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After more unsuccessful attempts to spy the Cipo Canestero (truly the drabness of this bird should not warrant standing along roadsides, hiking up rocky terrain, getting soaked in rainy fog with 40' visibility), we gave up and loaded the bus for our six-hour drive south into the Atlantic Tropical Forest.
We are staying the next three nights in a monastery! Santuario do Caraca is situated in some 11,000 ha of private reserve. The sanctuary was founded in 1774 under Vincentian missionaries, and was a school and seminary for 150 years. There are still monks/priests here, practicing mass, but around them rooms have been converted for visitors. Our room is basic: double bed, wardrobe, ceiling light, desk at window looking out into the garden, one small bedside stand, and a tiled bathroom with sink, shower, and the only mirror. No ornamentation on the walls, wide wooden plank floors, white walls, blue woodwork, doors, linens. Meals are in a communal dining hall vaguely reminiscent of Harry Potter: long tables, food is good.
The highlight each evening is "The Moment of the Maned Wolf", according to their brochure. Around dinnertime, a tray of meat is put on the patio in front of the Sanctuary. People can sit around the edges, then the wolf comes up the steps, warily checking surroundings, grabs some food and either takes it down the steps or stays up there eating. Tonight she was waiting for the food before it was out. She's not tame, but accustomed to people, as long as we don't move suddenly or block her exit route down the stairs. It's quite amazing.
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Tracey Amazing... LOVE the Maned Wolf. They have a collection of them at Lincoln Park Zoo. Very cool. Thanks for the updates.