Wednesday-Thursday, July 11-12 - Going home

Wednesday, July 11  Exploring Barranco and Leaving Lima

We had another good breakfast at the Miraflores of corn meal panqueques with maple syrup. This day the weather was a normal winter day for Lima, the garua, the fog that hangs over the city – no rain ever, just fog – had settled back in. We took a taxi to Barranco, the area just south of Miraflores, and walked around the old mansions and gardens overlooking the ocean. One mansion is now the Pedro de Osma Art Museum and we explored the rooms of 16^th and 17^th century art, admiring the beautiful wooden floors and stained glass and painted glass windows.

Old electric street car in Barranco

Pedro de Osma Art museum

Black Madonna

We took a taxi back to Miraflores to the Huaca Pucllana adobe pyramid that sits in the middle of the city. We had made a lunch reservation at the restaurant of the same name that sits with wonderful views of the structure and had one last memorable meal in Peru. I had my last Pisco Sour and we split a plate of yuca spirals with huancaina dipping sauce. I then had trout and Bob enjoyed a superb roast cabrito (goat). We split a dessert of four Peruvian shots glasses filled with chocolate flan with cherimoya foam, rice pudding, Suspiro de limeña, traditional Lima dessert of dulce de leche custard with meringue and Lúcuma mousse.

Huaca Pucllana adobe pyramid

Pre-schoolers visit the pyramid

Yuca spirals with cheese sauce

  

Shot glass dessert

We walked back to our room, napped, packed and at 7:15 hauled our bags to the lobby to check out, and there was José, the very reliable guy who had picked us up at the Lima airport on Monday. We managed to communicate a bit about our adventures and told him how much we enjoyed Miraflores. We arrived at the airport, checked in, went through at least two security checks, and managed to get into the all-airline elite club for some snacks and relative peace and quiet. We boarded at 9:45 into our Business Class seats, ate a nice dinner and awoke at 5 AM in Miami.

Thursday, July 12 – Arriving home

We got through immigration and customs without too much trouble, went back through security, found the Admiral’s Club for a newspaper and juice, before boarding the luxurious 777 and our First Class pods once again. We’re pros at this by now and stretched out into our beds, had Bloody Marys, omelets, & watched movies. I fell asleep and missed out on the warm cookies and citrus drink, but the kindly steward got me some cookies just before we landed. How will we ever fly coach again?

We caught the courtesy bus to our car at the Sheraton Four Points, and drove home through some heavy traffic. After unloading we picked up Madeline who howled all the way home! Another great adventure!

Welcome to LA!

Tuesday, July 10 - Exploring Miraflores

We slept in until 8:30 and went down to the dining room at nine. The dining room is quite small and can get quite crowded at breakfast time but we managed to get a table. A whirling dervish of a waitress tore around taking care of everyone and quickly brought us fresh OJ, a basket of bolillos (very fresh large rolls), jam and butter, and a pot of syrupy coffee and hot milk. We ordered tamales which were delicious filled with chicken and a few peanuts with pickled onions and chili peppers on the side.

We decided not to dash around Lima seeing all the sights, but to relax and just concentrate on Miraflores. We set off, under a rare brilliantly blue sky, towards the coast, a few blocks away, and walked along the cliff top, first through Parque del Amor, a wonderful area full of mosaic covered walls with quotes about love scattered throughout, rather Gaudí-esque after our trip to Barcelona last year! In the center is a huge statue of two entwined people, and we saw a group of tourists trying to imitate the figures. Further down the coast are the two glassy towers of the Marriott across the street from a large shopping center sunk into the ocean cliffs, where we explored and found, among the US food franchises, a nifty art exhibit of artists’ interpretations of indigenous dresses.

We walked toward the Parque Central up the busy Avenida Larco, stopping at a Manolo’s, a coffee shop we used to frequent in San José, Costa Rica. Feeling a bit peckish, we went in and split a chicken sandwich and had a Dulce de Leche-filled churro, a donut-like tube of deep fried dough - really good!

Thus fortified, we continued to the central plaza which is very prettily filled with flower beds and lots of healthy, quite tame, cats! We located the restaurant, Astrid y Gaston, where we have a reservation for tonight that we made from back home. We made our way back to our hotel, having walked five miles already, and took naps, Brucato-style.

