous species of birds.
Finally it was time to see the famous Antpitta. We walked down a road and Angel called for Maria, the resident Giant Antpitta. She came to the lek with a juvenile Antpitta. Her and the juvenile fought over the food and Maria won. She proceeded to feast on worms before disappearing as quickly as she had appeared.
We left and stopped again to see another Antpitta on the side of the road. This Antpitta took a few minutes to arrive, as it was foraging in the forest. We photographed the bird and drove back to the lodge. At the lodge, we took a short walk and proceeded to see three other species of antpittas before breakfast. Antpittas are elusive and near impossible birds to see. The Paz family has formed a special bond with their Antpittas, so a spotting is almost guaranteed.
On the way to breakfast with the Paz family, a guide spotted a common Potoo in a pasture several hundred meters away. We approached the Potoo on foot and were able to get impressive views.
We went and ate breakfast then proceeded to take photos of birds on feeders eating bananas. Next thing we know, Angel approached us about a very exclusive walk. This hike is only for people staying at the lodge. We were intrigued and agreed.
We hopped into Angel’s pick-up truck and proceeded to drive through many cow pastures up a very windy and overgrown dirt road. Finally we arrived at the trailhead, which is a fenced cow pasture on the side of the mountain. This was deemed the trailhead because we could not drive any further down the path.
The views on the hike were absolutely stunning. We were on the side of a mountain hiking through cow pastures overlooking a valley. We looked in awe down at clouds passing through the valley below.. We walked through grass over six feet tall and finally arrived in the forest. Angel used only a specific whistle to call for the Ocellated Tapaculo and it appeared. These birds are very hard to see as they salvage in the undergrowth of dense vegetation. After we spent a few minutes photographing the bird, it left and we departed the way we had arrived.
Overlooking the valley
Hiking along a cow path
Some resident cows in the pasture
We went to lunch and ate quickly then went back to our lodge and photographed hummingbirds and feeder birds.
Around 4 pm we hiked down to a different spot for a chance to view the cock-of-the-rock bird again. This time there were 6 birds in the jungle. They were magnificent. We spent all evening photographing these birds with Angel and another family member.
After dinner we went on a night hike to see a Rufescent Screech Owl. We hiked down the mountain in near darkness, with our flashlights off, so we would not scare the bird. We would stop occasionally to see the odd insect. Angel used his famous bird call and was able to locate the owl. We spent a few minutes viewing the owl before hiking back up the mountain.
Our final morning at Paz was spent walking to try and see a different giant antpitta. We tried for around 30 minutes but the antpitta never appeared. Angel said that maybe the antpitta doesn’t work on Sundays.
The rest of the morning was spent photographing hummingbirds. I used my Iphone to take close up videos of the birds. We removed the hummingbird feeders and sprayed the flowers with sugar water to attract them,
The hummingbirds were desperate for food once the feeders were removed. So desperate that one flew in front of my face and licked inside my nose. Gareth had one lick inside his ear and landed on his head. We got some amazing shots, as the birds were very cooperative once the hummingbird feeders were gone.
We departed Paz and drove closer to Mindo. We attempted to visit Birder’s House. We drove around 30 minutes up a windy dirt road, only to be disappointed in learning that they only accept cash for the entry fee. This is where we learned that cash is king outside of the city.
We drove to downtown Mindo, ate lunch, and restocked on essentials (warmer clothes). We walked and explored the small town. Mindo is a gorgeous town on a beautiful river. The town was welcoming and there were many day-tripping Ecuadorians. Mindo only has one ATM, and it does not accept international cards. We learned that cash is necessary and hard to acquire.
The colorful sign for downtown Mindo - every town had a colorful sign of the town name
Our lunch views - overlooking a small river cutting through downtown Mindo
We continued on our way to San Jorge Ecolodge Milpe and arrived just before dark. We ate dinner, and found a giant snail on our way back.
