Sunday, March 15, 2009

birds and clouds from a treehouse

We decided to take the road west towards the Esmeraldas/Atacames beach. By bus it was going to take 7 hours so we opted to leave Saturday and go 2 hours to the Cloud Forest Reserve of Bellavista. We got off at Nanagalito and hired a truck driver to take us up the mountain. It was 12 km to the top, but at places the dirt roads had been nearly washed out. The ride was a bumpy one, and we kept looking at eachother wondering where the top was. Finally, we reached what we called the "treehouse" hotel of Bellavista.
I never expecte d the views of the misty clouds to be so beautiful. The bird calls came from every direction. When we descended from our bambo "treehouse" there were flutterings and the low "dhrrrr"'s from the hummingbirds whizzing by.
The dinning building held a table of travelers having refined and adult conversations over wine. Then there was our entourage of tired boys, with Mike and I trying to get through it. After the kids fell off to sleep, we ended our busy day with a bottle of wine on the deck nestled in the trees.

4 comments:

Katie said...

this place looks amazing! something i'm sure i'll never experience. your boys are going to be eternally grateful for this experience i'm sure.

Jen said...

Man, that looks so fun! We miss you Swiss Family Robinson. Enjoy every minute....

Anonymous said...

beautiful place!

woodward said...

Looks spectacular. I have fond memories of staying somewhere in Ecuador -- in a treehouse type place with a spectacular view of a river below -- then some fun river rafting and kayaking.

But don't think I could name the place without looking at a guide book.

-- though that was without the three little kids travel complications!