Hotel Patio Andaluz is in the old town and is a little oasis. It is also close to the main town square and many restaurants.

The old town is on steep sloping roads going up the mountain side. Much of the old town is now being completely renovated from a rundown state. Traffic is plentiful and slow moving!

There are lots of churches, mostly similar in nature, plus monasteries and convents. The monastery gardens were lovely and the monastery bird feeder amused us. The convent candlestick was previously paraded around the town.

This took a long time. The President of Ecuador stood on the palace balcony and his sniper guard was on an adjacent building - something to do with a recent overthrow plot. So many guards marching this way and that and around the adjacent park, but much appreciated by many locals.

There are signs of habitation along the river where locals subsist. Oil is being extracted from the rainforest area. The 'scum' on the river is a natural effect of biodegradation, not pollution bit it is rather unsightly.

Sacha lodge is in a private part of the national park. With its own lagoon, waterways, trails and 40+m above tree observation platforms. Every group has a naturalist and a local tribe naturalist. Julio and Colombia (his local dialect name was unpronounceable) were amazing.

The cayman was about 2.5m and lived below the beach house. We spotted the cayman lizard just below our cabin. Small lizards of various colour abound.

The frogs are not large - a well trained eye is required to spot them, particularly those that are camouflaged by their location. The red one is useful if you want to make poison arrows - our local guide seemed confident to hold it.

From the top left, clockwise: black mantle tamarin, red howler monkey, squirrel monkey and pygmy marmot. The pygmy marmot is just 12cm - we were very close!

The snakes were found on our night walk back from bird watching. Not big and only spotted because of the experience of our native guide, Colombia.

Birds of the toucan family were abundant. The green bird is the female and the blue the male. We could find the woodpecker easily from the noise. The hoatzin is the evolutionary link between mammals and birds - it has a crop that ruminates and on the chicks, two of the wing digits have claws.

Flowers are generally found on the outer edges of the jungle.

Plants seem to do have disproportionately large flowers and fruits.

The sales are done mostly by private negotiation. Farmers may have many items or just a couple. All animals are taken away immediately, some requiring a good deal of persuasion.

The local farmers sell at the livestock market before going to the nearby general market to buy food and goods. Lots of tourists but well outnumbered by locals.

The ladies are out in their finest for the most important shopping day of the week. Both stall holders and shoppers are out in their different hats that show their tribe. Necklaces and hats appear mandatory!

The equator was determined over a century ago to be just north of Quito. Nice line to stand by which is about 200m out according to gps, but not bad for the time it was done. Bizcochos are the prevailing delicacy of the area - they taste a bit like cheese croissants and are very rich. Corn is widely grown and come in a variety of colours, very decorative and much enjoyed by birds.

We were the lunch guests of Laura and Manuel at their home in Pukyu - Pamba. Laura is a superb cook and we enjoyed a 5 course lunch of locally produced food that was delicious and presented beautifully. A very light evening meal was necessary. Eco tourism is being tried but all the Ecuadorian government funding goes to the the Galapagos.

Farming is labour intensive and keeps children out of secondary school. The villages are simple but well managed. The local mobile shop announces its arrival by playing loud music just before it stops. Guinea pig is a prized delicacy - festive occasions only.

Orchids were in so many different forms that it was hard to believe they were the same family.

Some orchids prduce flowers from the front or back of the leaves, and some even from the roots.

Laguna Limpiopunga was home to water birds. The Andean gull and caracara are shown. The small red plant is an orchid and the orange flowered chuquiraga treats kidney disorders.

Cotopaxi is often in cloud. The very high winds were only allowing fractional glimpses of the mountain from the clouds. The volcano is shown from different sides and from the air as we travelled to Cuenca the next day. An eruption is overdue. Evidence of earlier eruptions can be seen in the rock layers.

Hats are woven by hand, bleached and formed. The finer the weave the better the ability to scrunch it all up and it returns to its original form. I can confirm that a steam iron also helps! The hats do not like rain as they lose shape.

A small market in the town. Bright skirts are preferred, hats optional. Good range of bananas, includig pink ones. They enjoy a very healthy diet. The meat market in the covered area would not pass our hygiene requirements! It all definitely needs thorough cooking.

This was definitely a cottage industry. The most impressive thing was the eclectic collection of items on the outside wall - record players, sports trophies, pots and pans etc. They make their own dyes from plants and then have a knotting technique prior to dyeing different colours. The products made are quite uncommercial so perhaps it's all for the tourist market.