A Gem in the Rough

One of the roughest rides of our Guatemalan trip came from a day visit to Semuc Champey.  It's an unusual land feature with lagoons created by a river that plunges into the Earth.  It's a bit of real life fantasy. One could imagine being in the movie Avatar on the planet Pandora.  But getting there would prove to be a real challenge.

I didn't remember it being so difficult to visit.  In fact, I wasn't alone.  Several other people had been to Semuc Champey 6 years previous as I had been.  We had a smooth ride on a paved road, but on this trip, it was a crowded and rocky ride.  To make matters worse, we had the ugliest kind of tourists.....the obnoxious ones!  So on this trip, I went to a happy space in my head and blocked the annoying chatter out.  Once we arrived at our destination, we again left the tour group and hiked alone into the park.

Chestnut-headed Oropendula

It was great.  We were alone and the critters were out in full force.  For some reason, I was super thirsty on this day and drank all of my water from my pack!  We were half way up a very muddy trail that was rather dangerous and slippery when I ran out! Anxiety attack!  But to get the first shot for this post, we had to climb nearly a mile up! There was no going back.  The railings were sketchy as was our footing.  In these situations, walking sticks will not work very well.  You need both hands to maneuver the poorly maintained areas.  It was hot, muggy and overcast.  And birding was a real challenge on this day!

It's tricky doing photography while birding and walking. Perhaps it was the reason why I wasn't paying attention to my water consumption.  As soon as the water went in; it was sweat out!  But on the Mirador(Look Out) trail, we observed 50 Oropendulas fly up into the canopy of a tree.  Their brilliant yellows were incredible as they fluidly glided from one tree to the next.  It looked like there were acrobats all around us.

Along the way, brilliantly colored creatures crossed our paths.

Royal Flycatcher

And new birds!  Several yellowish birds caught my attention as they gathered twigs for nesting.  What in the world were they?  One female.  The other male.

Yellow-throated Euphonia(female)

It took me forever to get several decent shots of these Euphonias.  I had crossed a rickety bridge that had holes through the wooden boards.  Below, the raging green river roared as I hobbled across the firmer beams.  On the shore of the Cahabon River, the Euphonias flitted in such a fast manner that I almost missed them.  Almost.  Something caught the corner of my eye as a tiny bird flew into a tiny nest that looked like it was part of the tree. I stood still and waited for them to come out and I'm glad I did.

Yellow-throated Euphonia(male)

It is overwhelming to see so many new birds.  I studied them.  I really did, but there were too many to remember.  So I made mental notes and just observed them until I could ID them later on. I would write my observations in my notebook.  When we arrived back to our place at night, I would sit and ID these birds before I slept.

Swallow-tailed Kite

I walked near the edge of this river as it plummeted into the Earth below.  It was extremely dangerous.  I wondered if anyone had slipped and met their fates in this dark powerful black hole.  While the river was swallowed into nothingness, hundreds of swifts flew in and out of the caverns below.  I had to ID these birds as they were not ones I had seen before.  I slowly neared the edge and morbidly thought about what death would be like in the great massive abyss below. There are miles of undiscovered wet caves that still hold ancient Mayan secrets.  Once I had my ID shot, I quickly left the area. 

One foot in front of the other.  Always slowly and never quickly.....that's when mistakes happen.

I couldn't believe how many swifts we had seen.  Here is the shot that allowed me to ID them.  I magnified it and was able to determine that we were witnessing White-collared Swifts in the hundreds!

White-collared Swift

The worst part about exploration is the thought of returning back home after an exhausting hike.  People say we should find the little joys amid the chaos.  We did.

After our extreme hike, we relaxed in the lagoons.  Thankfully I wore my water shoes to maneuver around the slippery rocks.  I submerged myself into the water and washed the dirt and sweat off of my body as did my friend.  A Black Phoebe reminded me to keep an eye out for the children of the forest.  They wait until the tourists are in the waters and then run and steal their items on shore.  So Lynda kept watch while I swam.  And vice versa.

