This was mainly a travelling day as we drove for around 8 hours to Villa Barrancoli, our base for the next 3 nights. The first section of the journey was not pleasant as the road went through numerous small villages complete with the unsufferable speed bumps and in parts, the road was more pothole than tarmac. But after a couple of hours we made it on to the main highway and all was good, with Antillean Palm Swifts and a Peregrine Falcon the only birds of note. We stopped for lunch in Bani and brought provisions for the next few days in a big supermarket there, eventually arriving at Villa Barrancoli around 4pm. Kate Wallace was there to greet us and after introductions and figuring out how the water system works we were oit walking along the famous Rabo de Gato Trail. Kate informed us tha the region was suffering a long-standing drought and that White-fronted Quail-Dove and Bay-breasted Cuckoo just weren’t around. Bugger! But we’re not the sort of folks to give up without a fight..!
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| Hispaniolan Pewee |
Practically the first birds we found was our first Hispaniolan Pewee and the endemic Flat-billed Vireo in the same tree. The only other birds of note were a Palm Warbler and a pair of Black-crowned Palm Tanagers. That would have to do for today, so we returned to the lodge and enjoyed a fine evening meal.
So…. Villa Barrancoli… What can you say? In my opinion it is delightful. Rustic but delightful. We had hot showers, flushing toilets, good food, birds in the garden. It’s nothing plush and it is designed for birders. The cabins are a bit on the small side when there’s two people sharing one but it is ok. We even had an extra night here from the normal two that most groups do and everyone thought it was fine. Can't wait for tomorrow's trip up to Zapoten....
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