12 12 12 eBook compressed quality V 3 PDF file April 15 2026 - Flipbook - Page 139
By the time we returned to Gema del Bosque, the cold had settled into
our hands and knees. |is wasn’t fatigue from movement. It was the
fatigue of stillness — of holding position, of letting time stretch without control.
Day seven wasn’t about volume. It was about earning rarity. And it
sharpened the realization that Costa Rica’s biodiversity doesn’t just
change by geography — it changes by behavior, by patience, by how
willing you are to submit to its pace.
Michael, our guide in San Gerardo, had spent his life with the valley’s birds. At one fruiting avocado tree, he mimicked a quetzal’s call
with a low whistle. Aver a few patient minutes, a nicker of emerald
and crimson wings announced the quetzal’s arrival. A splendid male
swooped in to snatch a tiny avocado and then vanished into the mist
as suddenly as he’d appeared. |e sight lasted only seconds, but it was
a reward far greater than any photo. At the end of our day, we renected
and understood that without Michael’s keen insight, we’d likely have
seen nothing at all. It was humbling to realize that some wonders reveal
themselves only through the eyes of those who know where to look.
Day 7 Highlights: Resplendent quetzals observed and photographed
on multiple occasions (male and female) in San Gerardo de Dota’s
cloud forest. A mind-boggling hummingbird spectacle at Paraíso Quetzal Lodge (oery-throated, volcano, talamanca hummingbirds among
others).
Quetzal launching in flight.
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