K&T take a spur of the moment trip to Ecuador! With only 10 days to buy tickets, get vaccinated, and pack our bags it hardly left any time to plan the trip.
After a taxi driver failed to bring us to the botanical garden, we made a detour to the largest neo-gothic church in the Americas!
We decided to take the gondola up to find some new birds as we ascended Pichincha. Spoiler alert: altitude and lack of oxygen made it very difficult for a Day 2 activity!
After a long weekend in Quito, we set off towards the coast so that we could explore one of the Coastal Rainforests of Ecuador!
This week's bird banding site was in the cloud forest. With the help of a local worker, we were able to ascend 2000 ft of elevation through the jungle brush. Fortunately, our helper got away unscathed when he was macheting and saw a snake near his blade.
Three solid mornings in the clouds! A lot of birds were processed and banded as part of the research done at the Jama-Coaque Reserve. Not shown: the early morning hikes under a howler monkey troop to get there
After a tough day in the field, it was nice to relax on the many hammocks and watch the hummingbirds flit around.
After a full work week, it was nice to kick back and pamper ourselves on the weekend leading up to Carnival. Not shown: A full day of fun in the sun. We surfed, played in the ocean, and relaxed on the beach.