Ecuador - January 2014

In January 2014, I traveled to Ecuador with Adventure Life, the same company that had taken me to the Falkland Islands two months earlier. The tour was 8 days long and focused on the Andes highlands. Sights included in my trip were The Bellavista Cloud Forest, Otavalo, San Antonio de Ibarra, the Mitad del Mundo area, Quito, Cotopaxi National Park, Quilotoa Crater, and Banos. As part of the tour, I also saw several Andean rainforests and waterfalls. There was also a lot of magnificent countryside. Ecuador is an outstandingly beautiful country, as I hope the pictures below make clear. As part of my lodging arrangements, I stayed in two wonderful haciendas - one near Otavalo, and another one near Cotopaxi. Starting from a parking lot at a somewhat lower elevation, I climbed up to the 16000' elevation level on Cotopaxi; this was a thrilling (if slightly breathless) mountain trek. I also saw the early stages of an eruption of Volcan Tungarahua, an active volcano just outside of Banos.

This is me standing on the main plaza for Cotocachi, a pleasant town near Otavalo where there is said to be a retirement community.

This is a view of Cotopaxi, Ecuador's second highest mountain, and which is one of the highest active volcanoes in the world (though it has been fairly quiet in recent years). Usually the summit was shrouded in clouds during my trip; this was a rare glimpse at the summit.

Burros were a common sight in the Andean highlands, including on Cotopaxi where I saw this one.

This is me in front of the Hacienda Porvenir, a wonderful place to stay which is located in the highlands near Cotopaxi National Park, at about 12000' elevation. The appearance and architecture of the place is highly interesting.

This is the early stages of an eruption of Tungarahua, a 16000' active volcano overlooking Banos. Seeing this was absolutely spectacular, and I was incredibly lucky to just be standing there looking at the mountain, camera in hand, when the ash and smoke started billowing forth. Three full-fledged eruptions followed two days later, which made the world news.

 Beautiful rugged countryside of the Andean highlands on the way to Quilotoa Crater from Latacunga.

Quilotoa Crater, a volcanic crater lake 70km west of Latacunga. This was a spectacular sight reminiscent I suppose of Crater Lake in Oregon, United States. At 12000' elevation, though, it was chilly and windy on this overlook.

This is Zumbahua, a town spectacularly situated in the Andes highlands a few miles from Quilotoa Crater. There is a strong Native American population there, and many arts-and-crafts handiworks to buy at various places in the vicinity. 

This is me at the 16000' level of Volcan Cotopaxi. The snow line started not too far above this in elevation. The sign beside me designates a refuge which was under remodeling construction at the time of my visit. It was about a 1000' elevational hike from the parking lot to this area. Absolutely beautiful views, even though high-altitude clouds swirled around me and occasionally obscured the view, and even dropped a few ice pellets.

Along with burros, llamas were a common sight in the highlands.

This is me on the porch of the Cafe del Cielo, a restaurant that is part of the Luna Runtun hotel in the mountains just to south of Banos, overlooking the resort city. Banos can be seen off in the distance. The view is spectacular. The hotel overlooks the city by an elevation of about 1000 feet.

This is the swirling, thundering base of the spectacular Patron del Diablo waterfall located between Banos and Puyo, in Tungarahua province

This is a cascada (waterfall) that I saw in the Bellavista Cloud Rainforest.

This is one of many beautiful, richly colored hummingbirds that I saw in the Bellavista Cloud Rainforest. The variety and abundance of birds were amazing, providing a rich opportunity for birdwatchers.

This sign is Spanish for Ecuador in the Middle of the World. The red line is the supposed location of the Equator (0 degrees latitude), and this is located in the Mitad del Mundo museum complex. Staff at the museum will show you oddities and tricks that are supposedly due to the geographical landmark, for example that water in a sink will swirl down the drain one way on one side of the line, and the other way on the other side of the line.

This is the front facade of the beautiful Hacienda Pinsaqui outside of Otavalo, where I stayed for a couple of nights as part of the tour. This hacienda has beautiful landscaped grounds, and an approximately 300-year history.

In a few places, the deeply green, patchwork-quilt appearance of the Ecuadorean countryside reminded me of England or Ireland.

Typical Ecuadorean road directional and mileage signs near Otavalo.

Beautiful church located in San Antonio de Ibarra, in the north of Ecuador.

More beautiful Andes highlands scenery. The scenery in this area reminded me of parts of New Zealand, Crete, Hawaii, and the American West, yet somehow managed to show its own unique beauty.

This is me trekking up Cotopaxi between 15000' amd 16000' elevation. The Jose Rivas Refugio Hut is visible in the far distance.

The famous Otavalo Market where seemingly every kind of arts-and-crafts handiwork is for sale. It is amazing. The true market is actually on Saturdays, but I was there on a weekdays when many of the same things are for sale but it is much less crowded.

Colorful rectangular rows of houses along a hillside in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, and its second-largest city.

La Cienega, a beautiful colonial style hotel in Cotopaxi province, where I did not stay but instead my tour guide brought me for a midday visit.

