Chiclayo
The hotel was very nice in Chiclayo but the kitchen definitely had some issues that need attention. Four out of five of us had either food poisoning or diarrhea from the food. I will write the hotel when we get home or put it in trip advisor.
We departed on Thursday, Feb. 10 early in the morning for Ecuador. It was an arduous journey for me as I was feeling the effects of the previous nights dinner - this was not a good thing to be happening on a travel day.
It was a very warm drive going across the Sechuran Desert north of Chiclayo towards Ecuador. Frankly I was appalled at the garbage we were seeing - they just throw the garbage along the road, cans, bottles, bags, etc. and it was strewn for miles and miles as we headed north. Since many of the people live along the road they just seem to throw the garbage out their front door and step over it. I don’t think I saw a landfill the entire time we were in Peru.
We arrived at the border crossing at Macara, Ecuador around noon and then filled out paperwork in order to cross the border. First we went to one side of the street and then we went to the other side, then we returned to the side we were on initially. Luckily it wasn’t too hot as there had obviously been heavy rain before we arrived. It took around an hour and a half or so to make the border crossing. The contrast between Peru and Ecuador begins at the border - as soon as you are in Ecuador it is not only much greener but there is not much in the way of garbage on the sides of the roads.
After returning to the vehicle we drove 20 minutes to Jorupe/Urraca lodge, one of the Jocotoco Foundation lodges in Ecuador. Lunch was provided but I was only able to have soup and then basically went to bed and slept on and off for nearly 16 hours.
The lodge had very nice modern cabins and bathrooms and it was interesting to go to sleep listening to the sounds of the jungle. The weather was overcast and they had had heavy rain the night before we arrived so the trails were very muddy. However there was a dirth of hot water once again (4th lodging without consistent hot water).
I was up and around the following day, Friday, Feb. 11 but I just stayed at the lodge while the others did walks with the resident bird guide Giovanni, and our guide, Ramiro. There were no other bird groups visiting the lodge while we were there so we had the place to ourselves. The porch area was lovely and tea and coffee were available throughout the day which was a bonus. Many birds could be seen from this area which was also good.
Ramiro had us up VERY early on Saturday morning Feb. 12 at 4.30 a.m. in order to have breakfast at 5 and left shortly after 5.30 for Tapichalaca lodge, another Jocotoco Foundation lodge. Ramiro had heard that there was construction on the road south of Loja and that the road would be closed for parts of the day so we had to get through there while it was open. What was supposed to be a 5 or so hour drive however turned into an 8 hour drive. Hmmm. At around 10 or so in the morning, we were delayed by unexpected construction for about 50 minutes just before reaching Catamayo. We arrived at Loja at around 11 a.m. and then the road deteriorated bigtime south of Vilcabamba as the road was not paved and there were numerous landslides because of all the recent moisture.
We arrived safely at Tapichalaca at about 1.40 p.m. and finally ate our box lunch that we had brought with us from Jorupe Lodge. It was a bloody long drive. Our room at Tapichalaca is delightful and we have a double bed for a change instead of 2 single beds, complete with ensuite. All of our rooms are upstairs except for Ramiro and Baldo (our driver) who are lodged in another building.
There is one other guest here, a guy who works for VIREO ( a company that sells digital files of birds to magazines, books, etc.) Doug is in the photo of the Jocotoco Foundation members by the fireplace in the dining room here.
Sunday, Feb. 13
We were up at 5.30 a.m. and after breakfast headed out in the van to see the antpittas. It involved a very short van ride, then about a 40 minute walk into the antpitta site. It was misty and gradually turned to a very light rain, but we were successful after waiting for almost an hour to see the Chestnut-naped Antpitta and the Jocotoco Antpitta “Panchito“ who came when he was called for breakfast. (“Panchito, venga venga”).
We came back to the lodge for tea and then lunch and birdwatched from the deck.
The hot water situation here isn’t much better so we are all looking forward to consistent hot water.
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