2008/04/10

Hummingbirds, traditions and luxury hotels


I was looking for information about hummingirds in different regions of the country when a friend told me that in a small region in Cusco there were 18 varieties at least.


I guess my face was like one of those cartoon characters with the eyes popping out, because he started laughing... He said he saw only 13 and all within the land of the hotel he has staying at!

He used the services of Inkaterra, a local company that manages luxury hotels and unique experiences.

As I will never be able to afford staying there, I decided to 'travel' around the web and find out more about it.
I checked the online brochures, with info of every hotel and I must say they look BEAUTIFUL!! Maybe when I win the lottery I'll invite my friends from all over ;)

I found a small picture gallery that I thought would be nice to share with you so you could learn more about my country, the only problem is that the pictures don't have captions, so, you won't know exactly where or what it is or represents :(

I love the fact that they have a Wish List, but not just any... At every location of their hotels they do some kind of service for the community: Educational materials, conservation projects, seeds for native communities, conservation of traditions, even teaching English to locals!!
Those of you who know me better will know without a doubt that it is my favourite part of that website ;)

They also promote visits to local families, to learn about their traditions and culture and share experiences beyond the regular parametres.


In the Machu Picchu location, the birdwatching activities they promote are within the hotel area!... "Along the hotel's pathways, be on the lookout for the cock-of-the-rock, the golden-headed quetzal and many of the 18 different hummingbirds identified on the grounds, including the booted racket-tail and the green-and-white hummingbirds, which are native to the area."

YESSSS!!! Found the 18 hummingbirds part!!! So, it was true!!

Turns out that they also have the world's record of the largest number of orchids in natural state!! They have registered 372, and discovered 6 new species in their grounds.



The Amazon location has pretty cool excursions, one of them marked as a 1/4 day excursion reminded me of dear Sherry at Q's Corner and her love for butterflies: the Butterfly House!!

The
twilight river one made me dream and of course the full day birding experience NOT for begginers like me :(


Anyway, what started as a quest for information on hummingbirds ended up with a lot of dream travels for me!


I hope you enjoyed the cyber-trip as much as I did, hopefully I'll be able to travel there soon, to dream places in my country, so close and so far away at the same time...

Please note: All pictures taken from Inkaterra's website.

19 comments:

P. Ollig said...

Thanks for visiting my blog today! Great post about hummingbirds. While we don't have 18 different species here, we do regularly see four or five. Last summer we were going through over a gallon of sugar water every day at the peak of the hummer season. We calculated that to mean we had somewhere between 750-1000 individual birds visiting our feeders each day.

Great blog! I'm adding you to my links section!

Meggie said...

Thanks for taking me along on a wonderful adventure, Mel. It was beautiful and great fun. Isn't it great when a simple quest for more knowledge about one thing turns into something so much more.

John B. said...

Booted racket-tail? I want to see that just for the name!

Nature Nut /JJ Loch said...

Beautiful post, Mel. and super photos!

I loved the picture gallery link too.

You're a bright star in the blogosphere.

Hugs, JJ

Q said...

Dear Mel,
Oh my goodness what a beautiful trip! You live in a fantastic area of the world. I am wishing and dreaming too. Thank you. Maybe one of these days we can meet in this most beautiful hotel and bird watch and butterfly watch together. I would love to take photos of every butterfly and all 13 different types of Hummingbirds.
Thanks again. It is fun to dream travel with friends.
Hugs,
Sherry

Anonymous said...

I feel the same way... there are so many places to visit and even close ones that are so hard to get to (time, money).

18 species of hummers!! I'd probably wear our my camera! Sounds like an awesome place and I'm sure you'll get there sooner than you think :)

R.Powers said...

Mel,
Thanks for visiting Pure Florida!
That river picture could be the Suwannee River here in Florida ... it looks so much like our area!
Keep up the good blogging!

Amila Salgado said...

18 species of Hummingirds! What a very mouth-watering prospect! I hope you will be able make it one day and bag all of them!

nina at Nature Remains. said...

Lovely, bright photos--even if they're not yours.
I would love to see the 18 hummingbirds, too.
And that orchid-- You certainly are from a bright and colorful country!

beckie said...

Mel, a delightful post filled with so much information! I can't imagine 18 types of hummingbirds! We only see one here in the US. Your country is indeed a gardener and birder paradise>

Sandpiper (Lin) said...

Beautiful pictures, Mel! I will have fun exploring those links you posted. I've always been fascinated by Peru, particularly places like Machu Picchu. I have a friend who visited Peru a couple of years ago and I was wishing I could hide in her suitcase! :)

Mel said...

¡Hola! Thank you for stopping by ;)

P, that sounds like quite a banquet for the hummingbirds! Sooo many visitors! WOW!

Meggie, you are sooo right! It is fun to find more than you were looking for (unless is the amount of work you have to do! hahaha)

John, I know... that name makes anyone curious ;)

JJ, thank you for the kind words, I liked that gallery too, and the ones on every location they have, made me dream a lot :)

Sherry!! This post made me think a lot about you, turns out they have spas with local products and saunas with materials and herbs of the region, local food and a georgeous piece of land with things like the Butterflies House! It screams Sherry! Sherry! Sherry! hahaha

Island rambles, thanks! it isn't hard when you find a nice thing to talk about :)

Birdfreak, yed, I was thinking about those 18 guys... Picture! Check! Oh.. no, it is the same species, Picture! oh.. erm... same species again, hahahaha

Floridacracker, is good to know that there are other beautiful places all over, your blog is nice, I'll visit often ;)

Ami, yessssssss, if you decide to come this way, let me know to be your sidekick!

Nina, yes, my country has a lot to offer, sadly I can't travel to places like that right now, but hopefully soon. For now I'll just dream.. of hummies!!

Beckie, it is a true paradise, my goal is to be able to travel all over, as we have ocean and dry coasts, wetlands, mountains, rainforest, so many micro climates that make possible so many wonders!

Sandpiper, I'm glad you like it, you'll have fun exploring the links, that's for sure :)
If you ever come to Peru, let me know, I'll be happy to help you with information and recomendations on whatever you need.

Ecobirder said...

Mel, nice post. It sounds like a great place to visit.

Sherry at the Zoo said...

That was a great trip! Thanks for taking us along!

RuthieJ said...

Wow Mel, what a beautiful country you have. I would love to see 18 different species of hummingbirds someday too, but I'm the same as you: many dreams and not enough time or money to fulfill them! But at least we all get the chance to visit Peru through your blog and you're an excellent tour guide too!
Hugs from Minnesota!

Mary said...

Mel,

I believe that one day you will travel to these places. 18 Hummingbird species? Wow!

What a great country you live in. Seriously - it seems so exotic to me. I dream, too :o)

Hugs,
Mary

Mel said...

Hello guys!

Ecobirder, it sure is, I've got pretty good comments from people who has been there :)

Sherry, thanks for taking the time to go along with me ;)
Love your 'Zoo'!

Ruthie, let's dream together! My first big crazy thing when I win the lottery (crossing fingers for good luck!!) will be to invite some of my dear blogging friends over here... (Please God, let it happen!!)

Mary, your pictures always show me new and wonderful things, never-seen-before birds or flowers, so, it is exotic and exciting for me, thanks!! :)

Anonymous said...

Ah... those pictures of the Peruvian Highland remind me of a big adventure that I experienced six years go. I wish I can someday go back to that magical country. /Lady in Red

Mel said...

Hola Lady in Red :)
It is a magical country indeed, hope you can make it back here again sometime!
Miss you tons!!