The 2 day Machu Picchu trip started with a wobbly the evening before, when reception gave us a note from the tour organiser advising us to arrange a 3.30am wakeup for a 4.30 departure. After the Manu timetable we were weary and short on on sleep and clean clothing, so I dusted the reception desk with some anglo saxon expletives. To no good effect but we at least opted for a 4 am rise figuring 30 mins prep was enough. As with Manu there was a luggage limit, but for a different reason which we found out about later.
The streets were quiet at 4.30 am, why wouldnt they be, so the driver could give it a good boot along the cobbled lanes, climbing out of town and up a valley on the way to the train which would take us there. It turned out to be a 2 hr trip which shows how much studying and pre planning we had done. It was also cold probably near freezing so we huddled in the back seat. Leaving town we joined a queue for a police inspection of the drivers papers. Why do they bother I wondered. We had another real surprise further on when the driver turned off the road and drove up onto the rail track. The car straddled the tracks and was only wide enough for a single vehicle. I photographed it to prove it! We drove that way for about 20 minutes, bumpy because of the coarse metal on the track and not that kind on ther car I thought. By 6.45 am, fully light, we arrived at the village of Ollyanta, for the train connection. There was smoke everywhere but our train was a beautiful 2 carriage diesel, a touristo carriage with food and drinks service etc. Fine by us.
The trip through to the village at the foot of Machu Picchu, called Aguas Callientes was wonderful trip and it would have been worth it for that alone. It followed the gorge of the Urubamba river, which we had first met at higher elevations the day before, at the Pisac market. The terrain started steep, dry and mountainous and I couldnt get Queenstown out of my mind, but the terrain became progressively wetter and more forest covered while the rugged peaks changed in style to become steep sided, rounded, soaring hills like Milford sound. Later we found they were glacial granites, very much like Milford, or maybe Yosemite Valley. The train track was hard against the flank of the gorge, either on alluvial deposits or cut into the rock. The river was a steep, rough and intimidating water, doing its best to undercut the rail track We slowed to an absolute crawl on several occasions to negotiate less stable sections of track with the river undercutting the bank, and we saw teams of men working these areas it must be such a mission to keep the track open. The mountains were close and high, you needed to press against the window and look uo to see their tops, sometimes it felt like driving in the Homer tunnel area for the same reason. We just loved the trip it was wilderness travel from the comfort of a good train. 1hr 20 mns later we were at Agues Callientes, crammed on the riverbank and pushing a short distance uphill, where a tributary had opened some more building space. Otherwise the mountains climbed as very steep granite cliffs, around the town. The town had the reailway line through it which seemed to serve as the main street also, then several narrow steep streets running of it. A busy market, restaurants and hotels for the vistors as this was the Machu Picchu drop off point and a tourist town. No vehicles except for a fleet of mid sized buses moving visitors, 400 per day, up the mountain and back. We stayed in the town that night and trained out the following day. It was an interesting place to stay, quite remote and with fairly basic facilities. Now we found out about luggage. There are no taxis, streets are steep and they boot you of the bus at the end of the day to find your own way. Not a soul in town spoke english and for a while I wondered if our lodging existed. We trapsed around, pretty near the end of our tethers but found it. You wouldnt know from the outside it was a hotel. In our bedroom the toilet was leaking and floors were awash. Anyway we headed out for a beer and a bite, possibly responsible for a bout of tummy bug we have just recovered from, but thats another story.
Back to the present, we were soon on a bus and away, a 20 minute drive. Machu Picchu is surrounded by plummeting cliffs except for part of one flank, a 45 degree slope that a single lane gravel roadroad zig zags up, like a ski field road. We spilled out of the bus, were hooked up with a small group and a guide and were off, walking almost directly into the foot of the city.
Initial impresions were about the location. The city, as it is referred to, is on a ridge which extends at a right angle from a much higher ridge behind it. The Mach Picchu ridge swoops down to form a saddle on which most of the buildings sit, then climbs to a final dramatic point. Around this ridge, far below, is the river, making a U shape around the Machu Picchu ridge. On a glorious sunny day, with the hills cloaked in green, it was a scenic wonderland. Just the thought of building anything up there seemed extraordinary, let alone on the scale that was accomplished. The river was regarded by the Incas as a reflection of the milky way, a fabulous thought I think, and Machu Picchu and other sites are deliberately placed at various locations along it.
We walked into the city and explored the remains which are in excellent condition. The overwhelming impression is the beauty and perfection of the stonework, which formed the paths, walls, water channels and buildings. The stone blocks are not square they have non 90 degree angles, and often the walls curve or lean in very slightly. The blocks were individually ground along their various faces and edges, so they lock together perfectly. This gives a perfect surface and often gaps you could not slide a fine knidfe into, but also an interesting mosaic effect with the different shapes and sizes of the rocks, the largest weighing tons and baffling as to how they were moved into place. The Incas also used the existing rock features so that large stone faces and rock smoothly incorporate into the structures. We also enjoyed learning about the site, how the Inca culture was very preoccupied with their agrarian economy, tracking the seasons and the heavens, and of course offering a few sacrifices as payback to the forces around them. We loved the sun temple, with its perfectly positioned windows to admit the sun at solstice and equinox, and we also saw a carved stone set at a 13 degrees angle being the latitude of the site. So on the longest day the stone would throw no shadow.
We climbed to the back of the city for the famous view looking down on the buildings and up to the peak beyond them, with the ridge dropping away on both sides. A view that you could not get enough of but at the same time quite hard to capture in a photograph. The light was bit flat middle of the day it would be a good place to sleep over and see at sunrise or sun set.
After a bite of lunch we headed off for two walks, following the Inca trails they used to approach the city from the north and the south, in effect crossing the higher ridge behind to access the Manch Picchu ridge. The southern route was not open for a great distance. It was alarmingly exposed, then crossed a bridge that had been restored and headed across a fault line in a sheer cliff. I photograped it to show you but it would take guts to walk it, and it was closed off to keep the tourist attrition rate down. While there were a lot of peole in the city and it could be hard to get a photo of a detail without heads popping up, it didnt detract. We all just shrunk into the landscape and it was a respectful crowd. I think we all felt the same way about being there and somehow the people gave the place some life, as it would have had in its day.