We woke up around 5:30am and met at our breakfast location. We grabbed a quick snack and went on a morning hike to a bird blind. This bird blind was different than the other blinds, however. It has a light in front that turns on at night to attract moths. The moths come to the light in the dark forest and swarm. In the morning, the birds arrive to eat the moths that have swarmed. We saw many species of birds darting from the undergrowth to eat the moths. We spent a few hours here before departing for breakfast.
We attempted to upload photos while we ate. However, our primary computer screen died so we were unable to use that computer. Our back up computer did not work either because we had the incorrect USB cord. We were able to manually transfer the photos on wifi via Bluetooth to our Iphones. However we still needed a computer, as we would be spending 5 days in the Amazon rainforest without internet.
Our guide, Jordan, knew exactly where to take us. We all hopped in the car and drove to Los Bancos, about a 15 minute drive from Milpe. Los Bancos was a bustling town with many shops. We quickly located the store with computers. They did not just have one option, they had three options (we are far from the capital so we did not expect to find any computers). We downloaded photos in the store to make sure the computer would work and bought it.
*We did not know you needed a local address or social number to use a credit or debit card in Ecuador. Thankfully Jordan was willing to provide his address and personal identification number so we could buy the laptop.*
We walked to the local bank, Banco Pinchincha, and could finally withdraw precious cash after attempting three ATM’s that barred our international card. Next we walked to another store and purchased beer, wine, Ecuadorian rum, and some chocolate. The Ecuadorian supermarkets give you a scratch ticket for a gift when you make a purchase. This is something new to us, as US stores do not do this. It is a thank you for shopping at their store. We won tupperware and gave it to Jordan’s mom.
We drove back to Milpe and ate lunch. After lunch we decided to take a very long hike to six waterfalls. Along the way we spotted many birds, fer-de-lance snake skin, frogs, and snakes. We took our time walking and stopped often to view birds and take photos at the waterfalls. Milpe is at a lower altitude, so there are mosquitoes. Bring bug spray! (Milpe sits between 2,000-3,000 feet above sea level.)
We spotted an Aplomado Falcon during our ascent back to the lodge. This is the first time the Falcon has been spotted at Milpe, so it was a very rare sighting. We continued back to the lodge and arrived right before dark.
Day 5
We woke up around 5 am for a 5:30 am hike. It rained all night and continued into the morning. We put on our rain boots and ponchos and proceeded to hike to a blind in the forest. Along the way we saw a false coral snake. We watched birds for around two hours and saw many new species. On our hike back to the lodge we saw quetzals and falcons.
We ate breakfast and spent the rest of the morning around the lodge. We photographed hummingbirds, Aracaris, Toucans, and Motmots. The rain stopped mid-Morning. We took this down time to upload photos and catch up on social media.
After lunch we went on a hike to the Cliff Lodge. We spent time here photographing quail and watching the clouds pass by in the valley.
After dinner we went on a night hike. Jordan noticed some fallen trees in our path and ran to get a machete. He chopped them down in front of us to continue our night hike. This was probably one of the hardest hikes we did during our trip to Ecuador. We descended a mountain on a dirt and muddy path towards a river bed. We found many tarantulas along the way. One accidentally got stuck on a stick and almost landed on me. We found many many frogs as well. The night hike lasted around 4 hours. We had to ascend the mountain, which was equally as difficult.
Day 6
We woke up early and decided to hike to the main river. This was a long trek past waterfalls and down the mountain. At one point we were mountain climbing.
We did not find many birds but did find a few butterflies and frogs. We spent some time sitting by the river before our trek up the mountain.
The main river during the dry season
The biggest waterfall we saw during our time at Milpe
We departed Milpe and headed for Tandayapa. There was a minor set back of our keys being locked in the car. This took a few hours to resolve. Eventually our rental car company called some amigos and they rolled up in a taxi. One of them put a rag against the car and wedged a screwdriver between the car door and the frame. The other one took a curved clothes hanger and flipped the lock unlocked. This took all of 30 seconds. I am convinced that was not their first time.
We made it to Tandayapa before nightfall after driving up a steep dirt road. We watched the sunset overlooking the very steep Andean mountains. Wilson, our host, and his wife Jessica taught us Kichwa and talked about how they were from the Amazon.
