Ed and Cathy are up and out early this morning. To the gym (Cathy is over the altitude sickness), packing and breakfast, then out to wait for our tour of the Cloud Forest and Orchid Farm. Celebrity has flown the coop, the guest desk is gone, there is no one around to ask questions. We go to the concierge to confirm our flights and transfer to the airport.
As we wait outside, wondering if Celebrity will really show up (we booked through the Celebrity tour folks, not the Marriott, so we weren’t exactly sure what we’d actually get), another couple – Marty & Lynn from Devon, England) join us. The Celebrity guy is there and he is calling our bus, so off we go with our tour guide, Gabby (not Javier unfortunately, but we tried!) for a two hour drive northwest of Quito into the mountains and valleys of the Andes. We take the Pan American highway past Mitad del Mundo and keep winding our way through the beautiful, lush countryside.
We reach the Orchid Farm in 2 hours. It is a little misty and wet from the rains (it is the rainy season after all) as we walk through the farm and look at the different varieties of orchids bred there. There are tons and its very pretty, but unfortunately, it’s not the best time/season for orchids. A lot aren’t open yet or are just very small. However, there are miles of trails through the forest here, which is just as big a draw as the orchid farm. You have to be fairly agile, though, as it’s a rough walk in a lot of places. There are rocks, rocky steps that climb steeply up some hills, plus narrow bridges with no hand rails. It’s beautiful back in the forest though, with lovely waterfalls and great rainforest foliage.
We’re a little rushed here, though, because we want to make sure we are back at the hotel by 4 or 4:30 at the latest. Since we are flying out that evening, we want to make sure we have enough time at the hotel to organize and get to the airport. Quito traffic is legendary, so the guide makes sure we see the orchid farm “rapido” (as she tells the orchid farm people) so we can move on to our other tour stops.
We hop back on the bus and head to the Mindo Butterfly farm – another ½ hour to 45 minutes away. Mindo is totally ecotourist – it’s an enclave up in the mountains with lodging and restaurants and a small town obviously devoted to tourism. Once past the town, the road turns into a bumpy, muddy track that runs for 2 or 3 KM before arriving at the Butterfly farm. Not good for the bladder or for bras – as it turns out! Cathy has a wardrobe malfunction as the bus bumps along the uneven road – her new bra (first time ever worn was on this trip) snaps. The plastic clasp has completely broken and the thing is hanging uselessly at her side. Great! So for 4 more weeks she’ll only have her one good “night time” bra? With no time – and really no place – to shop for a replacement. Joy!
We arrive at the butterfly farm without any other mishaps – and some of us run to the facilities! The butterfly farm is really neat – thousands of butterflies just floating around and enclosed space. There are all sorts of colorful types of species, the most spectacular with what looks like eyes on one side of their wings, and electric blue coloring on the other. It’s wonderful.
Next, back down the bumpy road, to lunch at Sachatamia lodge, where we have a spectacular view of the rainforest along with hundreds of hummingbirds (15 different types of birds, some iridescent), that feed there at the lodge. Excellent lunch in a beautiful setting. Salad with apple, hearts of palm and corn, tossed in mayonnaise (really good!) and then Fish or Chicken. Nice facilities to (always a plus!). Back on the bus, it takes us 2 hours to get back to the hotel. Luckily there is no traffic, so we end up back at 3:30. We all split up for our separate relaxation. Ed and Cathy go up to the Exec lounge for beer/wine and internet – plus snacks that tide them over until the flight.
Time for the transfer to the airport, and it goes off without a snag. Traffic is really bad now though, so it’s a little tougher getting to the airport. But once there, we check in, pay our departure tax of $40 each and head to the gate. We’re there a bit early, so we have a drink at the bar. Plane is schedule for 8:55, they board early and actually push back early. Wheels up was actually at 8:55! Amazing!
Arrive in Lima on time, grabbed our bags and headed out of security/customs/passport control. Richard got stopped by the customs Green light/Red light, but made it through the extra security check easily. Then it’s out into the total madhouse of the Lima airport. To call it a zoo (at 11:30 at night mind you) was an understatement. There were so many people – it was amazing. We found our tour operator, Enjoy Peru, waiting right outside customs and they whisked us off to the Manhattan Inn. The hotel is only 15 minutes from the airport – and this is why we chose it. We have such an early flight to Cusco the next morning, we didn’t want to have to drive 45 minutes to the hotel (which are in a more touristy area – but too far from the airport).
The Manhattan Inn was very clean, but very basic. They also claim to Air Conditioning, but all they have is the “big machine on the roof” – i.e., rough translation: ceiling fan! Oh well, that’s what Ambien is for – coz it’s a little toasty here in Lima. At least there is a bar downstairs where the guys got beer and the girls shared a bottle of wine (only bottles here, no glasses).
Off to bed for a couple of hours to catch our early Cusco flight.
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