The second walk we took was up to the Sun Gate, a stone gateway in a narrow notch in the ridge above us and to the north east. This is the point the principle Inca trail cut over the ridge and down to Machu Picchu. It is also a feature in the solar calendar, as the sun rises through the notch, as viewed from the city, but only at a specific point in the year. It was very hot in the sun and walking at altitude. Shanti has been a trooper doing all the walks and putting up with occasional discomfort, but this was her gutsiest moment as she had had it. We thought about flagging it but pushed on and reached the top, only an hours walk but a climb of 500 ft, in the sun and at the end of a long day. We sat happily leaning against the gateway sipping our last water, then we realised this was our last place of visit and the end of our travels. From there on we would be retracing our steps down the mountain, back to Cusco, Lima and out to Santiago Chile, for our connecting flight to NZ. The Sun Gate seemed the most perfect place to finally arrive at, to turn around from and to head home.
THE END.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Manu Forest, day 3 and attempted day 4 departure
The morning trip would have to be my Manu forest highlight. We travelled again for almost an hour, to an Oxbow lake off the main river, but this time a reasonable sized body of water. We were there by 6,30 am as the first sun was on the water, a very beautiful sight with mirror still water and the forest looming over it on all sides. We stepped onto a floating platform, secured on two canoes which two boatsmen paddled. On the platform were untethered chairs. Move around the platform but dont fall in we were advised, not that the many Piranahs in the lake are anything near as dangerous as popularly suggested.
We paddled out in silence into this breathtaking view, but it was anything but silent as the Red Howlers were in full voice. Their call is different from the Black Howlers further north, to me it lacked the gruff woof woof stage of the call, then it sounded more like steel being dragged over stone or cement. Maybe a cement mixer, maybe a grader or digger blade scrapping a cement pad, or maybe a steel drum being dragged on its edge across cement. The sound is long and sustained, powerful and eery, even though not high decibel unless close. It carries and penetrates - no wonder early explorers pushing into the Amazon river system thought the forest was haunted. If you dint know what it was the imagination would run riot and haunted by monsters is exactly what it sounds like. Today however, we just sat and listened to it echo and drift around us. We agreed later it was one of the most special experiences we have had.
We crossed the lake and drifted down the sunny margin. Several remarkable birds live there, the first we encountered being the Screecher. Like a turkey or a vulture with a ridiculous single feather spike on its head, it launches into occassional calls like a donkey (not a screech), but a demented donkey at that. Others join in and the lake is awash for a few moments with their noise. A call was also what led us to the next bird, the Hoatzin. This is a species that many visit the area to see, being unique to the Amazon. It is primitive in many respects, with for example the ability of unfledged yougsters to escape danger by descending under water, climbing back up into the trees with spurs on their wings. That behaviour,and the spurs, not being present in the adult. The birds have the strangest call. Image making a loud "Huff Huff", without the actual word but only the audible sound of your breath exhaling. Our guide could do it to perfection. It would be repeated by the many birds in the trees beside us who would then poke their heads out to see what we were on about, then fly off if we were too close. They have a corona of feather spikes on their undersized heads, like the statue of liberty except on the centreline of the head, apache style. Their obvious dimwittedness, odd proportions, comical peering through the trees and outbusts of strange huffing noises were pure Dr Zeuss. Meanwhile we drifted on a mirror lake, shaking our heads at the sight.
Further down the margin, finally we saw something both of us have always wanted to see, a Nightjar at close range. We saw two sunning themselves, very difficult to initially spot being just like dead wood. These are night insect hunters like the owl with the same silent flitting flight, which we saw when the bird responded to our being so close. Being lighter built birds than Owls their flight is even more floating, with quick wing flicks and rolling, floating periods of drift.
Out in the lake we could hear the chitter of an Otter, which we paddled out to. This was our prime target,the Giant Amazon Otter growing up to 2m fully extended. First we saw a lone male then a family group of five. Very active and engaging, particularly the three youngters who keep up a predictable chatter and popped their heads up occasionally to watch us. We moved out of the sunny side of the lake where the heat was getting intense, onto the shaded margin, again exploring the details of the lake edge. It was full of insects, frogs and their spawn, bird life including jacanas (that walk on lily pads on spread toes), and plant life. Pure luxury.
Regrettably we couldnt do it all day and returned to our mooring, beside a thatched roof with bats roosting under neath. They scattered like leaves as we approached, then resettled but watchfully, with their pinprick eyes watching us (from upside down).
We headed home for lunch, then devoted the afternoon to looking for monkeys, using a network of gridded tracks built in a section of forest so you could more easily move about and change direction. The monkeys are very wild and move away when they encounter you, often noisily and with the alpha male glaring at you from a height, chattering, baring his teeth and shaking the branch to remind you who is boss. The next morning we also saw the second smallest species, a 500gm Saddlebacked Tamarind These tinies can scamper around the fringes of the canopy and fling themselves metres between greenery. They are kitten size, with coresponding high pitched chittering calls. Another mammal we enjoyed seeing was the Giant Capybara, an almost pig sized guinea pig look alike. The word giant prefixes many species here, the Amazon specialises in the largest version of a wide range of animals and birds.
That evening we socialised with our new friends, reminiscing on a wonderful day and packing for an early start for the 2 hr canoe trip, this time up river against the current, to the airstrip called Bocca Manu. The rest of the day was a frustrating wait while the local operator battled on the crappy radio to establish where the plane was, the answer by nighfall being nowhere, it was grounded. We stayed in huts at the airport, ok but only just, with grotty bathrooms about a 40m walk from our room. We had only packed the most minimal amounts of clothing and had nothing left that was not filthy and wet, but a shower did bit appeal we looked cleaner than the water, so we stripped off and climbed into the silk sacks bought for such an emergency, under a mossie net. We emptied the remainder of a can of fly spray into the hut to slow the cockrach traffic down, then were up early the next morning in the hope of a plane. It didnt arrive but the tour company sent in a chopper, so although not feeling well slept and with an additional collection of mossie bites, we were pretty happy at the outcome. The flight was slower, at about 80 knots, noisy and rattling, but exciting too. We tracked no more than 1500 ft over the forest then climbed above the cloud forest cloud mass, then over Manchu Picchu which we were due to visit the next day. Regrettably we had msissed our connection in Cusco to drive into a high Andean market, at Pisac, but we were able to hire a cab and do a shorty version of the trip before heading back to out hote1. That drive gave us the first chance to see stand alone Inca ruins, at roadside, so we knew we were in for a big treat the next two days, in Manchu Picchu.
