I’m going to spend the entirety of this chapter talking about an amazing private nature reserve owned by the Berragán family on the banks of the Ariporo River on the plains of eastern Colombia…the Ecolodge Juan Solito. It’s located in the corner of a very large ranch, even by Colorado standards, the Hato la Aurora. Until recently the FARC guerrillas were operating in the area so tourism took a big hit. However, now it is safe. Cattle ranching and recent oil exploration are the economic drivers of the region.
The main town in this area east of the Andes is Yopal, nearly 6 hours away from Juan Solito by our reckoning, driving at fast but reasonable speeds, (they say they make it in 3…HA!) On the way in it took us far longer because we had to stop at every waterhole to gape at the astonishing birds and wildlife. It was March 16th, the end of the dry season, so the myriad little ponds were magnets for wild critters. In the wet season much of this area is under water with more wildlife that is probably more dispersed. Also with more mosquitoes no doubt.
The numbers of scarlet ibis, cattle egrets, lapwings, etc. stopped us in our tracks…over and over again.
Jabiru storks stroll in the shallow ponds.
Whistling herons were new.
Flowering trees anticipate coming rains.
The flowers close up.
Three species of ibis feeding together. Scarlet, Bare-faced, and Green.
And another kind, Buff-necked Ibis.
We had told them over a week ago that we were coming, but kept postponing because going was so slow and we wanted to see some other places on the way. When I finally did try to call to let them know we were coming, the phone we bought in Cartagena didn’t work…so we just drove there hoping they could take us. It took quite a few stops to ask directions (we didn’t have the good map above) and when we finally found it, off a nasty dirt road, there was a small sign, Reserva Casanare…not a single mention of Juan Solito! (a fictional name we were told later). To say their several kilometer driveway was challenging would be an understatement. In the wet it must be a slimy bog. In the dry, the ruts were abysses. We drove up to the lodge and the surprised looks of the staff were priceless. Julio later told us we were the first people to drive ourselves in. Fortunately, Juan, the supervisor, showed us our cabin and they fixed dinner for us and the staff that evening. We were the only guests. The night sounds were a treat.
The welcoming lodge.
In our cabin we had some friendly and not-so-friendly guests. I put the shower lurkers outside carefully.
Scorpion
Darling little frogs clung to the outside walls at night.
Centipede
The next day, Julio Berragán drove us on safari around the ranch. We stopped at several drying water holes and found very interesting wildlife. To give you an idea of the avian diversity, go to the eBird website and look for the Juan Solito hotspot. You will find a checklist for the property. On a recent global “big day” count, participants listed 313 species and that doesn’t include the non-avian wildlife. Here’s some of what we saw driving around the ranch.
Scarlet ibis teasing the black skimmers.
Little blue heron with some black vultures.
Egret, Roseate spoonbill, and Wood storks.
One of hundreds of common caiman, native to Central and northern South America. Some here may be the larger black caiman of the Amazon basin.
Capybaras are the largest rodents on the planet…up to 4 feet long and 150 pounds. The semi-aquatic capybara live in dense forests and savannas near water. The social species live in groups as large as 100 individuals, but usually 10–20. They provide an unending supply of nourishment for large cats in the area, as well as eagles and caiman. Found in Panama and every country in S. America except Chile.
Capybaras on the move.
On the ranch they raise a type of Brahma cattle bred to withstand high temperatures and dry conditions.
It’s not often cattle ranchers are singled out as responsible stewards of the land, but the Berragán family is an outstanding example. One brother, Nelson I gather, started the idea with his ecolodge, but it wasn’t long before the rest of the family decided preserving the land as a nature reserve was a splendid idea and put the entire ranch under sustainable management. Julio and his gorgeous wife were living near the lodge when we were there, while mother Ligia de Berragán and several more sons live in the manor house. 
Their house, surrounded by lush gardens, is low and sprawling with courtyards and many bedrooms for guests. Guests are treated royally and are apparently appreciated when one lives hours away from neighbors. We stopped at the main house for a gigantic lunch which we slept off under their shaded porch in hammocks while Julio and his brother Jorge talked business. Jorge is in partnership with Fundación Panthera, an organization dedicated to protecting big cats, especially jaguars (in Spanish it sounds like hogwars, which had me confused temporarily). The foundation tries to keep the cats’ corridor open from Mexico to Patagonia. Jorge keeps tabs on them with game cameras. They have seen many on the ranch. We only saw tracks.
Fresh jaguar track.
Jaguars captured on a ranch game camera.
I can’t complain about that though, we saw many other wonderful birds and animals.
Saffron finch.
Masked cardinal.
Water buffalo cool off in the last waterholes.
Savannah hawks.
Crested caracaras on dried out carcass.
Roadside hawk.
Green heron.
A Yellow-headed caracara uses the cattle as a perch.
Ibis take off en masse as we drive by. But my favorites were….
…the incredibly darling burrowing owls. even though we have them here…they are too cute.
Curious owlet.
Next morning we lazed about the ranch enjoying the nearby sights.
An Anhinga dries its wings along the Rio Ariporo. You can see how much higher the water gets in the wet season.
There is a large cacique colony just on the river’s edge.
Yellow-rumped cacique does his enticing mating dance. They are smaller relatives of the oropendolas we saw earlier on this trip.
Yet another type of ibis, the Sharp-tailed ibis.
A rescue deer makes friends with all the guests.
The lawnmower.
Bicoloured wrens are VERY vocal and common.
Oriole blackbirds are common here also. They are blackbirds, not orioles.
A Speckled chachalaca comes in for a banana treat.
A Cocoi heron wades in the river shallows.
A Pied lapwing strolls above the river.
Horned screamer, similar to the Northern screamer we saw earlier. They are uncommon now as they have been heavily hunted. However, on the ranch there are many.
Wattled jacanas are a common sight along water’s edge.
88 butterfly.
Iguana males fighting…really, see the video at the end of post.
Gorgeous green Iguana.
Lodge manager, Juan, took us on a nature walk on one of many trails from the lodge. We were so excited to see our first and only monkeys of the trip, a family of red howlers.
Bronzy jacamar.
Rufous-tailed jacamar.
Agouti – a large but not huge rodent like the capybara.
Venezuelan red howler monkey, young male.
Tree bark!
On the 18th a father/son pair with 2 nature guides arrived. One guide, Edgar, is a refugee nature guide from Venezuela trying to start over in Colombia. He speaks Spanish, English, French and Italian…a very interesting person. His ex-wife is starting a chocolate business in Colombia and I hope she contacted our friend Carlos from Landázuri. If anyone is interested in Edgar’s services, be sure to contact me and I’ll pass on the information. After dark his local partner from Yopal, Anton, found us a Southern Tamandua (anteater) and a flying Great Potoo .
At night the nocturnal animals come out such as this opposum.
Drove out mid-morning on the 19th, after watching a giant anteater saunter across the lawn and then saying our good-byes. The highways are lined with anteater crossing signs but we only saw this one, and considered ourselves lucky.
Giant anteater.
We were sad to leave such a wonderful reserve. I’ll leave you with one more capybara: the young ones are almost cute.
Young capybara.
Video of some of the sights follows. https://youtu.be/568VaN9FO5A