Ecuador and the Galapagos – Day 7 can be found here.
Up early – but bright is getting tougher to manage after a week of go-go-go. Thankfully this is our last early morning until we board the Silver Origin. Extra-thankfully, we get to see condors today. (With luck – condors are not guaranteed.)
Off to Jimenita’s restaurant for another delicious breakfast of coffee, fried eggs, potatoes, toast, ham, bacon, fresh fruit and yoghurt – all managed in the span of 20 minutes.
It would have been even less, but thankfully Jimenita graced us with our second favourite three words: “late check out“. So we’d be able to finish packing up after we get back from our tour.
Our guide Freddy was there 10 minutes early, along with Jimenita’s driver – Ivan – who had brought us in from the airport the previous day. Always nice to see a familiar face.
From there, we set off to the Artisana reserve – we would be heading to an ecological zone known as Páramo, which is above the treeline but below the snowline. Here we would have the best chance of spotting the condor, along with a range of other birds and wildlife.
Enroute, Freddy imparted a wide range of facts about the local area – I was surprised to hear that there are more than 14 volcanoes near Quito, and that Ecuador has more than 1,700 species of birds.
The drive out took about 75 minutes, during which we got to travel through some of the small towns surrounding Quito. Parts of the drive were smooth and scenic, but there were extended periods of rough roads. Pack your Gravol if you get car sick.
Thankfully, this was a much shorter car ride than the trip we took to Monteverde (don’t ask) so we managed to make it to our first stop – the Tambo Condor Bird Lodge – without incident.
Actually, that isn’t quite correct – our first stop came when we spotted a condor midway through the drive to the first stop:
This was a wonderful surprise, and really set the tone for the rest of the tour. Shortly thereafter, we found a field full of caracaras eating worms from a recently-tilled field:
The well-fed caracaras begin to take flight
And there was more to look at besides the birds – the scenery here is just stunning:
Anyway – on to the actual first stop. Not only did the Tambo have clean bathrooms, it also had a beautiful vantage point from which we could see a wide range of humming birds, including the shining sunbeam hummingbird, the sapphire wing hummingbird, the giant hummingbird, and the black flowerpiercer:
Shining sunbeam hummingbird
Giant hummingbird
As well as some condors on the cliff opposite us:
After, we took a brief trip down the road where we saw some condors in flight:
And also a black chested buzzard eagle, apparently a rare site at this range:
We continued higher up the mountain, getting some further photos of the condors and the stunning scenery:
As we headed into the Páramo:
Until we reached our highest point, some 13,400 feet above sea level:
From here we could see a beautiful snow-capped volacano, replete with glaciers:
As well as a white tailed deer:
A great horned owl:
And an Andean lapwing:
Ordinarily, the tour would have kept going deeper into the Artisana reserve, where a mountaintop lagoon waited. But alas, we needed to get back in time to have lunch and finish packing for our trip into Quito. As much as Silversea had reassured us that they were going to do everything they could to get us adjoining rooms, we figured the best way to make that happen was to show up immediately after check-in opened.
But there was still time to stop and smell the flowers:
And spot one last condor:
There are apparently only around 150 wild condors left in Ecuador, so it’s remarkable to think that we’ll have seen roughly 10% of the population during a 5 hour tour.
We returned to Jimenita in time for a delicious lunch of pumpkin soup and roasted chicken:
And then we settled our bill, where I was pleased to discover that our two baskets of laundry cost a mere US$180 to clean – both my wife and I had figured it would be closer to $300. This is still expensive, but what else can you do?
Honestly, though, the manager asked if there was anything else Jimenita could have done to make our stay better, and I couldn’t think of anything. This is a truly authentic Ecuadorian experience, and I’d highly recommend it – particularly for anyone looking to have a few days to recover after a flight to or from Quito.
Similarly, I’d highly recommend the condor tour at Jimenita to anyone considering it. We weren’t really sure what was involved when we first looked at it, but I have to say that Freddy and Ivan both did an absolutely stellar job of showing us some of the most rare and reclusive wildlife to be found in these highlands near the Andes. 10 out of 10, would tour again.
The kids played a bit more pool while we finished packing up, and then we once more joined Ivan for the drive in to Quito:
Strange seeing skyscrapers so high above us, on the edge of a cliff
Roughly 45 minutes later, we were pulling up outside the JW Marriott. The Silversea counter was already set up, and within 10 minutes we had our adjacent – and connecting! – rooms, along with all the paperwork and details we needed for our lone night in Quito. They even had hot towels to wipe away the ever-present travel grime.
Up to our rooms, where we were very pleased to discover that one of our rooms was a suite:
We dropped bags, took a moment to fill out the reams of Silversea paperwork, and then went off to explore the hotel. And we liked what we saw:
But surely no one would want to swim in this pool – not in the cool, high air of Quito?
I checked the water – sure enough, stone cold.
But then my wife’s engineering instincts kicked in, and she checked a different section of the pool – nice and toasty. So we took the kids for a swim.
We then considered the Marriott’s wide range of restaurants for dinner – the Exchange Bar offers standard bar / pub food, while Raices offers a South American take on fine dining.
We opted for Fogo de Chão and their Churrasco Experience – a traditional Brazilian steakhouse meal in which dish after dish of meat is brought to the table until you finally wave the white flag (or in our case, turn over the red-side of the dish).
The view from our table at Fogo de Chão
There were some tasty cuts on offer:
Roast beef
Lamb
Ribeye and sausage
As well as some delicious desserts, including a chocolate lava cake:
And chocolate brigadeiro:
Plus one of my wife’s all-time favourite cocktails, a strawberry hibiscus caipirinha:
Then it was time to head off to bed. We leave for Guayaquil at around 3 pm tomorrow, and we’re hoping to spend a bit of time in the Old Town before then – but we should still have time for a leisurely morning.
Alarms are set for a positively decadent 7:30 am. With the way our night’s headed, that should give us almost 10 hours of much-needed sleep tonight.
Continue reading Ecuador and the Galapagos – Day 9.