Bartolome and North Seymour. Not far from Santiago lies the small island of Bartolome, and somewhat farther south, the island of North Seymour.  Today we visited both.  Bartolome  resembles a moon-scape.  It is a relatively new volcanic island and not much vegetation has taken hold, and consequently, it holds very little wildlife.  After a dry landing we climbed a relatively steep boardwalk to the pinnacle, a trip of about 30 minutes.  From the top we could overlook the entire island and Pinnacle Rock, an eroded “tuff” cone.

Crystal clear waters offered great snorkeling for those who wished.  We saw a few more Galapagos Penguins as we glided along the rocks in our Panga.  Sea turtles and a white-tipped shark were spotted.  In the afternoon we landed at North Seymour and walked.  Among the sightings were Swallow-tailed Gulls, Blue-footed Boobies, and our first look at the endemic Land Iguanas.

The island was full of Magnificent Frigatebirds, many in nesting mode, and many juveniles preening and exercising their wings.  A few of the males were grandly displaying their red throat pouches.

Santa Cruz. Over-night we cruised to Santa Cruz.  This morning we boarded a bus and traveled to the highlands of Santa Cruz, for our first look at free Giant Tortoises.  This trip provided our first look at agriculture, with cattle again being the primary apparent product, accompanied by flocks of Cattle Egrets.   We stopped briefly at an overlook in a forest preserve, where I saw my first Tree Finches, in this case, Small Tree Finches.

We were surprised to see many Giant Tortoises freely roaming about the private ranch that was the focal point of the morning excursion.

We were able to walk about freely among them for quite some time.  We also enjoyed a walk in a “Lava Tube”.  This is a large tunnel formed by the flow of melted lava (magma) from the ancient volcano which erupted upland from the tunnel.  A Barn Owl was resting in a secluded nook near the entrance.  We also had brief glimpses of a couple of Galapagos (Dark-billed) Cuckoos.  Galapagos Mockingbirds have been present in close proximity for several days.

We returned to the boat for lunch and then went to the Charles Darwin Research Station at Puerto Ayora.  This is the largest town in the Galapagos, with a population of about 20,000 permanent residents.  The Charles Darwin Research Station may well  be doing important work, but as a tourist attraction, it did not offer much.  We did see “Lonesome George”, the last surviving member of the Pinta Island subscpecies of Giant Tortoise.

So far, efforts to mate him with closely related subspecies have been unsuccessful, so Lonesome George may live out his life as the last survivor.  We were told that the life expectancy of Giant Tortoises is not definitely known, but could be somewhere between 150 and 300 years.  That latter part of the afternoon was spent walking around the town, which has a number of tourist shops.  The ice cream was quite good.  Lava Gulls were present in the town, along the water front.

After dinner aboard, we made the long, and quite rough, crossing to Espanola.

Epanola. Today, Saturday, November 5^th, we arrived at Espanola and made a dry landing at Punta Suarez.  This was our favorite place of the entire trip.  We thoroughly enjoyed the long and leisurely walk along the rocky trails.  There was great variety, including a nesting colony of Waved Albatross.

These magnificent birds seemed unperturbed by our presence.  Others in abundance were Blue-footed Boobies,

the Espanola specific Hood Mockingbirds, which were very tame, Red-billed Tropic Birds, Galapagos Hawks, Galapagos Doves, Nazca Boobies,

Frigatebirds, Swallow-tailed Gulls, Lava Herons, and, finally, a Large Cactus Finch.  There were Red and Green Iguanas, lots of Sea Lions and innumerable Sally Lightfoot Crabs, strikingly orange on the black rocks.

In the afternoon we made a wet landing at Gardner Bay, with its beautiful white sand beach.  We ventured to wade in the ocean here, our first venture into the water, and found the water comfortably warm and very soothing.  We shared the beach with hundreds of Sea Lions, who simply ignored us.  Many Sea Turtles were cruising just a few feet off shore, poking their heads above water occasionally for a big breath.

We again enjoyed an evening meal aboard, this time with Richard and Marie, one of the British couples on board.  (The passengers  represented  4 countries:  8 from the U.S., 8 from Great Britain, 3 from Germany and 1 from Canada).

Return to San Christobal. From Espanola we cruised back to San Christobal.  Our plane to Guayaquil did not leave until a little after noon, so we were able to visit the Interpretation Center at San Christobal.  This is very worthwhile.  After this visit we had a couple of hours to stroll around the town before boarding our bus to the airport.

