After breakfast we set off in the sunshine to find a trailhead, but instead found an excited group of birdwatchers. The centre of attention was a nesting pair of Resplendent Quetzals. We saw first the female, then the male pecking out rotten wood from a dead tree to make a nesting hole. Unfortunately too far away to get a good photo, but superb sights through our binoculars.
Although the trail we found wasn't the one we were searching for, it was superb. It wound through sunlit primary forest with high oak trees shading an understory of palms and other vegetation to a secluded waterfall.
After lunch we eventually found the trail we had tried to find in the morning.
We passed a trout farm where the water boiled with fish as they were fed.
Then via a waterfall caused by a giant boulder blocking the river to a twisting path along the steep riverside with fixed ropes to guard against falling. It was like an adventure playground for grown-ups.
The path traversed various steel bridges and steps, some with mesh treads, some with holes where the mesh had been.
At one point a rickety suspension bridge crossed the river, and eventually we clambered down boulders with the aid of fixed ropes to admire a magnificent waterfall.
And back to see the quetzals ( or 'pretzels' as Mrs Malaprop sometimes calls them) as daylight faded. It was a superb day.
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