We absolutely loved Cusco and didnt get enough of it. It is great to be at almost 11,000ft, it feels exhileratings once acclimatised. The dry hill county around the city is very central otago like, except dotted with village activity. The glimpses of the high Andean mountains, are tantalising. The city itself is natural materials, tiled roofs, granite stone walss, brick and mud brick, plastered. Ornate colonial style doors, balconies and arches decorate buildings and centre city are the most magnificent stone buildfings you could imagine. The city is full of pagentry, Catholicism and local custom alike. Hill people with their black platted hair, trilby like hats and colourful woven clothes come to town to sell. The women carry children on their back, tied by a colouful shawl. The air is dry and cool at night, even cold (maybe 5 degrees this time of year?). Datytime its mid teens but the sun has a kick, at altitude. The city is quite clean, and we liked the pople even though they seemed indifferent to us! We felt safe and wanting to see a lot more - we agree this is the place we would most want to come back to. Manchu Picchu would only further confirm that, as we were about to find out.
sx
We paddled out in silence into this breathtaking view, but it was anything but silent as the Red Howlers were in full voice. Their call is different from the Black Howlers further north, to me it lacked the gruff woof woof stage of the call, then it sounded more like steel being dragged over stone or cement. Maybe a cement mixer, maybe a grader or digger blade scrapping a cement pad, or maybe a steel drum being dragged on its edge across cement. The sound is long and sustained, powerful and eery, even though not high decibel unless close. It carries and penetrates - no wonder early explorers pushing into the Amazon river system thought the forest was haunted. If you dint know what it was the imagination would run riot and haunted by monsters is exactly what it sounds like. Today however, we just sat and listened to it echo and drift around us. We agreed later it was one of the most special experiences we have had.
We crossed the lake and drifted down the sunny margin. Several remarkable birds live there, the first we encountered being the Screecher. Like a turkey or a vulture with a ridiculous single feather spike on its head, it launches into occassional calls like a donkey (not a screech), but a demented donkey at that. Others join in and the lake is awash for a few moments with their noise. A call was also what led us to the next bird, the Hoatzin. This is a species that many visit the area to see, being unique to the Amazon. It is primitive in many respects, with for example the ability of unfledged yougsters to escape danger by descending under water, climbing back up into the trees with spurs on their wings. That behaviour,and the spurs, not being present in the adult. The birds have the strangest call. Image making a loud "Huff Huff", without the actual word but only the audible sound of your breath exhaling. Our guide could do it to perfection. It would be repeated by the many birds in the trees beside us who would then poke their heads out to see what we were on about, then fly off if we were too close. They have a corona of feather spikes on their undersized heads, like the statue of liberty except on the centreline of the head, apache style. Their obvious dimwittedness, odd proportions, comical peering through the trees and outbusts of strange huffing noises were pure Dr Zeuss. Meanwhile we drifted on a mirror lake, shaking our heads at the sight.
Further down the margin, finally we saw something both of us have always wanted to see, a Nightjar at close range. We saw two sunning themselves, very difficult to initially spot being just like dead wood. These are night insect hunters like the owl with the same silent flitting flight, which we saw when the bird responded to our being so close. Being lighter built birds than Owls their flight is even more floating, with quick wing flicks and rolling, floating periods of drift.
Out in the lake we could hear the chitter of an Otter, which we paddled out to. This was our prime target,the Giant Amazon Otter growing up to 2m fully extended. First we saw a lone male then a family group of five. Very active and engaging, particularly the three youngters who keep up a predictable chatter and popped their heads up occasionally to watch us. We moved out of the sunny side of the lake where the heat was getting intense, onto the shaded margin, again exploring the details of the lake edge. It was full of insects, frogs and their spawn, bird life including jacanas (that walk on lily pads on spread toes), and plant life. Pure luxury.
Regrettably we couldnt do it all day and returned to our mooring, beside a thatched roof with bats roosting under neath. They scattered like leaves as we approached, then resettled but watchfully, with their pinprick eyes watching us (from upside down).
We headed home for lunch, then devoted the afternoon to looking for monkeys, using a network of gridded tracks built in a section of forest so you could more easily move about and change direction. The monkeys are very wild and move away when they encounter you, often noisily and with the alpha male glaring at you from a height, chattering, baring his teeth and shaking the branch to remind you who is boss. The next morning we also saw the second smallest species, a 500gm Saddlebacked Tamarind These tinies can scamper around the fringes of the canopy and fling themselves metres between greenery. They are kitten size, with coresponding high pitched chittering calls. Another mammal we enjoyed seeing was the Giant Capybara, an almost pig sized guinea pig look alike. The word giant prefixes many species here, the Amazon specialises in the largest version of a wide range of animals and birds.
That evening we socialised with our new friends, reminiscing on a wonderful day and packing for an early start for the 2 hr canoe trip, this time up river against the current, to the airstrip called Bocca Manu. The rest of the day was a frustrating wait while the local operator battled on the crappy radio to establish where the plane was, the answer by nighfall being nowhere, it was grounded. We stayed in huts at the airport, ok but only just, with grotty bathrooms about a 40m walk from our room. We had only packed the most minimal amounts of clothing and had nothing left that was not filthy and wet, but a shower did bit appeal we looked cleaner than the water, so we stripped off and climbed into the silk sacks bought for such an emergency, under a mossie net. We emptied the remainder of a can of fly spray into the hut to slow the cockrach traffic down, then were up early the next morning in the hope of a plane. It didnt arrive but the tour company sent in a chopper, so although not feeling well slept and with an additional collection of mossie bites, we were pretty happy at the outcome. The flight was slower, at about 80 knots, noisy and rattling, but exciting too. We tracked no more than 1500 ft over the forest then climbed above the cloud forest cloud mass, then over Manchu Picchu which we were due to visit the next day. Regrettably we had msissed our connection in Cusco to drive into a high Andean market, at Pisac, but we were able to hire a cab and do a shorty version of the trip before heading back to out hote1. That drive gave us the first chance to see stand alone Inca ruins, at roadside, so we knew we were in for a big treat the next two days, in Manchu Picchu.
We absolutely loved Cusco and didnt get enough of it. It is great to be at almost 11,000ft, it feels exhileratings once acclimatised. The dry hill county around the city is very central otago like, except dotted with village activity. The glimpses of the high Andean mountains, are tantalising. The city itself is natural materials, tiled roofs, granite stone walss, brick and mud brick, plastered. Ornate colonial style doors, balconies and arches decorate buildings and centre city are the most magnificent stone buildfings you could imagine. The city is full of pagentry, Catholicism and local custom alike. Hill people with their black platted hair, trilby like hats and colourful woven clothes come to town to sell. The women carry children on their back, tied by a colouful shawl. The air is dry and cool at night, even cold (maybe 5 degrees this time of year?). Datytime its mid teens but the sun has a kick, at altitude. The city is quite clean, and we liked the pople even though they seemed indifferent to us! We felt safe and wanting to see a lot more - we agree this is the place we would most want to come back to. Manchu Picchu would only further confirm that, as we were about to find out.
sx
Manu Forest, Amazon, day 2.
