Costa Rica Part Five

On Sunday, we moved to our final destination in our Costa Rica adventure. We were headed to Monteverde in the mountainous cloud forest; home to over 3,000 plant species, 120 mammal species, 400 bird species, and 1,200 species of amphibians and reptiles. Our trip began with another boat ride across Arenal Lake.

There were many egrets along the shore.

These black birds were very noisy.

A howler monkey watching us go by.

This Green Heron was hiding in the weeds. Another beautiful bird.

We transferred from the boat to a van for a very interesting trip to Monteverde. The scenery as we headed up into the mountains was breathtaking. About two hours of the drive was on a gravel road with lots of rocks and potholes. The van was rattling so much, I was amazed it was still running. As our driver said, a free two hour massage.

We finally arrived in Monteverde and checked into our very nice hotel and spa. Much of what we saw in Costa Rica was very third world like, but some very nice hotels are scattered throughout some of the cities. Here's a look at the city of Monteverde. This was very typical of the housing we saw everywhere we went. Mostly tin and wood shacks. Some buildings are made with concrete block. As remote as most villages are, its surprising they are able to obtain any building materials.

There were lots of birds in the trees outside our hotel room. This is a Blue-crowned Motmot. It was absolutely beautiful!!!

This Emerald Toucanet had a nest in a hole in a huge tree outside of our room. I saw both of the adults, but did not see the babies.

There were also lots of hummingbirds flitting about in the flowering bushes outside of our room. It sure is hard to get a picture of one of them. There are fifty species of hummingbirds in Costa Rica, so I have no idea what type these were.

We went on a night hike at a nature preserve. The guide was masterful in finding wildlife for us to see. Up in the trees we saw a sloth, an anteater (this is very rare to see and the guides were super excited about it), a sleeping bird, and an olingo. I did not get pictures of any of them. After all, it was dark. The guide had a scope and flashlight, so we were able to see the animals quite well.

We saw this orange-kneed tarantula. I was happy to view it from a safe distance.

This is a poisonous side-striped palm pitviper. It blended in so well, but our guide found him for us to see.

We were already in the parking lot with our van waiting to take us back to the hotel. Our guide was saying goodbye to us when he heard a sound nearby. He said it was just too close to pass up, so we trekked down a nearby path until he found this mottled owl for us to see. The night hike was very cool.

Tomorrow I'll wrap up with our final day in Monteverde.

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

Costa Rica Part Four

We traveled from Tortuguero by boat, bus and van to Arenal, a volcano in the rain forest. Along the way we saw many pineapple fields.

 Unfortunately, the three days we were there were rainy, cloudy and foggy; so we never actually got to see the volcano. That doesn't mean we didn't have some fun adventures there. The first night we went to Tabacon Hot Springs Resort and Spa, where natural springs and pools of mineral waters run through the tropical forest. The hot springs river runs right through the resort. It was a very nice place.

The next morning we took a boat ride on Lake Arenal, a man made lake created by a dam which provides about 20 percent of the electricity for the country. Our destination was the Arenal Volcano National Park where we participated in a two hour guided hike. The scenery was beautiful even though it was quite cloudy. The rain held off until we were done with the hike.

We learned that most of the trees in the rain forest have plants growing on them. These plants don't harm or help the tree, they coexist. Here is a tree with many bromeliad plants growing on it.

Massive cane plants were growing along the side of part of the path.

At the end of the path, we were supposed to see the volcano. This day, we were only able to see about one-third of the bottom of it. Arenal Volcano is active, and has erupted as recently as 2010.  There are 112 volcanos in Costa Rica.

Here's what it looks like on a sunny day. Too bad we didn't get to see it in all its glory!

There were orchids growing throughout the rain forest. So beautiful.

On the boat ride back, we saw this group of black vultures hanging out on the rocks.

Back at the resort, we went for a swim and enjoyed the hot tubs and the pool bar. Here's the view from our balcony. On a clear day, the volcano is in the background.

This tree is called a traveler's palm. The fronds turn with the sun, helping travelers with direction. It looks like a giant fan.

There were so many birds in the trees on the grounds. I think this is a black-cowled oriole.

And this might be a yellow warbler. I really need a bird expert with me on these trips.

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

Costa Rica Part Three

On our last day in Tortuguero we traveled by boat to a sister resort and took a walk through the gardens and the rain forest. There were lots of howler monkeys climbing in the trees and on the roofs right in the resort. The hanging one had a baby on its back. They are the largest monkey species in America, and their sound can be heard for up to three miles away.

We saw many beautiful plants on our trip. Here are just a few.

This chameleon would have been pretty hard to find without the guide pointing it out.

There were a bunch of these spiders on the side of the porch of our cabin. Yikes!

Wooden carved benches with animals of the rain forest were all over the resort. They were absolutely beautiful.

The Capuchin monkeys are quite the pests at the resort. The bartender told us they steal the pineapple for drinks right off the bar top. These guys were enjoying their stolen pineapple in the bushes next to the bar.

And this fellow was looking for some loot in the garbage bin at the boat dock.

In the afternoon we took another boat to the small village of Tortuguero. It's hard to imagine how these people live in such a remote area. This was the hello at the boat dock.

This is the beach at the Caribbean Sea in Tortuguero, the Atlantic side of Costa Rica. Sea turtles come here to lay their eggs, but it was not the right season. It was pretty misty while we were in town, typical for this area.

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

Costa Rica Part Two

We arrived at the Evergreen Lodge in Tortuguero on Wednesday afternoon. After a quick lunch and dropping off our luggage in our room, we were scheduled for a two hour boat trip through the Turtuguero National Park. Our boat driver and guide did an excellent job of finding wildlife for us to see. We would have missed much of what they were able to find for us.

Tiger Heron

Kingfisher

White faced Capuchin Monkey

Sloth, can't remember if it's a two toe or a three toe

Anhinga

Iguana way up in a tree

Male Sloth (they have a stripe down their back)

Toucan

Another type of Toucan (there are 40 types)

Green Parrot

Howler Monkeys

Pretty amazing. We also saw Spider Monkeys, but was not able to get a picture. There are alligators in these waters. We saw a Cayman, a species of alligator I have never heard of, but again couldn't get a picture. 

As you can see from the pictures, the skies were cloudy. We were actually very lucky to not have rain on our first day in the rain forest. It rained quite a bit the rest of the time we were there. 

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!