On our last day at the Mashpi Lodge we had a final hike set up with Santi. We basically did the Seven Layer Hike from our first day in reverse, but you could hardly tell we had already hiked this, as many parts of the rain forest end up looking pretty similar.
However, the wildlife is constantly changing. Santi pointed out three Baudo Guans in the trees above us. I barely got a photo before they flew off. These birds are endangered due to hunting and habitat destruction, but they fit right in at Mashpi, where they will always have a safe haven.
I had not seen this particular flower previously. Once again, Plant Net is letting me down. I’m trying to get Santi’s email address so he can tell me what a few of these plants are!
I had made it my goal on this hike to see something before Santi did…and lo and behold, as I was walking behind everybody else, I saw what looked like a gray rock…with eyes. This bird was not moving….just staring at me. I thought for sure it was injured. When I called Santi to come back and check it out, he was in awe of my find. Success! This bird is quite rare to see, particularly in the daytime as they are nocturnal. This is a Nightjar.
If you come to Mashpi and wonder why the rubber boots are necessary, just look at this photo and wonder no more. You had to be careful that the suction from the mud didn’t pull your boot off!
Again, I was pulling up the rear and spotted this Giant Snail…and Santi didn’t see it! These are huge…bigger than the size of your fist!
The front end of the Giant Snail. These things are truly massive!
We walked past this grove of bamboo, and you could see several of them have snapped and fallen over. Santi explained that this was common after a heavy rain, so we tried to stay uphill of these. We actually heard a few of them snap as we were hiking.
I had to get a final family photo at Mashpi with Santiago. He made this experience the best it could possibly be. It’s really nice to be around somebody who loves what they do, and does it so damn well. The Mashpi management should be proud to have such an excellent employee!
We made the three hour trek back to Quito and stowed our luggage at Mashpi’s sister hotel, Casa Gangotena. I will note that there is a lot of security around the hotel, as well as the surrounding area. While we stood out and had several beggars approach us, we never felt unsafe.
We had some free time so we visited the church directly across the street from the hotel, the San Francisco Catholic Church. This is the oldest and most significant religious site in Ecuador. Construction of the church started in 1537, just three years after Spanish foundation of the city. The historical pieces on display are damn old! This is Saint Barbara’s altarpiece, constructed in 1630-1640. I was surprised that an item this old is out in the open versus in an indoor area. There were three others just like this around the church’s courtyard.
Their depiction of Jesus is a little more bloody than I’m used to seeing in Europe. Do we really need to go that over the top? Wow!
The courtyard of the church is gorgeous….particularly after seeing several versions of “bloody Jesus”.
The Quito residents really like their colorful houses perched on hilltops!
They tend to celebrate Christmas longer here than we do in the states, so the church’s annual display of nativity scenes was still up. The collection went from the simple, with this one made of leaves…
…to much larger displays…
To a huge display of the church and San Francisco Square that took up about a third of one room!
This massive painting depicts the family tree of the Franciscan Order.
You couldn’t enter the main part of the church for some reason, but you could enter the choir area. The interior of the church is quite ornate!
We then climbed up to the top of the church tower, which affords an excellent view over Colonial Quito and beyond.
There are awesome views in every direction. This is a must visit if you come to Quito!
I wish we had the time to visit the Basilica. It’s a stunning building.
Honestly, the area you walk around up here was extremely unsafe with tripping hazards everywhere, and would never pass muster in America, but then that seems to be the case pretty much everywhere we have traveled outside the US. See that little chain to the right of Kim and Fletcher? That is the only impediment to crawling over the side and falling into the square…what we refer to as an “Instagrammer death”. Once again, this photo shows there is no separation of Church and State in Ecuador.
We went back to Casa Ganotena for a drink on their 4th floor balcony, and once again, the views are amazing! The wine was pretty good too!
I took a photo of the San Francisco Church from the hotel, and noted something odd about the statue on the left tower.
This is what that statue looks like up close. WTF? Did the French invade here at some point? At least he still has his sword!
We then visited the Church of the Society of Jesus. We were told we couldn’t take photos inside, so we took a bunch. Never tell an American he can’t do something! The gold leaf in the church is off the charts!
I loved the depiction of God with all of the little cherubs underneath him. God is a “him”, right? I can’t keep up! Once again, the gold leaf is amazing!
We went back to the hotel for dinner, our last dinner in Ecuador, since we had a flight that night departing near midnight. I have to say, the dinner at Casa Gangotena was the best meal of our entire trip. The Empanadas were the best we’ve ever had, and the Andean Lamb was perfectly cooked! We even had a decent Pinot Noir from Chile! Service was also impeccable. If Ecuador had a Michelin Star, this would be it!
One last shot from the roof of the hotel before heading to the airport.
On the flight home, we had two interesting views. First up was the Colorado Rockies.
Then the Sierra Nevada mountains. A perfect cap to an incredible trip.
I hope we have inspired you to visit Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands, as well as the Mashpi Lodge. If you have any questions, please reach out to us and we’ll be happy to answer. Our next trip is in early April, when we will be visiting Austria, Hungary and the Czech Republic. Until then, thanks for reading, and travel often!
