Pájaro del día

Monday Catherine played hooky and we took a hike in El Avila Parque Nacional. The trail head that we took is just a nine buck taxi ride from our apartment. In fact from the high point on our steep scramble we could see our apartment building with our binoculars. But, the first things we saw were several members of one of my favorite Venezuelan bird species, the Querrequerre. It is the Inca Jay in English. The Latin name is Cyanocorax yncas. These were almost tame, probably because of being fed by the hikers. You can click the picture to open a larger image.

After the hike we had a late lunch at Tarzilandia (Tarzan Land) just outside the park entrance. You enter and walk through a tropical garden menagerie with large birds, most notably three species of Macaw parrots. In the outdoor dining area it is white table cloths and waiters with tuxedos. The décor is jungle. Among the decorations were large Loggerhead turtle shells. I didn't want to think of how they got those but the restaurant has existed about the same since at least back to the 50's so I assume they were acquired legally and morally before the animal was known to be endangered. The food was great and reasonable, even considering the dollar's nose dive. We saved nine bucks coming home though by just walking down hill to the Altimira Metro stop and taking the subway free (because we're over 60) to Chacaito where it's just 15 more minutes walk to our apartment. Ahh, life is good when you are retired.

Tortuga Lodge: Naturalist Experience and Beach Paradise on a Budget

Hey! We just spent the weekend with a bunch of friends in the national park, Laguna de Tacarigua. At least I think that's the one it was. Venezuela has 43 national parks so it's hard to keep them straight. We stayed in Tortuga Lodge which cost about BsF 550 per couple or about $170. That price covers a big clean room with king size bed and private bath, three ample meals per day, and all the cokes and alcoholic drinks you want. It is right on the ocean with great surf and shady spots to repose under palm trees and large thatched roof sun shelters. You can walk on the beach for miles in either direction without encountering another human. Incredibly, for on the beach in front of the mangrove marshes, there were few mosquitoes and no no-see-ums bit me.

OK, so what's the hitch? The only minor downside was the potable water system was rather weak delivering a mere drizzle of brackish water from the sink and shower but the bottled drinking water was also part of the deal at no extra cost. I suppose finicky guests could even do a sparing post-shower rinse with it. Oh yeah, there was some lamenting that the fine new air conditioners didn't work, but personally, with the fans in the room and windows on both sides I felt well-ventilated and just comfy.

While we weren't lying around under the palms like Microsoft execs on their one weekend off per year, we were enjoying the naturalist experience. (That's naturalist with an l for all you unrefined smart alecks.) For a very reasonable price the same boatman who brought us to the lodge took us on an evening boat excursion into the mangrove areas where there was spectacular birding. The most dramatic and memorable were the scarlet ibises. We also enjoyed pelicans, storks, several species of heron, some magnificent frigate birds and a flock of white birds coming to roost that we couldn't agree on. We ruled out white ibises because of the beak shape. A retrospective review of my Steven Hilty book suggests cattle egret to me. The beak shape looks right and they live in the area. Perhaps some of my SCAN organization friends can tell me. They are in the roosting pictures along with the scarlet ibises and the cormorants. I regret there are no good close-ups. You can click on the pictures to blow them up to a larger size.

My Edisto Island friends will be pleased to know that the beach there is a protected nesting area for loggerhead turtles. The bar tender at the lodge remarked on my Edisto Interpretive Center T-shirt with the loggerhead turtle pictures. He recognized them as loggerheads immediately and found it rather remarkable and uplifting that someone from so far away also lived on a loggerhead nesting beach and was a volunteer in loggerhead protection. He said you can go to jail if you mess with the nests here. That was good to hear in this country where you can generally get away with anything.