After nearly two weeks of exploring the many sights around pretty, peaceful, Pijao, we were ready to move on. Just before we left, our host said there was one more place we had to visit: the Cave of the Guácharos.
Known as the "oil bird" for its oil-rich feathers, these nocturnal, cave-dwelling birds use echolocation much like bats do, in order to navigate. This particular location happened to be up a narrow gorge, and to reach the cave we had to hike up the little stream, ascending small cascades while trying hard not to be swept off our feet.
Once at the cave, we were delighted to discover this double waterfall, which coursed through the hollowed out cave before continuing its tumbling path down the gorge. The challenge in photographing the scene was two-fold: how to deal with the mist which continually dampened my lens, and how to dodge the logs which swirled in the eddy and banged against the legs of my not-so-sturdy tripod.
With a bit of help from our guide, who cleared the eddy of the debris, one challenge was quickly overcome. Now I could only make a quick wipe of the lens, trip the release, and hope for the best. Luckily, I had a couple images which weren't ruined by water drops!
In retrospect, I wish we might also have dislodged the big branch lodged at the base of the waterfall, but this is the scene nature delivered. Who am I to deny such gifts?
Oh, and in case you were wondering, we did see a few guácharos, too!
This is one of those situations when I wished we had chosen to spend more time at the site, but the light was fading, and already shivering in mist-soaked clothing, we had to beat a hasty retreat. One day I'd like to come back to this magical spot and take a more deliberate approach to capturing the image over the course of different days and in different light. Isn't it nice when you can discover such places? The problem is, as I've learned over the years, I'll never run out of places to come back to.