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Published: October 18th 2015
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Santa Lucia
Despite the carnage that is the Quito rush hour, most Ecuadorians get around by bus. The taxi to the northern bus station cost $8, and then the bus to Nanogal, $2.50, following the principle that bus fares equate to $1 per hour. The bus was fairly modern, and full. We left the densely packed suburbs of Quito and passed a series of modern housing developments that would have not looked out of place in Stonefields or Albany. Ecuador clearly has a middle class. Next came 'Middel du Monde' a tacky looking tourism destination where we crossed the equator. After this we started to descend into the cloud forest, and two and a half hours after leaving Quito I was dropped in the small town of Nanagol, from where a car took me to the trailhead. We climbed about 450m over a couple of kilometres to get to Santa Lucia, and I was starting to wish I had chosen an Eco-resort next to the road when we came out to a clearing on the summit of a ridge with amazing views. I could see back down to Nanogal, where much of the bush had been cleared for farming. Higher
up though, the pristine cloud forest was unbroken. The forest reminds me a little of the Montaine Beech forests of Fiordland, but much denser, more diverse, and in particular, so many creepers, every tree of any size seems to be overwhelmed by other plants using it as a staircase to the sunlight of the canopy. I discovered that the lodge had been set up by twelve local families. Initially, the government had granted the land to the landless families to allow them to make a living, small patches had been cleared to farm bananas and sugar cane. Before long, however, awareness of the importance of preserving the cloud forest grew, and government policy changed, the families were now to be paid a small fee for not clearing their newly acquired land. They looked for an sustainable alternative for their hillside and the Eco-resort was the result. At any one time a number of university students are spending a gap year at Santa Lucia, carrying out research, directed by British and American universities, updating their website and Facebook page or working in the Kindergarten the community has set up. The next day I woke to an amazing sunrise and panoramic view
of the cloud forest from the bed of my cabin. The cloud hugged the ridges and filled the valley floors until the strength of the sun burnt it off. I had a full day exploring the environment, I saw areas marked out for biodiversity sampling, trees with spring loaded girth measures for growth rates and a number of remote cameras for spotting wildlife. I almost stepped on a bright green snake and saw an amazing variety of birds including several species of hummingbirds. My guide pointed out the remains of a porcupine that had been eaten by a puma, and tracks through the bush made by spectacled bears. These tracks were littered with broken branches laden with fruit that is the staple diet of these bears. My guide, who was both friendly and informative, taught me about the medical uses of many of the plants. The sap of one I tried, was good for anything from antiseptic to curing stomach ache. We also visited a sugar cane plantation and used an old style crush to make juice from canes the guide cut. Two of the original twelve families still manage these plantations. All the other families are involved in some
way, maintenance, guiding, cooking, transportation, management and marketing. During my stay the only other guest was an elderly Canadian, and she left after my first night. That left a guide, a cook and a Norwegian student volunteer, all to look after me! Much of their business comes from overseas universities, who bring students to do fieldwork. It's a shame that the place is not busier, it is certainly an amazing place to visit, as well as a great opportunity to learn about the cloud forest and the people who live there. Here is the link to their website: http://www.santaluciaecuador.com/html/visiting.html
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