Saturday with Sandy

Today was my first full day at El Refugio de Intag Cloud Forest and was looking forward to a slower pace and nature immersion. El Refugio de Intag Cloud Forest is a naturalists answer to the Four Seasons. I met Peter Joost, the owner, at 7am for coffee and then we

took a trail walk to see what morning birds we could find. Peter is a retired teacher from Brooklyn who describes himself as a ‘bird enthusiast’ but I would describe him as much more. A kind, thoughtful and knowledgable soul, Peter is the kind of human we all need to spend some time with. His gentle awareness and appreciation for his beautiful land is a needed reminder of the kind of interaction we should have with nature.

A bird walk before breakfast is a fabulous way to start the day. There is no way I could remember all the birds we saw but I do remember a few blue gray tanagers, lots of hummingbirds (even a new species Peter hadn’t seen on the property before) and a Trogan. Excellent start to the day and then had the most lovely breakfast of dragonfruit, yogurt and homemade granola before heading out on my own for a bit. I walked along the riverbank for about an hour and then read in a hammock in the cabana by the river for another hour (with one of the El Refugio pups, Tokey), all to be capped off with a nice afternoon siesta. (Bird photos courtesy of Peter Joost)

The afternoon was to be filled with a visit to his neighbor’s property (just an hour walk down the road and up a hill)  to watch the afternoon mating ritual of the Gallo de la Pena a/k/a the Cock of the Rock – famous in South America. Peter walked me halfway there and Sandy met me for the second half.

Sandy is an absolutely delightful soul and the owner of Intag Colibri Cabins. She is a Wisconsin native by has lived in Ecuador for almost 30 years. Raised her children here and in my opinion is the quintessential expat. She has a simple, live lightly philosophy and it shows in the ease of her presence. While I thought we were going to just sit on Sandy’s porch and wait for the birds to come, I had more adventure ahead of me. Sandy guided me through a hillside and over gorgeous flowing creeks until we made it pretty deep into the forest to find the mating site. The views were stunning, the landscape so lush, diverse and alive. We were scanning the canopy for the bright red heads of the male birds. We could hear them all over calling out, and eventually they appeared. Thanks to Peter’s borrowed binoculars I could see them doing their winged dance. While we never saw any females apparently they are there watching the show.

Every travel blog I’ve read says that the traveling experience is more about the people you meet than the places you go and so far I can’t agree more. Sandy and I had the most beautiful conversation about living life on your own terms, breaking out and most hilariously, how much I overpacked. She’s seen the world a few times so I’m going to take her suggestions to heart and see what I can live without.

I made the hike back to El Refugio alone and felt so alive and grateful for another wonderful day on the road. Finished the night with another amazing meal – the freshest corn and mushrooms, quinoa and dessert of babaca and ‘Maria’s’ (Ecuadorian cookies).