Falkland Islands and Chile - November 2013

In November, 2013, I traveled to Chile and the Falkland Islands with the tour group company Adventure Life. Though my time on the ground in Chile focused just on Punta Arenas and environs, my flight from Santiago traveled down the southern half of the country, and blessed with good weather and a window seat, I was able to see much of this countryside from the air. Overall, this was an outstanding trip. The Falkland Islands had a marked barren, windswept, lonely beauty characteristic of their sub-Antarctic location. I stayed in the islands one week, as one normally must, since the flights from Punta Arenas run just once a week, on Saturdays. As the photos show, the wildlife viewing opportunities were amazing. The hiking opportunities were also amazingly good - as long as one could catch a break from the frequent cold and high winds, prevalent even during the early austral summer.I saw a great deal of the islands, not only on the road, but also through the many internal FIGAS (Falkland Island Government Air Service) flights that were part of my itinerary. These flights, because of the particular schedules of picking up passengers and dropping them off, took me to brief visits to several isolated islands that weren't specifically part of my tour. Also, of course, I saw large chunks of both West Falkland and East Falkland, which are the main areas.

Urban sprawl of Santiago, Chile, with the Andes in the background.                               

Flying over the Andes in southern Chile!

Beautiful green countryside of southern Chile near Puerto Montt, with the Andes in the background. Rainfall is quite a bit higher in this region than in northern Chile.

View of Punta Areans, Chile, from an overlook on the west side of town. The Strait of Magellan is in the background. The city is marked by the many colorful roofs on the houses, which is said to take origin from the many paints that sailors had aboard their ships.

Road distance sign (in kilometers) for Chilean Patagonia.

This is a replica, supposedly built exactly, of one of the ships used in Ferdinand Magellan's famous expedition to the region. This is located in an outdoor museum just outside Punta Arenas. Magellan's name is all over town; in fact this region of Chile is named the Magallenes Region. 

Myself beside the Strait of Magellan which runs beside Punta Arenas.

Cathedral in Punta Arenas

Picture of Darwin Settlement on East Falkland, where I stayed for a couple of days. As with many other settlements in the Falkland Islands, Gorse vegetation is prevalent; this was planted years ago in these settlements for appearance, a windbreak, and as borders for sheep grazing. The plants were blooming with their characteristic spring yellow when I was there. The lodge where I stayed is a large green-roofed building at the bottom of this hill. Mt. Osborne, the highest peak in the Falklands, is in the background. 

Myself at the Argentine Cemetery (from the 1982 Falklands War), which is located near Darwin. 
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The Bodie Creek Suspension Bridge, which is said to be the most southerly such bridge in the world; this is located in a flat southern part of East Falkland called Lafonia. 

Expansive treeless grassy plain of East Falkland called Lafonia, where seemingly endless numbers of sheep can be found; I did some hikes in this area. This is really "Big Sky Country".  
 

Goose Green, a settlement in East Falkland, which contains a sheep shearing station that was once regarded as the largest in the world.



This is one of the FIGAS (Falkland Islands Government Air Service) planes that transported me to various destinations around the islands during my stay. The passenger list and flight itinerary are finalized the evening before, based on demand, and are announced islands-wide on the radio. So as one of my hosts remarked, every time you are on one of these flights, you become nationally famous! 

View of Sea Lion Island from the FIGAS plane, looking north.

Weddell Island! This was one of many remote spots the FIGAS plans brought me to as part of their demand-driven flight itineraries. Many residents of these remote places, such as a gentleman I met here who resides on Weddell Island, get needed supplies from these FIGAS flights. The building I am standing in front of is what passes for an "airport terminal" in these rural Falklands airstrips. Concourse B, anyone? 

Large colony of king cormorant birds on a beautiful cliffside setting on the southern edge of Sea Lion Island. The wildlife and scenery of this island was simply stunning. 

Gentoo penguin on Sea Lion Island, checking on her egg. I was there during penguin breeding season. 

Myself standing near the signpost for two settlements on West Falkland that I visited, Roy Cove and Hill Cove. 

This is Roy Cove, a remote settlement on a beautiful setting on the western coast of West Falkland. I did some hiking in this area. Sheep and gorse plants were everywhere. 

This is a picture of the lodge on Sea Lion Island where I stayed for two days. The airstrip for the island is right next to the lodge settlement complex. Colonies of Gentoo penguins are seen in the foreground, a short walk from the lodge.

 Nesting Rockhopper penguin on Sea Lion Island, with the king cormorant birds the background. 

View of Fox Bay settlement from the FIGAS plane, as it was preparing to land at the airstrip. 

Sheep were seemingly everywhere in the Falkland Islands.

 Rugged treeless scenery of West Falkland as seen from the FIGAS plane. 

Christ Church Cathedral in Stanley, which is the largest town in the Falkland Islands (about 2,000 inhabitants). The church dates from the late 19th century. 

Myself sitting under the Whalebone Arch in Stanley, which is located right next to Christ Church Cathedral, on a beautiful warm sunny day with (rare for the Falklands) light winds!

No man's land! This is a marked and fenced-off minefield left over from the 1982 Falklands War between Great Britain and Argentina. Note the red warning signs. This minefield was near Port Howard, but I saw similar ones outside of Goose Green and Stanley.

Colorful roofs of Stanley houses. The town sits on a hill overlooking the harbor. 

Southern Sea Lion that I saw on a beach at (of all places) Sea Lion Island.

Wreckage of plane from the 1982 war, visible on West Falkland about 10 miles outside of Port Howard. 

This rocky monument marks the highest point on Sea Lion Island (Bull Hill, approximately 150ft elevation).