A long day!
By 6am, with just over an hours boat trip and walk behind us, we stepped onto a viewing platform overlooking a clay bank, at the back of a narrow waterway and the forest margin. It was early light and what a racket from the hundreds of parrots in the trees over the bank. This was a clay lick where they congregate on a daily basis. The clay bank is behind a small flood channel, separate from the river and with only a little water. Enough however for the two Caimen crocs we immediately spotted in it! The exposed clay bank has minerals the birds like to eat, but on a seasonal basis depending on their current diet. We knew this was a quiet period in their feeding at the lick but still hoped to see the main event, a visit by Macaw parrots.
It was to be a long wait but we were well entertained by the abundance of bird life, plus breakfast had been carried in so we had fruit salad, pancakes, maple syrup, and coffee to enjoy. A Caimen made a noisy lunge at some stage, maybe at a fish, hundreds of various parrots caroused in the tree tops, and we had regular visitations from a large forest hawk also contemplating breakfast but causing a commotion amongst the parrots.
We also had several views of the beautiful Sun Bittern, a bird we had both read about as youngsters in Gerald Durrells "Drunken Forest." It spread its wings occassionally to reveal a spectacular patterned display.
The parrots gather daily but dont necessarily decend onto the clay lick, including today. But over the morning Macaws had been gathering. They are large parrots, the Scarlets 75cm long, and colourful in flight as they open their wings and tails. They screech the whole time, earsplitting if it is near you or if there are a lot of them. They are wonderfukl aerialists´and spent their time either preening and chattering, or wheeling about to inspect the scene. Finally about 11 am it was time to visit the clay lick and down they came, lining up mostly on a horizontal fracture on the bank and knawing away at it. We were relieved as much as delighted to see it, having already thought of it as a key sight we wanted to see in the area. Its a very colorful and noisy spectacle which we could just sit back and enjoy at close range. Generally speaking, with the high canopy and flat terrain you dont get the close views of wildlife that we have had elsehere. Everything seems to be on a larger scale including viewing distances, reflected in a lot of my photos in the area.
We headed home very happily, for lunch and a brief siesta before the next event, a 1.5 hr walk into another clay lick, this time one that attracts mammals, the tapir specifically. Grazing mamals like the Tapir and even Monkeys also eat crtain clay deposits, as a dietary and digestive supplement. Their importance is that these sites can often be the only way to view the otherwise elusive animals that visit them. The walk in to the lick was timed to get us there late afternoon, and we would stay on to see a Tapir, being a nocturnal animal. The walk in was another enjoyable but sweaty walk through the primal forest, with plenty of stops to listen for and to see the sights. We met the Army ant, swarming in a line across the forest floor. They dont build nests but keep moving and devouring anything edible they can subdue on the the way. They are respected for their bite and we kept our distance. We also met another very large ant, a tree trunk dweller, reputed to have one of the three worst stings in the Jungle, the others belonging to the scorpion and the fresh water sting ray. These ones patrolled the tree trunk in which they lived, so casual leaning against tree trunks is not a local habit. We also met a third ant, the fire ant, which is also a hollow tree trunk dweller, in this case keeping the tree stripped perfectly clean of any foreign plants, so the trunk shines like a beacon compared to the bedecked trunks of everything else. The fire ant is so called for the effect of its bite, so again its to be watched out for and a further benefit of having a track to walk versus bush bashing.
We made the lick by late afternoion and climbed into the 4m high blind, complete with mattresses and mosquito nets. We had only settled in and sitting in silence for minutes when our guide alerted us - a Tapir was approaching, and it was not yet dark. We could hear the occassional snap of a twicg, then 10m into the forest could just make out its shape. The Tapir is a large, 300kg grazing animal, smooth skinned, with an extended nose which it uses to grip vegetation on which it feeds. Its a difficult animal to see and this one was showing its caution in waiting and watching before it came forward. Research showed that it has poor eyesight, average hearing and good sense of smell, but also that it was very concerned with ground level but indifferent to activity in the canopy. Therefore with reasonable quietness, it would not be concerned with us on a 4m high platform. Thats what happened and it came forward into the small muddy area at our feet and licked away at the mud. We could move about quietly, whisper and take photos without disturbing it. Perhaps for 20 minutes we obseved before it slipped away, then we lay down (and dozed) waiting for the next one. However time was passing and we were very happy with what we had seen anyway, so we commenced our walk home in the pitch black. This part of the trip was intended to look for night life and we found plenty. Bats flicked around us and the screech Owl called repeatedly. We saw numerous spiders on trackside vegetation, the best would have been shantis full hand size, with its legs spread. We found the black bush scorpion, a good size, and biggest find was to see two of the three poison arrow frogs that natives use to dress their arrow tips. They are small, colourful, and its surprising to think how toxic they are, easily fatal through mishandling.
A bronze coloured snake crossed our path and we also disturbed an Armadillo which crashed of into the forest. At times we passed close to Peccaries, the forest pig with a reputation for agression but that was an exageration, said our guide. They have a distinctive musky smell, when close, like for example our red deer. Finally we reached the bridge over the creek next to the lodge, and in the panel of clear sky saw it was blazing with stars, including the southern cross. We fell into bed whacked, but not without a new respect for the crawling night life and an interest in checking our cabin before we walked around its floors (even though the cabin was netted in). On our first night we had sprayed the room because we could hear mossies, and next morning there was a monster spider dead in our shower - i picked it up in the dim light before realising what it was. Im surprised the thud didnt wake us up in the night when it dropped!
sx
By 6am, with just over an hours boat trip and walk behind us, we stepped onto a viewing platform overlooking a clay bank, at the back of a narrow waterway and the forest margin. It was early light and what a racket from the hundreds of parrots in the trees over the bank. This was a clay lick where they congregate on a daily basis. The clay bank is behind a small flood channel, separate from the river and with only a little water. Enough however for the two Caimen crocs we immediately spotted in it! The exposed clay bank has minerals the birds like to eat, but on a seasonal basis depending on their current diet. We knew this was a quiet period in their feeding at the lick but still hoped to see the main event, a visit by Macaw parrots.
It was to be a long wait but we were well entertained by the abundance of bird life, plus breakfast had been carried in so we had fruit salad, pancakes, maple syrup, and coffee to enjoy. A Caimen made a noisy lunge at some stage, maybe at a fish, hundreds of various parrots caroused in the tree tops, and we had regular visitations from a large forest hawk also contemplating breakfast but causing a commotion amongst the parrots.
