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- Nov 18, 2010
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Ecuador Images — Mountains to Amazon
![](https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F_JN7DyNvD1ow%2FSrQSpEEEHjI%2FAAAAAAAAAfc%2FRaMpJEx7e0Q%2Fs320%2Fzipping.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=300&s=9377ce6a1c13d8252fa34af0421a1430 300w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F_JN7DyNvD1ow%2FSrQSpEEEHjI%2FAAAAAAAAAfc%2FRaMpJEx7e0Q%2Fs320%2Fzipping.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=500&s=08ae33f6fefbdb479dd19eb09c4de823 320w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F_JN7DyNvD1ow%2FSrQSpEEEHjI%2FAAAAAAAAAfc%2FRaMpJEx7e0Q%2Fs320%2Fzipping.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=700&s=a55af113024dded8a5fed3c424571152 320w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F_JN7DyNvD1ow%2FSrQSpEEEHjI%2FAAAAAAAAAfc%2FRaMpJEx7e0Q%2Fs320%2Fzipping.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=800&s=f6705ace728d69b3fd9a92fa35a7a9d4 320w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F_JN7DyNvD1ow%2FSrQSpEEEHjI%2FAAAAAAAAAfc%2FRaMpJEx7e0Q%2Fs320%2Fzipping.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1000&s=acde9d8c94b21ca9681769a788596855 320w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F_JN7DyNvD1ow%2FSrQSpEEEHjI%2FAAAAAAAAAfc%2FRaMpJEx7e0Q%2Fs320%2Fzipping.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1200&s=e81ea1cf0a7ba4d4bf053242a2ba6f3c 320w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F_JN7DyNvD1ow%2FSrQSpEEEHjI%2FAAAAAAAAAfc%2FRaMpJEx7e0Q%2Fs320%2Fzipping.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1400&s=2baa8aad344712233a148cf3d7974d1c 320w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F_JN7DyNvD1ow%2FSrQSpEEEHjI%2FAAAAAAAAAfc%2FRaMpJEx7e0Q%2Fs320%2Fzipping.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1600&s=e4be612eb3aca1fd793998e73b124f96 320w)
By Mark Gunlogson
Click here for comÂplete phoÂto album
TryÂing to finÂish up the last of the blogs for the famÂiÂly advenÂture trip in Ecuador. After ZuleÂta we headÂed down into the cloud forÂest for some ziplinÂing, bird watchÂing, tube raftÂing, and takÂing in the beauÂty of one of the most bioÂlogÂiÂcalÂly diverse ecosysÂtems on the planÂet. Great stuff and only an hour or so from Quito!
From there we spent four nights in an amazÂing junÂgle lodge on the Rio Napo, a major tribÂuÂtary of the AmaÂzon. There we swam, floatÂed down the rivÂer on a balÂsa raft, ate ants, learned about how the trees and plants are used by locals, and basiÂcalÂly stayed in one place for awhile, unlike the rest of the trip when we were on the go almost everyÂday. It’s amazÂing to think that in about a half a day you can be in the highÂlands, even on a glacÂiÂer, and by the afterÂnoon you can be swingÂing in a hamÂmock in the AmaÂzon Basin- talk about diversity!
We endÂed up the trip back in Quito doing a city tour with MounÂtain MadÂness guides AleÂjo and GasÂpar- always good to see them. Quito is an amazÂing city and among it’s many sites to see are some of the oldÂest churchÂes in South AmerÂiÂca and it has the church with the most gold on the conÂtiÂnent. Grace and Ellie took in a huge paintÂing of the JudgeÂment Day, folÂlowed by a 20 x 30 foot paintÂing of hell! Scary stuff for young minds.…
In the evening we ditched the kids with a box of pizÂza and a movie up at Amber and Ossy’s house and HeiÂdi and I enjoyed a last supÂper at the RumiloÂma- notably, it is conÂsidÂered one of the top ten places to eat in the counÂtry- way to go Amber and Ossy buildÂing this specÂtacÂuÂlar place! Not much else to say othÂer than we had a the trip of a lifeÂtime not soon to be repeatÂed, or at least not until the next time!