Endemic Species and Subspecies. According to Swash and Still in their Identification Guide to the Galapagos, there are 44 endemic species and subspecies of birds (i.e., species or subspecies that are nowhere else in the world) that can be found in the Galapagos Islands.  I was satisfied to be able to see and identify 33 of them, all mentioned in this and my prior blog.  I did not see 8 of the endemic species:  i.e.,  5 of the Darwin’s Finches: Large Tree Finch, Medium Tree Finch (found only on Floreana, which we did not visit), Woodpecker Finch, Vegetarian Finch, and Mangrove Finch (very rare);  Floreana Mockingbird (found only on Florean, which we did not visit); Galapagos Rail; and Galapagos Martin.

Fernandina and Isabella.  It was a rough night at sea.  We arrived at Fernandina shortly before breakfast was served.  After breakfast we landed at Punta Espinoza and hiked.  The view and the wildlife were spectacular.  We walked through lava fields, with thousands of Marine Iguanas, Sally Lightfoot Crabs,

other crabs, and Lava Lizards.  Like the birds, they were very tame and one needed to walk carefully to avoid stepping on them.  There were a few Sea Lions around.  We saw the skeleton of a whale on the lava.  The ocean was especially beautiful here, with shades of green and blue.  Here we also saw our first Flightless Cormorants

and here and later in the afternoon on Isabella, Galapagos Penguins.

Galapagos Penguins are the most northerly distributed of all the penguin family.  During our cruises this day and the previous day, I saw thousands of Elliot’s (White-vented) Storm-petrels, as well as a few Wedge-rumped Storm Petrels and Band-rumped (Madeiran) Storm-petrels.  Red-necked Phalaropes silvered about the boat while we cruised.   We also spied our first Blue-footed Boobies (Barbara’s favorite) of the trip.  The first and only Pied-billed Grebe of the trip was here.  No new finches today.

Santiago (James). After breakfast we went ashore, a wet landing, at Puerto Egas.  Birds were plentiful, as were the Sea Lions and Marine Iguanas.

We wanted to go ashore on as many of the Galapagos Islands as we could during a 7-night cruise.  After some (much) research on the internet, we chose to book directly with Ecoventura, which operates 3 identical 20 passenger yachts.  They depart every Sunday afternoon from San Cristobal and return there on the following Sunday.  Ecoventura arranged air flights for its guests on Aerogal to San Christobal, from either Quito or Guayaquil.  They also made our hotel arrangements at the Mercure Alameda.  All of these arrangements were handled efficiently so we had no concerns getting to and from all of our interim destinations.  They also arranged for a bird guide and driver to pick us up and return us to the Hotel Alameda, with a full day of birding in the Quito vicinity prior to our cruise.  See preceding Blog.  The yacht itself was a superior first class vessel, clean and comfortable, with excellent food and services.  I believe Ecoventura tries to group its guests so that there are common interests represented on the various yachts.  The median age of our 18 co-passengers was 65, with only 2 “30 somethings”, both daughters of other passengers.  None of the Eric passengers went Scuba Diving, but about half of us did enjoy several snorkeling adventures during the course of the trip.  Those of us who chose not to snorkel, had ample other opportunities for interesting activities, primarily walks, during the snorkeling stops.

I am a “serious” birder and I did my homework before the trip.  It was well that I did, as I shall later explain.  I highly recommend “Birds , Mammals, and Reptiles of the Galapagos Islands-An Identification Guide” by Andy Swash and Rob Still.  It is very complete and among its various features it has a chart which shows which species may be found on which Islands.  This proved especially valuable because the 2 naturalists on the yacht, though more or less competent, did not go out of their ways to help locate and identify the smaller birds, such as the 13 species of Finches.  This, of course, is partly due to the fact that most of the guests are not serious birders, and probably would not have cared about such details, or at least would not want to spend a lot of time on them.

We were met at the San Christobal Airport on Sunday, October 30.  We were bussed directly to our yacht, the Eric.  After the orientation, we selected wet suits, snorkel gear and flippers, even though we doubted that we would use them.  They were destined to hang, unused, in our cabin for the entire trip.  After lunch we had a wet landing on a San Christobal beach.  A “wet landing” means you get wet up to your knees or so before you reach dry land when you get off the “panga” (one of two small rubber boats that take passengers from the yacht to shore).  Some of the folks went snorkeling, some sat on the beach, and we, predictably, went birding on the edge of the short vegetation around the perimeter of the beach.

