The Shadow of the Guásimo Where the Birds Come to Rest

At a bend in the dirt road, Michel stopped for a moment and pointed: a medium-sized guásimo, its open branches spilling shade over a small bench someone had placed beneath it. The tree — Guazuma ulmifolia, known in these lands for its small fruits and resilient wood — stood alone against a cloudless blue sky, the low tropical undergrowth closing in behind it like a green curtain. Alejandro noted the location and the species, but what Michel wanted to record was something more than a tree: it was the place itself. He said that many birds perch there, that the view from that spot is beautiful, and he proposed it become an official rest or refuge point within the reserve. That day there were no birds to report — only the still guásimo, the cool shade, and the road pressing on ahead — but the point was logged at coordinates 10.4400°N, 75.2572°W, waiting its turn.