BELLA VISTA PART II

Our 3rd day at Bella Vista proved to be a rainy one which just meant that Nancy and I didn't spend hours sitting in front of the hummingbird feeders.  Coming back from breakfast we saw this amazing red squirrel.  He reminded Jim and me of a similarly colored squirrel in Costa Rica.

We were actually wanting to hit the road fairly early as we had a long drive ahead of us - back to our hotel in Quito to pick up the lost luggage which had been delivered, and then on 4+ hours south to the town of Alausi where we would stay the night in preparation for our train trip to the Devil's Nose.

The check out process was fairly lengthy so I spent the time looking around.  Near the office Richard had a great poster of hummingbirds which showed really well the comparison of my two favorite ones, the Violet Tailed Sylph (left) and the Booted Racket Tail.(right).

Booted Racket Tail

 I also spotted a hummingbird on this poster which I was fortunate enough to see but which was too fast for me to photograph.  This Tawny Tailed Hermit had the most curved bill of any I saw at Bella Vista.

While we were waiting we saw this member of the sap sucker family taking strips of bark off the trees, looking for bugs.

The most spectacular coloration in a bird proved to be the most elusive for me to photograph - this Blue-Winged Mountain Tanager.  First he was in the tree virtually hidden in the greenery

and then I got the colors ok, but alas my photo is woefully out of focus.  Included here just to give the idea of the amazing colors.

Reluctantly we left Bella Vista to start our journey.  This is a place I would return to for another magical stay in the Cloud Forest and I would again bring my wool socks and heavy sweater.

Audrey

BELLA VISTA

Some years ago Jim went by himself to Bella Vista in the cloud forest.  To see that blog click here: http://www.ajstephens.blogspot.com/2009/01/jims-big-adventure.html  This was the first time for Chuck, Nancy and me to go to this magical ecological preserve and see the amazing birds, flowers and abundance of nature.

Jim had told me for years that things just never dry out here and I was sure glad I listened and packed wool socks.  There is a reason it is called CLOUD forest.  But we were really fortunate to have a lovely sunny morning in which to sit and photograph fabulous humming birds.  Some I learned the names of and some I didn't but I enjoyed all of them swarming around the feeders.  This dude is a Collared Inca.

These were ubiquitous and never ceased to tickle me because of their puffed pantaloons and lime green flashes.

I think these may be called Buff Tailed Coronet, but I can't be sure.

  I don't know the name of this cute guy:

Besides wonderful birds, the flowers and plants were stunning and I saw many things I recognized from the botanical gardens in Hilo, Hawaii.  Here is an Albutilon which the hummingbirds loved to visit

and a lovely tree orchid right near our sleeping quarters in the "Bamboo House."

There are a lot of different accommodations at Bella Vista from dorm-type rooms to suites which can sleep multiple people.  Meal times are a fun time to meet people from all over the world.  While we were there we ran in to a party from Minnesota, an Australian big animal vet who was teaching in Alabama, a Swiss couple and of course Richard, the proprietor who is from the UK. Some folks are hard core birders and others, like us, were just enjoying everything.

This Masked Flowerpiercer hung out at the hummingbird feeders - easy lunch!

I would have a hard time choosing which was my favorite of the hummingbirds - this one, called the Violet Tailed Sylph

or this one called the Booted Racket Tail.

Female

Male

Male

This one was such a pretty color of yellow. 

I believe he is called the Speckled Hummingbird.

And this beauty with the pink throat is called a Fawn Breasted Brilliant:

Nancy and I had the best time with our chairs pulled up close to the hummingbird feeders marveling at the beauty and sheer numbers of the birds - for the first time ever I used up all 1250 photos on my memory card!  Good thing we have digital cameras now.  It would have been a fortune in film!

In the afternoon it clouded over (as it does in the CLOUD forest) and I took a little hike by myself.  I did not see so many birds but the flora was lovely.

Heliconia

While hiking I saw what I thought was a snake come slithering right up the trail toward me.  It was about 3' long and a slate gray color.  Upon my return I told Richard what I had seen and he said it was rare to see snakes and that I was a blessed lady.  When I described the color he said it was likely not a snake (all snakes in this area are harmless, by the way) but rather a legless lizard.  I checked it out on the internet and so it was!  It's called Caecilia buckleyi and you can see a photo here  http://www.tropicalherping.com/articles/inventories/mindo/caecilia-buckleyi.html.  I am afraid I was too startled to take a photo.  Shortly after this it started to seriously rain so I turned back.  The cloud forest is truly a magical place.

Tomorrow, the Masked Trogan.

Audrey










To read more about Bella Vista click here:  http://www.bellavistacloudforest.com/

THE ADVENTURE TO THE CLOUD FOREST

After a small but necessary amount of sleep the four of us set out in Puff-Puff, Chuck and Nancy's Korean baby SUV.  With a helpful and amusing GPS we made it safely out of Quito and made our first stop at MITAD DEL MUNDO - the middle of the world commonly known as the equator.

