Ecuador and the Galapagos – Day 19 can be found here.
Hard to believe this is our last day here. We had that familiar feeling – that the trip had both gone by in the blink of an eye and that we’d made a lifetime worth of memories.
The feeling was even more intense than usual given the vast, diverse range of environments we’d visited – countryside, jungle, cities, islands, and mountains. All in a single beautiful country.
No doubt about it – we’re going to miss Ecuador.
My wife and daughter in particular, especially after they rounded up the horses earlier that morning. (There had been some doubt as to whether my wife would be up for it, but she pushed through and really enjoyed it. Likewise, I enjoyed sleeping in. Win-win.)
Unfortunately, her phone has been acting up and she didn’t take the GoPro – so we’ll all just have to rely on her description of dozens of horses streaming down mountain paths as both she and my daughter helped to keep the herd together, all while fighting their own horses’ instincts to join the group.
There are multiple herds at Zuleta, so this isn’t going to be the experience for everyone who takes part in round-up-the-herd – some may end up dealing with just a small herd of horses, instead. But experienced riders might get lucky…
And then – breakfast:
Then it was time for one last horseback ride up into the Andes – this time to visit the condor lookout point:
It wasn’t the easiest of rides – there was a lot of close terrain, so we had to push through all kinds of branches and thorns. But the view made it all worthwhile:
You can just about spot the Condor Huasi (rescue centre) in the valley below
After, we did a bit more packing and then it was time for lunch.
First a vegetarian ceviche:
Then I had the garlic pork with potato patties and heart-of-palm. Our host Santiago believes this to be one of the finest meals in all of Ecuador:
While my wife had the lamb stew:
And for dessert, a trio of sorbet – mango, blackberry and passionfruit:
It was then time to head back to our room to pack up, and await the shuttle back to Quito airport.
Meanwhile, however, torrential rains had hit Toronto – closing major highways and blocking the route out of the airport. Our flights appeared to be on schedule, but would we actually be able to leave the airport after returning to Canada?
More to follow tomorrow…
Continue reading Ecuador and the Galapagos – Day 21.