We also had several views of the beautiful Sun Bittern, a bird we had both read about as youngsters in Gerald Durrells "Drunken Forest." It spread its wings occassionally to reveal a spectacular patterned display.
The parrots gather daily but dont necessarily decend onto the clay lick, including today. But over the morning Macaws had been gathering. They are large parrots, the Scarlets 75cm long, and colourful in flight as they open their wings and tails. They screech the whole time, earsplitting if it is near you or if there are a lot of them. They are wonderfukl aerialists´and spent their time either preening and chattering, or wheeling about to inspect the scene. Finally about 11 am it was time to visit the clay lick and down they came, lining up mostly on a horizontal fracture on the bank and knawing away at it. We were relieved as much as delighted to see it, having already thought of it as a key sight we wanted to see in the area. Its a very colorful and noisy spectacle which we could just sit back and enjoy at close range. Generally speaking, with the high canopy and flat terrain you dont get the close views of wildlife that we have had elsehere. Everything seems to be on a larger scale including viewing distances, reflected in a lot of my photos in the area.
We headed home very happily, for lunch and a brief siesta before the next event, a 1.5 hr walk into another clay lick, this time one that attracts mammals, the tapir specifically. Grazing mamals like the Tapir and even Monkeys also eat crtain clay deposits, as a dietary and digestive supplement. Their importance is that these sites can often be the only way to view the otherwise elusive animals that visit them. The walk in to the lick was timed to get us there late afternoon, and we would stay on to see a Tapir, being a nocturnal animal. The walk in was another enjoyable but sweaty walk through the primal forest, with plenty of stops to listen for and to see the sights. We met the Army ant, swarming in a line across the forest floor. They dont build nests but keep moving and devouring anything edible they can subdue on the the way. They are respected for their bite and we kept our distance. We also met another very large ant, a tree trunk dweller, reputed to have one of the three worst stings in the Jungle, the others belonging to the scorpion and the fresh water sting ray. These ones patrolled the tree trunk in which they lived, so casual leaning against tree trunks is not a local habit. We also met a third ant, the fire ant, which is also a hollow tree trunk dweller, in this case keeping the tree stripped perfectly clean of any foreign plants, so the trunk shines like a beacon compared to the bedecked trunks of everything else. The fire ant is so called for the effect of its bite, so again its to be watched out for and a further benefit of having a track to walk versus bush bashing.
We made the lick by late afternoion and climbed into the 4m high blind, complete with mattresses and mosquito nets. We had only settled in and sitting in silence for minutes when our guide alerted us - a Tapir was approaching, and it was not yet dark. We could hear the occassional snap of a twicg, then 10m into the forest could just make out its shape. The Tapir is a large, 300kg grazing animal, smooth skinned, with an extended nose which it uses to grip vegetation on which it feeds. Its a difficult animal to see and this one was showing its caution in waiting and watching before it came forward. Research showed that it has poor eyesight, average hearing and good sense of smell, but also that it was very concerned with ground level but indifferent to activity in the canopy. Therefore with reasonable quietness, it would not be concerned with us on a 4m high platform. Thats what happened and it came forward into the small muddy area at our feet and licked away at the mud. We could move about quietly, whisper and take photos without disturbing it. Perhaps for 20 minutes we obseved before it slipped away, then we lay down (and dozed) waiting for the next one. However time was passing and we were very happy with what we had seen anyway, so we commenced our walk home in the pitch black. This part of the trip was intended to look for night life and we found plenty. Bats flicked around us and the screech Owl called repeatedly. We saw numerous spiders on trackside vegetation, the best would have been shantis full hand size, with its legs spread. We found the black bush scorpion, a good size, and biggest find was to see two of the three poison arrow frogs that natives use to dress their arrow tips. They are small, colourful, and its surprising to think how toxic they are, easily fatal through mishandling.
A bronze coloured snake crossed our path and we also disturbed an Armadillo which crashed of into the forest. At times we passed close to Peccaries, the forest pig with a reputation for agression but that was an exageration, said our guide. They have a distinctive musky smell, when close, like for example our red deer. Finally we reached the bridge over the creek next to the lodge, and in the panel of clear sky saw it was blazing with stars, including the southern cross. We fell into bed whacked, but not without a new respect for the crawling night life and an interest in checking our cabin before we walked around its floors (even though the cabin was netted in). On our first night we had sprayed the room because we could hear mossies, and next morning there was a monster spider dead in our shower - i picked it up in the dim light before realising what it was. Im surprised the thud didnt wake us up in the night when it dropped!
sx
Friday, June 11, 2010
manu forest, Amazon
8pm local time, Cusco.
We are back in Cusco tonight after 4 nights in the Amazon the last one umscheduled, as the aircraft had mechanical problems and stranded us at the remote airstrip we had spent 2 hrs getting to by motorised canoe. An uncomfotable night in poor facilities in sweaty clothes and a cockroach ruled room, until we hit them with half a can of Raid which did the trick provided you stayed in your mosquito net. No aircrafy again in the morning but follwed by a nice solution, a chopper trip across the Andes divide from Manu to Cusco. But it stuffed our itinary and now we are revelling (not) in th prospect of a 3.30 am wakeup to connect with the trip into Manchu Pichu in the morning.
The flight into Manu started early as everything seems to. We joined up with four others, all younger which was nice, a couple from
I clicked what the cloud band was, it was the foothill rain forest. The airflow was in towards the hills and the humid air was condensing on the slopes.
We spent about 30 minutes flying east over the forest, and marvelled at the sight of an ocean of trees to the horizon, front and side. We lost height and were flying only at 1500ft or so above ground level, enough to see canopy detail and also some vultures or eagles soaring above it. Regular streams and rivers meandered across the forest, some substantial. It is hard to imagine the amount of water that ultimately collects from these rivers into the main Amazon channel, but you could appreciate how that river could hold such a high proportion of the worls fresh water. We approached one of the larger water ways and landed on a grass strip near it. Our Guide, another young man, Jose, who like the others we have met was very knowledgeable and great company. We collected our 14 kg of gear (having been restricted in what we could take on the smaller plane) and were soon on a long motorised canoe for the trip down river to the lodge, taking 1.5 hrs with a current assisting us. The river was broad, meandering, with exposed mud banks and forest to the edge. The river was eroding the banks and there were tangles of logs down most of the margins. As expected there was birdlife around, so the binocs were out as we oohed and aahd at the exostic sights. Turtles stacked up on some logs, sunning, and at one stage we alrmed a flock of sand halks, night toime birds that roost on the shore line. They are a type of nightjar, and fluttered around us.
