Gilroy Today 2014 03 Spring | Page 59

Bromeliad Red Flower Rustic Cabin
cattle . After nearly dipping into one such hole , I saved myself by lunging over it and coming down on a sort of small islet . Unfortunately , this islet hosted a 30-inch tall plant covered in inch-long spikes , and it was at this moment that our guide shushed us all ( a cue given to mean freeze in place and do not move or talk because a possible target bird is near ). I had to stand there for about 10 minutes until I could jump to another dryish spot , where I was shushed again . I couldn ’ t treat my wounds until I was in my room later that night .
Not all birding requires sacrifice . One day , our guides drove us to a rustic old house where they had arranged for us to enjoy a fantastic barbecue lunch which was prepared while we birded the hills nearby . What is it about exercise and good food ? On our ride back , we saw many a bobbing head , even though the road was so bumpy that one had to be careful not to bounce out of one ’ s seat .
Southeastern Brazil is beautiful country , in the mountains and hills of the Atlantic Forest ( with typical temperatures similar to Lake Tahoe summers ) from the beautiful Intervales State Park to a bustling town called Curitiba . Here we experienced many of the local wines in a beautiful tasting room . In my opinion , some of these wines were decent .
One of the highlights of Sao Francisco de Paula National Park were the Brazilian
Wine Country Brazil
red and white tarantulas which are bigger than the palm of my hand ( about twice the size of our California ebony tarantulas ) and have a reddish furry abdomen ( backside ). They are less aggressive than our tarantulas but are far more active .
Iguazu Falls was the last stop of our trip , which meant a plane flight to the falls , which are well inland on the border with Argentina near Bolivia . Iguazu Falls are
Chetnut Backed Tanager Channel Billed Toucan
Tarantula
S P R I N G 2 0 1 4 G I L R O Y T O D A Y 59