I had not expected Ecuador to be the main holiday but the scenery and culture of Quito and surrounding areas was amazing everyday bought new experiences and today was like no other.
This time we headed east from Quito towards the amazon jungle. The scenery was very different the valley was created a long time ago from ash from the volcano and was therefore very fertile,it was also a lot more humid leading to dense forests and very dark fertile soil.
We were quite a lot higher in altitude than yesterday and at 13000 feet it was freezing cold, the guides came prepared but did not mention anything to us I think they thought it was quite funny. Above 10000 feet there were lots of pampa grasses . We headed off at 7am in the hope we would get to the nature reserve reasonably early and see more birds. We got to the reserve at about 8.30am. It was teaming with shining sunbeam hummingbirds, routus collared sparrows, black flower piercers and fly catchers. The noise was amazing.
At just over 13000 feet once again I struggled a little with the altitude but the scenery was stunning ancient volcanoes all around us covered in trees and lush green vegetation. On our walk we went into trees and beside a fast flowing river, there were lots of orchids, lichens, mosses and huge exotic trees, thankfully we had put lots of bug spray on as they were everywhere.
Due to the humidity in the jungle there were beautiful orchids everywhere you looked.
