22 Apr 2024
What an incredible day. Luis picked me up at my hotel and off we went up to the nearly empty national park where it felt like we were the only two people in the area. Along the way we were fortunate to spot not one but 10 (!!) condors soaring and playing together. Given that there are approximately 100 birds total in existence, we saw a remarkable 10% of them. It was breathtaking to watch them - especially when they swooped down close to us. We continued up to the park with stops along the way to spot seedeaters, flowerpiercers, caracaras, black-faced ibises, tyrants, variable hawks, and an abundance of deer. Once in the park, we hiked up to about 13000ft and the mountain came out of the clouds for most of our time there providing incredible views. On the way back, we stopped for a lovely typical Ecuadorean lunch at a small local restaurant, where the hummingbirds were out in full force. Luis was an excellent guide with deep knowledge of the area and its inhabitants - and a great sense of humor - and I felt very lucky to have him as my teacher. It could not have been a better day and I highly recommend this excursion.