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Message: <blockquote data-quote="ovenbird43" data-source="post: 2003335" data-attributes="member: 64478">31 Dec - BellavistaToday we were headed down the west slope of the Andes to Bellavista, an ecolodge in the cloud forest about an hour outside Quito.  We had intended to take the bus, but apparently ended up at the wrong bus station- after standing in numerous lines trying to learn where their busses went, and being told by a couple of them to go to "Ofelia"- not realizing at the time that Ofelia is another bus station, I eventually got fed up and ponied up the cash to take a taxi to Nanegalito.  The ride was rather frightening, expectedly so for me since I had traveled in Latin America before but quite new for Tom.  Tom took a picture of our driver, who kept one hand by the horn at all times.  We also got to witness an interesting aspect of Ecuadorian culture, as many cars sported effigies on the grill that would be burned tonight for New Year's- I kind of wished I had planned our night in Quito to coincide with the festivities.  But we were off, and arrived in Nanegallito in one piece and hired a truck to take us up to Bellavista.In addition to the standard eco-lodge cabins and rooms, Bellavista contains a small research facility with a kitchen and rooms that are rented out to tourists for $15 a night.  We had opted for this option, both for the price and for the hopes that there would be researchers or other folks that we would meet and be able to celebrate the New Year with.  It turned out that we were alone in the building, and that the electricity had gone out.  Oh well, it was our honeymoon after all, and the necessary candlelight added to the a romantic atmosphere.  We had brought some packaged food to cook, but for this night we made the 20-minute hike through the dark forest to join the other tourists at the restaurant, and enjoyed a delicious dinner and some wine with other visitors.So about the birds- the feeders at the main lodge were swarming with hummingbirds, and Tom and I enjoyed sitting together watching the action and trying to get good photos.  Surely both our favorites had to be the Booted Racket-tail, with its adorable fluffy white "boots" and curious racket-shaped tail feathers.  Other frequent visitors included Gorgeted Sunangel, Collared Inca, Buff-tailed Coronet, Purple-throated Woodstar, Violet-tailed Sylph, Andean Emerald, and Speckled Hummingbird.  The forest trails were filled with mixed songbird flocks, some representative species including White-tailed Tyrannulet, Streak-necked Flycatcher, Blackburnian Warbler, Slate-throated Redstart, Dusky Bush-Tanager, Pearled Treerunner, and Striped Treehunter.  I scored my first mountain-tanagers, stunning Blue-winged Mountain-Tanagers feeding in a group.  After dark, in fact during dinner, somebody came in to announce a Common Potoo just outside the building, so Tom and I rushed out to get a look.  Fabulous!</blockquote>

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