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Thursday June 2
nd:
It was sadly the day to pull out from our lovely loft on the mountain top, overlooking the Whale’s Tail at Uvita. We all pitched in and got out by 9 am.
But we still had had plenty of time for birding!! In fact we picked up 3 more lifebirds this a.m.
Then, Great excitement – the well-paved road up the mountain that led to our terrible dirt road had been undermined by the 10 hours of rain (it stopped at 4:30 a.m.) and part of the road had dropped, and at least 4’ at the right edge had dropped even further. Crews were out already but what if we hadn’t been able to pass! We were happy to slow down as David was already trying to take a photo of the gray-headed kite on the roadway.
Our driver Gerardo was waiting for us, and we all piled in for a longer-than before drive to Monteverde – obviously a long-time place for vacations high up in the mountains. Gerardo said the road was only paved 3-4 years ago, and it was already in need of patching.
But on route we stopped for lunch
at the same place we saw the crocodiles on the way in. I had the traditional “Casado,” which means married because the salad, rice, black beans, vegetables and choice of meat go together so well and/or because it’s standard fare – can’t remember which. Oh yes, this time I also had some yucca strips, which tasted like huge Texas fries. Pops ice cream too – as promised to Daniel for finding David’s snorkel mask in the sea the other day.
The poor youngsters did not fare well in the back on the incredibly windy roads up the mountain (about 4500’) but we made it.
What did we see en route? Acres and acres of palm oil plantations and trucks carting big bundles of the red fruit and one ox pulling a cart inside the plantation; many beaches; many cebu cows (the ones with floppy ears that I swear look they are from India), and cemeteries that are not quite like the ones in Caymans, but also above ground.
Our accommodation here is a Bed and Breakfast. We each have our own bedroom. The bathroom situation takes some getting used to – no toilet paper please down the
toilet, just in the trash can. I hope we don’t get in the habit.
We had no sooner unpacked and settled in to enjoy the coffee pot on the outdoor veranda when the mist rose and engulfed us. The temperature was around 63 at that point. Then it rained, but was due to stop by the nighttime jungle walk.
We ate at the café a few doors down – quesadilla with chicken; hamburgers that the eaters said were excellent; and another one of the casados. There was only one man doing all the cooking by himself – so each table had a game on it – we played Uno.
At 7:40 we were picked up by a van for the night hike. Our guide pointed out a variety of katydids and stick-insects, leafcutter ant nests, a frog, praying mantis, 2 pale green vipers sleeping high in the trees, and even 2 sleeping motmot birds. It was misty and dark, with lots of steps up and down, but it was very interesting, and the guide sure knew his stuff. Now it’s 11 pm and sleepy me deserves a good rest!!
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