Travel: Americas: Ecuador: Enchanting Ecuador 3: Mount Cotopaxi, Papallacta & San Isidro

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On to Cotopaxi National Park.

The high altitude required some serious bundling up for (l to r) Ruth Marie, Mary and Jimmy.

As one nears the top, vegetation becomes almost non-existent.

The cold and wind made videotaping a challenge for Jimmy Lyons.

This lake in the park was the abundant birding site.

Many lunches were out of the van, organized beautifully by our driver, Edwin, who is also a top-notch bird spotter.

Several pools offered places to dip into the thermal springs.
(Click here to see what sign says.)

This Rufous-collared Sparrow and Blue-and-white Swallow may have been calmed by the termas and posed cooperatively.

The river outside the Termas inn.

These succulents were in the garden at the Termas. See below for other flowers and plants.

This large fly rivaled a small hummingbird in size.

These ants are marching to and fro along a walled path.

Sunday, Sept. 18: Termas Papallacta, Papallacta Pass: (http://www.papallacta.com.ec/index_fl.html)

Up at 5:30 a.m. and out at 6 to bird before breakfast. We saw a Peruvian Meadow Lark which is absolutely stunning! By 8:15 we were loaded up and heading out for Cotopaxi National Park. As we climbed higher nearing the park entrance, it was totally socked in, and I was fearful that we would never see the peak. The park gives one a good look at the paramo. Centerpiece of the park is the beautifully cone-shaped, snow-capped volcano Cotopaxi which is Ecuador’s second highest peak. Presently volcanic activity is limited to a few gently smoking fumaroles that cannot be seen unless you are a mountaineer peering into the crater. However, in the past few centuries there have been numerous violent eruptions. There are several other peaks within the park, of which Ruminahui is the most important.

Birding as we worked our way up the rough road, the sun began to break through, and we finally saw an Ecuadorian Hillstar, thanks to Charlie! We had a picnic lunch at 14,600 feet attempting to shelter ourselves from the wind which was blowing mercilessly.

Altitude sickness is a very real danger and even though we had spent several days acclimatizing and working our way up slowly, it hit Mary with a vengeance. Edwin managed to find a way out of the park and we headed toward Papallacta Pass where the thermal springs and our next hotel were located.

Mary worked to keep from getting dehydrated and went right to bed as soon as we arrived. It was unfortunate that she did not get to enjoy the thermal springs because they were located right outside our door and were very soothing. The Termas Papallacta was one of my favorite lodges because of the springs and the landscaping of the grounds.

Monday, Sept. 19: San Isidro Lodge( aka Cabanas San Isidro), near Cosanga: (http://www.ecuadorexplorer.com/sanisidro/index.htm)

Jack and Mary slept in as she was still recuperating while Charlie, Marco, Edwin, Jim and I had coffee and crackers at 5:30 before setting off to find the Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe. Dressed in every piece of warm clothing we had, we climbed back up to the top of Papallacta Pass and turned off onto a road that was quite rough and led up to some towers. It was very foggy and cold. The wind was blowing hard and the clouds were swirling around us as Charlie came running back along the track to tell us he and Edwin had spotted a pair of the birds! We hurried to the spot, and it was difficult to catch my breath as we were again at 14,600 feet. What beautiful creatures! The mist continued to roll in as we shivered and watched them hunting for seeds. Jim muttered that it was “colder than a Norse hell” as he filmed.

We stayed about 10 minutes watching the Seedsnipes and then hurried back to the van. Coming down a little, we broke through the clouds and Volcan Antisana was beautiful in the distance in all her glory! We searched for condors but none were to be found that morning. Many other birds were sighted however so all in all it was a great start to what would be quite a day from the birding standpoint.

Papallacta Pass, which is the highest easily accessible point in Ecuador, links Quito and the lowland rainforest with an excellent selection of montane species. The pass has large areas of paramo and also supports scattered patches of Polylepis woodland. A bit lower down elfin forest and montane cloudforest occur.

We made it back to the lodge at 10 and they were kind enough to still serve us breakfast. A good thing since all of us were starved by that time.

Mary was up and about but still feeling a bit under the weather. All of us had worried about her so it was a blessing to see her smile.

Leaving the lodge about 11 a.m. we continued eastward toward Guango Lodge where we were to have a late lunch. The reason for stopping at Guango was because of their hummingbird feeders. We were NOT disappointed. Arriving about 11:30 a.m., we birded for two hours in an area that wasn’t even as large as our backyard. There were hummers everywhere! It was difficult to know where to look!

