Ecuador was incredible! After multiple trips to Costa Rica and Panama, I thought I had seen a great variety of birds. Ecuador took this to a completely higher level. We saw 60 species of hummingbirds alone! Sometimes it was dizzying, having so many tanagers and hummingbirds zipping back and forth right in front of us. Every time I thought we had maximized our hummingbird viewing possibilities, Juan (our driver and local guide) and Paul (our Ventures Birding guide) took us to an even more incredible spot. This tour went as high as 14,000 feet in elevation. Fortunately, the guides minimized the amount of walking at the highest elevations, to minimize the impact on us. The high elevation brought a bigger variety of birds along with incredible views. It was odd being so near the equator, and seeing snow topped mountain peaks. Our highest point was 14,261 feet, where we saw the Rufous-bellied Seed Snipe. When we had an unplanned main road closure that could have really messed up our plans, Juan and Paul calmly came up with a workaround plan that rearranged a few things, so we still got to see everything that was planned. Paul's ability to spot and identify the hundreds of bird species was mystifying. We saw over 500 species of birds, with the large majority being life birds for me. The lodges were very well chosen for each area we went. The staffs were all extremely friendly, the accommodations were all clean and new feeling, and all of the guests on our trip commented repeatedly about how great the food was. I have already started researching into Ecuadorean Cookbooks. One lodge was more rustic than the rest, but it made up for it with incredible cliff top views of the lake below and Andean Condor nests above. The roads in Ecuador were challenging, but Juan did an amazing job of minimizing the bumps for us. I have done EcoTours in many countries over the years. Antarctica has always been my favorite. This trip to Ecuador with Ventures Birding is the first trip to make me reconsider that ranking. It is a tough call between Ecuador and Antarctica.