Costa Rica
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Just visited the township, M. Had to have a fresh Coco Loco. Mrssf went for the unadulterated one, both tasted good! Very interesting community, lots of shacks, shops and street vendors but no hassle. At the end of the town we turned and walked through the school yard, children playing all in their very smart uniforms, teachers kicking back watching over them, they are very used to the tourists. Here we turned on to the beach and back to the lodges. Saw Frigate Birds, Royal Terns and some small strikingly blue finch like birds, wrens and yellow flycatchers which I must identify later. The wifi is very slow so and once I've downloaded photos and changed their size I will post them.
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Just a few snaps to test my posting capability. Such a fabulous day in the canals of Tortuguero. These are not really canals, not man made but a delta which comes together again as a single river which then empties into the Caribbean Sea. In past decades small ares were logged but much of the primary forest still exists. Even the logged areas, were not cleared totally, have regenerated themselves into secondary rain forest once more. The abundance of wildlife is incredible.
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Great pictures, micky - those are the Montezuma birds aren't they? We saw them but not perching long enough to get any decent pictures, but they're very colourful - and noisy! Glad the trip's going well so far - lots to look forward to. Have you got your name down for that zip lining yet?
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They are, M. They build pendulous nests and the social finch also takes up residence at the bottom of this. What a noise they make, if anything sounds like it should live in the jungle this bird does. Similar to that sound made by members of the oriels. Today we saw toucan, trogons, motmots and several kinds of tanagers. Such colourful birds all of them. Spotted that Swift Tailed Kite too you mentioned M, like a ballet dancer in the air. I'm in awe wherever I look!
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Yes, it's an amazing country for wildlife, isn't it?
What's on the agenda next - Monteverde? If you get chance while you're there, walk up the (very steep) hill next to El Establo to the humming bird feeding station which is worth half an hour of anyone's time!
(If you're not staying at El Establo, you could always pretend you are and get the hotel's shuttle bus up there!
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Tomorrow we move on to the Arenal Volcanic National Park. Today we have visited a traditional farmstead. I was a little dubious about this but it turned out to be a most informative and enjoyable experience. We learnt about traditional and modern day farming methods, about bananas, pineapples and coffee. We also heard about how the modern day Socialist Republic of Costa Rica has opted to transform itself into the most eco friendly agricultural and social society in the Americas. The Ricans are extremely proud of their nation, low unemployment, very high rates of literacy, medicare for everyone, pensions, etc. Like the farm we visited the majority of them are members of cooperatives. As well as selling their produce through markets, both local and abroad they also trade their produce with others in their communities who can provide skills or materials etc they need. The government even encourages and provides incentives for this. However, like all countries, including Blighty, it is not without problems mind but in the international league table for happiness, Costa Rica always appears in the top few.
Unfortunately, my iPad is playing up as far as photos are concerned, it tells me it's a memory issue. I'm trying to sort that out, any ideas? I've Deleted User aload but to no avail.
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Part sorted the photo issue. Here are a few to be going on with.
Just for fun here is another example of Costa Rican humour. Our tour guide comes out with these all the time!
"Two hunters are out in the jungle when one of them collapses. He doesn’t seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed. The other guy whips out his phone and calls the emergency services. In panic he gasps, “My friend is dead! What can I do?”
The operator says “Calm down. I can help. First, let’s make sure he’s dead.”
There is a silence, then a shot is heard. Back on the phone, the guy says “Okay, now what?
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iPad?, do you back up to the cloud?, that usually eases space issues. Unlike with Android that has expandable storage the iPad has what you started with ie 8/16/32gb etc memory but once it’s full it’s full. Apple usually offers more cloud space(to rent) as an answer Mickey Boy👍🏻
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Today we are moving into the Aranal. Really looking forward to this as many are telling me that the bird life here is second to none. Hard to imagine as so far I've been amazed with new species just about everywhere I turn my head. The photo below shows a brown pelican, Royal terns, swallow tailed gulls and an anhinga all balancing on the log. Just above them and out of shot was an osprey and a huge kite.