San Christobal. The most amazing aspect of birding in the Galapagos is that the birds often come right up to the birder, instead of flying away.  On the beach at San Christobal we first experienced this with Chatham Mockingbirds,

Small Ground Finches, Medium Ground Finches, Galapagos (Thick-billed) Flycatchers,  and Yellow Warblers.  Flying over the lagoon were numerous Frigatebirds (probably of the Magnificent species, although it was not possible there to tell them apart from the Greats, so I cannot be sure).  We left San Christobal about 3:30 to set “sail” for the rather distant island of Genovesa.  I patrolled the deck as we got started and was rewarded with a good look at a single Waved Albatross, not expected in this area.  We also saw numerous Nazca Boobies, (formerly called Masked Boobies), Brown Pelicans, Galapagos Shearwaters (by the 1000s), and Common (Brown) Noddies.  Around sunset we arrived at Kicker Rock with its vertical cone formation that juts up about 100 feet.  We circumnavigated Kicker Rock for many nice views.    The Rock was densely populated by seabirds, all of the species (except Waved Albatross) just mentioned.  We cruised all night to Genovesa.  The trip was rougher than Barbara had expected, but, due to the “Patch”, she got through the night ok.

Genovesa. After a long night cruising, we awoke off Genovesa.  We made a “dry landing” (no wet feet) at Prince Philip’s Steps.  Here was another beautiful beach for snorkeling and many of the group did so.  Several of us took a walk with one of our Naturalists, Orlando.  Orlando is knowledgeable and gave us a lot of interesting information about the Islands in general and the flora and fauna of Genovesa in particular.  We went back to the yacht for lunch and then cruised a bit and made a wet landing at Darwin Bay.  We walked inside an area that was formed by a volcano a long time ago.  There were lots of birds along the ocean.  Among the new species, i.e., first seen by us at Genovesa, were Great Frigatebirds (positive id because of the presence of young birds), Red-footed Boobies (both White and Brown phases),

Fork-tailed Gulls,

Lava Gulls,

Red-billed Tropicbirds,

Yellow-crowned Night Herons, Ruddy Turnstones, Willets, Whimbrels, Wandering Tattlers, Short-eared Owls, Galapagos Doves, Galapagos Mockingbirds,

Sharp-beaked Ground Finches, and Warbler Finches, and Large Ground Finches.

We started the long (14 hour) cruise from Genovesa to Fernandina before supper. Fernandina is the youngest of the volacanically formed Galapagos Islands.   Barbara’s “Patch” failed her so she spent a difficult night.

Barbara and I have considered going to the Galapagos Islands for several years, but we put it off until this fall.  We decided to go now because in February, 2012 new rules will reduce by half the number of landings that cruise vessels can make on a 7-day cruise.  We decided to go a few days early to see Quito and to get in a day of birding in the Andes near Quito.

We arrived in Quito on the evening of October 27^th.  We were met at the airport by a driver sent by our hotel, the Mercure Alameda.  Our room at the hotel was clean and spacious, but extremely  noisy all night.  We endured it for 2 nights but finally had to ask to be moved to an interior room for our last night so that we could get some sleep.  After a bit of difficulty at the desk, the manager found us an interior room and we were very grateful for the quietude that it gave us for our final night.  Prospective guests of this hotel should be very sure to request an interior room if they hope to get a good night’s rest.

On Friday the 28^th we walked from our hotel to the Old City to see the historic buildings.  Some have doubted our wisdom in walking in this area but it appeared to us to be quite safe, at least in daylight.  We visited the Basilica.  The interior is quite stark and the windows are beautiful.  We then walked on to the Presidential Palace and the surrounding square.  There were many people on the streets.  Among the more interesting sights was the open-air flower market.  The variety and colors were amazing.  I cannot imagine how all of those flowers get sold, but it appeared that local customers were buying.

We went on to the Plaza San Francisco and entered the ornately gold-decorated church, where mass was in process.  We stayed for the mass.  At the side of the church was a café with outdoor seating and we enjoyed a lunch including the local specialty soup:  potato, goat cheese, avocado, and other unrecognized ingredients.  From there and from other sites along our route we could see the statue of the winged Virgin of Quito high above the city.  All things considered we were glad that we had spent the day walking around the Old Town.  It was a very interesting day.

