Hummingbirds and Spectacled Bear in Bellavista

       Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve & Lodge sits on a ridgetop 90 minutes west of Quito, in the midst of, you guessed it, the Andean Cloud Forest.  Accommodations vary, but here at Adventure Life we default to the Superior rooms for our travelers.  The newest block of these Superiors has a full bank of windows facing out over the valley, and a small balcony with views towards the opposing hillsides.

       Upon our arrival at Bellavista, we were greeted by friendly staff, but then quickly by a slew of hummingbirds, as well.  There are feeders hanging in the trees surrounding the main lodge complex, and these are a constant hive of activity.  Of course, if you remove the feeders and hold a bright-red cup of nectar yourself, the hummers will simply land on your finger and feed directly from your hand.  It’s a bit difficult to turn off your instinctual urge to flinch or recoil when these tiny animals buzz past your face, as there is something bug-like about them.  But after a bit of practice, you grow accustomed to the process.  Within minutes, we each had three, four, five, even six hummingbirds feeding from our hands at the same time.

      As we awaited lunch with our new little friends, one of the guides approached us to introduce himself.  He told us he’d be our guide after lunch… but if we wanted to actually join him right now, he thought we might be able to see a spectacled bear that he had seen with other outgoing travelers.  It’s always fun to see guides a little flustered by a new and exciting sighting, and since I had never even heard of a spectacled bear until the words exited his mouth… we obliged.  Sure enough, the spectacled bear - imagine a small bear with the looks of a black bear and the persona of a panda, with facial marking that make it look like he’s wearing glasses - was soon found in a tree, just 100 meters or so from the lodge.  Adult spectacled bears apparently abhor being near humans, but this was a juvenile, and he was just curious enough about the compost pile to stick around.

     Over the course of the next 24 hours, we walked the hills surrounding Bellavista, seeking more birds, mammals, orchids, etc.  We had fabulous weather, with bright blue skies and only the occasional clouds working their way up from the valley.  The highlight may have been the night walk, when we found all manner of insects, spiders, small frogs and other critters - all within just a half mile walk of the lodge, maybe less.