Even though it's not the EXACT equator, this is the site that has all the monuments to the early French explorers who "discovered" it. (Meanwhile, less that a km away is the true equator which the natives knew about long before the French).  Here are the French explorers lining up toward the equator monument.

Of course you can't come here and not straddle both hemispheres.  Chuck and Nancy did the honors.

And in case there is any doubt, here's the latitude.

After this exciting diversion (and some refrescos) we went to an overlook of an area where people have settled in a volcanic caldera.  Picture Crater Lake being drained and people farming in the lake bed.

This area is called Pululahua and is known as a geo-botanical area.  On the road once more - our destination Bella Vista Cloud Forest Reserve.  I was pleased to see some amusing things already.

For those of you who haven't read my past Ecuador blogs CUY is the word for Guinea Pig.  Cuy Asado is roasted guinea pig, an Ecuadoran delicacy which I intend to try on this trip.  Also seen on the road was this amazing load of pallets.

We had a beautiful drive through the Andes on our way to the cloud forest and out in the middle of nowhere came upon this little encampment which advertised a restaurant. 

We stopped to see if we could get lunch and the patroness said she would cook for us. She held up a lovely trout and a lovely tilapia and asked if those would be ok.  We said an enthusiastic YES.  Here she is grilling the fish in her wonderful outdoor kitchen.

Here is Jim awaiting lunch with his newly found friend, "lobo."

Somehow we had a language problem and Chuck and Nancy got meat while Jim got a whole Tilapia and I got a whole trout. It was all yummy!

 Meat, mote (hominy), plantains, yucca.

 Trout, plantain, yucca, rice

 Tilapia, plantain, yucca, rice

And for dessert she fresh squeezed a bunch of oranges to make this delicious pitcher of juice.

 

 A very satisfying road-side stop.  Within the hour we were at our destination of Bella Vista, but that is a blog for another day.

Audrey

 

THE TRIP THAT ALMOST WASN'T

Jim and I had been excited for weeks about our upcoming trip to Ecuador.  We planned to fly our usual route - from LAX on COPA through Panama to Quito, Ecuador.  We took the airport shuttle to San Francisco in plenty to time to catch our 8 pm flight to LA on an airline which shall remain nameless but which starts with U.  This flight would get us in LA in plenty of time to catch our 1 AM flight to Panama.  It was nearly boarding time when they announced that our flight would be delayed due to a lighting problem. Then they said they needed a new generator and we would know by 9:15 PM if it was fixable.  By 9:10 we got the word that it was ok and we boarded the plane.  We pulled out of the gate (now 1-1/2  hours late) and then stopped.  A few minutes later the captain came on with a disgusted tone of voice and said, "well folks, we have no brakes so we'll be getting a tow back to the gate.  I have no idea what will happen next but will keep you posted."  Meantime everyone is getting on their smart phones and telling each other that the only other flight to LA that evening also had mechanical problems.  We pull back in to the gate and the flight attendants say that there are gate agents to help with connection problems.  We file off the plane and queue up.  There is ONE customer service agent.  Jim and I were 10 back in line and it took over 1 hour to get to the counter.  Mean time they announced that we would be taking an incoming plane for Chicago and going to LA with it - at MIDNIGHT.  Our connecting flight in LA was leaving at 1 AM.  We were able to call COPA and get two seats on the morning flight leaving at 7:30 AM.  When we finally got to LA we went to the Customer Service desk and got a hotel voucher - we were able to sleep for 2 whole hours before getting our new flight to Panama.

We had a 4 hour lay over in Panama City.  We met an interesting guy who had been sailing around the Caribbean with his wife and they were heading back to the States for the holidays.  The wife had gone ahead with their cat on an earlier flight (kitty quarantine in New Zealand - their next port of call) and he was stuck in the airport for over 12 hours.  Here was his solution to waiting for his 3 AM flight. 


 

We had an uneventful flight to Quito but were extremely, desperately tired when we got there.  By now it was 11 pm Quito time - 27 hours after leaving home!  It took us over an hour to go through immigration as at least 2 other flights had arrived at the same time.  While in line though we met an interesting and well spoken young woman who was a Colombian born American citizen who grew up in Houston and was now a compliance lawyer with an international oil company.  Finally we got through immigration to where all the luggage was - it was literally a sea of luggage strewn about in mass chaos.  Another 1/2 hour was spent looking for our 4th bag.  It was not to be found so we had to go to the kiosk where a very nice COPA official helped us and determined that the bag never left Panama.  By this time we were so tired we were nearly ill.  The only saving grace was the customs check point was a breeze and we had this wonderful driver awaiting us with a placard.

I have always wanted someone to meet me at a foreign airport with a sign.  I was ecstatic that it happened on this occasion.  I doubt we had the wherewithal left to deal with a taxi.  We got to the hotel around 2 AM and were happy to find Chuck and Nancy waiting up for us with a glass of wine.  Total travel time - 30 hours.

It can only go uphill from here.

Audrey