Condor Park & Quitsato Sundial

Jean Maldonado — Fri, 10 Jan 2020 21:43:00 +0000

Located on a hill just outside Otavalo, it takes less than 2 hours to get to Condor Park from Quito. It’s best to get there by car since once at Otavalo, it’s quite an off the beaten path route to the site. Or you could take a bus to Otavalo and then take a taxi/Uber¹ up the hill. You may have to walk the way back down which would take about an hour. We made our way by car and took the Panamericana highway to make a stop at the Quitsato Sundial. This site is about 1 hour 20 minutes down the highway just before reaching Cayambe. You can take a bus from Quito to Cayambe and get off at La Bola de Guachalá. If going by car, there is plenty of parking available. We first made a stop at La Bola de Guachalá where there is the welcome sign for Cayambe. Across the road, there is also a monument dedicated to the equatorial line and the peace between Ecuador and Korea. Quitsato is then a short walk away and this site is a large sundial located at exactly latitude 0.0, whereas the Middle of the World Monument is slightly off. It costs 2 USD² to visit the site and a guide gives a history of the sundial and how it works. After the talk, we walked around to take some pictures and then continued on the highway towards Otavalo.

After driving for about 35 minutes just before getting to Otavalo and after passing Lake San Pablo, we got off the highway to climb up the hill to Condor Park. Most of these roads are paved and signs direct you to the site. Make sure you follow the signs since they will take you through paved roads whereas Google Maps may take you via steep dirt roads. There is plenty of parking available at the site and entrance costs 3.50 USD each. There is a scheduled show of a bird taking flight and we were told there would be one at 4 PM.

We got there just before 4 PM but they had started the show earlier so we only caught the end of it. The show takes place in an amphitheater at the end of the park. The handler had a small hawk and an eagle. The birds had already flown when we got there and he was finishing up his talk. After he was done, people were invited to take pictures with the birds. We were only allowed to hold the small hawk as the larger eagle wasn’t fully trained yet. After taking pictures, we went around the park to take a look at the birds. The highlight is the eagles and the condors. A pair of condors had just been given a piece of meat and we got to see them fighting over it.

As we walked around, outside some of the cages there were panels with the story of the rescued bird. We spent about an hour walking around before heading back to the parking lot. When exiting the site, you get a great view of the Imbabura volcano and Lake San Pablo. The clouds were clearing up a bit as we were leaving so we managed to see almost all of the majestic volcano. On the way down the hill, you also get great views of the tourist town of Otavalo. We drove through the town and then headed back to Quito.

Phuket – Elephant Jungle Sanctuary

Jean Maldonado — Fri, 31 May 2019 21:09:00 +0000

Several of our friends had previously been to Phuket and recommended this website to visit elephants. There are several options and we went with the morning visit which cost 2,500 THB³ each. The sanctuary rescues elephants forced to work in places like shows, circuses, or carrying lumber. Pick-up was included for hotels in Patong and the tour bus arrived at around 6.30 AM. It was about a 30-minute drive to the sanctuary which was in the middle of the jungle. Once there, we were directed to a seating area with several benches and waited for about 10 minutes for everyone to arrive. There were elephants nearby and we were free to approach them to take pictures. It was entertaining to watch as they scratched themselves against the trees. Once everyone was there, the guide called us to the seating area again to give his introductory talk. He went over the itinerary and spoke about some of the elephants. He told us how they bought them off the circuses or log workers. The younger ones were more expensive and they only had females at the sanctuary. That’s because only females are captured since males get aggressive during mating season. Lockers were available for free with a refundable deposit of 100 THB for the key. Once we put our stuff in the locker, we went to help the carer prep some food. He mixed banana, rice, and some other fruits which he handed out to us to shape them into balls.

Then we were directed into an area where they showed us how they made paper from elephant poop. They extracted some wood-like fibers from the poop and left them to dry. They then mixed it with water and some other stuff to make a paper mache kind of mixture. That was then put onto a square sieve and flattened out. This was then left to dry and the result was like paper. Next, everyone carried a basket of fruit between 2 people to go feed the elephants. It was about a 2-minute walk to where the elephants where. We got the 81-year-old ‘sassy grandma’ and fed her bananas by placing a branch on her trunk. She’s cheeky and edges forward to try and take bananas from the bucket so you have to be alert. It took her a while to eat a branch and looked like she was about to fall asleep. The carer told us that she does fall asleep while eating sometimes. We took a couple of pics and after about 20 minutes of feeding, we went to see some of the other elephants.

Next, we were called to another seating area and briefed on the bathing activity. We were told to leave our footwear there and step into the mud pool to first rub mud on the elephants. You can pick up small buckets as you walk into the mud pool. As you walk further into the pool, you’ll find more mud. Four elephants came in. The younger ones were more playful and rolled in the mud. The carers told us to always stand facing their backside when they lay down since they could kick you when they try to stand back up if you’re on their front side. After about 15 minutes, they take a group photo and then they initiate a mud fight. Then we go to the next pool to brush the mud off the elephants. This pool was deeper and the elephants seemed a little apprehensive going down and used their heads/trunk to hold themselves up. Once in the pool, they lay in the water and the young one would play rolling around in the water. Sometimes it was scary because she would disappear and then emerge right next to you. The little cheeky one also sprayed me with water from her trunk. After about 15 minutes, the elephants were led out by their carers. You can see and hear how much energy they put into getting out of the pool. Weighing between 2 and 4 tons, it would take tremendous strength for them to climb even a few stairs.

Now it was our turn to wash up and we were directed to the showers whilst they prepped lunch for us. Before having lunch, they got volunteers to make a salad. The ingredients were already chopped up so they had to grind them together as the guide talked through the process and put them in. He then asked for volunteers to make a Pad Thai. I volunteered and had to stir a wok as he put the ingredients in and explained the process. It took about 5 to 10 minutes and was delicious. They then invited everyone up to the buffet and I got to keep my Pad Thai. Once lunch was over, we got our belongings from the locker and there was time for some pictures with the elephants. The buses then came and we were back at the hotel by 1.30 pm

Sanctuary – Maldo Travels

Condor Park & Quitsato Sundial

Phuket – Elephant Jungle Sanctuary