Last week's adventure to Nariva Swamp was matched yesterday by a long hike through Brasso Secco - deep in the interior of the Northern Range. We walked with Carl "Wang" Fitzjames, who grew up in the forests, went to the states and worked as a nuclear welder (a whole other story), met his wife and came back to the mountains he loves. Like the best of guides, he knows the animals, plants and land intimately and shared tremendous insights, passion and knowledge: like which of the melastoma family will give you hives on contact (which David of course tested in the field) and which you can use for toilet paper in a crunch - same family of plant with very different implications for your time in the forest!
The hike was hot, but filled with butterflies - huge blue Emperor Morphos, Owl butterflies (who's coloration and wing spot looked just like a horned owl), a malachite green colored one appropriately named the Malachite butterfly, Postman (bearing the British Post colors of red and black) and even a butterfly that Carl had never seen before. We saw several types of Trogons - deep forest birds - and many parrots before reaching our turn around point at Double Rivers Falls. A long lunch included a dip below the waterfall, and hunting for freshwater crayfish in the clear pools. When we finally made it back to Carl's house (8 hours later), his wife had made a local favorite of fish, rice and lentils which Tim and Barb enjoyed while the boys played hide and seek with Carl's kids (7 and 4) and the local lizards. On the way home, we stopped at the Asa Wright Nature Center for cold drinks, ice cream, veranda based bird watching - and a special visit from an agouti.
When we got down out of the mountains, we caught the tailend of the last of the ambassadors from the Summit of the America's leaving (and stopping traffic in the process).
