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Staying here at the monastery has been a unique experience. We don't really run across the priests, but every night at 6:00 a man walks through the corridors and balconies ringing beautiful sounding bells, calling anyone who wishes to worship. There are visiting Brazilians, people who come on pilgrimage, to relax in the serenity of the park, as well as school children of different ages on class trips.
This morning we hiked one of the rocky trails up above the monastery to an elevation of ~4000 ft.. Clouds dissipated early, giving us panoramic views as well as heat! We saw some highly sought-after birds, many brown and taking a long time to see! However, two birds this morning sought to outdue the Gilt-edged Tanager of yesterday. The Brassy-breasted Tanager flashes brighty against the tree ferns: mostly lime-green with blue around the eye and brassy gold breast. The Swallow-tailed Manakin is one of several blue birds found here that pop out of the forest. The male's bright blue body contrasts with a bright red crown above his black face...stunning.
Other highlights today were masked titi monkeys leaping across the top of the forest canopy and "laughing" loudly, as well as the evening hike's display by the Long-trained Nightjar. This bird is 12" long, but has two long tail feathers reaching another two feet. Sitting, it takes up half the road, but when it flies, it looks otherworldly. We had a beautiful clear night sky light by the full moon; when the nightjar flies, its tail splits into a feathery arc. The body is in another arc, so it looks like a whispy angel floating overhead. We got to see it flying four times. Magical!
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Tracey How come we didn't get a picture of the Swallow-tailed Manakin? tee hee. Still sounds like a fascinating adventure. So fun. Wish we could join you.