Hospedaje Ranchito del Quetzal, November 18, 2006

Me, the Senora, and her little girl. Sorry it isn't a clearer photo.
see all photos »

When I got up at dawn, I could see my breath. It was colder than ever. When I had visited Mexico thirty years ago and been informed there would be no central heat, I’d packed an electric blanket. It kept me comfortable my whole trip, and I left it with my host family when I departed. I had not anticipated these low temperatures. I added additional layers of clothing to those I’d worn to bed, donned jacket, hat, and poncho, and went in search of birds. I had only seen birds in the early morning and just before dusk. I don’t know where they hid out the rest of the day.

Happy child!
see all photos »

The Senora brought me a steaming cup of hot chocolate before I’d asked. I admired her. She was always busy—cooking, washing dishes, sweeping, directing her workman in various tasks, and raising her child. Still, she managed to look neat and attractive, her beautiful, long black hair always clean and coiffed. Her little girl seemed always to have a smile on her face and a song on her lips. She happily amused herself while her mother worked. When the birds had quieted down at mid-morning, I read to her again. She sang to me and asked me to sing a song to her. I taught her to sing “Jesus Loves Me” in English. She was delighted and repeated it over and over.

Beautiful red flowers behind my sillouette
see all photos »

As I was eating breakfast on the porch, I finally spotted the male Resplendent Quetzal. He flew jerkily from tree to tree, his two-foot long tail feathers floating behind. I called the Senora and she sent her little girl to alert the other guests, shouting “Macho, macho.” The Cuban doctor, his wife, and their friend came running. I shared my binoculars with everyone, since no one else had any. The Senora, her little girl, and their workman were especially excited to see their resident Quetzal up close. The other guests had a better camera than I, and they took several good photos of the Quetzal. I gave them my email address, and they said they would send copies to me when they returned to Brazil. The doctor had been doing volunteer work in Guatemala City, and they had rented a place outside the city. They were presently on holiday, but they planned to return to their place via Guatemala City the next day. They asked if I would like to travel with them on the bus as far as Guatemala City. The Senora was going to buy their tickets in the nearby town of Purulha when she went to do her (daily?) shopping. That suited me. I had decided to go to Antigua before leaving Guatemala, but first I had to get to Guatemala City via the Monja Blanca bus line. Traveling with someone fluent in both Spanish and English would surely be a help. I gave the Senora 38 quetzals to buy my reserved seat.

Knowing I would be leaving the next morning on the 10am bus, I went to my room to begin packing some things. I planned to leave everything I thought I could do without, and I made a pile of those things on the spare bed. I found the workman and gave him 100 quetzals. He had been so nice, guiding me to the waterfall and keeping fires built in the hilltop shed so that I could get warm. And what a fire builder he was! Using his huge machete, he would adeptly whack off tiny bits of kindling from long, dry boards. And he still had all of his fingers! I also gave him my headlamp, knowing that he made frequent trips at dusk from his family’s place to the hotel where he worked.

The sun finally came out for a while in the afternoon, clearing away the chipi-chipi. It was too muddy from all of the rain to enjoy climbing up toward the waterfall again, but I enjoyed sitting alone by the fire in the shed and reading. For a late lunch I had steak, which the Senora recommended. Long, thin strips of beef had been marinating in a bowl. She prepared it with tomatoes and onions, with a side of French fries, and it was the best meal of my trip. The Senora was an excellent cook, and everything was prepared from scratch. She did her cooking in an open kitchen, mostly on a large, wood-burning stove, although there was an electric stove as well. I resolved to do better for my own family when I returned home.

That evening there were more birds around, maybe because of the sun. New birds I saw at the hotel included White-eared Hummingbird, Emerald Toucanet, Spot-crowned Woodcreeper, Black Robin, Rufous-collared Robin, Slate-throated Redstart, Golden-browed Warbler, Common Bush-Tanager (quite common), Stripe-backed Tanager, and of course, the Resplendent Quetzal.

When the sun disappeared it became quite cold again, and I prepared for another frosty night. The rain started soon after dark and beat against the tin roof for hours. I wasn’t worried about my room being flooded, since it was far up the hillside, but I did wonder about possible mudslides. I listened to my comfort tape for a while before drifting off to sleep. The beautiful four-part, acapella harmonies were a perfect background for the lyrics. It was wonderful to hear the words of God’s promises clearly, without musical instruments obscuring them.