7th April- Goodbye La Hesperia

7th April- Goodbye La Hesperia.

We have no tasks to do today, so had a nice leisurely breakfast with Danny & Emily, before heading out on a walk around the reserve. Danny came with us, but Emily had university work to catch up on. We were so glad we did. The area is so beautiful & it was the perfect day, with warm sun and clear sky. We could even see the mountain tops, as they weren't covered by clouds. We said goodbye to the animals, and in truth, we will miss them. Walking one of the trails we saw bright green parrots, a pair of tucans, loads of butterflies, including the huge bright blue ones, and a whole host of beautiful flora and fauna. There is so much to see in the cloud forest. It is very different from a rain forest. The plants and trees in a rain forest all grow up towards the canopy, in competition for sun and rain. In a cloud forest, there is as much life and growth on the forest floor as up in the canopy. There is also a huge variety of parasitic plants, piggy backing off each other- you can easily see several different species of plants growing on one tree, but they are not taking any moisture from the tree itself, as have their own water source from the clouds often below the canopy level & the humidity. 

We then walked up to the ranch & I gave the huge pig a tomato and a good scratch behind her ears. She lay down in her mud pool for an extra scratch, reminding me of a huge dog. She clearly enjoyed being petted. Danny has promised to visit her again tomorrow with something yummy from the kitchen. We saw 5 vultures circling, looking for prey. No sign of the monkeys today, but they said their goodbyes yesterday. 

 Danny will be at the house alone over the weekend as Emily is heading into the rain forest later tomorrow & Salena isn't back from the coast yet. We said goodbye to Nancy and little Erica & got a big squeeze. I saw 2 agouti, one light brown & the other dark brown. We stripped the bed, packed, had some lunch & got a lift down to the road with our bags from Juan Pablo & Alexandra. We spent time chatting, waiting for our shared taxi to pick us up. We have an open invitation to return any time, which is nice & definitely something we would be happy to do. It was a small car that picked us up & already had 2 passengers. It was a bit of a squeeze, especially for Graeme, and the driver was driving like he thought he was competing with Jenson Button. It wasn't the best journey, but the scenery was stunning. We saw another car accident as we got into Quito, this time a car had flipped over and the windscreen was out. A family, including a woman holding a small child were standing on the verge- thankfully, no one looked hurt. 

It seemed to take forever to arrive at our hotel, Quinta La Constanza. It's a lovely family run place, near the airport, & owners Fernando & Shirley keep the place spotlessly clean. We have  a comfy bed, fluffy pillows, crisp white linen and a truly fabulous hot shower! I have washed my hair, shaved my legs and feel like a new woman! The gardens and accommodation are lovely and there's a pool and solarium to relax in, although the cover is currently over the pool. We gave the staff a big bag of laundry to do for us, and I apologised profusely for the smell, as it was a minging cross between sheep, damp and sweaty feet! Vile. They will have it washed and dried for us by tomorrow for $3 a kilo. Worth every penny.

We then met the group we'll spend the next 9 days with on our next part of the adventure - this time with Much Better Adventures, who have everything organised from accommodation, flights, ferry crossing, speed boats, meals and activities. The group seem lovely, but are all female, so Graeme is well & truly outnumbered! We have a full day of organised sightseeing tomorrow in Quito before we fly. It's all getting very exciting! 

Speak soon,

Caroline