Indigenous Thursday market in Guamote, Ecuador, 12 October 2017

The canton of Guamote is the most traditional region in Ecuador. 95% of the population is Indigenous (while in the whole of Ecuador it is only 25%). Guamote itself has about 5,000 inhabitants, but in the mountains surrounding Guamote another 40,000 people live in small communities. The greatest asset of Guamote is the weekly indigenous market, one of the biggest and most traditional markets in South America. Every Thursday the people from the communities come to Guamote to sell their fruit, sheep, pigs, guinea pigs, cows, hats, clothing,… Far away from all tourist traps, this is a market by and for indigenous people, one of the most authentic things you can see in Ecuador, and more than that, something you can really experience. This market is an adventure for all your senses, a chaos of smells, colors, sounds and impressions; and smiling and kind faces everywhere. This is the strength of Guamote: its people. The sincerity and friendliness of the people here is impressive. Despite of the big poverty that still exists here, people are very grateful and optimistic. The Guamote market possesses the true flavour of Ecuadorian markets and it's indigenous people in their colourful traditional clothing.

On the way to the market

Cash is needed

Not everyone is just impressed with the bargains

Buy bananas

Grains and beans for sale

The white round hats are from the time before the Spaniards introduced the European (?) hats

The two young ladies (and the baby!) had spotted that they were photographed

Delicious sheep heads

And an equally beautiful pig head

A pig as a pet

Marked ladies also needs food and drink

The railroad tracks were also included in the market

And you could also buy very fresh goat's milk

A swindler tries to get its share of revenue. Not everyone seems to be equally impressed with his creative claims

On the way home with all the experiences and purchases

Hummingbirds of Cabañas San Isidro, Ecuador, October 6th, 2017

The hummingbird feeders at Cabañas San Isidro attracted a lot of birds (and insects!).

Chestnut - breasted Coronet (Boissonneaua matthewsii) – 12 cm, 7 gram, was by far the most common of the hummingbirds around the feeders. It was not shy and we could get very close to it. It was also rather dominant and agressiv towards the other hummingbirds, and sometimes even attacking us

The view from the veranda of the lodge.

Fawn-breasted Brilliant (Heliodoxa rubinoides); Lillastrubet Brillant at the feeder.

Gorgeted Woodstar (Chaetocercus heliodor) Kraveskovstjerne; Gorgeted Woodstar is 7 cm (2.7 in) in total length, making it one of the smallest birds native to South America,

Sparkling Violetear¸ (Colibri coruscans)¸ Glitrende violetøre

Long - tailed Sylph, male.

A constructive dialogue is a good basis for a mutual understanding. Chestnut - breasted Coronets

Sparkling Violetear¸ (Colibri coruscans)¸ Glitrende violetøre

From Quito to the Amazon catchment, Ecuador, October 5th, 2017

In the upper part of the Amazon jungle. I'm sitting on a terrace next to the jungle surrounded by swirling hummingbirds (not because I'm here but because there are some feeders with sugar-water at the edge of the terrace!). While the rest of our team of botanists are looking at the many exciting plants in the jungle. We left Quito and drove east towards the Amazon. We continued to Cosanga where we spend the night at Cabañas San Isidro.

Ready for departure from Quito, view from the street next to our hotel. Parat til afgang fra Quito, udsigt fra gaden ud for vores hotel.

Our first botanical stop was at the pass of the Andes Mountains (Páramo de la Virgen 4,064 meters above sea level) where the road leads you from Quito and go down to the Amazon basin.

The paramo hosts a great variety of plants and flowers.

First hummingbird of the trip: the giant hummingbird. The giant hummingbird (Patagona gigas) is the largest member of the hummingbird family, weighing 18–24 g.

The páramo is a montane ecosystem with predominance of scrub vegetation. Páramos are usually located from altitudes of approximately 2700 meter above sea level.

Next stop was the Guango Lodge (2.700 m.o.h.). It was well equipped with hummingbird feeders, attracting a variety of hummingbirds.

We had a small hike in the rainforest around Guango lodge.

Old Quito, Ecuador, October 4, 2017

Quito’s chief attraction is the old town and its dazzling array of churches, monasteries, convents and colonial style houses dating from the early days of the colony.

Quito is in many ways similar to Tbilisi in Georgia where I have spent 3 years. Mixture of modern glass buildings for business, lots of restaurants, old houses mixed with new buildings, limited town planning, chaotic traffic.

The Basílica del Voto Nacional is the tallest church in Ecuador, thanks to its two imposing, 115-metre towers plainly visible throughout the city. Built in a flamboyant, neo-Gothic style, it’s a wild concoction of spires, flying buttresses, turrets, parapets, arches, gables and elaborate stained-glass windows. Despite construction beginning in 1892, the church – which is built largely in concrete – is still not entirely completed.

The gargoyles, based on Ecuadorian fauna such as anteaters, monkeys and jaguars, are a contemporary departure from the traditional representations of mythical creatures.

Some ladies from another part of Eucadors having a business selling pretty colored scarfs pretending to be local produce.

The central courtyard of the original Archbishop's palace at the Plaza de la Independencia has become a commercial center.

Plaza de la Independencia

Barber shop (one of the oldest in South America) at Palacio de Gobierno, situated at Plaza de la Independencia.

Guards at the entrance to Palacio de Gobierno, the seat of the Ecuadorian presidency.

Demonstration at the Plaza de la Independencia where demonstrators call for clarity about the many missing people in Ecuador.

Old town skyline

Inside of the Church and Convent of St. Francis at Plaza San Francisco

There was a lot of barking going inside the church when we visited it. And it turned out that a very popular mass was in progress where dog owners could have their dogs blessed.

One of the city's dogs on its way to being blessed.