Our lunch was worth the wait and the “work” of birding the feeders. We began with cream of onion soup which had a touch of curry powder that gave it a distinctive flavor. The main course was a cured ham chop, rice cooked with herbs and cauliflower salad. Dessert was a cake made of plantains. Guango Lodge is owned and operated by the Bustamante family. We were headed to Cabanas San Isidro for the next three nights which is owned and operated by Carmen Bustamante (daughter of the Guango Lodge Bustamantes) and her husband Mitch Lysinger, who is a well known guide in the birding world.

As we headed east toward the towns of Baeza and Cosanga, it began to rain lightly. Just as we arrived at the Cabanas, the bottom dropped out. For about 2 hours it poured. We made a mad dash to our cabins only to find the electricity was off. Enough light was coming through the windows that we were able to deal with the luggage which Marco, Edwin and Charlie brought to us through the pouring rain – bless their hearts!

The cabin was very nice with 2 double beds and a sitting area plus a small outdoor balcony. The closet was a large alcove with shelves and hanging space. The shelves were the right height to place one’s bag so that it was easy to unpack. Much thought went into planning the layout. There was hot water in the shower so what more could one want! TIP: If you visit San Isidro, request Cabin 1 or 2, as these are the newer ones described above. The older ones appeared not quite as comfortable.

As the afternoon light was waning, the electricity came back on. We took our flashlights and met at the dining room to mark our bird list and have dinner.

As Charlie led us through all the wonderful birds we had seen that day, the manager of the lodge came with a tray of drinks for us – hot drinks! We were still a bit chilly from the rain so our introduction to the delicious Canelazo was doubly nice. Made of local rum-type alcohol, passion fruit juice and cinnamon, it was the perfect hot drink and felt very nice going down. Dinner was delicious, and as we snuggled down to sleep we were glad that we were going to be spending three nights here.

TIP: Get a head start on recognizing the songs of the birds of the San Isidro area with this two-cassette set, recorded with one of owners of the lodge:
http://johnvmoorenaturerecordings.com/pubs/CabanasSanIsidro/main.htm

Tuesday, Sept. 20: San Isidro Lodge: Breakfast at 7 a.m. – we got to sleep in! Well, getting up at 7 a.m. is what passes for sleeping in when Charlie is your guide. At 8:30 we were out in the countryside to bird a road. It worked this way: Edwin stopped the van, we all got out and began walking slowly, looking for what might be in the area. After a while Edwin went back to the van and drove it forward to where we had walked. This continued until we finished and then the van was waiting right there to take us back to our lodge.

After lunch we rested till 3 p.m. and then did another area using the same technique as this morning.

We had canelazo after dinner. Perfect drink for putting one to sleep! Jim went with Charlie, Marco and Edwin to look for the San Isidro Owl tonight. This is actually a newly discovered owl and has not yet been named so everyone just calls it by the name of the lodge since it was first sighted here.

Wednesday, Sept. 21: San Isidro Lodge: Breakfast at 6 this morning – no more sleeping in! It was time to check out the bird life in the Gaucamayos Range, which is a part of the Antisana Reserve, and not very far from our Lodge. This is a protected area but the bird life seemed very scarce. When we returned to the lodge for lunch the manager told us that he had gotten word that the Reventazon Volcano had erupted yesterday and it was possible that the birds had flown because of this.

Everyone had a rest after lunch before we headed out on one of the trails near the Lodge. Jim was fighting a cold so Charlie “ordered” him to stay in bed while the rest of us headed into the forest. Again the birds were scarce, but we did manage a female Cock-of-the-rock which was a deep orange color. An opportunity to visit a lek might arise later in the trip so maybe we’ll get to see a male as well.

Another delicious dinner and an enjoyable evening checking our bird lists and chatting with the staff at the Lodge. We were the only visitors and they did everything they could to make us welcomed. They have a laundry service and we made full use of it.

Thursday, Sept. 22: Hotel Sebastian, Quito: After breakfast we departed, heading back to Quito. When we reached the Papallacta Pass area, Charlie had Edwin turn off onto one of the side roads. Our views of Antisana were wonderful as it was an almost cloudless day. Birding there, we spotted Andean Condors spiraling up on the currents. What a sight! Other birds were in evidence as well and we had our box lunch in a breezy sunny spot. All of a sudden, out of nowhere appeared a small dog. It was evident that he had not had too many good meals so we took pity on him and shared our lunches.

Returning to Quito and Hotel Sebastian, we heard from Mercedes that our flight to the lowlands the next day might be impacted by the ashes from Reventazon Volcano. After dinner we repacked our bags because we have a 20 pound per person limit on the plane that takes us to Coco. All but a small duffel will be left in storage at the hotel.

Click above for panorama shot of Papallacta Pass