and taxis were running all through the night. Initially getting into Ecuador had been a tiring process, with long waits for foreign nationals to pass through security before moving to baggage collection. When we finally re-grouped and hailed a taxi to take us to our first hostel of the trip, I was tired and in real need of rest. We spent the first full day in Quito acclimatising ourselves to our new surroundings. One noticeable thing about Ecuador is its height above sea level. Quito alone sits at an altitude of 2,850 metres; twice the height of Ben Nevis, Britain’s tallest mountain. The change in altitude was a real shock to our bodies and as we walked around the city; many of us suffered due to the altitude and the high temperature. My first impression of Quito was one of an under developed industrial city, with lots of market traders lining the


08 20 BIRD SCENE


streets and many more run down shops, hotels and other establishments making it a world away from home. The only task for the day involved preparation for the trek commencing the following day and so travel was arranged before taking time out to relax and recover from the long day of travelling we had just completed. Day two was an early start as the group prepared itself for the first of many days of trekking. Back packs were made ready with all those essentials including sun cream and insect repellent, water bottles were filled and purified, and walking boots tested for comfy fitting. Our fist day long trek was the ascent of llalo Peak, a small mountain just outside the capital. We started the trek at 2,850 metres, climbing to 3,200 metres by the time we reached the peak. Although this seems like a small


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48