At 5:30 the next morning we were picked up at the hotel by bird guide, Juan Carlos Crespo,  and his driver.  Juan Carlos works as a guide for Bella Vista Preserve, a remote natural area which is a long, rough drive from Quito if you go by the Nono Road, which we did, and a short, smooth, 2 hour drive if you take the main highway, which we did upon our return.  The Nono Road is famous among birders for its variety of birds.  The first stop was at the Yanacocha Reserve.  There we took a long walk along an easy mountain path.  The most numerous families of birds in this area are the hummingbirds and the tanagers.

The hummingbird species seen well on this walk were:  Shining Sunbeam, Great Sapphire Wing, Buff-winged Star Frontlet, Sword-billed Hummingbird (very striking),

Sapphire-vented Puffleg, Golden-breasted Puffleg, and Tyrean Metal-tail.  Along with the hummingbirds were quite numerous Masked Flower Piercers and Glossy Flower Piercers, which often compete with the hummingbirds at the hummingbird feeding stations along, and especially at the end of, the path.

Tanagers seen here were:  Scarlet-bellied Mountain Tanagers, Hooded Mountain Tanager, Black-chested Mountain Tanager, Rufous-naped Brush Finches,

and Golden-crowned Tanagers.

We were surprised and pleased when a Barred-winged Nightjar flushed from nearly under our feet.  We were also able to watch a Tawny Antpitta at close range at the Ranger Station.

The resident Ranger has been tempting it with tidbits of food and he was kind enough to spend some time with us to call the bird out of the brush so that we could get some close-up views.

The other birds we saw at Yanacocha were:  Andean Guan, White-banded Tyrannulet, Smoky Bush Tyrant, Great Thrush, Brown-bellied Swallows, Rufous Wrens, Spectacled Whitestarts, and Cinereous Conebill.  Birds not seen but recognized by their calls were Ocellated Tapaculos, Curve-billed Tinamous, and the Owl-imitating Giant Antpittas.

We left Yanacocha after a couple of hours and proceeded on the Nono Road toward Bella Vista Preserve.  Along the way we saw a pair of Andean Lapwings with a young chick.  The country side is beautiful and rugged.  Cattle farming seems to be the main livelihood of the few folks that live along the way.  The Paramo was lovely in the morning mist and sunlight.

We had a good lunch at Bella Vista and then spent a couple of hours on the premises.  Again, the hummingbirds were the main attractions, including:  Green Violetears, Sparkling Violetears, Andean Emeralds, Rufous-tailed Hummingbirds, Speckled Hummingbirds, Fawn-breasted Brilliants, Collared Incas,

Buff-tailed Coronets, Gorgeted Sunangels, a striking Violet-tailed Sylph, and Purple-throated Woodstars.

Other species seen at Bella Vista were: Band-tailed Pigeons, a strangely disguised Common Pootoo,

Crimson-mantled Woodpeckers, Montane Woodcreeper, Azara’s Spintetail, Streaked Tuftedcheek, Green and Black Fruiteater, Blue and White Swallows, Grey-breasted Wood Wren, Red-eyed Vireo (Yup!! The same as ours), Russet-crowned Warbler, Blue-winged Mountain Tanager, Rufous-collared Sparrow and more Masked Flowerpiercers.

We enjoyed Juan Carlos’ company and were impressed with his knowledge of the Ecuadorean birds.  We would recommend him to others looking for a day or more of interesting birding in the Quito area.  He is currently on the staff at Bella Vista.

We arrived back at the Hotel about 6:00 p.m. and after a good night’s sleep, flew off to our main destination, the Galapagos, by way of Guayaquil.  The next installments will summarize our experiences in the Galapagos.

On March 8, 2011 at the end of a two week self-guided tour of Spain and Portugal with my wife and 2 family members, I hired bird guide John Muddeford for one day of birding in the Madrid area.  John lives near Madrid.  He is an experienced Spanish bird guide and speaks fluent Spanish and English.  The day in the field with John was the icing on the (very nice) cake for me, and my wife enjoyed it also. 

