[AGL] Ecuador con los primos

[Connie Clark]

Gosh, this year I'm rewarding my tenacious work ethic
with a real vacation.  Randy and I are going to
Ecuador (a birders' paradise) for a 10-day
birdwatching photography ecotour in June with my
cousins Gary and Kathy Clark.

I read on the list recently that Kathy D will be
walking through Spain.  That is very cool.  We had a
houseguest a couple of weeks ago who is bicycling
around the continental US.  Started in New Jersey, has
gone down south along the east coast, through the
Florida keys, along the Gulf Coast, where he stopped
for several months and joined Biloxi rebuilding
efforts, and is now proceeding west and up to Seattle
(where sponsor Starbucks will be celebrating his 800th
or more visits to Starbucks along the way), then
across Canada back home.  A 3-year, 15,000 mile trip.
More on his website: http://www.northamericacycling
expedition.com.  The idea of walking or bicycling a
tour of the countryside has a lot of appeal to me. 
Bicycle touring is more common than one thinks - it is
called Adventure Cycling:
http://www.adventurecycling.org/mag/index.cfm
We are intrigued with the idea - someday, maybe a
two-week tour across south Louisiana. I'd rather bike
than walk it really.

But, this year, we are going traditional planes,
trains, automobile and hiking trails with an organized
group of 8 of us who will start out in Quito, Ecuador
visiting various nature reserves in the highlands of
the Andes.  Kathy Adams Clark (my cousins wife) will
be guiding and teaching nature photography to 3
persons on the tour.  They will be stopping and
waiting and shooting pictures, with additional
opportunities for exotic hummingbird shots at the
feeders at our lodging. Gary, Randy and I will be
trekking along trails with a birding guide, looking
for anything we can find, flora or fauna.  One of the
first must sees is an Andean Condor. The Galapagos is
not on our itinerary, btw.  

Too bad I don't have a nice digital SLR.  It would be
cool to pick up some photography tips from a pro. 

Got my passport, plane tickets and gear just about
ready, still looking for a comfortable pair of hikers
with goretex. Si, y estudiando espanol (o a ver,
estudiando tambien espanol).

Connie







       
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