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Friday, Sept. 30: Bellavista Cloudforest Reserve, Tandayapa: (http://www.ecuadorexplorer.com/bellavista/eindex.htm) After breakfast, we headed to the Los Bancos area to bird returning for lunch at noon in order to check out and more on to the last place on our itinerary before returning to Quito. The 14 km. drive took two hours because we were birding. Arrived at Bellavista mid-afternoon. Compared to Sachatamia it is a rather funky place. Owned by an Englishman who has been here many years, it apparently caters to student groups more than anything else. We are staying in a house called Bamboo on the upper level. Edwin, Charlie and Marco are on the lower level. Mary and Jack are in a brick and half-timbered place called the German House. Dinner did not compare with our previous meals, but it appeared that they cook in one building and then bring the food to the dining area. Since it is cold and damp, the food gets cold on the way over. Our room is cold and damp as well and the little space heater does not work. Saturday, Oct. 01:Bellavista: It took me a long time to get to sleep last night because I was so cold. The dampness of the cloud forest seeps into this bamboo construction and consequently into everything else. In addition to my silk long underwear and nightgown, I slept in my cashmere sweater and fleece vest! We headed out after breakfast to bird a nearby road which rewarded us with a wonderful sighting of the Plate-billed Toucan. We also saw the Powerful Woodpecker after hearing it for several days! Back for lunch we discovered a large group of students who have arrived for the weekend. They are staying in the dorm-type rooms that are in the same building as the dining area. As a group we decided not to go out for the afternoon but to have a wind-down time. Marco desperately needed sleep, Jim needed a shower, Mary and Jack wanted to rest and I needed to get warm! One of the workers had tried to get our space heater working but to no avail. Mary and Jack offered to loan us theirs since their brick house seemed not to be as damp as the bamboo one. We gratefully accepted their offer! First we put the heater in the bathroom to warm it up for Jim’s shower and then moved it to the bedroom which allowed me to finally get warm. Sunday, Oct. 02: Hotel Sebastian, Quito: We were up at 5:30 a.m. and out birding with Charlie and Mary. It’s Jack’s turn to sleep in! We saw, among other things, an antpitta, a Crimson-backed Woodpecker and a Crested Quetzal which Jim managed to film beautifully. After breakfast, we checked out and began the drive back to Quito. Not ten minutes on the road Marco spotted a potoo on a tree. Those birds are the most difficult to spot! All through the trip he has done an incredible job of spotting. We arrived back at the Hotel Sebastian around noon, checked in and had a delicious lunch. We bid Edwin a fond farewell after lunch, giving him his tips and a T-shirt to thank him for taking such good care of us. He is unable to be at the Farewell Dinner tonight, but Mercedes and Xavier will be with us. The afternoon was spent organizing ourselves. Tomorrow Mary, Jack and Marco return home, Jim and I head to the Galapagos Islands and Charlie will have a few days of down time at the home of Mercedes and Xavier before his next group arrives. We will leave all our cold weather clothes in storage at the Sebastian while we are in the Galapagos. Mercedes and Xavier arrived at 6:45 p.m. and we headed to the Olga Fisch Folklore Shop and Museum. http://www.olgafisch.com/ Olga was a Hungarian artist who came to Ecuador in 1939. She collected indigenous art and encouraged the Indian artists. Her son and granddaughter now own and operate the shop and museum. It is definitely worth a visit! We admired much in the store, bought a few items and then followed Xavier upstairs to visit the museum which is actually Olga’s private collection. Outstanding artifacts and the display was extremely well done. The restaurant next door is part of the ethnic complex, beautifully decorated as well as serving delicious food. We began with canelazo drinks and continued through one of the very nicest meals we had while in Ecuador. After dinner, Xavier took us on a night tour of the Old City where many of the historical buildings are lit up. We stopped for photos on one of the many hills overlooking a part of the city which sparkled with many lights – a fitting end to a wonderful trip in an enchanting country. Monday, Oct. 03: We breakfasted together for the last time. Xavier arrived to take us to the airport and Charlie tagged along for the final goodbyes. Mary and Jack returned to Florida as Jimmy and I flew west to Guayaquil and on to the Galapagos. Later that day, Marco headed back to Costa Rica. As we parted, Mary remarked to me that this was the “gold standard” trip and she doubted that we would ever do one quite this special. She may be right, but I’m surely going to try to plan another just this good or better!
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