Today started with visiting the Cafe do Morante viewpoint over Lagoa Conceicao where the vultures could be seen gliding around the hillsides.
Following the road North we visited the Parque Estadual do Rio Vermelho which is an ecological park.
where a tour guide walked us through the edge of the rain forest talking about the forest and its conservation, the problems with invasive species and we were able to see a number of animals that had been rescued from captivity. Most will never be able to survive on their own in the wild but some, such as this Little Owl
will be released in due course. Unfortunately, as with this Little Owl the animals can struggle to become truly independent, so although he was released on the other side of the lake he is found sitting in this very tree everyday. There aren't many opportunities to photograph wildlife which don't try to avoid being visible to humans and this little guy seemed to like the attention while remaining sufficiently aloof that he was never within touching distance.
Further along we saw lines of ants marching across the sandy path with large guards either side of the column protecting the flanks of the the leaf cutter workers.
Lunch was fresh made pasteil in a roadside cafe, they are pastry pockets with cheese, ham etc inside then fried, combined with fresh squeezed cane sugar to drink, or Alex's new discovery, guarana fizzy drink.
After lunch we visited Praia do Santinho where the waves, like everywhere on the East coast pound the sandy beaches but on the wooded heights above the beach there are thousands of year old inscriptions to be found.
Following the road North we visited the Parque Estadual do Rio Vermelho which is an ecological park.
where a tour guide walked us through the edge of the rain forest talking about the forest and its conservation, the problems with invasive species and we were able to see a number of animals that had been rescued from captivity. Most will never be able to survive on their own in the wild but some, such as this Little Owl
will be released in due course. Unfortunately, as with this Little Owl the animals can struggle to become truly independent, so although he was released on the other side of the lake he is found sitting in this very tree everyday. There aren't many opportunities to photograph wildlife which don't try to avoid being visible to humans and this little guy seemed to like the attention while remaining sufficiently aloof that he was never within touching distance.
Further along we saw lines of ants marching across the sandy path with large guards either side of the column protecting the flanks of the the leaf cutter workers.
Lunch was fresh made pasteil in a roadside cafe, they are pastry pockets with cheese, ham etc inside then fried, combined with fresh squeezed cane sugar to drink, or Alex's new discovery, guarana fizzy drink.
After lunch we visited Praia do Santinho where the waves, like everywhere on the East coast pound the sandy beaches but on the wooded heights above the beach there are thousands of year old inscriptions to be found.
back at home a fabulous home made chicken stroganoff and another helping, or two, of peanut cocktail.