Back in Quito the Trip Ends

 Back in Quito we checked into a lovely small hotel in New Town

 On Sunday some of the main streets in Old and New Town are closed to traffic and open for bicyclists

 One of my favorite high end shops was just around the corner from the hotel.  I loved a series of rugs like the colorful one in the corner.  Unfortunately they started at around $800.

 I purchased a few tagua nut bracelets which are called vegetable ivory and come from palm trees.  They are hardened for a year before being cut into jewelry.

This was the craft market in downtown Quito.  Shopping was hugely disappointing.  Prices were way up and quality was way down.  Many shops had disappeared and many crafts were either not around, too high priced or very poor quality.  I returned home with an empty suitcase.

 A family band in downtown Quito

 Bicycles for rent.  Similar to systems in American cities.  I didn't see anyone on bicycles except on Sunday.

 A view of the mountains from downtown.

 One of the main restaurant areas near our hotel

A beautiful house in New Town now turned into a restaurant.The main city of Quito was Old Town until WWII.  After the war it spread to the suburbs of New Town.  Now New Town is being turned into shops and businesses and the suburbs are sprawling out still further into the hills around Quito.

Kayaking Around the Lagoon in the Jungle

 The second afternoon Elizabeth and I went for a ride around the lagoon in a 2 person kayak.

 The lagoon is full of pirhana

 And birds which didn't want to pose for photos

 I was on the lookout for leaves for a possible new quilt design

 The lagoon also was home to their version of crocodiles which we watched out for as well.

Later Elizabeth decided to take another short swing around in a dugout canoe.

Visiting the Butterfly Farm in the Jungle

 The lodge has it's own butterfly farm about a quarter of a mile behind the lodge.  We made a visit and saw how they were raising butterflies.  Aren't these beautiful cocoons.

 Some of the butterflies inside the screened butterfly house.

 The view of the main lodge from our porch . 

I was too ill to go on the trip to see the parrots so one of the workers brought me a baby bird to look at on our porch.

What Did We Eat in the Jungle?...Gourmet Food

 Our food was prepared by a French chef and served by a waiter.  Beautiful dishes and silverware and goblets.  Freshly squeezed juices in interesting combinations at every meal.  This was a tomato appetizer.  Unfortunately I contracted an intestional virus in Quito which lasted for 3 days and I didn't feel like eating very much. 

Getting fresh food to the hotel was an elaborate process.  Once a week the chef emailed a contact in Quito with a list of food required for the upcoming week as well as all the paper and cleaning goods needed.  The contact then made the purchases and stored the perishables in special containers.  Then a truck drove the supplies overnight on the 10 hour drive from Quito to Coca over the mountainous roads.  The goods were then transferred to the motorized canoe for the three hour ride to the Island dock.  Then they were hauled overland over the corduroy road.  And finally brought by a paddled canoe to the hotel.  The kitchen was equipped with numerous freezers and refrigerators.  The hotel electricity ran on generators.

 The second course was a sort of meat loaf with a cheese and pimento filling.

 Followed by fish and quinoa.

And cheesecake for dessert.

Off to the Jungle

 After a short flight we arrived in Coca, on the Rio Napo, a tributary of the Amazon River.  The new bridge is prettier than the town, essentially built to supply the oil industry.  We boarded a motorized canoe for the three hour trip to our destination in the jungle.

 Our lunch was served in these baskets which looked better than the lunch.

 Our canoe stopped to let off some locals at their village.  We eventually stopped at a similar dock, then walked for half an hour through the jungle across an island on a  very narrow raised corduroy road. which was slippery from a recent rain.

 We then boarded a paddle type canoe for the final voyage along the river and lagoon to the hotel.

 The lodge from the lagoon.

 After dinner we made another trip around the lagoon looking for night animals.

 All the rooms were in individual lodges.

 The dining room on the top floor

 And a bar of course.

 Living room.  There was another living room below this one and stairs from this one to a bird watching deck above.

Our lodge with a bedroom with double beds, a bedroom with a king size bed, a huge bathroom and a deck with a jacuzzi tub.   Roughing it in the jungle for sure.

More Quito Sightseeing

Locals waiting on the steps of the Cathedral on the Plaza San Francisco in old Quito.

The madonna statue in the distance on the hill in old Quito.

The church in another Plaza, Santo Domingo

Pre-Columbian artifacts in the Museo Nacional

Unfortunately for me, they didn't allow the use of Flash with your camera.

The famous Gold Mask in the Sala de Oro

Replicas of pre-Columbian officials wearing their gold ornaments.

A several hundred year old mummy discovered high on a local mountain.