The track to the lodge leaves the main road at such an acute angle that we always have to travel 400 yards down the road in order to turn round and access it from the nearside lane. Both ways! A remote controlled iron gate opened, we crossed a bridge over the narrow river and arrived at the heavily wooded front entrance. Pleased to get out of the cramped minibus, we trudged up the steep steps to the lodge.
Owner Andy, an eternally youthful-looking crewcut blonde, and his Romanian wife Christina, greeted us in the spacious lobby /hallway. Bedrooms were allocated, our luggage already in situ. Our bedroom is on the ground floor just off the lobby area, two of the couples are upstairs and the remaining party in the extension rooms attached to the dining room,facing the gardens and rainforest-clad mountainside.
Having changed,we sat under the covered back porch to relax and watch the many Hummingbirds hovering at the feeders hanging on the porch itself and, on a line strung across the opposite side of the lawn.
Sombre Hummingbird, Black Jacobin, Violet-capped Woodnymph and Saw-billed Hermits were all new birds for us.
Andy showed us a Black and White Hawk-Eagle distantly perched near its now empty nest - we never saw it again. Three new parrot family, Plain and Maroon-bellied Parakeet and Blue-winged Parrotlet ,the third ever Lodge sighting of Chestnut-backed Ant-Shrike (usually seen at a higher altitude),and the wheatear-like Masked Water-Tyrant, decorated our notebooks before lunch.
A wonderful introduction to the Lodge garden and Atlantic Rainforest birdlife.
Called to lunch at 1.00, a short walk to the dining room for the introductory talk and a pleasant buffet lunch of salad (every meal) cheese, ham, hot cheese tart and rolls.
Peter then appeared to take the group for a 10 minute drive in order to walk the Cedae Trail. It was now raining heavily so, Pam, Judy and I decided to stay and cement the ID of the garden birds and to rest our travel-swollen legs. We didn't want to get wet either! The only new trip birds showing were Burnished-Buff Tanager and Swallow-tailed Hermit. It was not long before an extremely wet group returned - and they'd hardly seen any birds, just two or three new ones which we caught up with later in the week.
Log call at 6.00 and buffet supper at 6.30, became the daily routine for the whole trip. Everyone was tired after the long journey,we departed for the bedroom soon after eight for a welcome shower followed by, my routine, writing my journal entry for the day, a read and bed. The journal will help me write a Blog when I get home, Internet connection is unavailable to guests.
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