The Ecuadoran Andes up in the clouds. Photo by Melanie Votaw.
I did the “trifecta” in Ecuador, visiting the Galapagos Islands, the Amazon, and the Andes. It was my second time in the Andes region (the first time was about 13 years before), and it didn’t disappoint.
As you can see, the bird life in particular is special in the Andes.
The Andean Guan. Photo by Melanie Votaw.A female booted racket-tail hummingbird sits on a leaf. Photo by Melanie Votaw.A beautiful fluted flower in the Andes. Photo by Melanie Votaw.A Masked Flowerpiercer. Photo by Melanie Votaw.A scarlet-bellied mountain-tanager enjoys a banana. Photo by Melanie Votaw.A toucan barbet. Photo by Melanie Votaw.In the cloudforest of the Andes, the leaves are often huge and otherworldly. Photo by Melanie Votaw.A white-throated screech owl. Photo by Melanie Votaw.A female white-bellied woodstar hummingbird with her tongue extended. She appears to have a slightly deformed bill. This bird is not much larger than a large bee but makes a very loud buzzing sound. Photo by Melanie Votaw.
Melanie Votaw is the Publisher and Executive Travel Writer of LuxuryWeb Magazine. She has visited more than 50 countries on 6 continents and written for such magazines as Executive Travel, Just Luxe, Business Insider, South China Morning Post, Travel Mindset, and more. She is a member of the International Food, Wine & Travel Writers Association, New York Travel Writers Association, and International Travel Writers Alliance. Melanie's photography has won awards, and she has also written 43 nonfiction books as either the author or ghostwriter.
Solar dos Nunes might not be exactly unknown, since the walls inside the restaurant are covered with azulejos and newspaper and magazine clippings of the stories written about it and is, now, also rated by the Lisbon Michelin-guide as a Bib Gourmand: good quality, good value restaurant. I was asked by a local friend if I wanted to have lunch at the best Portuguese restaurant in the city, and we ended there. And I will agree, the food there is classic Portuguese and outstanding.
Along the way, the train stops in Milan, Brescia, Verona, Vicenza and Padua, creating a route that passes through some of Italy’s most important artistic, architectural and historic centers.
There are days in Turks and Caicos when the best plan is to resist overplanning. Pick a beautiful place to settle in, let lunch stretch a little longer than expected, move onto the water as the afternoon softens, then finish with dinner close enough to Grace Bay Beach that you can still hear the waves.
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