While we were at the Talari Lodge for the Chirripó climb we met a couple from Switzerland who told about stopping at km 70 on the road to San Isidro de General where they saw several Quetzals. So on the way home after the climb, everyone wanted to stop and see the Quetzals.
The Quetzal is a gorgeous bird in the trogan family and is the national bird of Guatemala. But it has a reputation of being quite reclusive and difficult to spot, so I warned everyone that we would probably be in for a long jaunt into the jungle with a slim chance of seeing a bird or two. I felt the Swiss couple was either exaggerating or very lucky. Mary and I had looked for Quetzals at Monteverde several years ago and after a long hike were able to see but one bird at long distance.
I was outvoted and so we stopped at “Jorge Serrano’s Quetzal Paradise.” I asked him how far we would have to go to see Quetzals and he told me about 600 meters. He charged $7.00 per person to be our guide so reluctantly we paid for the seven of us and off we went on a trail in back of his restaurant to presumably see Quetzals.
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To my amazement we only went 100 meters before he spotted one and focused it in his scope. From then on we saw one Quetzal after another, some quite close.
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Jorge explained that the area we were in was covered with native avocado trees that produced a small fruit that the Quetzals loved. He told us that the Quetzal only ate while flying. The birds would swoop by a tree, pick off a nut, swallow it, digest the meat on the nut and then regurgitate the nut. He was a fount of information on birds in general and pointed out several other species in the area. He was quite a character and at one point picked up a piece of moss and put it on as a beard and then a moustache. He said he was a 1000 year old man and showed us what he claimed was a 1000 year old tree.
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We had a great time and saw 10-15 Quetzals. We were at 8700 feet above sea level and some of us who weren’t in great shape had a little trouble with the altitude. The temperature was cool, around 50 F, and we were glad we brought jackets.
After viewing the Quetzals we had a great trout lunch, checked out his hummingbird feeder with several species of hummingbirds, and after the pleasant two hour stop we were on our way home.
It was a great experience and I was amazed at the number of birds we were able to see.
I recommend it highly as a stop if you are on your way to San Isidro de General.
Fred and Mary Holmes
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