Hasta luego, Quito.

To briefly wrap up the Quito experience, I:

- went to la Mitad del Mundo monument and surrounding pavillion, including the planetarium (all in Spanish, about 50% of which I understood, but it was well done nonetheless)

hey, Wikipedia has the same photo!

- hung out at Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve with more hummingbirds than I could count, and sat in a cloud forest for a while just quietly observing (and thanking God, no pun intended, that I was not in Quito for the Good Friday parade... sounds interesting to see, once and from afar - like, "from YouTube when I get back to the US" far)

Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve

a rare action shot - these little guys move FAST

- spent some time in Mindo at a butterfly farm

they also landed on shirts, shoes, arms...

feeding time

mariposa mirror

- visited an orchid farm in Mindo

I believe this is the Miltassia Aztec species...?

... or maybe it's this one?

the elusive genus puppius sleepius

- checked out the ¨real¨ Mitad del Mundo

Intinan Museu mitad del mundo monument

- got up to Otavalo and surrounding Imbabura province beauty (and no, I´m sorry, I did not buy you anything at the market)

near Lake San Pablo, the largest lake in Imbabura province (not pictured: lake)

crater lake at Reserva Ecológica Cotacachi

- saw a leather fashion show taking place on the street

too sexy for this jacket

- watched an amazing thunder/lightning storm tonight

I really, really love what I have seen of Ecuador and I look forward to the next two weeks.

Tomorrow I head for the Galapagos, so I will be incommunicado until sometime after the 11th when I get to Cuenca. Hasta luego, and please pray that my camera battery recharge issue resolves itself in the near future! I think Mikkelson in the peninsula about did the batteries in...