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.
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| 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.
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| The Birders |
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| 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.
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| 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
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