We arrive at Surama Lodge at around 12 PM and it takes some time to check in and we wait for the assignment in the expansive central building. As most other central buildings at lodges here it serves also as the restaurant, central area for gathering and it completely open to the outside. With no winter the only thing you have to worry about is the rain and the roof is extensive to ensure nothing gets in. We also get coffee and water while we wait, quite nice.
There is a a small table with books, some interesting but there is really no time to read as our tour is quite intensive. They also open the bar/gift shop and we enter it to see the offer while most of the group buy some cooled drinks.
Probably here is the major place on the tour where we get a better room due to being a couple. While everyone single is accomodated in a motel like structure where you can hear everything the neighbor does we receive our own standalone hut similarly to the other couple. It is also right next to the restaurant, a bonus when it rains, and it has some great views over the jungle and savanna.
Inside it is jungle nice, there are beds, the roof hopefully can protect us from the rain and we have bug nets that we promptly use as there are many places where the mosquitoes can come in including from the floor unfortunately.
The ensuite bathroom is outside similarly to Atta but as a bonus it is covered so at least you won’t get rained on while going to the toilet or taking a shower.
We then return to the restaurant to have our lunch, it is buffet style with some similar types of food with the previous places we stayed at.
It is quite hot during midday so we get a couple hours of rest before leaving at 15:30 to explore the area around the lodge and the access road for any interesting birds.
But we don’t even have to exit the lodge grounds to see our first interesting birds, there is a roost of Lesser Nighthawks that we can take photos off and watch before returning to the mercifully AC cooled van.
Next we explore a quasi forest, our name as it is neither a jungle nor a savanna, to look for roosting potoos. However even after some searching we have no luck and it is getting hot so we return to the van to go to the next site.
The guides decide to go now to the access road to Surama as it has more shade. On the way we pass through the indigenous village of Surama which has some nice homes but very few with windows which are at a premium. We also stop for any interesting birds like a Dusky Purpletuft on a tree.
Today is a good day for birding with many birds visible both close to the road and further in the distance. Orioles and caciques are quite common but also many other birds that we and the group enjoy.
The road has shade, which is great, and while relatively busy everyone knows our guide and is willing to wait a bit if we see a bird that could get scared if a motorcycle or truck would pass it by.
Some of the special birds we see on this stretch are the beautiful Coraya Wren and the Pink-throated Becard, all visible due to the exceptional skill of our guides and sometimes tour mates.
As it gets dark we shift to look and listen for night birds. And our local guide hears a pauraque so there is excitement and with a bit of luck we even see it during a brief moment when it comes out near the road.
And then it is time to return to the lodge for dinner. After dinner we take a cold shower and then go to sleep with only the sound of the fan keeping us company. Well we keep the fan on both to cool the air and to drown out the sound from the neighbors phone that pings throughout the night and it is successful as we have a great night of sleep before waking at 5:30AM for another day of exploring near Surama.
