El Cajas Trout

José Vera with Dr. Howard

I don't know if I will be able to make another trout fishing trip in South America, but this one was worth the wait.

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The Lake is 3,786 meters (12,362 feet)

I will have much more to say, but now I need some rest.  Lots of walking at high altitudes.

Roy Howard with host Gustavo Enderico

The place is just before the entrance to El Cajas National Park.  You park at a restaurant and start walking up the mountain.  Lots of people do it.  We only took time to stop at one of 240 lakes that are stocked with Rainbow and Brook Trout.

Lunch at the restaurant

After the hike, the fishing, and back down to the highway, we had lunch and then started looking for the stream they recommended. The Brook Trout has a deep orange colored meat, so locally they call it "salmon".

We left Guayaquil at 5:30 am, met our group from Cuenca, and returned home in the evening, after fishing a beautiful cold mountain trout stream along the way.

Only one member of the group had a little Mal de Montaña: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altitude_sickness