At 7:15 we set out again for the Central Plaza through throngs of people out for the evening and arrived at our restaurant in 15 minutes. Astrid y Gaston is supposed to be one of the best restaurants in Latin America and now has branches in several cities. After being shown to our table in an art-filled room, we decided not to go for the 21-course tasting menu, which seemed a bit much, and ordered from the regular menu which has such whimsical language that it is sometimes difficult to gather exactly you are ordering.

We were brought a basket of six breads, all very different, from a very light creampuff to nut bread, to potato bread and very thin quinoa breadsticks, and then a plate of appetizers; a tiny peach ceviche and a meatball and sauce. We split plates of three ceviches, which were very good, but not better than at Cielito’s in SB and one of excellent grilled scallops.

Cuy with purple corn toritllas

 We got our mains: cuy (guinea pig) with tiny purple tortillas for me and a slab of grilled swordfish on a bed of creamy rice and asparagus for Bob. The fish was the best we have ever eaten – I don’t know what they did to it - it was very fresh, of course, but just succulent and amazing! We split a dessert of a chocolate-coated ice cream sphere doused with hot chocolate sauce and then came the colorful filing cabinet of sweets: a small multicolored box with drawers that you pull out to reveal different yummy treats!

We walked home through the pleasant streets listening to music coming from bars until we reached our wonderful hotel.

Monday, July 9 - Return to Lima, Goodbye to our Birding Pals

  

A rain-free day!   We washed and dressed in the dark due to a power failure and the  group assembled at the bus at 5:30AM, leaving our suitcases packed in our rooms.  We drove out of Tarapoto and up into the hills on the busy paved highway to Yurimaguas.  It was cool and foggy as we walked along the road and through a very windy tunnel.  It was quite birdie, but difficult to see colors in the low light. 

Our cooks set up shop and put together another good breakfast of granola, yogurt and cheese omelets.  We birded all morning moving up and down the hill, coming at one point to a tiny resort below a long, thin ribbon of a waterfall that cascaded hundreds of feet down a large tree-covered steep hillside.  We couldn’t explore it as a landslide had blocked the trail and a crew was deep in mud trying to fix it.

Walking Stick Insect

We continued birding, seeing beautiful toucanets, rare tanagers and interesting spiders, flowers and caterpillars.   Our cooks produced their last meal for us of a chicken salad with raisins, walnuts and apples.  We returned to the hotel at three.  Almost everyone is leaving today for the States or Canada after we return to Lima; the ones who are leaving before 8 PM were able to shower at the hotel and the others who are leaving Lima between 10PM and 1AM can relax at the Ramada at the Lima airport before boarding flights at midnight.

The Birders

Green-backed Trogon (although back is definitely Blue!)

 

We were transported to the Tarapoto airport and took the short flight to Lima.  Unlike US airlines, LAN gave us free snacks and drinks (including a can of beer for me!).  We arrived in Lima, picked up our luggage, hugged everyone goodbye and exited the airport to find a very nice gentleman, José, of Casanova-Cab standing with a sign with our names on it.  He whisked us out of the airport, through dense traffic,  onto the ocean highway, and suddenly, 30 minutes later, turned up onto a steep road leading to the cliff tops and the lovely city of Miraflores which resembles Santa Monica, CA, in its location and relationship to a major city.   Two blocks from the ocean we were delivered to the Hotel Antigua Miraflores at about 8:30PM.  This is a lovely older hotel built around a flower- and fountain-filled courtyard.  We were shown to our superior, but very reasonably-priced, room with king-size bed, large desk and  sitting area and a window opening onto the courtyard. 

Moto-taxi Traffic Jam in Tarapoto

We quickly cleaned up and went down for dinner as their restaurant closes at 10.  We got the specials:  garlic chicken for RRZ and Locro de Verduras (veggies in a cheese and corn sauce) for me.  We collapsed into our bed and fell sleep listening to the fountain

Sunday, July 8 - Returning to Tarapoto

Bob and I managed to get up at 3:30 AM, and listened to a torrential downpour outside.  We got our suitcases onto our cottage front porch by 4:15 when the rain miraculously lightened so that we and the luggage could make it down to the bus without getting soaked.  We sadly departed from the Owlet Lodge, a truly wonderful and unique place to stay with wonderful food and an efficient and caring staff.

Pancakes on the bus!!

