Soon to see!

I've been working from Monday to Sunday for some time now, I will do until my birthday in a couple of weeks.

I haven't been able to go birding, but my lovely husband had some spare time last week, and guess what? He went birding (what I miss terribly) not far from home, to a mountain near some Incan ruins.

He found this handsome hummingbird, an absolutely beautiful Green-tailed Trainbearer.

This is a very low quality pic (print screen when he wasn't looking, hehe), the original is so awesome! The glittering green and that long long long tail are just amazing.

I'm planning a short hike to try finding this birdie as soon as my shifts are back to "normal" and I get a full free day.

Hopefully I'll be able to see a few other birds that my hubbie managed to find on his own.

So, wish me luck! In a couple of weeks I might be back to birding and hopefully to blogging, to bore you again ;)

Miss you all!

Birds on hats

It's been quite a while since my last post. It's been a month and a half since dad died and I'm still getting used to the idea, and to this new city. I've been working and haven't been able to go birding, but I wanted to share with you a bit of the birds I actually saw.

June is a month of celebration in this city, starts with Corpus Christi and goes on and on until Inti Raymi (Festivital of the Sun) arrives.

This is a curious city, it mixes Christian/Catholic rites with Incan Festivities. It's a wild time with lots of people on the streets and groups of dancers performing for the crowd, the saints, the sun and God.

I loved these guys:


With white masks and whips (personifying the Spaniards that came to "colonize" centuries ago), but dressed up with all sorts of symbols from the Andean world (rainbow colours, nature representations embroderied on their hats called "monteras", Andean camelids, etc.)


They "fight", although it is more like a duel to show who's best with the whip.


They look proud and beautiful.

The Ukukus are also great. Ukuku means "bear" in Quechua, the language of the Incas. These Ukukus wear black masks and usually tease the dancers and the audiences, they are funny and get lot of cheering from the crowds. These ones were pulling a small truck while dancing freely on the streets.


Andean people respect nature, they represent it in many ways...


... like in these "montera", mountains, dolphins, sun...


... or this butterfly...


... others prefer birds...


... which helped with my need for birds!


Colourful parrots and patterns brightening up my day!!!


And even a Cock-of-the-rock to cheer me up :)


This is a new city (to me!), with traditions that I used to read about but never experienced myself...



... new experiences that make me smile (like these birdies here, or is it just me??)


I'm getting used to this city, letting the excitement and the colour invade my soul (at least until I can go birding for real birds!)


It's not easy, but it helps.


I plan to go birding this Sunday, wish me good luck!

Will miss you

Dad and just born Mel - 1977

Saturday 5am. Call from mom. Dad's heart stopped beating at 3:15am. He was 58.
Chaos, no flights available to Lima. At the airport by 8am, begging to airlines for some help. Was lucky enough to find a nice airport official to help out, by noon I was "home".

The night before mom called to say how great he was doing, better and better every day, even though he was still at the hospital.

It was incredible to see so many people at the funeral, we counted over 40 flower arrangements, at least a couple of hundred people visiting us.

We put a photo of him killing a crocodile, a photo that I took back in 1997... it captures his personality perfectly. People looked at it and smiled, saying that they will always remember him like that.


It was sad, but so peaceful. I can't describe the amount of love I felt in that room, the truly caring hugs and kisses.

I knew that he was very loved, but never imagined the impact he had in so many lives. I wasn't aware of the amount of people who cared about us all... school friends, my first grade teacher! teachers from secondary school (high school), former bosses, neighbours, people who worked with dad over 20 years ago!

I can't describe the feeling of having so many people saying to me how much they learned from dad, how good he was, how fun and caring, how deep he touched their lives, so many people trying to help us in every way. So many anecdotes, people laughing instead of crying, colourful flowers all over. WOW. I hope that I can leave such a good mark when it is my time to go.

He was a good example of an honest man. He had so many chances to take advantage of others, and he chose honour over money. He took care of grandma until the last day he could, even after his chemotherapies he went to visit her and cheer her up. He worked in pain for over 10 years, and almost never complained. He never owed money to anyone, the little we have is ours. He was always proud of our achievements, even though he didn't always show it. He gave us everything he had and more, always worried about us.

I wish he stayed a little longer, I'm going to miss our talks.

Te quiero mucho papito, cuídanos desde el cielo.