I am a Mundialista, but I will get to that another time. Firstly, my trip through San Jorge Lodges, http://www.hostsanjorge.com.ec  to the eastern slope of the Andes and into the Amazon highlands has been the most exciting trip of my life. Jorge Cruz Jr. emailed me about joining a group for 4 days. They picked me up at 7:30 am on Sunday and we proceeded to the town of Baeza. First we had to drive up to Papallacta Pass and look for birds in the paramo (highlands), Luis was the guide once again and he is excellent. Fernando drove our Toyota van. He is about 30 I think with a family, I think, and always had a smile. Very courteous. Great driver too. He is ready for Monte Carlo! The other folks were Simon from South Africa and Bob and Virginia from Colorado. Simon was quite a character. Barefoot the entire 4 days, through sleet and jungle mud. He could walk on any surface and never flinched or complained. Great birder, as was Virginia, At 13,400 feet we stalked all the endemics and saw most of them. Luis is an expert at calls and locating birds.  The wind howled and the temperature was about 38. Sleet began to come down. We descended. It is amazing how 500 feet of elevation can change everything. Tawny antpitta's displayed themselves readily. I added another 60 species, roughly. I asked for Torrent duck and Luis produced. He was a little nervous when they were not located at the place he has seen them every time. It was raining and the rivers were high. But just down the road he yelled out  as we passed over a river. Male and female Torrent ducks- amazing creatures. Within 45 minutes we went from 12,000 ft to 3,500 and 70 degrees. With light fading we arrived in Baeza/Borja and our modest hotel. Dinner and tucked in for the 4 am wake up.
We left the hotel at 4:45 am and drove down the easter slope to the upper Amazon jungle. My binoculars fogged up. I could only see through one lens. Pissed! (Minox is sending a new pair within a few days-$127 to DHL mail them to N.H.)
 Sumaco Reserve and Cayambe Reserve were so beautiful. It rained a lot in the morning but we got our white-throated toucan. Rufescent tiger heron-check. I can't describe the beauty of the jungle. The butterflies with numbers (98) were every where. The botanical life is astounding.  Tamarind monkeys came through the trees in troupes. I found a very strange string,worm-like creature in the road.  Luis was looking for a fulvous shrike-tanager which would have been a lifer for him. I found one and Simon saw it also. It flew just as Luis honed in on it. I felt bad that Luis missed it. Simon and I teased him.  Simon was stopped in the street by an older woman once. Everyone looked because he was barefooted. I really envied his ability to feel the soil and rocks between his toes. You meet very interesting people as a birder.
We encountered red-breasted blackbirds on the eastern slope which were out of range. I posted our findings on eBird.com. We made it back to Quito around 8pm.
Next morning they picked me up again at 7am for a day trip to Antisana Reserve. Our peak altitude was just under 14,000 ft. We arrived about 10 am and the first bird to locate was Andean condor. There are only about 50 in Ecuador. We stopped at some cliffs where Luis said they would be sitting.They were  not there. He promised we would see them. We drove on. Ecuadorian hillstar hummingbird-check. Luis was so quick to identify birds. It saves a lot of time when someone knows what you are looking at. 13,300 ft a meadow (paramo) with cows grazing and  Simon spotted the condors. They were not on the cliff because they were feeding on a carcass on the paramo. Four condors, or was it five. HUGE.
They flew and returned to the dead animal. The volcano Antisana in the background.The quintessential Andes-Ecuador vista. Condors, black-faced ibis', Andean lapwings, paramo pipits, silvery grebes, Andean gulls and a 18,417 ft volcano twisting the winds. Glorious. Lunch- avocado sandwiches-along a rushing stream. Luis made me nervous sitting along the cliff edge. He moved back a little. Somewhere near-by a puma waits until dark to reclaim its meal from the condors. We took a break on the soft pillows of grasses and I wanted to stay all night. I could imagine the stars. 30 minutes later we were back at 70 degrees and a warm sun looking for the giant hummingbird- missed it. Yellow billed pintail- check
We drove another hour to north Quito and a reserve called Jerusalem. Completely different microclimate. Very dry. Beautiful blue-and-yellow tanagers. A full moon rose and Cotopaxi volcano (19,347 ft) shimmered in the setting sun. WOW!
Taxi, hotel Vieja Cuba. As soon as my binocs arrive I want Luis and San Jorge to take me somewhere special. Thank you Fernando, Luis, Simon, Bob and Virginia for the most fantastical day of my life. Sincerely.