My plans for the month of August are a bit more fluid; I expect, after a couple of days getting organized in Panamá City, to head west to Chiriquí Province, the most mountainous region in the country. After a brief stay in the western capital of Davíd I'll head north to the lovely town of Volcán, then hike across the Sendero Los Quetzales to Boquete. I'll likely spend a few days in Fortuna, on the Continental Divide en route to the Caribbean, and I plan to join a team of ornithologists from Colombia doing research near Changuinola, in Bocas del Toro Province. I'll then fly across the whole country to Sambú, in Darién Province, where I'll stay at a relatively-new lodge, the Sambú Hause (webiste here). Finally, I'm joining Audubon Panamá again for a field trip to Las Islas Frailes del Sur, a rocky set of islands off the southern coast of Los Santos Province, the southernmost part of Panamá. All of this is rather fluid, of course, but I plan to do my best to keep my Current Trip Page updated with my progress. Check below regarding my mid-summer detour to Trinidad and Guyana.

On July 24th I'll be stepping away from Panamá for a couple of weeks to check out the birds of Trinidad, and then onwards to Guyana. I've been to Trinidad before, as part of my Caribbean Odyssey in July of 2001. I decided to spice things up by inviting a friend to come along as my treat. Harmodio (Moyo) Rodríguez of El Valle de Antón, Panamá will be joining me; Moyo is a birding guide for the Canopy Lodge, a dear friend, and fine birding company- when we work together we always seem to find something out-of-the-ordinary. This will be Moyo's first trip outside of Panamá, so he is justifiably excited. We'll be staying at the world-famous Asa Wright Nature Centre for four nights, and I expect that we will have a grand time. Asa Wright was kind enough to offer Moyo a complimentary stay as part of my nascent "Guides Exchange" program, whereby local guides at birding lodges would be offered free stays with their sister lodges to broaden their knowledge. I am most gratified by this gesture on behalf of the Asa Wright Nature Centre.

On July 28th I'll be headed to Guyana (formerly British Guyana), the only English-speaking country in South America. This sparsely-populated country (fewer than one million people in an area twice the size of New York State) has recently begun to recognize the potential for the benefit of an eco-tourism industry. After a brief stay in the capital city of Georgetown I'll be moving on to the well-regarded Iwokrama Rainforest Center. After a few days at their main lodge they'll ship me off to their Canopy Walkway, a network of suspended bridges laid almost 100 feet of the forest floor. From there I will enjoy a brief stay in the Guyanan savannah at Rock View Lodge, a fine lodge run by an ex-pat Brit. I expect to find an extraodinary array of South American birds at all of these locations. Finally I'm back to Georgetown for a couple of nights at the lovely El Dorado Inn, taking a little time to see the city and to visit the local Botanical Gardens. Keep your eyes on these pages for a special journal regarding this trip to northern South America.