Guatemala: Switzerland South I

The human mind is eternally in search of themes, and mine at least relies on commonality and coincidence even more than usual when I’m traveling. A thousand red threads ran through my time in Guatemala this year, but one of the oddest was, of all things, Switzerland.

We spent a night at beautiful Molino Helvetia, then had a terrifically successful detour a couple of days later to Rincon Suizo, and one afternoon took a coffee-and-trochilids break at Cabaña Suiza. I kept waiting for Heidi to step out of the forest. Instead of pig-tailed blond girls with gruff grandfathers (not that I have anything against blond girls or pig-tails), we saw birds, birds, and more birds, all in scenery and weather that I suppose could remind you of that old European democracy (especially if you hadn’t been there for a while).

Molino Helvetia, as its name suggests, is an old flour mill; two charming (and vaguely European) houses on the grounds are now available to ecotourism groups. My group filled both, and we enjoyed the fine dinner we were served as much as the fireplaces and a delightfully bright and slightly chilly morning of birding (it was the only time I wished I’d remembered my gloves).

Just below the house was a fine brushy creekbed full of birds, including plenty of Crescent-chested Warblers and Tufted Flycatchers, along with the trip’s first views of Chestnut-capped Brushfinch and Buff-breasted Flycatcher: a fine mix of the Arizonan and the exotic!

Farther along, the trail entered the mountain forests, where Gray Silky-Flycatchers and Black-capped Swallows flew above and the charming tinkle of Rufous-browed Wrens issued from every tangle (I had to wait another day to actually see one of the little skulkers).

Our time afield was excellent, but the yards and gardens surrounding the houses were just as good. Rufous-collared Sparrows were in noisy residence, and a Blue-and-white Mockingbird was uncharacteristically bold as it fed, thrasher-like, among the specimen plantings.

This was certainly my best view ever of the sneaky creatures, unrivaled by any of the glimpses we had the rest of the week. Plus I got to watch this one while I was eating those wonderful Guatemalan sugar cookies.