Costa Rica

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Quebrada Ganado

Monday



(We lost Internet for most of the day yesterday.)



The people here are very friendly and helpful. Yesterday when we got into Quebrada Ganado, we needed groceries and a taxi. Bob talked to a young man on the corner who called a cab for us. As we were waiting for the cab with our bags by the grocery store, another young man asked if we needed help. The cab driver was also very helpful.



At 6am today I heard the red macaw's "caw". Went outside to look and saw two fly over the swimming pool. I later saw two fly over the ocean. They have a very distinctive sound. Took some walks early in the morning before the heat set in. We walked along the beach, past a few shacks and tents with people camping out. We reached the estuary where the river and ocean meet, and saw two fishermen just taking their boat and motor out. We asked them if there were big fish in the river, but they said only small ones.



The hotel here (Villas Majalana) is so peaceful and quiet. Many yellow butterflies fluttering around, doves cooing, many western tanagers in the trees and on the power lines, and a blue hummingbird on a palm tree flower. Heard a big commotion in a tree across the road, saw a big iguana being chased down the tree by a smaller one. The big one lost his grip and fell to the ground. I went over to investigate, but he was again crawling up the tree, seemingly unharmed.



A young man came by bicycle to clean the pool this morning. Each cabana has a broom on the patio. Good idea, because leaves are always falling off the trees. This place is owned by Priscilla and her family, who live a short distance up the road. She is extremely helpful and friendly. We asked for some suggestions for good bird watching, and she gave us a couple of areas within walking distance.



Later in the afternoon we took a swim in the pool. So relaxing. We later followed one of Priscilla's suggestions to find the macaws. We followed the road about 1km, found a sign in the middle of nowhere, then found the tree across the street from the sign. There is a hollow area way up high in the tree where the macaw lays her eggs. We heard some macaw calls, hung around for quite a while, but didn't see her. We will maybe try again tomorrow. On the way back, we stopped for dinner on the beach at Restaurant Agujas. Excellent garlic fish and shrimp, very reasonable prices.



Looking forward to another day of adventure tomorrow.

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