Before giving an account of the birding, I want to note that this was my first visit to Spain and Portugal.  Because there were four of us travelling together,  a rental car turned out to be the least expensive and most efficient method of travel.  We rented our car at the Madrid airport after our first 4 days in Madrid, Escorial and Toledo, and during the next 10 days we drove to Barcelona, Granada, Seville, Porto, Lisbon and back to Madrid, about 2500 miles.  We avoided driving in the cities as much as possible, by parking the car and using the excellent public transportation systems.  The highways in both Spain and Portugal are first class.  Driving on the Spanish highways was very comfortable.  The driving in Portugal was a bit fightening at times because many drivers  greatly exceeded the posted speed limits.  This required constant, extraordinary attention to what was coming from behind.  In a week or two, when all the photographs have been reviewed,  I will begin posting my observations and my wife’s photographs  of the Spanish and Portuguese attractions that we visited. 

Before leaving for Spain I emailed to John Muddeford a list of the species of birds that would be new to me and that appeared from my old and outdated European Field Guide to be findable in the Madrid area in early March.  He diligently culled the list and added a few others that he thought might be of interest.  It boiled down to about 30 potential new species at that time and place.  We actually tallied about 85 species for the day, of which 25 were on my “new” list, and a couple of more new ones were added that were not on the list.  For a more complete list of what we saw see John’s report on his website, [email protected]. 

Perhaps the most iconic birds for me were the White Storks.  I had never seen one before the trip and ended it having seen well over 100.  These big birds are apparently doing well in Europe.  For centuries residents of many European countries have considered the presence of  storks nesting on their houses, windmills or outbuildings to be a sign of good luck.  Because of their favorable public image, and possibly also because they do not, I was told, taste good, they have managed to maintain a large population.  How they manage to keep their great nests attached to the tops of utility poles and other high vantage points, I do not know. 

Other birds high on my list were Great Bustards and Little Bustards.  Our first sighting in this category was of a Little Bustard, flying across a green (winter wheat?) field at quite a distance.  The white in its wings made it quite apparent that it was what it was.  This was the only Little Bustard we saw.  The Great Bustards were a different story.  Surprisingly, they were fairly numerous and very visibile on the farm fields east of Madrid.  We counted at least 35.  I am surprised that these big game birds have survived the continuing encroachment of people into their habitats. 

As we finished looking at our first flock of Great Bustards, two Red-legged Partridges came walking close by our car.  The grass was a bit too tall to see their most prominent feature, their bright red legs, but they are a very beautifully patterned bird nonetheless.

A very plain bird that I have seen mentioned in English literature but never before seen, is the Corn Bunting.  These tame little birds were present in great numbers, often singing along the fence rows or from exposed, weedy perches in the farm fields. 

Although Rock Buntings were not new for me, they were colorful and very accommodating for my photographer.

Spain is home to by far the greatest variety of birds to be found anywhere in Europe.  While early March was a good time for us to explore the excellent architecture, historical sites and art museums, it was not the best time to find the many migrating and summer resident birds of Spain.  Moreover, the Madrid area is just one of several areas where many different species can be found.  For those and other reasons,  including the friendly people, fine food and wine, reasonable prices, beautiful and diverse scenery, and pleasant weather, I plan to return to Spain later this spring for a solid week of birding, with John’s guidance, outside the Madrid area.  I hope to see 60 or so new species, which will, I think, be enough to satisfy my quest for birds in Europe.  And who knows, I and my trusty mount, Rocinante, (did I mention that I plan to travel by rented horse?) may even tilt at a windmill somewhere in La Mancha.

The boat ride up the New River to Lamanai Outpost took about an hour.  For the entire ride we reveled  in the bright sun, blue sky and the serenity and clarity of the river and its jungle edge.  The only activity consisted of two or three small boats bearing local fishermen.  The only substantial human habitation consisted of  some Mennonite cattle and sugar cane farms and support facilities.  The Mennonites arrived in Belize in the 1950s and have established a remarkably successful agricultural empire in the country.  Most of the country’s  meat, eggs, corn and sugar production comes from the Mennonite farms. 

We docked at Lamanai around noon and were treated to cold drinks immediately.  The cabanas at Lamanai are very comfortable and attractive.  The Lodge, where all meals are served and activities commenced, was a short but steep up-hill trek from our cabana.  Our cabana overlooked the Lagoon and was on the edge of the compound, so it provided ample opportunity for birding right from our veranda. 

