Wednesday, January 20, 2010 -- MORNING BIRDING & PADDLE; AFTERNOON AT DONĀ JUANA’S

As I said, I had a rough night—not only because of the aforementioned, but also because of the barking dogs, crowing roosters, and—strangely way out here in the outback—somewhere early this morning the sound of a car alarm!

Jess slept in but Jenn and I grabbed a cup of coffee and walked up to the dirt road/path by Donā Juana’s house. We lugged out chairs and sat down to drink our coffee and identify the birds in the area. Here are the ones we saw at DJ’s that morning and a few from the evening before:

Jenn and I birded while eating breakfast

When Jess and Uciel were up, we all had a Nica breakfast and then Jenn, Jess, Uciel, and I climbed into our kayaks while the tide was still high so that we could get back in to a place that Uciel said was good for birding. 

Jess, Jenn and a "headless" Uciel taking a break from paddling

We spent the morning kayaking on the Padre Ramos, exploring the many interesting channels and mangrove stands, stopping on a beach at low tide for a swim and a drink of juice, and birding. We saw the following birds:

We headed back to Donā Juana’s at about 11:30. While we were gone, I’d asked if Donā Juana’s, adopted daughter would do our laundry for us if we paid her. She was more than willing, so when we got back from our paddle, we found our clothes hanging on a line, most of them dry. In celebration, I took another semi-private bucket shower and donned wonderfully clean clothes.

DJ's daughter and darling babe; why babies need a wool cap in such sweltering weather I don't know

Dina prepared a delicious lunch of au gratin potatoes, rice and tomatoes, and coleslaw Nica style. Then we had our choice of a Nica Rum drink or beer. I opted for the cold beer.

We walked down the path birding after lunch and came to another poor dwelling, this one with several boys living in it. The youngest had a baby raccoon that struggled to get free but did not bite or hiss. We guessed that the raccoon had been captured very soon after it was born.

We wiled away the afternoon writing in our journals, sipping rum or drinking beers, and casually birding.

There were two pretty good hills behind DJ’s property. That evening just before sunset, Uciel, Donā Juana and I climbed the smaller of the two to see the sun set over Padre Ramos. The climb was pretty steep but DJ clambered up in flip-flops. The views from the top were well worth the climb, but the sunset was pretty subdued. Last evening the sky was a fiery orange.

Lone fisherman on his way out to try his luck

River running into the estero

We climbed down via a different “path,” and found ourselves tromping through Donā Juana’s brother’s poor house. We had to walk directly through the cooking area and the family was cooking fish they’d caught that afternoon in the estero. I saw nothing other than the fish to eat. One of the tattered children was bringing two large dried out cow patties to use as fuel. Donā Juana did not introduce us or seemingly acknowledge her brother, but then my Spanish is so bad they could have greeted each other warmly without my noticing it.

When we returned, DJ fired up her stove and her daughter ground corn to make tortillas. That evening’s supper was soft tacos of a sort—ground beef, rice, salsa, and handmade soft corn tortillas from Donā Juana’s handmade stove/oven. DJ proudly brought down our desserts, small red puddings that tasted like bacon grease.

After dinner, Jenn and Jess and I lazed in our hammocks in the dark and played word games until we were tired enough for bed.