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OP, I use the cloud space to enable a complete back up in case of complete loss of iPad or functionality. I have a lot of things on my pads/tabs I’d hate to lose. The cloud gives me that security & peace of mind👍🏻
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I’ve considered the 1-2 T/byte external hard drives as an extra back up😨 I’m beginning to realise I’m obsessed with retaining my pics etc😂😂
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Today we leave the Manoa hotel complex and l'm just waking up to a cacophony of weird and exotic sounds, what a treat. Monkeys & birds all contributing and competing in this dawn chorus the likes of which I've never witnessed before. Wish I could sample it and post on here.
The volcano which dominates the area has remained shrouded in mist during our stay and although we were drenched whilst walking on its slopes it was a marvellous experience. We took the 1968 trail, m.This time the flora was the star of the show with orchids, countless other flowers and plants to wonder at. Once again, our guide was a wealth of information regarding these telling us of the uses made of them by both native and modern people and the inter tangled relationships between the plants and amimals that live here. I'll spare you his worst joke yet!
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It just gets better.
Just out of interest whilst out on the road we've spotted 6 motorhomes, one French, one Spanish one Mexican three USA, not one caravan! The family in the van in the photo were very interesting to talk too, goggle the webpage on the side of the van.
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Arrived at the Monteverde Lodge late yesterday afternoon. The scenery, and flora is very different again here. As for spotting birds, m, I think it's more to do with having other avid bird/nature lovers with you, lots of eyes are better than 'one' as they say, also our guide really knows his stuff and the places to go. He is in constant contact with his colleagues even when out in the 'field' when rarities are showing, I'm amazed at then phone coverage here, even when deep in the jungle. Having said that on no occasion have we have seen other groups whilst in the 'field' and it never seems like we are really 'chasing' the encounters. Saw an agouti, it's like a large guineapig, wandering around the grounds of the hotel but the light was very poor for photos. Yes, brue, that toucanette and his beak has been the star of my week.
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It is with great regret, m, that due to circumstances beyond my control I have been unable to partake in that zip wire activity.
However, I am delighted to announce that during this morning's walk in the cloud forest, not one but two of our main objectives for this holiday were realised. Firstly was to experience a cloud forest. Secondly, since I was a boy I have always wanted to see one particular bird of Central America. This desire was first kindled by a birthday present, given to me when aged about seven years old, by my parents. This was a large and heavy book entitled 'Birds of the World' which I treasured and poured over for countless hours. In this book were many exotic birds but none more so for me than the elusive Quetzal. Today, on our last official excursion that 'Eldorado' of my birding ambition was achieved. Although I didn't spot it first, I'm indebted to one of our fellow party members who did, I managed to get several photos and I'm utterly and completely stoked.
Tomorrow the group spits up and will go their own ways to relax at various hotels across the Pacific Ocean coast prior to flying back home to England in five days time. However, tonight we will all meet up for a 'last supper' where we will toast the flora & fauna of this wonderful land, the varied countryside that is Costa Rica, the friendly folk who live here, our tour guide and our newly created memories. One memory for me of course will be that very Quetzal for being so obliging, that bird I'd only ever seen printed on that page of my treasured book which has made an 'old' man very happy.🤗
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Fantastic sighting of the Quetzal, micky - we weren't lucky enough to spot one although I was talking to a guy at the airport on the way home who'd seen and photographed them.
Our highlights were probably the Jabiru amongst a large group of wood storks and the swallow tailed kite.
It's a fantastic country for wildlife, isn't it? Folk keep asking us since we've been back "will you go again?". Well, we'd love to but sadly probably won't as returning to the same country over and over again is not for us. But we'll have wonderful memories of the place.
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Well, as mentioned, we are now on our own and making our way down to an hotel on the Pacific Coast of CR. It's a five hour journey. Here we will relax and chill out for five days after this action packed tour we have experienced. The hotel we will be staying at is inside an other national park so hopefully the wildlife will come to us from now on. Here are a few photos taken at stops on the way down from the high cloud forrest volcanic mountains of Monteverde.
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