Well, it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything here, but I’ve been busy! The earlier part of this past week I was at the Santa Lucia Reserve, which is on the western slope of the Andes. Before making the ascent to Santa Lucia, we stopped at a stream to look at juvenile aquatic insects. While doing so, we found this guy:
From this stream, getting to Santa Lucia is quite the process. First you ride a truck partway up a hill for about 20 minutes. Then, you have to walk nearly two hours up a winding trail, with the air getting thinner with every step. Mules carried some of our gear up, because no motorized vehicle could dream of making it up that hill. But wow, the view at the top was quite nice. 
While the view was good, what I was even more enthralled by these guys:
While Santa Lucia has “only” 26 hummingbird species compared to Yanacocha’s 36, I definitely saw more different kinds of hummers at Santa Lucia. I haven’t done an official tally, but I’m guessing I saw about 15 different kinds. They were quite literally everywhere.
One afternoon when the feeders were empty, the hummers where looking for food everywhere, and apparently my hand in a loose fist looked enough like a flower.
In addition to sheer volume of hummers, Santa Lucia has some very cool species.
The other birds where also quite spectacular. Tanagers would show up every morning just off the deck, allowing for great views.
Interesting insects also abounded, especially at night when we set up a light trap, which is basically a bed sheet with a spotlight on it.
Santa Lucia also has an orchid garden, which contains a species which has the common name of “dancing lady.”
While we were sketching orchids in the garden, one of the chefs brought down this guy, which he found near the lodge.
Speaking of chefs, the food was excellent, and we ate by candlelight every night at dinner. I did not take pictures of the food, but I do have pictures of a fruit called guaba or “ice-cream bean,” which was pretty tasty.
Our guide was also really cool. Not only did he manage to spot the aforementioned owl, but he also made a birthday hat for one of our group members out of nothing but plants from the forest and a little string.
If you couldn’t tell from the pictures, Santa Lucia today is a huge conservation success story, but it wasn’t always that way. A lot of the area around Santa Lucia was agricultural until the Ecuadorian government declared it a protected forest in the ’90s. Forests were replanted, trails were cleared, and Santa Lucia lodge was constructed to provide an alternative source of income in the form of ecotourism while providing a home for vulnerable species such as the spectacled bear (Source).
We only spent four nights at Santa Lucia, but I was honestly ready to stay for a month. I was seeing a few new bird species a day, and the other wildlife and plant life was also enthralling. As we descended the trail from Santa Lucia to the road, we met up with this snake, sitting in the path as if to say “¡ciao!”
If you want to learn more about Santa Lucia, check out there website: http://www.santaluciaecuador.com/
Next post will probably be in a about a week, though I may be able to come up with something sooner!
An Iowan on the Equator 
Cool pictures!
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