Capitalizing on our time in South America we continued our exploration of wildlife by journeying north to Ecuador. Yet another country set in the Andean Highlands and exceptionally bio-diverse especially in the bird world we were eager to spend a few days here before we ventured out to the Galapagos. From Quito,the capital city we journeyed north and west to a beautiful private reserve that had been rescued by an entrepreneur and restored with a superior lodge to allow visitors to enjoy a very special area of unique wildlife, Here is a description by the owners of the lodge - "The wonders waiting at Mashpi Lodge will delight the worldliest nature lover. Perched at 900 m (3,116 feet) above sea level and surrounded by lower montane rainforest and cloud forest, the Lodge is surrounded by a profusion of plant species, from ferns and bromeliads to hundreds of orchid species, many newly-discovered. A staggering 500 species of birds, including some 36 endemics - are estimated to inhabit the forest, fluttering through the canopy. Monkeys, peccaries and even puma make their homes inside the Reserve crisscrossed with waterfalls between dramatic, verdant hills."