Today was a transfer day as we moved from Quito to Tandayapa, deeper into Ecuador’s cloud forest. We left the lodge in a 4WD, which made sense almost immediately. Along the way we stopped at a small hummingbird spot, the kind of place that feels increasingly common across Central and South America. At some point, […]
What a difference a day makes. This next part of our story takes us from the Galapagos to Quito, where we nearly called the entire next part of the trip off, but decided to stick it out and were rewarded with three species of antpittas and some sword-billed hummingbirds at Zuroloma Reserve. But I’m getting […]
The night leading into our final full day in the Galápagos was rough. The Ecogalaxy moved around the northern end of Santiago Island overnight, and the motion was noticeable enough to wake us up. By morning, we were ready to get off the boat for a while, even if it was just to stand on […]
The plan for today was fairly simple: a morning hike at Espinoza Point followed by snorkeling at Espinoza Point, followed by more snorkeling at Albemarle Point. We were both surprised at the amount of snorkeling offered on this itinerary. I think some of the other passengers were as well, especially the two who didn’t know […]
The daily schedule is always displayed on the screen in the lounge. The days are pretty packed with activities. Today included a walk followed by snorkeling from the beach at Urbina Bay, more snorkeling at Tagus Cove, and then a hike to Darwin lake. We stayed at the anchorage until around 5 a.m., which meant […]
Overnight, the boat moved from Puerto Ayora to the west coast of Isabela Island. The ride was a little bumpy at times, but nothing too uncomfortable. We didn’t take any seasickness medication or use bands and felt fine by morning. Our first stop of the day was Moreno Point, a lava field coastline on Isabela […]
Our last morning at Laguna Lagarto started with a little more bird photography around the lodge before we packed up and began the journey from Costa Rica to the Galápagos Islands. The original plan was to spend the morning at the feeders and return to San José in the afternoon. Our itinerary had some buffer […]
The plan for today included snake and frog photography, or “herping” at Laguna Lagarto. But we’d had another sleepless night. Andy’s legs were covered in more bites than I could count, and mine had turned into bullet-shaped three-dimensional protuberances. The bites had also gone from a personal problem to a group-wide issue. Several others were […]
After breakfast, we drove about five minutes down the road from Laguna Lagarto for a king vulture photography session. The vulture photography hide is owned by the same people as the lodge. The walk in was muddy, and our group split between two hides. We chose the one slightly farther in and off to the […]
The plan for today was a short drive to our next lodge and some afternoon birding at Laguna Lagarto We were at the Selva Verde feeders by 6 a.m., and no, we were not the first ones there. The highlight of the morning was a motmot, which felt like a good way to start the […]