Lamanai Outpost provides guides as a part of the package.  During our three days there we spent time with three or four of them and each of them impressed us with their knowledge of the natural and historical attractions of the area.  The bird life was abundant.  We took a night cruise and a late afternoon cruise on the Lagoon.  Among the new “life” birds I saw at Lamani were: Agami Heron (seen roosting by the river on the night cruise), Collared Forest-falcon (heard only), Great Curassows, Brown-hooded Parrots, White-fronted Parrots, Yellow-headed Parrots, Red-lored Parrots, Yucatan Nightjar, White-bellied Emerald, Slaty-tailed Trogon, Tody Motmot and these:

Northern Potoo  

Violaceous Trogon

Royal Flycatcher

Blue-crowned Motmot

Collared Aracari

Keel-billed Toucan (the national bird of Belize)

Also see were Smoky-brown Woodpecker, Olivaceous Woodcreeper, Tawny-winged Woodcreeper, Strong-billed Woodcreeper, Northern Bentbill, Bright-rumped Attila, Ochre-bellied Flycatcher,  Yucatan Flycatcher, Red-capped Manakin, Masked Tityra, Mangrove Vireo, Yellow-winged Tanager, Red-throated Ant-Tanager, Red-legged Honeycreeper, Yellow-throated Euphonia, Blue Bunting, Black-headed Saltator, Green-backed Sparrows, and Montezuma Oropendola.  A long list.   

The best bird at Lamanai was not a new bird for me, but the view that we had of a pair of Jabiru Storks was unforgettable.  As the sun was going down, we were sitting quitely in our boat with our guide when we spotted the first Jabiru flying across the Lagoon from the south.

It landed in a very large tree on the west bank, quite a distance from us.  The tree contained the nest that this pair of Jabirus has been using for the past 14 years.  As the sun was setting, the second Jabiru joined its mate atop the nest and the two of them preened in a stately manner.  The storks are 5 feet tall and have an 8-foot wingspan. 

Black Howler Monkeys were abundant at Lamanai.  They made their presence in the tree tops very evident by persistently roaring challenges to other groups of Howlers.  Howler monkeys don’t howl; they roar.  The sound is very much like that of the lions we heard roaring at night when we were in Botswana a couple of years ago.    It is difficult to believe that such volume could come from these 40-50 pound monkeys.  They would be frightening but for the knowledge that there are no lions in Belize and the Monkeys stay up in their trees.  Often their howling could be heard during the night or in the early morning hours as well as during the day.  The quiet Spider Monkeys were more acrobatic, or at least more inclined to display their acrobatic talents in leaping great distances from one tree top to another. 

On day 2 we explored the Mayan temples at Lamanai.  These structures, some dating back over 2,000 years, were redicscovered a century or two ago.  Much excavation has taken place over the years to reveal the original architecture and art and to recover what might remain of the artifacts. 

Lamanai was an important trading post for the Mayans as it was located near the major lagoon that connected to the Caribbean and the eastern shore line of Central America.  Excavation and restoration has slowed in the past few years because of cutbacks in funding.  Nevertheless, this old Mayan city remains a big draw for tourists in Belize.  We saw far more people there than anywhere else that we traveled (except the airport).  Fortunately, the Lodge arranges for its guests to be guided through the ruins early in the morning, before it opens to the general public and the crowds arrive.  When I say crowds, I don’t mean crushing numbers.  Just groups of people, usually in the company of a guide explaining the history of Lamani.  It was pleasant to be there early  in order hear your own guide and take your time as your small group (7 of us) sees fit. 

After lunch on our last day at Lamanai we were met by a driver provided by our next Lodge, Chan Chich.  The drive was pretty bad.  It took over 3 hours to go about 60 miles to Chan Chich.  The roads were very rough and dusty and the vehicle was hot.  Our driver had the unfortunate attribute of talking very loudly and nearly non-stop.  My ears were ringing, among other maladies, by the time we arrived at Chan Chich. 

I highly recommend Lamanai Outpost for those interested in the combination of excellent birding and fascinating Mayan history and ruins.  The lodging and food are both good.  In the next installment I will summarize our experiences and impressions of Chan Chich.