We woke up and took an initial hike around the reserve. We hiked up the hill overlooking the valleys. We found a few cock-of-the-rock birds and watched them for around 45 mins. We did not get an opportunity to photograph them because they were deep in the forest.
After the hike we sat around the lodge for a while watching feeder birds and hummingbirds.
After lunch we walked down to the main road, along the road and through the main gate. We hiked up the lodge’s private road, which was not as steep as we initially thought. We stopped at two ponds along the way to look for frogs. We also enjoyed scenic views.
Birdwatching on the narrow road
A small pond along the side of the road
Day 8
We woke up early to watch the birds at the light feeder. We ate breakfast. Shortly after we decided to ascend the mountain. We gathered our stuff and proceeded to climb for around an hour from 5,500 feet to 6,500 feet. We had a decision to make at the top of the mountain. We could either turn around or hike to a stream. We decided to hike down the other side of the mountain to the lost stream. The hike was strenuous so we rested at the bottom of the stream on a bench for a while.
We climbed back up the mountain and took a long rest overlooking the valley where our lodge was. Gareth, Wilson, and I shared a small pack of trail mix and Wilson chugged a coca-cola. We then descended the mountain and ate lunch.
We spent the afternoon resting and photographing birds. I took a nap. After a while we went on a short hike to see if there were any birds on the light feeder. There weren’t any birds.
Day 9
We woke up, went to the light feeder and ate breakfast and left Tandayapa. The drive back to Quito was easy. We decided to visit Mitad Del Mundo, a monument and park along the equator at Latitude 00’00’00. We had some difficulty parking. We found a public parking lot after accidentally driving the car into a ditch. The entrance fee was $5 pp. We saw the Ecuadorian Cuy (giant guinea pigs) roasting over a fire as soon as we walked in. There were a ton of stores and shops with arts and crafts. We browsed and looked over souvenirs.
We made it to the equator and took some time to take photos. We walked into a museum that showcased the different regions of the country, history, and indigenous cultures. The museum was built in the shape of a tower. We climbed to the top and looked down at the middle of the world village and took some more photos.
We gathered our souvenirs and left, as we were eager to get back to our car. We continued on toward San Jorge Quito. Our GPS directed us up a dirt road. This was not just any dirt road. This road was at least at a 80 degree incline with pot holes around two feet deep. We attempted to drive up the road, however our car bottomed out and stalled. We then had to back down the road without hitting any feral dogs. We bottomed out in a few pot holes. We were afraid the car would flip.
Eventually our Google Maps directed us down the bus route to the lodge. The town surrounding the lodge seemed to be very poor. We arrived at the lodge, ate lunch, and spent the afternoon looking at hummingbirds. We were searching for the Train Bearer and Sword-Billed hummingbird. We saw a few of them but they were hard to photograph. We attempted to see an Ant Bird a few times as well, however the bird never appeared.
The evening was very cold at an altitude of 10,500 feet. There was a fireplace in our room. The staff at the lodge lit a fire for us. We spent the evening editing photos, communicating with family, and resting.
We woke up early to see the Ant Bird. We walked around and did not see it, as it had left to go into the forest for the day. We ate breakfast before a large party arrived. After breakfast we spent time in the Hummingbird circle looking at the birds. The sun was very hot despite the air being cooler and we got a little sunburned.
Around lunch we departed San Jorge Quito. We resupplied at a large supermarket. We checked into Hilton Colon and returned our rental car at the airport. We got a taxi to take us an hour back to downtown Quito to the colonial district.
We found a restaurant overlooking Plaza Grande, ate and drank wine. We spent the remainder of the evening exploring the historical district. It was quite busy while Sunday evening service was happening. We sat for a few minutes in each Catholic Service, despite it being in Spanish. The churches were beyond beautiful with gold interworks and a heavy Spanish influence. We returned to our hotel, ate at their restaurant, and went to bed early in preparation for our long journey the next day.