The accomodatuon was surprisingly good, 50 m from the river bank and in the forest. We settled in then went walking the local tracks to learn about the forest. The Manu area is a very extensive floodplane at the foot of the mountains, flat and subject to regular flooding during wet periods. The silt deposits keep the soils rich and it supports a very lush forest with high amounts of fruiting and flowering trees. Walking in it I had expected it to be mostly old, huge trees, but it was quite the reverse. These tropical trees dont have taproots because of the high water table. They have surface roots with buttresses, radiator like fins that assist with stability. Despite than and helped by the load of epiphytes, the average tree lives 86 to 150 years before falling. They rot quickly in this climate, a large specimen gone in 10 yrs. So the impression of the forsts was lush, large leaved trees, quite skinny but tall, with irregular forest giants dotted about. Massive climbers, thick as your leg climbed about, they are a sign of untouched forest as they often outlive the trees around them. The mid and lower storeys included many palms and lacked the ferns were are familiar with. Its reasonably open, enough to think you could walk through it with some light slashing, however we have already noticed in other places that when the ground gets rougher it becomes impassable, especially if there is water lying about. Not to mention the various creatures you do not want to encounter and can avoid doing so by walking in an open track. The forest is hot and humid, bathed in green light, mosquitoes are thick requiring a good covering of clothes and plent of repellant, including on thin fabrics which they bite through. The forest resounds with strange bird calls but they are harder to sight in the canopy. We heard about the animals present, including armidillos, anteaters, peccaries, large rodent species like Capibaras, monkeys of course, otters, caymem and so the list goes on. Crocodiles, snakes and massive spiders are there as expected.
We climbed to the observtion platform and stayed for an hour or more, watching toucans and other birds but particularly hearing the noises of the forest at that time of day. The platform was in a whopping tree, just where the limbs started spreading from the trunk. The perfect kids hut although the height might put some parents off! There was a slight breeze up there while down below it was getting very dark. We walked back in the last light and prepared for the mornings excursion to see one of the Amazon spectacle, Macaw parrots feeding on a riverside bank, a so called clay lick.
sx
We are back in Cusco tonight after 4 nights in the Amazon the last one umscheduled, as the aircraft had mechanical problems and stranded us at the remote airstrip we had spent 2 hrs getting to by motorised canoe. An uncomfotable night in poor facilities in sweaty clothes and a cockroach ruled room, until we hit them with half a can of Raid which did the trick provided you stayed in your mosquito net. No aircrafy again in the morning but follwed by a nice solution, a chopper trip across the Andes divide from Manu to Cusco. But it stuffed our itinary and now we are revelling (not) in th prospect of a 3.30 am wakeup to connect with the trip into Manchu Pichu in the morning.
The flight into Manu started early as everything seems to. We joined up with four others, all younger which was nice, a couple from
I clicked what the cloud band was, it was the foothill rain forest. The airflow was in towards the hills and the humid air was condensing on the slopes.
We spent about 30 minutes flying east over the forest, and marvelled at the sight of an ocean of trees to the horizon, front and side. We lost height and were flying only at 1500ft or so above ground level, enough to see canopy detail and also some vultures or eagles soaring above it. Regular streams and rivers meandered across the forest, some substantial. It is hard to imagine the amount of water that ultimately collects from these rivers into the main Amazon channel, but you could appreciate how that river could hold such a high proportion of the worls fresh water. We approached one of the larger water ways and landed on a grass strip near it. Our Guide, another young man, Jose, who like the others we have met was very knowledgeable and great company. We collected our 14 kg of gear (having been restricted in what we could take on the smaller plane) and were soon on a long motorised canoe for the trip down river to the lodge, taking 1.5 hrs with a current assisting us. The river was broad, meandering, with exposed mud banks and forest to the edge. The river was eroding the banks and there were tangles of logs down most of the margins. As expected there was birdlife around, so the binocs were out as we oohed and aahd at the exostic sights. Turtles stacked up on some logs, sunning, and at one stage we alrmed a flock of sand halks, night toime birds that roost on the shore line. They are a type of nightjar, and fluttered around us.
The accomodatuon was surprisingly good, 50 m from the river bank and in the forest. We settled in then went walking the local tracks to learn about the forest. The Manu area is a very extensive floodplane at the foot of the mountains, flat and subject to regular flooding during wet periods. The silt deposits keep the soils rich and it supports a very lush forest with high amounts of fruiting and flowering trees. Walking in it I had expected it to be mostly old, huge trees, but it was quite the reverse. These tropical trees dont have taproots because of the high water table. They have surface roots with buttresses, radiator like fins that assist with stability. Despite than and helped by the load of epiphytes, the average tree lives 86 to 150 years before falling. They rot quickly in this climate, a large specimen gone in 10 yrs. So the impression of the forsts was lush, large leaved trees, quite skinny but tall, with irregular forest giants dotted about. Massive climbers, thick as your leg climbed about, they are a sign of untouched forest as they often outlive the trees around them. The mid and lower storeys included many palms and lacked the ferns were are familiar with. Its reasonably open, enough to think you could walk through it with some light slashing, however we have already noticed in other places that when the ground gets rougher it becomes impassable, especially if there is water lying about. Not to mention the various creatures you do not want to encounter and can avoid doing so by walking in an open track. The forest is hot and humid, bathed in green light, mosquitoes are thick requiring a good covering of clothes and plent of repellant, including on thin fabrics which they bite through. The forest resounds with strange bird calls but they are harder to sight in the canopy. We heard about the animals present, including armidillos, anteaters, peccaries, large rodent species like Capibaras, monkeys of course, otters, caymem and so the list goes on. Crocodiles, snakes and massive spiders are there as expected.
We climbed to the observtion platform and stayed for an hour or more, watching toucans and other birds but particularly hearing the noises of the forest at that time of day. The platform was in a whopping tree, just where the limbs started spreading from the trunk. The perfect kids hut although the height might put some parents off! There was a slight breeze up there while down below it was getting very dark. We walked back in the last light and prepared for the mornings excursion to see one of the Amazon spectacle, Macaw parrots feeding on a riverside bank, a so called clay lick.
sx
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Ecuador finals
1pm cuzco, Peru.
Mistakes might be more frequent, the keybord is worn until most letters are only part visible, but at least its daytime and not dark!
