Saturday, March 10

The binding constraint today was picking up the rental car. The office at the airport did not open until 8am, so I arrived at 7:30 to be the first in line. I am incompetent and do not adequately know how to operate a manual transmission. Of course, when the office finally opens, they don’t have any 4-wheel drive automatics. Thus, they need to send me to another Avis location. This would all be fine if I were in Kansas City or even Los Angeles. But, I’m not. I’m in Quito, Ecuador.

I have only enough knowledge to get from the airport to the old Nono-Mindo Road. It takes me all of one block to make an illegal left hand turn. There is no sign alerting me to the fact that left turns are not allowed, only the finger waving of very angry drivers coming from the opposite direction. Getting out of Quito was chaotic and would have been a disaster had it not been Saturday morning with minimal traffic.

By a combination of luck and the Google Maps app on my phone (GPS still works on a cell phone even if you have put it in Airplane Mode), I managed to make it out of downtown, through some barrios and onto the Ecorouta del Quinde. This remarkably well signed road used to be one of two routes between Quito and the Pacific coast. Largely obsolete because of a highway built about 20 years ago, the cobblestone/paved/dirt road is still a wonderful way to get into the Tandayapa Valley. Centered around Mindo, this is one of the prime ecotourism locations in Ecuador outside of the Galapagos Islands and thus a likely component of a potential study-abroad program.

My first detour was to Yanacocha Reserve. The 10km turnoff definitely required a high-clearance vehicle and the roadside bushes offered Great Thrush, Rufous-collared Sparrow and other common species. The dirt road was potholed throughout, with the deepest earning large stone monuments that forced me to swerve and squeeze by. I paid $15 at the office and watched Sparkling Violet-ear and Giant Hummingbird at the feeders. The main trail (Inca Trail) is wide and I was hoping to catch a couple mixed-flocks pass through.

First to appear was a Masked Flowerpiercer, readily identified by a black mask and red iris. In the same set of bushes, I also spotted a Rufous-crowned Brushfinch. This is the northern counterpart to the (previously conspecific) Bolivian Brushfinch I had seen at ApaApa.  On the other side of the path, a Spectacled Whitestart flew through some higher branches along with a Scarlet-bellied Mountain-Tanager. Farther on, a Glossy Flowerpiercer was feeding from some flowers, then found a perch from which to sing.

Glossy Flowerpiercer

A number of hummingbirds made an appearance, including the Sapphire-vented Puffleg and a Rainbow-bearded Thornbill. By this time, a heavy fog had run up the valley, eliminating the possibility of high quality photographs. I dipped onto a side trail that descended into the cloud forest below the Inca Trail. This was beautiful and actually quite birdy, but the dense foliage made it impossible for me to actually identify or photograph what I was seeing. When I eventually popped out, a mist had developed that quickly turned to drizzle and then a downpour. I hurried back to the car, but not before getting fairly soaked.

The road back to Nono-Mindo held up fairly well given the rain. From the Yanacocha turnout, the Nono-Mindo Road is paved for about 15km before it too becomes a dirt road. As the rain continued to fall, the quality of roadway deteriorated. It was impossible to judge the depth of potholes once they filled with water and the muddy surface became as slick as snow. In one spot, a deep pothole sent the SUV into a fishtail, but after three or four turns of the wheel, I was back in control.

Despite this, the way is exceptionally scenic and for the last 10km runs along river. There was very little traffic in the other direction, which was convenient given the endless supply of blind, narrow corners. It struck me that with Quito below the equator, it was possible that I was going to cross into another hemisphere. Looking to the GPS in the car, I was just 2” below the equator. Then 1”. And then it read: 0 0’ 0”.

This was so very cool to me, that I hadn’t noticed the small truck coming in the other direction. A head-on crash would have been a great way to celebrate, but both he and I glided toward the side of the road and passed with room to spare. From here on, the road became quiet bad and I was very much looking forward to reaching Tandayapa Lodge.

And then I reached the lodge. And saw the steep, and now slick, road up to the car park. And I was no longer looking forward to anything. But, I made it and was almost immediately struck by the number of hummingbirds. Oh, the hummingbirds. So many at the back feeders I could not possibly count them. With the help of Ben, the volunteer guide, I eventually figured out what I was seeing: Purple-bibbed Whitetip, Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, Booted Raquettail, Violet-tailed Sylph, and Woodstar.

Violet-tailed Sylph male

Violet-tailed Sylph female

Booted Raquettail

Purple-bibbed Whitetip

Outside the other side of the lodge, a large piece of papaya attracted a number of birds, including the elusive Red-headed Barbet and a pair of Blue-winged Mountain Tanager. A Golden-olive Woodpecker was also siddling up a tree. Bouncing back to the hummingbird feeders with a guide in hand, I also spotted Buff-tailed Coronet, Andean Emerald, Fawn-breasted Brilliant and Brown Violet-ear. Bouncing back to the papaya, a flock of Red-billed Parrots allowed for a decent photo, perched close rather than flying in the distance. A Swainson’s Thrush, Lemon-rumped Tanager, and Buff-throated Saltator were also around.  

Blue-winged Mountain-Tanager

Red-headed Barbet

Buff-tailed Coronet

The rain began to let up, so I moved my stuff into a room several hundred meters from the lodge. From my window, I could see a resting Common Potoo. Walking back to the lodge for dinner, I also spotted a Slate-throated Whitestart and Brown Inca.

Brown Inca