Well I made it back from Ecuador in one piece and do not think that I brought any unwelcome guests with me - parasites, etc etc. Ecuador is an amazing place with glaciated volcanoes over 18,000', crystal clear jungle streams, deadly insects, bio diversity almost beyond compare, and wonderful people. As I mentioned previously I was the guest of Giovanni Onore and the Otonga Foundation and worked with them in the Otonga preserve. While i was in Ecuador I visited rain forest, cloud forest, high desert plateaus, glaciers, and some spectacular natural springs. From the images I have posted it is easy to see why Ecuador is such an amazing valuable resource and worth preserving with the Otonga Foundation and others. The most amazing observations I made were how cold it gets in the cloud forest at night (~55oF) but still supports tropical type flora and fauna, and how tough the people of Ecuador are with children traveling hours each way to school as well as doing chores and often working. I met 9 years old shoeshine boys in Quito that worked all morning and attended school all afternoon.
Overall, the rain and cloud forests are must see locations and no one can imagine what diversity exists there without experiencing them first hand.