We were alone in this paradise.  My friend was shocked by the tiny brown fish that nibbled around her feet.  They swarm the legs and for free, clean all the dead skin off of your body whether you want it or not:) It oddly feels good:)

Our ride back would prove to be a nightmare.  The driver, greedy for money, took another group back to town.  We were stuck for two hours in the rain as we waited for this guy to come back.  The ugly tourists got uglier and more annoying.  On the ride from hell, we would have to stand back to back or front to back like sardines in a truck.  Thankfully, my camera was in a water proof  bag.  At one point, our truck didn't make it up the hill and we all had to get out so that the truck could speed up to the top of the hill. Guatemala is not Costa Rica:)

Guatemala is certainly a challenge for many people. It's always work to get to and from the destinations.  But the views were incredible.  And what was that thing I wrote about previously?  Oh yeah....finding the joy amid the chaos.  As I stood in the back of the truck with my whole body aching, I was reminded why we were there.  Several Common Pauraques flew around us. And I ended my evening with another lifebird.  However, it made think.  How much else will I have to endure to find those rare lifebirds?  So many people think that birding is sitting by feeders with your binoculars eating sandwiches.  For me, that is birding on a break.  But the real action happens out in the field and much of it is not easy.  Nothing is ever easy, but the payoffs are awesome.  Over 100 different kinds of birds can be found in this biologically diverse area.

Jesus Christ lizard

While our day wasn't full of many birds, many were lifebirds. And that was a day well spent:)  Plus it was a good workout;)  More to come.....

Muscovy Duck  2-lifebird

Black Vulture  2

Swallow-tailed Kite  1-lifebird

Common Black-Hawk (Common)  1

Common Pauraque  3-lifebird

White-collared Swift  300 -lifebird

Royal Flycatcher  1-lifebird

Black Phoebe  1

Clay-colored Thrush  3

Yellow-winged Tanager  1

Melodious Blackbird  8

Great-tailed Grackle  5

Chestnut-headed Oropendola  2-lifebird

Montezuma Oropendola  50

Yellow-throated Euphonia  2-lifebird

The Forgotten Garden

A small river runs into the ocean from the forest.  By night, the ocean covers this beach and invites creatures like saltwater crocs to enter the smaller island.

I sit today on the smaller island known as Coibitas off the main and larger Coiba Island.  I'm enjoying the breeze because as of late, we've been hiking nonstop into the muddy and sometimes dangerous paths of the Coiba forests. It's fun!  We've had to watch for saltwater crocs, keep our camelpacks full of water, and dry out our sweaty clothes which weren't usually dry due to a random rain event or the constant humidity that just hung in the air.  When I look from where I'm sitting, there's nothing but islands covered in emerald green rain forest which goes as far as the eye can see.  These islands harbor large areas of pristine coral reefs and are protected by the fragile mangrove forests that line the island coasts. This area is a protected corridor and of huge importance to marine life that are teeming with fish, whales, turtles, sharks, and many other sea creatures.

A guide and boat are essential to appreciate the large expanse of Coiba National Park.

I keep a lookout for a croc as we had found tracks on the beach near where I am sitting.  These huge reptiles are sneaky and blend in with their surroundings.  It's when you least expect it that they appear from out of nowhere.  Yesterday, during my mangrove shoot, my heart almost stopped when I saw one of these animals.  He was only a couple meters from me and I won't forget that experience anytime soon.  I'm glad our guide, Javier was with us on these treks.  To fully appreciate this trip, you'll need a guide and boat to get to some of these places which are difficult to reach. So today I keep my eyes open as I begin my story about the Shah and his forgotten garden.

The ladder to cross the stream into the forgotten garden. Scary!

Almost every island has an interesting history with it.  Coibitas is no exception.  Our story takes place in the 1970's.  The last of the Iranian Shahs purchased this island for his tropical getaway. Most of Coibita(then called La Ranchería) was untouched except for the place where the Shah built his home and created his fruit garden.  He grew peaches, cashews, water apples, and citrus trees. Some of these trees have a difficult time standing the tropical onslaught of ocean air.  The garden was tucked away beyond the palm groves past a creek with a sketchy ladder connecting us to the garden.

Old fruit trees covered with moss and bromeliads

The Shah loved his peach trees and today several of them can be seen growing around the island in random areas.  Eventually, the Shah became sick and died.  His garden forgotten and left to the demise of Mother Nature.  His belongings were passed onto his daughter who then sold the island for one dollar to the Smithsonian Institute. Or so the story was told.  Today the island is protected by UNESCO.  The Shah's home is now a research station for scientists from all over the world to stay.  Today's guest was a researcher from Germany studying sharks around the reef area. Two men are working to keep several areas tidy. Several buildings have fallen apart and are reminders that there were others who once lived here.

The Jesus Christ lizard.  Why this name?  Because when it flees for safety, it will run across water on two legs. If you haven't seen this, you should youtube it.  It's really cool.

The fruit trees are overgrown with bromeliads and moss.  Many of them look terrible....especially the citrus trees. Mosquitos are everywhere. I stand among the trees and watch all the birds flying around the branches.  Several water apples are ready to pick, but no one is there to harvest the fruit. The owner dead.  And the image is eery giving me a moment's pause. What will our gardens look like after we're gone and no one is there to tend them?  More tomorrow......