Friday, February 5  Ready to go to the airport at 6:00. Flight was late, but we had extra time in Delhi before going on to Amritsar. We arrived in Amritsar about 30 minutes late and there was no one there to meet us. Another guide called our hotel for us and we were told the car would be there in 10 minutes. When they arrived, the young woman said she was late due to traffic, but the lady at the hotel said they were late because the flight is always late and they didn’t think we would be there so soon. This was our first and only hitch with AK. It was getting late in the afternoon, and they did not want to take us anywhere because no guide was available. After a bit of discussion, they arranged for our driver, Sam, to take us to the Wagah Border with Pakistan to see the daily evening closing ceremony. [Normally drivers are not given that much responsibility without a guide present]. It was such an event! There was big cheering on both the India and Pakistan sides. “Long live Hindustan” and “Long live Pakistan” rang out from the crowds in support of their respective countries. It was very ceremonial and quite pointless, with soldiers in fancy dress strutting up and down the road to the border crossing to embellish the closing of the gate for the night.

Changing of the Guard at the Wagah Border between India and Pakistan

It reminded us of the Ministry of Silly Walks. We were very glad that we had insisted on coming here tonight. Back for dinner at our hotel. The food was not very good, but we enjoyed the company of a couple from Switzerland, the only other guests at the hotel that night. At 9:00 p.m., our guide, who had been previously occupied during the day, showed up to take us to the night ceremony at the Golden Temple of the Sikhs. What a gorgeous sight, especially at night.

Saturday, February 6  Back in the morning with our Amritsar guide to see the Golden Temple by daylight. It is our first cloudy day, but still nice. We entered the Temple area after leaving our shoes and socks and washing our feet in the shallow foot bath in front of the entrance to the Temple area. This is the holiest of Sikh shrines. It was amazing to see the 24-hour kitchen which feeds 30,000 people, for free, every day. All work is done by volunteers.

We went into the Temple to see a priest reading from the huge, Sacred Book. Many Sikhs were in prayer. The Temple is even more beautiful inside than out, but no photos are allowed. We finished our tour of the area by seeing the “bed” where the smaller holy book stays throughout the day. We walked through some old city streets to see the memorial park where the British fired 1600 rounds at a gathered crowd 100 years or so ago, killing and wounding many, and abandoning them where they lay. Back to check out from our hotel and on to the airport. This was our least favorite hotel. It is a very old eclectic place featuring aromatherapy, and not much else, for the guests. It is probably cleaner than it seems but just not our style. We were dropped off at the airport. Another glitch: our tickets were not changed to show we were leaving Amritsar for Delhi today instead of tomorrow. Fortunately, the airline representative was able to finally change our tickets, and we were on our way. We were met at the Delhi Airport by our AK representative and taken to the Delhi Oberoi Hotel. We drove though Embassy Row on our way. Lots of parks and green space. This is a very nice hotel and a welcoming complimentary bottle of wine awaited us, (Delhi is a bit more cosmopolitan than the other places we have been). We enjoyed a very nice Italian dinner at the Italian restaurant in the Hotel: gnocchi with walnuts and raddicio, chocolate lava cake for dessert.

Sunday, February 7  We started early. Our guide, Jaibir, took us to see both old and new Delhi on a whirlwind tour. We started in Old Delhi by seeing the Red Fort built by Shah Jahan. It is a large area of mostly red sandstone.

Then to Jama Masjid which is still the largest mosque in Asia. All women get a large cover to wear.

We took a very fun ride in a rickshaw through the narrow streets of Old Delhi.  On we go to the park where Mahatma Gandhi’s ashes are buried. Next stop is Humayun’s Tomb, which was built by Humayan’s wife in his honor. Red Sandstone and white marble. Lots and lots of school boys are there for a cultural field day. We take a drive by the big, beautiful area of the President’s house and other very large government buildings leading to India Gate, built to commemorate those Indian soldiers who died in World War I.

The last stop is in South Delhi to see the Qutb Complex, begun in 1193. The minar is 250 feet high with intricate carvings. Buildings around it have carvings similar to those at Khajaraho. The iron pillar in the court yard is from the 4^th century.

Last stop is Lakshmi Narayan Mandir, a newer, yet ornate Hindu Temple. Even a nice shop next door to where we left our shoes. Back to the hotel for Barbara to pack up and rest. We had a light supper after such a big lunch. Nasheef, the AK representative, was very helpful at the airport. There was a very long line at the passport check, but all went fine, with plenty of time.

