From Bellavista back to Quito, and on to Laguna Quilotoa (updated)

I was rushing to finish last night and left out a few things.  Post is updated below.

Wednesday was partially a travel day.  Once again we were up with the birds at 6:30.

Toucan barbet

Hard to see Mountain Toucan

After breakfast we headed out for our last guided walk in the forest.  The first part of the walk was up the road to a trail, and we had to walk across one of the slides that had covered the road.  There was a tractor working to clear the slide, but still we had to walk through mud up to mid-calf.  Fortunately we were wearing the boots the lodge provides for all excursions, as significant mud is a feature of pretty much all the trails.

Didn't see anything new on the avian front, but did see some nice flowers and a black fungus we hadn't seen before.

After lunch we boarded a van for the shuttle back to Quito.  Our driver tried to go down the usual road, but after several km of bouncing along we encountered slides that had not yet been cleared; he had to retrace steps back up to the lodge, and then we headed out on the other, longer, road. The slide just above the lodge which we'd walked through in the morning was now sufficiently cleared to get through (with the van's 4x4).

It was late afternoon by the time we returned to La Casona de la Ronda in Quito.  We spent a couple of hours walking around the historic center.  Fortunately the discos outside our hotel were not open on a Wednesday night so we were able to sleep.

Thursday morning we caught an Uber to the airport and picked up a rental car for the next few days.  We drove to Lago Quilotoa, which is in the caldera of a dormant volcano.  The drive was a bit over three hours: the first part following the Panamerican highway south.  At Latacunga we turned west and climbed steadily on a smaller road.  Soon after leaving Latacunga, we started seeing dogs along the road, just hanging out.  Some sitting, some lying down, right on the edge of the road surface.  We passed dozens, maybe a hundred, as we climbed.  And we saw many more wandering around in the Quilotoa village.

The small village of Quilotoa, on the rim of the volcano, is at almost 13,000 feet and chilly.  Our room in a small hotel has a little woodstove for heat.  It was only a five minute walk from our hotel to the rim and viewpoints.  Tourism infrastructure is clearly growing here.  There were several buildings under construction for small hotels, restaurants and artesania shops, and there are already many in existence.  We walked along the rim (which drops precipitously to the caldera and has no railings).  On the way back to the hotel we stopped in a small restaurant for a cup of coca tea.  The coca leaves are supposed to help with altitude.  Because everywhere we've been in Ecuador is pretty high, we are well acclimated.  The tea may have helped, but in any case it was very tasty: made with a small amount of fruit juice in addition to the coca leaves.