The troops are a bit wery, shanti is in bed while i have just got up to catch up on various things such as the blog. Cusco is waiting outside so its not ideal to be sleeping but the actiovity has been busy plus low sleep hours.
we finished our last day at Bellevista with a 5 am start and off to visit some high country, driving and walking to 3,500 ft on the back of a volcano. Not blowing its lid, dammit. The drive was up a back road climbing through an absolutely pristine rain forest, with a fast stream at its base. We were driving initially in dark and stopped to listen to a large cock of thre rock lek, which was making enough noise to be heard from inside the vehicle. They were on the other side of the gully and totally unapproachable, but the eerie sound carried well like an amphitheatre and we enjoyed hearing it it in the pre dawn of the nmorning. The drive continued, we bumped and ground up this remote road seeing wonderful lush forest with not a hint of human activity until the valley became less steep and there was room for the occasional roadside dwelling and farmlet. One was a trout farm with a collection of cement ponds, others were small dairy farms meaning a handful of cows who seemed to mainly graze the roadside. Higher up ther was an artichoke farm!
The terrain opened up for us as we cloimbed, with beautiful steep sided, forest cloaked ridges, and icreasig views of the ash covered peak in front of us. The whole region is ash soils and pumices but here they were deep and obvious beds im the road cuttings. The area has built up over time with successive eruptios of dark and light ash, eruptive bands often metres thick, and with larva flows. The erosion of this has created the distinctive terrain now visible. The last eruption was 1999 amd a decent one, i will find an example of a photo of it from Quito but it was a massive sight from the city and dropped significant ash on it.
We didnt stop enough for me
Mistakes might be more frequent, the keybord is worn until most letters are only part visible, but at least its daytime and not dark!
The troops are a bit wery, shanti is in bed while i have just got up to catch up on various things such as the blog. Cusco is waiting outside so its not ideal to be sleeping but the actiovity has been busy plus low sleep hours.
we finished our last day at Bellevista with a 5 am start and off to visit some high country, driving and walking to 3,500 ft on the back of a volcano. Not blowing its lid, dammit. The drive was up a back road climbing through an absolutely pristine rain forest, with a fast stream at its base. We were driving initially in dark and stopped to listen to a large cock of thre rock lek, which was making enough noise to be heard from inside the vehicle. They were on the other side of the gully and totally unapproachable, but the eerie sound carried well like an amphitheatre and we enjoyed hearing it it in the pre dawn of the nmorning. The drive continued, we bumped and ground up this remote road seeing wonderful lush forest with not a hint of human activity until the valley became less steep and there was room for the occasional roadside dwelling and farmlet. One was a trout farm with a collection of cement ponds, others were small dairy farms meaning a handful of cows who seemed to mainly graze the roadside. Higher up ther was an artichoke farm!
The terrain opened up for us as we cloimbed, with beautiful steep sided, forest cloaked ridges, and icreasig views of the ash covered peak in front of us. The whole region is ash soils and pumices but here they were deep and obvious beds im the road cuttings. The area has built up over time with successive eruptios of dark and light ash, eruptive bands often metres thick, and with larva flows. The erosion of this has created the distinctive terrain now visible. The last eruption was 1999 amd a decent one, i will find an example of a photo of it from Quito but it was a massive sight from the city and dropped significant ash on it.
We didnt stop enough for me
Friday, June 4, 2010
Bellavista reserve, Ecuador.
We returned to Quito from the Galapos, finding the city easier the second time round. Did sone shopping, taxied around like old timers. Then tey another early morning pickup at 6 am, to drive to Bellavista reserve, a cloud forest location nw of Quito. We drove north, up the avenue of volcanoes as we heard the valley described, then turned west into the hills. The drive was windey and it wqas raining. Theterrain became precipitous with time and the corn plots gave up in favour of forest. Then we swung into a narrow unsealed road and began a climb upwards. The forest became wetter and lusher and soon we were in mist. The Bellavista lodge is at roadside, but its in the wop wops with nothing much near it. Its in cloud forest but much higher elevation than we saw at Monteverde, Costa Rica, so is much cooler even cold at night. The lodge is quite something its on a short ridge perhaps 75m long, narrow, dropping down steep slopes on both flanks. At the start of the ridge its wideenough for a car park and a few small buildings, but the final building a geodesic dome at the end of the ridge is approached by a narrow covered path with steep banks either side. So the buildings in effect dot along aridge top and are enclosed in forest. We have a 2nd storey room with windows that slide open to a view over the canopy. That view starts with blue sky in the morning but the mists soon roll in. They create a sense of being closed in, and a silence you get with snow. The canopy drips constantly in the wet with an audible patter. It sound wet and miserable but somehow its not. The buildings are timber and bamboo, with even some floors split sections of some huge bamboo stems. Facitities are fine for the location but fairly basic, and very poor computer facilities and reception hence the delay in getting this out.
What is special about the place is the wildlife, it is extravagent to say the least. There are hummingbirds everywhere, squeaking and tittering constantly like a mouse party. We can hardly get away from the feeders where they squabble and dash about in perpetual excitement and activity. A handsome squirrel is about. We cannot understand how they stay so fluffy in the damp environment, perhaps its because they sit with the tail fanned over them like an umbrella, then dash like a sprinter up or doen a vertical tree trunk. Other birdlife is everywhere, its almost impossible to stop looking or hearing a call and wondering whats that.
On arrival we took a familiarisation walk of maybe 3 hours, to learn about the forest. We had a terrific guide who knew his flora and fauna well. By midafternoon the energy reserves were low, its these early morning starts they never stop. Plus the news that the next morning we were for a 4 am wakeup call to drive 1.5 hrs to make a locatrion by 6 am, to view a very special bird the so called Cock of the Rock. Shanti went to bed about 4pm, decided against dinner and slept through to the 4am buzzer. We drove in the dark then walked iun the dark, down a greasy track in the forest biut at least not raining. By 6 am we were parked on the boarded hide deep in the forest a first light. The Cock of the Rock is a strange but beautiful creature, The males gather at a lek, a communual gathering point that doesnt change unless disturbed. They dance, or shuffle would be more accurate, and called in loud churring noises. The purpose is to attravct receptive females, which is not most days. Following about a 40min session the ,males disperse to feed for the day while any females in the population solo parent their nests. Every morning and evening, every day, this gathering is repeated. What tyhe birds look like is the main surprise. They have a bright tangerine red cape covering head and upper parts, which is shaped over the head to create a high, rounded narrow hood. Tiny eyes peer out but the beak is almost completely covered by the cape, giving the bird a most unusual look. The photographic conditions were poor but I got some fictures that give a rough idea. After they dispered we were met by the land owner, a man obsessed with the local birdlife, who has a reputation for his ability to call them in. Over the next 3 hours he called in three species of Pita, a secretive ground bird that treminded us in manner of our bush robin. Able to fly but preferring the ground, it bounds around then stops, frozen, with its head slightly turned so as to see you better. The birds were known by individual name, one being Maria. So we sit about and follow this fellow calling Maria, Maria, then finally she appears.
