Ecuador: Day 11 - Sani Lodge to Quito

Up at 4:30, breakfast at 6.  We said goodbye to the staff at Sani, and were on the canoe at 6:30. After a brisk walk along the river trail, we were on the Napo again in a motorized canoe and heading upriver to Coca. It was a brisk 3 hour ride. Once in Coca we had half an hour at the dock, and then took a cab to the airport. The flight from Coca was uneventful and short, and on arrival in Quito we said goodbye to our guide Pablo. We had a ride in a van to our favorite place in Quito, Hotel Rincón de Puemba, where we settled in and Dad went through some photos while I updated he blog. A nice dinner at the restaurant and a few beers in the bar, and Dad and I were out like lights with the alarm set for 3:45. 

Ecuador: Day 1 - Quito to Sacha Lodge

DWoke up at 6:15. Didn't close the black-out curtains to the hallway, so every time I rolled over I thought was morning and I was already late.  

The name of the hotel is Rincón de Puembo. According to the card in the room, they have a pool, a sauna, a gym - too bad we won't be staying. 

Dad spotted a Magnificient Hummingbird in the garden on the way to breakfast.

Fun and excitement was the order of the day after breakfast. After a ride to the airport from our same driver as the night before (and in similar silence), we found out that our flight was not at the expected 10:20 am, but at 11:25. Also, they had no record of us being on the flight. #Awesome. At this point, Dad started a very well-contained freak-out. Thanks to modern technology, I got wifi at the TGI Fridays in the airport with the purchase of a coffee and tried to contact our guide company. No luck. Dad found a pay phone and tried calling some numbers we found on the website. No luck. So I called Mom using FaceTime and sent her the numbers, knowing she could continue calling when we couldn't. Her persistence paid off (thanks Mom!) and we soon got a FaceTime call from one of the representatives. Turns out, both we and the hotel had been misinformed, and we were not supposed to schedule another ride to the airport after all, but instead wait for our guide to come get us.  Since we left early (thinking 10am flight), we totally missed the guide.  Once we got the call, though, it was only a matter of minutes until Andrew, our guide, showed up. Flights were confirmed, canoe plans made, and we were off to Coca. 

All sorted, we met with the Sacha Lodge group and were loaded on a bus and brought to a house by the river. After a light lunch we got on a boat and sped the 40+ miles downstream. Not much to see there but other boats. 

Upon docking, we walked a trail and were loaded into canoes and cruised across the lake to the lodge. 

After an orientation meeting with Mike, the manager, we took a little time to settle in, then met up with Andrew, our guide, and Wilmer, our local guide. We took a canoe out near sunset and paddled along the lake and down the stream. We saw some birds there, including a hoatzin, and had to backtrack because it was getting dark. 

After a shower, we met Andrew again for dinner and a beer.  All told, we were back in the room, and ready for bed by 9:30, alarm set for 4:15AM. 

I'm going to try to add some photos here, but no guarantees, as the Internet here is quite slow. 

Ecuador: Day 0 - The Airport (and the Other Airport)

Up at 5:30 for breakfast and a last check through the luggage. 

Flight out of Denver. Nice sunny day. No issues. 

Once in Dallas, stopped for a beer and some bbq. 

Not bad.  Not bad at all. 

Then more airplane. And more airplane. We landed at 12:10am. I will disregard that this is now Day 1. Customs was a breeze. Some kid picked us up and we drove to the hotel in silence. Well, there was some modern music on the radio, I guess. I am tired. I don't even know the name of the hotel, but it seems nice. I do know it's on a hill. I assume Dad is already asleep. Fortunately, we don't have an early flight to Coca tomorrow, so we've ordered a 7am wake-up call and will have time for breakfast before the adventure really begins.