Looking for the wren in the rain

Our driver slowly worked his way down hill through the heavy mist.  We stopped at Garcia to try once more for the Bar-winged Wood-Wren, but it was raining too hard.  We pulled off above Afluente where we found the cooking van parked and the guys already cooking.   It was raining harder, so we decided to eat in the bus - rolls, peanut butter, cream cheese and jam were brought on board and we made sandwiches, and then the cooks produced plates of pancakes and syrup!  Totally amazing what they can produce even in the rain!

We drove on a few hours to Moyobamba and turned off to the Waqanki (Quechua for orchid) Hotel and orchid gardens where the young man running the resort lead us through a lovely tropical garden to a two-story tower from which we could see many species of hummers feeding at 5-6 feeders. 


Golden-tailed Sapphire

Long-tailed Hermit

Rufous-crested Coquette

We saw several new species at this lower elevation, such as  White-necked Jacobin, Brown Violetear and Long-tailed Hermit.  Finally we left and walked back through the garden of heliconias, bananas and orchids to find our drivers and cooks had set up the tables (underneath a high metal roof this time!) and once again produced an unique and delicious meal.  This time we sat down to a lunch of causa, a Peruvian shepherd’s pie of yellow potato crust surrounding a mixture of avocado and tuna salad decorated with hard boiled egg, tomatoes and cucumber! 

the hummer tower

pink banana flower

Causa

Our wonderful cooks/drivers

After lunch we settled into our seats on the bus and dozed while our driver took us for several hours into Tarapoto to the  Hotel Rio Shilcayo, a lovely tropical resort.  We had about 90 minutes to relax and clean up before gathering again in the open air restaurant for our farewell dinner. We started with a round of Pisco Sours followed by a variety of dishes from hearts of palm salad,  palta rellena (stuffed avocado), gingered chicken soup, to local fish with garlic sauce and several bottles of wine!  I was hit by a wave of fatigue and left for bed early.

Saturday, July 7 - The Marvelous Spatuletail, Por Fin!!

interesting fly/bee??

Breakfast this morning was sausage omelets which we had at six AM, loading onto the bus at 6:30. I sat in the elevated back seat with Jack which had great views out the window. All the seats are good except for the seats over the wheel wells if you have to share, which is rare.

We drove up the highway about 20 KM up and down over crests and into a substantially dryer area which was much more inhabited and cut over. We passed through several villages and turned off onto a dirt road winding up along the small río Chido past pastureland to our high point of 8900’ and turned around stopping at several places to bird. We saw purple salvia and many other lovely flowers and a great view of the White-capped Dipper in the river and flying to her football shaped and sized nest!

rio Chido village



blue church at 8800'

Laundry by the river

We drove on another 10 km to the Huembo Research Station, a small preserve on a hillside with areas to view hummingbird feeders and a very nice museum. The station was set up years ago by various international conservation groups to conserve the Marvelous Spatuletail hummingbird which only exists in a limited surrounding area.

Entry gate at the Spatuletail Reserve

lunch by the bus

Spatuletail habitate

Our crew set up the tables and produced a delicious chicken with gravy of raisins and veggies on rice - how they do this way out in the boonies on camp stoves is utterly amazing! We then walked down a short ways to some benches set in a clearing with a view of four hummingbird feeders. All sorts of hummers were zooming in and out of the surrounding shrubs, chasing each other


















away in their very aggressive manners. We saw the wonderfully named Bronzy Incas, Little Woodstars, Violet-fronted Brilliants, Chestnut-breasted Coronets, and the most amazing hummer of all: the Marvelous Spatuletail, a rather small hummer with bright blue above the bill and a green gorget and a tail consisting of two straight spikes in the middle and two extremely long wavy outer spikes tipped with violet rackets! We saw several Spatuletails and were amazed each time!  Note: the Spatuletail is a very small hummer and against the green background, very difficult to photograph - if you want to see what it looks like, go the the first post and click on the YouTube film clip listed there.





We finally tore ourselves away and walked down to the museum which is run by a local farmer who had protected his woodland, thus conserving the hummers and has been recognized by conservators for his efforts and given this position. The museum had several interesting exhibits of hummingbird plants, samples of nests, and drawings of the local natural history by locals.

