Ecuador

  • Costa Rica – Talamanca Mountain bird watching

    We expected to get a decent sleep but a pair of rare Olingo had a party on our metal roof at 1am. Apparently there is a nice fig tree right by our room and they were fighting over the fresh fruit. Dave managed to get a glimpse of cute paws and fluffy tail through the…

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  • Costa Rica – Los Quetzales

    We have come to Los Quetzales National Park to find the Resplendent Quetzal, despite them being endangered and hard to find!  When we were in Monteverde in 2008, a tour group in front of us said they saw the bird, but we never did. The Quetzal is actually the national bird of Guatemala, but there…

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  • Costa Rica – Drive to Los Quetzales National Park & Savegre Hotel

    After a barely adequate amount of sleep, we returned to the airport to pick up our rental car from the Avis desk. Dave had reserved a 4×4, as we expect some of the roads ahead to be a bit sketchy. We got “upgraded” to a standard pickup – probably more robust than we need but…

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  • Costa Rica

    We are on our way to Costa Rica for a blend of rainforest adventure and poolside relaxation!  Not wanting to stop over in the US, we flew instead to Toronto and then on to San Jose.  We arrived late, around 1am, caught a taxi to the hotel and are hoping for a decent sleep before…

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  • Montreal

    We said a final Au Revoir to Eric and headed back to Montreal for a quick city tour before flying home.  Lunch was at the famous Schwartz’s Deli for Montreal smoked meat sandwiches, salade de choux & cornichons.  They claim to have been ‘serving the best smoked meat sandwich since 1928”!  Due to our lack of…

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  • Sherbrooke & Cheese

    We left the Gaspe Peninsula for the last time this morning and made our way back toward ‘mainland’ Quebec.  Our first stop was at the Fromagerie des Basques. Then we stopped at the Chutes de la Chaudiere for a picnic lunch and a view of the waterfall from the suspension bridge. The Estrimont is a…

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  • Bic National Park

    We bid au revoir to New Brunswick this morning and drove back across the Gaspe Peninsula for one more stop at Bic National Park.  We stopped for a quick pub lunch in Amqui where Kris got to sample the local microbrews. The Auberge du Mange Grenouille in Le Bic is a large B&B in a…

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  • Mount Carleton Provincial Park

    Today we completed our circuit of the Gaspe Peninsula and followed La Riviere Restigouche, which forms the border between Quebec and New Brunswick. At Matapedia, we crossed the Pont Mercier, moved our watches ahead an hour and crossed into New Brunswick. The town of Saint Quentin calls itself the Atlantic Maple Capital and boasts production…

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  • Forillon National Park

    We have spent the last few days exploring and hiking in Forillon National Park at the tip of the Gaspe Peninsula. Cap des Rosiers was named for the plethora of wild roses growing here. We hiked the Cap Gaspe Loop at the end of Forillon Park, ending up at Le Bout du Monde (the end…

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  • Gaspe

    We drove inland through Gaspesie Park to Gaspe this morning. The name comes from the Mi’gmaq word “Gespeg” which means ‘lands end’. On the way into town we checked out the O’Dwyer Distillery and had a ‘degustation’ of their products. Just down the hill from our hotel, along the Gulf of St Lawrence is the Birthplace…

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