Monday, February 8  The flight actually left Delhi this morning at 2:00 a.m. All went well. There was plenty of time in Amsterdam, then on to Detroit. Many hours of sitting. Since Barbara had not checked luggage, she got through passport check and customs and security very quickly. She arrived home safely to be greeted at the airport by Melanie. Upon arriving home she enjoyed a big glass of water from the tap.

I stayed on in Delhi to meet the birding group with which I would spend the next 3 weeks in India.  I will be posting the results of that trip, with far more emphasis on the birds and with far less detail, than has gone into the preceding report.

A few days ago I told about  planning our trip to India and traveling there.     In Part 2 I will summarize our experiences during the first few days of our tour of northern India.

Wednesday, January 20

We arrived in New Delhi at 1:00 a.m. (12:30 p.m. on the 19^th in Iowa), 51 hours after leaving our house. The AK representative, Amid, was there to meet us and take us to the Radisson. He was such a welcome sight and so helpful. This was supposed to be our day to tour Delhi, but because of the delays of our flights, we have postponed our Delhi sightseeing to the end of our trip.  After a very nice buffet breakfast at the Radisson, Amid and a driver took us to the airport to get our flight to Khajaraho. Our flight (on Jet Airways) was delayed, then cancelled due to fog. This fog is following us everywhere. We were rushed to the Kingfisher Airlines counter to get the last 2 seats on a flight leaving in 2 minutes. We sped through security, through the gates and onto a transporter to our plane.  Then we sat while the airport closed for one hour due to the fog. We were served lunch, and then waited some more. Finally, the plane took off for Khajaraho, with an intermediate stop in Varanasi. After arriving in Khajaraho 2 hours late, we were met by Ashok (the local AK representative) and Laksman (the driver) and taken to the Lalit Temple View Hotel. We were then met by our Khajaraho guide who took us on a tour of the Western and Eastern Temples. What a spectacular sight!

Eighty five temples (twenty two remain) were built during the reign of the Chandella kings between 950-1050 AD.  The Indo-Aryan architecture is adorned with erotic carvings capturing life in all forms.

Breakfast at the Hotel, then off with the car to drive to Bandhavgarh National Tiger Preserve. This was a real eye-opening (6 hour) road trip. The roads are awful, and the driving was crazy, but our driver seemed very good. Town after town and village after village lining the “road”, nothing but people who just barely subsist. We saw many people carrying wood on their heads to use for cooking or heating. No running water; no electricity, village pumps for water. Children going to school, mostly in bright, neat uniforms. Most men seemingly doing nothing. Women working very hard and all dressed in colorful wraps (saris) and scarves. Cattle everywhere, some being herded, most wandering freely, including in the middle of the road and along all the streets. Everyone is thin and all the boys and men have nice haircuts. We have never seen so many bicycles and motorcycles, many with up to 4 persons on board.

We arrived at the Tiger’s Den at Bandhavgarh in time for lunch and to drop our stuff in our room. On to our first game drive. We did not see a tiger, but we did see lots of spotted deer, several sambhar, wild boars, barking deer, common langurs, rhesus macaques and one jungle cat. We also saw several birds including this  Stork-billed Kingfisher. Back for dinner and off to bed.

Back for breakfast and an early lunch before driving back to Khajaraho through all the town and villages.  Near Satna we saw a parade of Jain priests and followers walking on (clogging) the road. Each priest was totally naked, in keeping with Jain tradition, and accompanied by a group of 20 or so followers, many wearing white robes. We learned from our AK representative on the trip that the Jain priests never ride in or on anything, but walk wherever they go. He thought they might be heading for some seminar or similar gathering. Finally back in Khajaraho, we checked in at the Lalit Temple View Hotel again and then walked down town for supper at a local restaurant, the “Raj”.  In India, we drank only bottled water, with no ice, so it was a very pleasant surprise to discover the local “Kingfisher” beer which is quite good and was usually cold. Even though Khajaraho is a relatively small village, the streets, as always, were crowded with walkers, bikers, cows and water buffalo, but we never felt uncomfortable except in trying to avoid stepping in chuck-holes and cow pies in the quite dark street. On our walk back to the hotel we were impressed by how dark India towns are at night. Most of the lighting that was on consisted of kerosene lamps or gas lanterns. Our flashlight is a necessity.