Kids playing in a dugout canoe on Pomacocha

We started back to the lodge, stopping at Pomacocha (puma lake in Quechua), an artificial lake with a fancy thatch-roof boardwalk and a fairground under construction, to look for the Plumbeous Rail which cooperated very nicely. The bus pulled into the Puerta Puma Hotel grounds where John was greeted with open arms by Oscar the manager who showed us around the lovely landscaped grounds. The hotel looks wonderful and exotic with wildly painted murals, but seems somewhat out of business at the moment. The tour used to stay there before the more conveniently located Owlet Lodge was constructed.

We returned home at 4:30 under suddenly gray and drizzly skies, organized our gear a little for our departure tomorrow and gathered for the List and our final dinner of chicken and cilantro soup followed by pasta with a tasty beef, mushroom and egg sauce. We have to have our suitcases outside our rooms by 4:15 AM tomorrow for the long drive back to Tarapoto. It is pouring rain at the moment - should be an interesting day!

　

　

　

Friday, July 6 - Recovery day

Bob got up at 5:30 and left for breakfast, which I found out later was cheese-filled cornmeal fingers and honey-filled crepes! The variety of food here is amazing!

Lounge at the Owlet Lodge

Owlet mirror in the Lodge bathrooms

I slept in until the un-godly hour of 8:30 and wandered over to the dining room for more coca tea and biscuits. The others took off on the Tower Trail and beyond which turned out to be rather steep and muddy. Unfortunately there were few birds to be seen; the woods have been unusually quiet - maybe the result of a recent cold front coming through.

I felt pretty well by lunch and joined the others for Peruvian guacamole between deep-fried wonton sheets - really great! This was followed by meat (goat?) with a delicious sauce, rice and squash, with prickly pear fruit for dessert. Thanks to Alejandro’s advice regarding Pepto Bismol and Cipro I seem to be much better!


Hummers at the Lodge feeder

We re-assembled at 2:30 and walked down the road for a bit seeing some jays and other birds. The more hardy of us started down the Long Whiskered Owlet Trail once again with Pepe, and the rest of us followed John around the lodge where the birding was quiet once again. We saw some great battles at the hummingbird feeders, and I caught a glimpse of the Tayra, a large weasel with a white face who comes by to eat the bananas the Lodge puts out.



Bromeliads

We had a little break until 6:30 when five of us met John to walk around our cabins to hoot up some owls. He played the tape of the Rufous-Banded Owl and then the White-Throated Screech Owl; we got a pair of the latter to respond and approach us but then they flew away before we could put a spot light on them.

We went in for dinner at 8 and started eating fresh fried trout as the Long Whiskered Owlers came dragging in; they heard the owl but failed once again to see it.

Thursday, July 5 - Cock-of-the-Rock Day!



Afluente, with laundry and sleeping dog

Cock-of-the-Rock!

Rufous-tailed Tyrant on next

We met at 5:30 for a breakfast of fried yuca and bacon before climbing onto the bus and heading down 3000’ to the tiny misnamed settlement of Afluente, consisting of a two-story house attached to a vulcanizadora, a tire repair shop. We walked along the road a ways and suddenly a brilliant neon orange shape shot across the road! An Andean Cock-of-the-Rock - a chicken-sized bird with a top knot that flows forward over the bill and is entirely orange except for a black tail and wings and a white back - just spectacular! It was exciting to see one, but as the morning progressed we saw a total of 13 of these amazing birds!

The traffic increased with more enormous trucks and busses making the birding somewhat less pleasant with the constant noise, honking, and exhaust, but the beautiful vegetation, butterflies, and bird sightings made up for it. Our crew set up tables across the street from Afluente and made us a good lunch of chopped chicken and veggies with avocado on top. We slowly drove back up the highway stopping in several places to find specific species. At one place Bob spotted a Red-Ruffed Fruitcrow, a 15” black bird with a orange throat speckled with yellow and mottled chestnut belly. Bob had been wanting to see this bird for quite a while and was quite pleased.

We returned to the lodge at 6:30 PM - a full 12-hour day of birding! - and had a little break until dinner at eight, although most used the tine to continue birding!!

I took the opportunity to have a warming shower and wash my hair. The lodge is unheated and usually about 60º, so this had to be carefully planned so as to not go to bed with a wet head! I began to feel poorly and lay down for a while, but managed to get up for dinner of squash soup, fried dried pork, and fruit cup. We were going to get a bottle of wine but I thought coca tea was a better choice.