Gorgeted Woodstar, Empress Brilliant, and Speckled Hummingbird

The smallest of the woodstars is the gorgeted woodstar. She has little white "boots" on her feet.

Hummers _ II

Sitting on an old couch under a canopy at the edge of the forest was a delightful way to spend the morning watching these hummers. This green-backed hillstar is just taking in the scenery.

Hummingbirds

Thus, we begin day 2 of our adventure. It turns out that we were the only ones to book this workshop. Thus, we are having a private tour and it is nice. Our guide, Javier, is very pleasant and quite knowledgeable. We had a lot of fun with him.

On our first full day under his guidance, we went down the mountain from Quito on the amazon river (east) side, near a small town called Baeza, to a small place (I don't know quite what to call it) named La Brisa. Here we sat under a roof 10-15 feet from the edge of the forest and a good variety of hummingbirds.

Hotel La Basilica Quito

After walking and riding through the rain, eating lunch at a nice little restaurant where we didn't really know what we were ordering, we headed back to the hotel to wait for our tour guide to fetch us.

Here you see the interior of our hotel. It is a converted house and this is the courtyard where, now, breakfast is served.

Basilica del Voto Nacional - III

Even though this place is quite modern in comparison with the other ones we saw, it is nicely appointed and, for a large stone church filled with unpadded seats, it is inviting.

Bacilica del Voto Nacional - II

 

I don't know it is technically a "vertical gothic" church, but it seems pretty vertical to me. Quite reminiscent of churches found in Europe.

Basílica del Voto Nacional - I

The last of the churches we visited is the Basilica del Voto Nacional, the Basilica of the National Vow. This seems to serve much the same function as the National Cathedral in Washington, DC.

Two More Churches

Having been through full overload in the previous two churches, we found this much smaller one just down the street. It is the Church of the Tabernacle. It is indeed smaller but it is stil seriously ornate.

The Church of the Society of Jesus

Just when you thought the last church was over the top, you walk into the Church of the Society of Jesus. This place is clearly the work of a group of people with lots and lots of money.

A Bit More of the Church

This view of the organ loft really shows that almost no surface in this place is left unadorned.

San Francisco Catholic Church, Quito, Ecuador

Today we begin the blogging of the journey that E and I just returned from: following in the footsteps of Charles Darwin and visiting the Galapagos Islands. As you will see, many wonders were found (and photographed). Our adventure began with a long day getting to Quito, Ecuador by way of Houston. Counting the 4 hour layover in Houston, it took about 12 hours.

Police Museum

On our last day in Vancouver, we took an uber to the Police Museum and found a place filled with interesting artifacts and photos. The really interesting stuff we were not allowed to photograph: the old autopsy room filled with photos and specimens from autopsies. It was really amazing.

One of the cool bits was this old traffic light, one of the first installed in the city in 1928. That's the year that my mother was born. How's that for a coincidence, eh?

 

Knocking about Vancouver, BC

We went for another weekend in Vancouver. We took the train north from Everett. Very easy and relaxing. Except for the hour we had to sit at the border waiting for the OK to proceed, all went just fine. We stayed in the St. Regis Hotel as we did before. Not only are the rooms and people great, but the included breakfast is really nice.

More from the Photowalk

Even in the winter, there are trees that produce flowers, small though they are.

Neighborhood Photowalk

I went out with Seamus to walk the streets looking for a few good images. The subjects are never new but sometimes there is something fun to see.

Mukilteo Beach - II

There are all sort so weathered tree bits on the beach to see.

Mukilteo Beach

I like to visit the beach in Mukilteo to have a look about once in a while. There are always interesting bits of wood to see and the clouds can often be quite nice.

Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge _ VII

Basking the sun between meals of mice or fish, this heron is really showing his breeding plumage.

Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge - VI

I never tire of seeing these hooded mergansers.

Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge - V

Here's another view of our friends, the hooded merganser family.