Happy New Year!!!!!

There were a couple of days without internet.
January 1, 2011
This is the day we were all looking forward to!  We were going to Finca Lerida - which has a lodge on their extensive coffee grounds.  There is supposed to be really good birding at Finca Lerida, and last year, when we just stopped in to visit the place, we were impressed by all the birds we saw. We were so impressed with the grounds and the birding that we wished we were staying there to be able to spend more time!   So, we were looking forward to seeing what new birds we might see this year and being able to walk around on their trails!

In the morning, after trying our best to get the mirror back in place on the car, we were finally on our way.  We got to Finca Lerida in time for lunch, so that was the first thing we did, while waiting for our rooms to be ready.  It was a beautiful sunny day, and we looked forward to seeing what the trails looked like and what birds we would see.  Here is a picture of the lodge we stayed in.

After lunch, we started walking the trails.  To get to the forest trails, we first had to climb quite a bit up a narrow road.

And this is the view from behind where Fernando and Eva are standing in the picture above.

The forest trail was very nice, very pretty, and although we saw a few birds, it was the wrong time of the day to see much.

Then we found a great log on which to take a break.

Lots of Naranjilla plants growing on the grounds

We thought this flowering tree or bush was very pretty.

Walking along the coffee plants on our way back

The sun goes behind the mountains early, but we tried to get in just one more walk before the end of the day. There are usually nice hummingbirds along the driveway into the finca.

The hummingbirds really love these flowers! (and not one picture of a hummingbird!)

We had dinner at the lodge's restaurant that evening, and turned in early as we were all very tired!  But it was a good day!