A very fascinating and absorbing experience, another world really. We finished by having lunch, cooked by the family, sitting on benches under a covered platform back up on the ridge top. In the afternoon we went hunting various other birds, animals, and viwing other aspects of the forest regions. We finished with afternoon tea although it was more substantial, in a guest house restaurant again in the middle of nowwhere, looking down a steep bank o n a river, perhaps 100m below. Again it was dripping with birds so we could hardly sit still. At tyhe end of the day we added them up and agreed we had seen over 50 new species in the day. Wonderful things like toucans, woodpeckers, eagles, many totally unfamiliar species and the list goes on. Thr one that had me shaking my head was the Manakin. Believe it or not thids small non ndescript bird vibrates its wings at 300 beats per second, yes per second, to produce a strange, penetrating noise. The noise is electronic sounding, treminding me most of one of the lower pitched beeps that a reversing truck makes. The beep is a bit longer and has a rough edge, like the squawk of blowing a grass blade. But its thge stragest sound, pepea6ted at 10 to 15 second intervals. We spent ages trying to track the little buggers down but in dense and mozzie ridden bush we only got the merest flicker of movement as they shifted away from us. Now I know how they invented the electronic beep they heard this bird.
Today, the following day, we slept in and messed around the lodge. There is so much here you cannot really ignore it. Beautiful toucans have been coming in all day to a tree in fruit beside us, I dont know how many frames I have blasted on them. Not to mention the hummingbirds. Apologies for all the hummingbird shots on flickr but they are a constant source of interest and a constant battle to get a good photo of these tint flickering creatures. They have wonderful names like Woodstars, Brilliants, Emeralds, Incas, Coronets and Sun Angels.
The mists drift through in wafts most of the day, sometimes clagging in o near zero visibility. It is a way to stay in that environment in reasonable comfort with the feeling that you are somewhere remote, evem tnough we are anly 2 hrs drive from Quito. It reminds me a little of being in a mountain or a forest hut, far from antwhere.
What is special about the place is the wildlife, it is extravagent to say the least. There are hummingbirds everywhere, squeaking and tittering constantly like a mouse party. We can hardly get away from the feeders where they squabble and dash about in perpetual excitement and activity. A handsome squirrel is about. We cannot understand how they stay so fluffy in the damp environment, perhaps its because they sit with the tail fanned over them like an umbrella, then dash like a sprinter up or doen a vertical tree trunk. Other birdlife is everywhere, its almost impossible to stop looking or hearing a call and wondering whats that.
On arrival we took a familiarisation walk of maybe 3 hours, to learn about the forest. We had a terrific guide who knew his flora and fauna well. By midafternoon the energy reserves were low, its these early morning starts they never stop. Plus the news that the next morning we were for a 4 am wakeup call to drive 1.5 hrs to make a locatrion by 6 am, to view a very special bird the so called Cock of the Rock. Shanti went to bed about 4pm, decided against dinner and slept through to the 4am buzzer. We drove in the dark then walked iun the dark, down a greasy track in the forest biut at least not raining. By 6 am we were parked on the boarded hide deep in the forest a first light. The Cock of the Rock is a strange but beautiful creature, The males gather at a lek, a communual gathering point that doesnt change unless disturbed. They dance, or shuffle would be more accurate, and called in loud churring noises. The purpose is to attravct receptive females, which is not most days. Following about a 40min session the ,males disperse to feed for the day while any females in the population solo parent their nests. Every morning and evening, every day, this gathering is repeated. What tyhe birds look like is the main surprise. They have a bright tangerine red cape covering head and upper parts, which is shaped over the head to create a high, rounded narrow hood. Tiny eyes peer out but the beak is almost completely covered by the cape, giving the bird a most unusual look. The photographic conditions were poor but I got some fictures that give a rough idea. After they dispered we were met by the land owner, a man obsessed with the local birdlife, who has a reputation for his ability to call them in. Over the next 3 hours he called in three species of Pita, a secretive ground bird that treminded us in manner of our bush robin. Able to fly but preferring the ground, it bounds around then stops, frozen, with its head slightly turned so as to see you better. The birds were known by individual name, one being Maria. So we sit about and follow this fellow calling Maria, Maria, then finally she appears.
A very fascinating and absorbing experience, another world really. We finished by having lunch, cooked by the family, sitting on benches under a covered platform back up on the ridge top. In the afternoon we went hunting various other birds, animals, and viwing other aspects of the forest regions. We finished with afternoon tea although it was more substantial, in a guest house restaurant again in the middle of nowwhere, looking down a steep bank o n a river, perhaps 100m below. Again it was dripping with birds so we could hardly sit still. At tyhe end of the day we added them up and agreed we had seen over 50 new species in the day. Wonderful things like toucans, woodpeckers, eagles, many totally unfamiliar species and the list goes on. Thr one that had me shaking my head was the Manakin. Believe it or not thids small non ndescript bird vibrates its wings at 300 beats per second, yes per second, to produce a strange, penetrating noise. The noise is electronic sounding, treminding me most of one of the lower pitched beeps that a reversing truck makes. The beep is a bit longer and has a rough edge, like the squawk of blowing a grass blade. But its thge stragest sound, pepea6ted at 10 to 15 second intervals. We spent ages trying to track the little buggers down but in dense and mozzie ridden bush we only got the merest flicker of movement as they shifted away from us. Now I know how they invented the electronic beep they heard this bird.
Today, the following day, we slept in and messed around the lodge. There is so much here you cannot really ignore it. Beautiful toucans have been coming in all day to a tree in fruit beside us, I dont know how many frames I have blasted on them. Not to mention the hummingbirds. Apologies for all the hummingbird shots on flickr but they are a constant source of interest and a constant battle to get a good photo of these tint flickering creatures. They have wonderful names like Woodstars, Brilliants, Emeralds, Incas, Coronets and Sun Angels.
The mists drift through in wafts most of the day, sometimes clagging in o near zero visibility. It is a way to stay in that environment in reasonable comfort with the feeling that you are somewhere remote, evem tnough we are anly 2 hrs drive from Quito. It reminds me a little of being in a mountain or a forest hut, far from antwhere.
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