so close...

So... I ALMOST saw a spectacled bear yesterday. Yes, almost. It is one of a long list of megafauna that I have ALMOST seen... You know that commercial where the girl on the whalewatchng boat is facing the wrong way and the whale breaches...and she misses the whole thing. That was me. Oh well, it was exciting nonetheless just to knowingly be near these awesome animals. The spectacled bear is the only bear species in all of South America; it is endangered, and sightings of them are extremely rare. The near-bear sighting (not to be confused with the Chris Thomas Watkins Road bear sighting) was in theMacipacuna Reserve a cloud forest about 2.5 hours northwest of Quito. I am currently hanging out with the new group of Peace Corp trainees. Of course many of the trainees saw the bear...but I missed it. Damn!

A big shout out to my pals Chris and Sarah who are the proud new parents of Dylan Christopher Thomas. Dylan, may you have many fun years of bear watching with your pops.