Then it was on to the rain in Colombia, where we teamed up with our close traveling companions Dan and Barbara Williams and master guide Daniel Uribe for a tour of the western and central Andes.  Starting off in Cali (not much rain) the weather quickly turned wet, stayed wet, and ended up that way in Medellin.  Still, it was marvelous country, with some wonderful birds, beautiful scenery and great atmosphere in small towns in the mountains.   Jardin was particularly lovely! We did manage a few new birds as well, with such exotic names as fulvous treerunner, buffy helmetcrest and rainbow-bearded thornbill (hummingbirds), and red-bellied grackle (better looking than you might think).

We had lots of rain in Colombia.

Up at 13,000 feet elevation, in between rain showers.

Here is a selection of some of the birds we saw.

Toasting Karen’s mom when we found some good Chardonnay!

Despite the rain, there was a lot of beautiful scenery in the Andes.  Here are a few views.

One day, the Colombian military suddenly arrived where we were birding.  Turned out they wanted a photo of their cooperation with foreign nature tourists.  Here we are, with the flag they brought along for the photo op.

These are a few of the places where we stayed during the trip:

The group for this trip.

Driver Ernay, guide Daniel, Barbara, Karen, Terry and Dan.