Blogs from Bellavista Cloud Forest, North, Ecuador, South America

So I spent the weekend in the clouds...in the Bellavista Cloud Forest. This is a 700- hectare reserve in the western Andes about 2000m above sea level. I think the lodge mainly appeals to avid bird watchers...that being said, the views were spectacular and I went on some wonderful hikes with an English-speaking guide. I saw numerous types of colorful birds, the names of which I can not recall. Birdwatching will likely never be a passion for me but it was fun nonetheless. My room I thought was a overpriced but the views were amazing! There was 180 degree views from my sitting room. My room was very cold and the wooden walls enabled me to hear all my neighbors comings and goings. On Saturday, they were doing work on my cabin so that disrupted the ... read more

Hey there! Thursday morning week took off from Universidad de San Francisco at 7 in the morning to head to a cloudforest spot in Ecuador called Maquipucuna. It was about a 2 hour drive from Quito in a big coach travel bus. When we got closer to the area where we would be staying we started passing through the most adorable villages ever. People were outside everywhere and would all wave at out bus passing. There were chicken coups at almost all of the houses and small gardens where bananas, papayas, guava and more yummy fruits grew. Also all their clothes were hanging outside to dry, making colorful clothes lines decorate the houses. I was quite jealous of the way their life style looked. Maquipucuna is an ecological reserve that protects about 14,000 acres of biodiversity ... read more

From One Extreme to Another I´m writing this update by candlelight in a fabulous cabin with extensive views of misty mountains, at Santa Lucia Cloudforest Reserve. We have just spent the last 2 days in noisy bustling Quito (capital of Ecuador) and I can´t quite believe that after a 1 1/2 hours bus trip that wound its way through the mountains, a very bumpy 4WD trip (30 mins) and then a 1 1/2 hour hike that climbed 400m in 2km that I´m sitting here and all I can hear is the rain on the roof and the crickets happily chirping away. We spent our first day in Quito locating the bank and office to pay for the Santa Lucia trip and our trip to the Amazon and although this in itself was not interesting we ... read more

Once more this weary traveler delays sleep to broadcast her intrepid adventures.......geez I´m exhausted.... I left off just before we went to the ¨New Town¨for some shopping (me? shopping?). And once again I have made some fragile purchases......I knew I should have packed that bubble wrap! After a fairly non descript dinner, we headed back to "Old town" and on the way I saw the greatest sign.....I wish I could have gotten a picture; "Clinica Veterinaria Rottweiler".....seriously, who would take their beloved pet to Rottweiler Veterinary Clinic?? After an hour of mentally cursing myself for misplacing the all important ear plugs, I finally got to sleep and slept well until my internal clock went off at 5:45 (6:45 GA time). This was exceedingly fortunate since our pick up time for Bellevista was 6:30 and somehow Sharon ... read more

Seven Days in Ecuador - Part Three Fri 16/05 - Sun 18/05/08 The coach pulls into Mindo around 11am. Mindo is a small town with less than 3000 inhabitants. The high street extends a couple of hundred yards, consisting mainly of bars, restaurants and tour operators. Mindo thrives on ecotourism, pulling in the punters who come to see the diverse wildlife and to take part in outdoor activities among the lush jungle backgrounds. I booked myself into a place called the "Frog Hostel" online, and so set about trying to find it. No one in town seems to have heard of the place, but I've got directions. I need to head for a place called Mindo gardens, then make a left and the hostel is a five minute walk from there. Mindo Gardens are 4km away, ... read more