Watching hummingbirds was an important adventure on side-trip from Quito during our ☞ 2008 Ecuador trip. We rented a car, with very knowledgeable driver/guide. On the way out to cloud forest, we took the old road starting high on the slopes of Pichincha, birdwatching in Yanacocha ( ca 3500 masl), Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve (ca 2200 masl) and at Alambi Reserve bird sanctuary along the new road on the way back to Quito (ca 1600 masl). Different hummingbird species live at different altitudes. They live in the forest, but some come to feeders to get extra food. Our guide and the sanctuary guide were able to identify many species.
During  ☞ 2008 Ecuador trip our eyes were trained on Galapagos, the big volcanoes (Cotopaxi, Quilotoa, Pichincha) and the jungle (Cuyabeno), but no flower was left unnoticed. We really enjoyed lazy and relaxing visit to Quito Botanic Garden with superb orchid collection. Here is what we saw.
Vary nice vacation added to business trip to Santiage de Chile: Pacific coast and cities, Atacama Desert, high Andes and volcanoes. We came very close to the corner of Bolivia (Laguna Colorada/Salar de Uyuni) visited in 2004.
Itinerary
July 9, Sunday Chicago ➜ ORD (departure day before) ➜ (United ) ➜ IAH ➜ SCL ➜ (Turbus) ➜ Terminal de Buses Alameda ➜ Universidad de Santiago (Metro) ➜ Universidad de Chile station ➜ Calle Lodres ➜ Iglesia Luterana de la Santa Cruz (Alemana) ➜ La Alameda ➜Plaza de Armas ➜CatedralMetropolitana Santiago ➜ Plaza Londres ➜ La Alameda ➜ Centro Gabriela Mistral ➜ Barrio Bellavista ➜ La Chascona ➜ Parque Metropolitano de Santiago/Cerro San Cristobal ➜ Plaza de Armas ➜ [@ Calle Lodres 36]
July 10, Monday Calle Lodres âžœ (Metro) âžœTerminal de Buses Alameda âžœ (Turbus) âžœ Valparaiso Terminal Rodiovario/ Pedro Montt âžœPlaza O’Higgins âžœ Parque Italia âžœ Plaza de la Victoria âžœ Plaza Civica âžœ Iglesia Santa Cruz âžœ Cerro Alegre âžœ Cerro Concepcion âžœ Passeo Yugoslavo/Palacio Baburizza âžœ Mirador Paseo Gervsoni/Casa Museo Mirador Lukas âžœ Iglesia Santa Cruz âžœ Plaza Sotomayor âžœ Muelle Prat âžœ Ascensor Artilleria/Cerro Altilleria âžœ Paseo 21 de majo âžœ Plaza Sotomayor âžœ Bellavista âžœ Terminal Rodiovario âžœ (Turbus) âžœ Santiago âžœ Calle Lodres
July 11, Tuesday Calle Lodres ➜ Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile ➜ Lastarria ➜ La Alameda ➜ Cerro Santa Lucia ➜Universidad ➜ Augustinas ➜ Calle Lodres
July 12, Wednesday Calle Lodres ➜ (Transvip taxi) ➜ Aeropuerto ➜ (LATAM) ➜ Calama ➜ (Transvip) ➜ San Pedr ➜ Lascar ➜Tour agencies Caracoles St ➜ Piedra del Coyote ➜ Valle de la Muerte (Marte) ➜ Valle de la Luna ➜ Duna Major ➜ [@ Calle Lascar 667]
July 13, Thursday Calle Lascar ➜ Valle Arcoiris ➜ Yerbas Buenas Petroglyphs ➜ San Pedro ➜ Iglesia San Pedro ➜ Plaza de Armas ➜Caracoles ➜ Calle Lascar
July 14, Friday Calle Lascar ➜ Laguna Miscanti ➜ Piedras Rojas ➜ Laguna Chaxa➜ San Pedro ➜ Calle Lascar
July 15, Saturday Calle Lascar ➜ Geyser El Tatio ➜ Putana wetlands ➜ Machuca ➜ San Pedro ➜ Pukara de Quitor ➜ San Pedro ➜Calle Lascar
July 16, Sunday Calle Lascar ➜ Monjes de la Pacana ➜ Salar de Tara ➜ Monjes de la Pacana ➜ San Pedro ➜ Calle Lascar
July 17, Monday Calle Lascar ➜ Quebrada del Diablo ➜ Lascar St ➜ (Transvip) ➜ transfer Calama ➜ (LATAM) ➜ to Santiago ➜ (Transvip) ➜ [@ Calle Lodres 36]
July 18, Tuesday Calle Lodres ➜ La Moneda ➜Palacio de la Moneda ➜ Centro Cultural La Moneda ➜ Plaza de Armas ➜ Mercado Central ➜ Mapocho River/Parque Forestal ➜ Barrio Bellavista ➜Jose Victorino Lastarria ➜ Calle Lodres ➜ (metro and bus) ➜SC ➜ (United) ➜ ORD (via IAH arrival the next day) ➜ Chicago.
On the last morning in San Pedro, we rented bikes and rode to Quebrada del Diablo (Garganta del Diablo, Devil’s gorge or throat), easy and flat. Another friendly dog accompanied us the whole trip. It was a great day, exploring on our own only second time while visiting Atacama, a great feeling after all the tours. Just few bikers on the road/trail. First we were riding along San Pedro river (crossing icy water twice each way) and than in a narrow canyon, exploring some side canyons as well. Winter weather was perfect: sunnny and 20℃.
Biking to Quebrada del Diablo
Map combines 2 partially overlapping trails: to Pukara de Quitor and to Quebrada del Diablo. Click on wikiloc logo to see more details
Crossing Rio San Pedro
Quebrada del Diablo a.k.a. Garganta del Diablo (Devil’s gorge)
Biking in Quebrada del Diablo, here just clearing narrow passage
Quebrada del Diablo, one of many smaller side canyons
Our dog guards our rental bikes (actually sleeps after lunch)
Road to Catarpe village, Joanna and our dog far ahead
After lunch we went to Calama airport with Transvip again, on time and efficient, and returned to Santiago late at night. It was almost midnight so we took Transvip transfer to our AirBnB – cheaper than taxi, but equally fast and well organized.
On our last day in Chile we went to Palacio de la Moneda and Centro Cultural La Moneda where we visited Andy Warhol exhibition (Andy Warhol, Icono del Arte Pop). Then we met with Aldo again at Plaza de Armas. We had great seafood lunch in Mercado Central, walked along Mapocho river across Parque Forestal, and tried again to go to Cerro St. Cristobal, but waiting line for funicular was as long as on Sunday afternoon, so we just had ice cream and coffee, and later tried some aged pisco. This time snow-covered Andes were well visible from Santiago. We took metro and bus to the airport for our late flight back home.
Itinerary
Biking to Quebrada del Diablo
