If I Were Going...: Stevens Family Calendar: April

This is part of a series about the Stevens Family Calendar (if you know, you know).

Incredible nature

Our big trip in 2023 was a tour of Ecuador with friends Don and Jenny.

The cover

Too many photos. Too much to cover.

Originally, I devoted two calendar pages to the trip, but I had to pull back.

That's how the Many-banded Aracari and lots of Ecuador photos ended up on the covers and in the opening segment.

The cover has six photos and, although we saw so many great things on mainland Ecuador, five of the six are from Galapagos. So, let's break it down.

Dramatic

The big photo is, obviously, a Blue-footed Booby. This was my main target bird for Galapagos, despite the fact that, unlike many other birds there, it can be found elsewhere. It's such an iconic bird. The shot I picked is special because I almost didn't get it.

I pulled this for the calendar, but didn't use it

After hiking and snorkeling in Tintoreras Bay on Isabela Island, our group headed back to the dock. Because I was anticipating having to get out of the boat with all my gear, I had just stowed my camera with the long lens when our guide spotted a Blue-footed Booby perched on a nearby rock.

I exasperatedly declared that I didn’t have my lens out and our guide – bless him – said the boat would wait. What I ended up with were my favorite shots of the entire day.

Other shots we didn't use

Also featured, for their color, are a bright-red Sally Lightfoot Crab and a bright-pink Galapagos Flamingo, both photographed on Isabela Island.

Nature is amazing

Of course, we had some other choices ...

The ultimate Flamingo decision had to do with how close to crop ...

... as did the Crab decision

This is a Santa Cruz Giant Tortoise

No Galapagos page could not have a photo of a Giant Tortoise, which drove the selection of the one on the left.

We saw quite a few Galapagos Giant Tortoises representing multiple subspecies, including captive ones at a Tortoise breeding center on Isabela Island and free-roaming ones at a sanctuary on Santa Cruz Island.

We featured one in the calendar opening and had another one (of hundreds we took) that was considered, but not used.

One from the breeding center used in the opening and one from the sanctuary

I also had these nice Green Sea Turtle from Isabela, but didn't include it because
August was going to feature a Green Sea Turtle in Hawai'i

The main page has a photo taken from above looking down on a narrow canal filled with White-tipped Reef Sharks with two Galapagos Sea Lions swimming on the surface.

That was an absolutely magical sight and I took lots and lots of photos

I preferred the one with the Sea Lions to this one

Using the one with the Sea Lions squeezed this little cutie out

And, finally, Iguanas! They are everywhere in Ecuador.

Left, a Green Iguana in Guayaquil on the mainland used on this page; Right, Marine Iguanas
on Isabela Island; Top used on the calendar page, bottom on the cover

A Green Iguana in Guayaquil that was on the back cover; this crop is better; Photo: Scott Stevens

A pile of Green Iguanas in Guayaquil that we didn't use; Photo: Scott Stevens

The calendar page gives us a little more insight into this colorful trip.

The lone photo in the upper right is of a Giant River Otter, one of the coolest animals we saw on the trip (you can read about them here). A group lived in the lake at the Sacha Lodge, where we stayed in Amazonia, and they gave us quite a show.

We used the one in the middle, but we had so many good ones;
Lower left, upper and lower right photos: Scott Stevens

I had hoped to see lots of critters up close like I did in Costa Rica, but we didn't see many. Still there were enough to include.

I used the photo of the squirrel Monkeys in the middle; we also saw Red Howler Monkeys,
left and right, that didn't make the calendar

Despite loving how this photo of a Brown-throated Sloth taken at the Sacha Lodge
shows both jungle and wildlife, we just couldn't fit it in

The Black Caiman on the left was in, but there was no room for the
Yellow-spotted Amazon River Turtle from the same pond; Right photo: Scott Stevens

A bird that made it on the calendar, simply because it is so funky, was the Hoatzin, which I photographed right by the Sacha Lodge.

I used the one on the right, but also really like the other two

This Snail Kite, also right by the Sacha Lodge, was in the running, but got edged out

These Birds from Galapagos – Magnificent Frigatebirds, a Galapagos Dove
and a Lava Gull – were considered, but not used

The Opal-crowned Tanager on the left was featured; The Masked Tanager and Chestnut-eared Aracari on the right weren't

Multiple photos from Ecuador showed up in other sections of the calendar. Below are some; you'll see others on the June page, which focuses on birds, flowers, bugs and butterflies.

A Ecuadorian rose, the Basilica of San Francisco in Quito and
Mealy Parrots on the Napo River from the opening section

A sunset and ocean scene from Galapagos and a canoe fromAmazonia from the back cover

A Pacific White-spotted Eagle Ray and an Isabela Lava-Lizard from the Galapagos Islands

Flowers from Guayquil, fruits from Otavalo and a Galapagos Sulphur Butterfly from Isabela Island

I had a couple more that we didn't include.

On either side, flowers in Guayaquil and more Galapagos Sulphur Butterflies

In the calendar, we like to show landscapes and architecture in the places we visit.

Magnificent

Both Ecuador and Galapagos certainly had some beautiful places with lots of variety: jungle, beaches and mountains. But, we managed to get only one Ecuadorian location into the calendar: it's not the greatest photo, per se, but it is interesting because it illustrates the magnificence of the kapok trees that tower above the the rest of the jungle.

It was more meaningful to me because Scott and I grew up near a famous (and somewhat rare) kapok tree in Florida.

Unfortunately, I left a lot of pretty landscapes and cityscapes on the proverbial cutting room floor.

Scenes from a cacao farm in Guayaquil; Left and center photos: Scott Stevens

Amazonian jungle scenes; Upper left and upper right photos: Scott Stevens

More jungle scenes; Lower left and right photos: Scott Stevens

Variety: The Andes at sunrise, the beach in Galapagos and a beautiful hillside and inn near Quito; the far right is a small square on the back cover

Another view of the Basilica of San Francisco in Quito and the Metropolitan Cathedral in Guayaquil;
Right photo: Scott Stevens

The interior of the Basilica of San Francisco

An art nouveau ceiling in Guayaquil; Photos: Scott Stevens

And, finally, the calendar needs color and Ecuador delivers on that as you can see from the photos above. I had pulled a lot of photos from the markets we visited in Coca and Otavalo.