Our trip to the Galapagos begins in Quito, Ecuador, before the group continues their journey to the Galapagos Islands. Our guide, Zet Freiburghaus, shares the group's experiences during the first few days of the trip in Ecuador.
We’re heading out on an adventure in Antisana National Park. Our goal is to try to spot some condors – the largest birds in the Western Hemisphere. Our local guide, Juan Carlos, is already showing signs of stress and wants to leave as early as possible the next morning. We don’t mind the early start, as we’re still adjusting to the time difference from Sweden, so after breakfast we’re on the bus leaving Quito just after 7 a.m.
The last small village before reaching the mountains happens to be celebrating its annual festival, so we decide to make a brief stop. We hop off the bus at the town square and are greeted by cheerful crowds as cowboys and cowgirls ride around in traditional clothing. A spontaneous but delightful little detour.
After another 30–40 minutes up the winding roads, we spot our first condor from the bus. Juan Carlos gets almost frantic, urging us all to get out quickly to catch a glimpse. It turns out not to be just one condor — we’re lucky enough to see six of them soaring above the valley.
We stand watching the condors right next to several flowering bushes, and soon we realize we’re surrounded by hummingbirds as well. Suddenly, it’s hard for anyone to decide where to look — condor or hummingbird — both are truly remarkable species.
We continue higher into the national park, hoping to see more wildlife and perhaps even catch a view of Antisana National Park and Cotopaxi. We stop the bus, and our guide tells us this is the best spot to see the two great volcanoes. But today, it’s impossible to tell that there are even mountains around us. We’re at 4,000 meters above sea level, and the cloud cover sits just 250 meters above our heads. Still, it soon proves worth stopping here after all. A few hundred meters away, we spot five condors resting on the ground. We watch them for a while but feel they’re a bit too far off. Just as we decide to get back on the bus, the condors take off and soar low past us. We’re deeply moved by the experience of seeing these magnificent birds so close.
We go to bed early that night — tomorrow we’re up at 5 a.m. to head for the GALÁPAGOS!
