24 Mar 2024
5* for the hummingbirds. Incredible- so many different varieties within the one species, in one flower filled garden, near the top of the mountain.
2* for the owner and lecturer- and boy was I lectured at - and asked questions that I ( -who have been a university lecturer in my time-)felt stupid in his response to my wrong answers!
We assembled to hear the (1st!) lecture- ( yes sit on the right to watch the birds as others have suggested-) amazing information about hummingbirds- eg they can fly up down sideways backwards..) although in a didactic style with occasional picking on someone in the audience.
Then ..time to wander and observe what we’d heard,followed by a simple light lunch, soup, bread, salad.. and then the second lecture : projected images of different hummingbirds. All well and good until an hour later he’s still going strong and talking about the missing history and incorrect history of indigenous people - including his wife. I dared to suggest this was not relevant to the hummingbirds, but was assured it was - and half an hour later…we finally and hastily left.
The glow of seeing hummingbirds had faded into frustration with a man who did not respect me, my time or listen, but just barreled ahead with what is wrong with the world.. destruction of rainforests, warming seas.. treating His audience as if they were ignorant in such things. He was patronizing and condescending, not respecting any of the groups personal and relevant histories and stories.
Incidentally he said hummingbirds were actually aggressive and ‘angry’ birds - and I think he has picked that up in his manner.
Now I need to breathe….
Would I still have visited? Yes....BUT I urge you to tell your guide to rescue you after 3 hours- we left when he’d done, after 4 hours. Less is definitely more.
Our guide, / driver, Nick, was helpful - good driving, imparting information along the route and empathized about the host. He agreed he would speak to the host again- and rescue his clients another time!
PS for Theo : someone in the group of 6 of us had published books on indigenous people's, and another, 4 decades of experience working with such people and rainforest conversation, in development and relief contexts across the world.. you never asked and denied the validity of our experience to make it a reciprocal learning time.