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Central America Caribbean » Costa Rica » Limón February 4th 2020

After everyone boarded our floating city in Cristobal, our mighty vessel sailed onward to our next port: Limon, Costa Rica. Here all of our group ventured off (except for Sam) to ride the rail into the banana plantations. Some of us took the early morning ride, others selected the afternoon tour. Our initial transportation was on a big bus. Our tour guide was Rosie. She was most knowledgeable and kept us informed about all the sites as we traveled. ??The wheels of the bus go round and round?. Where’s Judy when we need the full rendition? Leaving the town, we ventured deep into the Rain Forest on the bus. Bumpy! Bumpy! BUMPY! The narrow, dirt road was a mass of deep ruts, deep ridges and bottomless potholes. At least you couldn’t get a blood clot with ... read more
Colon, Panama
Riding the bus - Rosie our guide
Sites in Limon

Central America Caribbean » Costa Rica » Puntarenas » Quepos February 4th 2020

We headed out today on the last leg of our journey across Costa Rica. This time to the west coast and the Pacific Ocean. We were traveling to the area of Manuel Antonio National Park staying just outside the park at the Shanna by the Beach Hotel. Our first stop as we left Monteverde was to allow 13 of our fellow travelers to switch to another bus as they were ending their time in Costa Rica and returning to San Jose. That left 25 of us to continue on to Manuel Antonio. This stop was a cafe and convenience store along the Pan-American Highway. The store had beautiful carved decorations. Our next stop was a Jaco Beach where we had time to get lunch, to walk on the beach and to sit along a little stream ... read more
Iguana Planter
Fred and the Macaw planter
Crocodiles from the bus


We had decided that it would be in our best interest to not go zip lining or hike to cross the Hanging Bridges, so after breakfast at the hotel we hopped on a shuttle that runs within the hotel to go up to the canopy. Up at the canopy we hoped to see some different birds as there are birds that only live in the high elevations. Upon arriving at the canopy, the young man working there noticed our cameras and set about refilling the hummingbird feeder. As soon as he replaced the feeder, a variety of hummingbirds appeared. Sometimes as many a five at a time. Christian then came out and started looking with us to find other birds in the trees. After a time, he suggested that he might know where we could find ... read more
DSC03806 green hummingbird
Violet Sabrewing
Green Violetear


We awoke again to overcast skies and the volcano was not visible. At breakfast we again looked for birds at the feeder. There were not as many as yesterday and no new species. Today was a travel day with a hike into Arenal Lake before moving on to Monteverde and the cloud forest. The "hike" was along a paved trail through the rain forest. We had a brief glimpse at a peccary that did not stay around long enough for a photo. Leafcutter ants were in abundance, but birds were scarce. I had one quick look at a woodcreeper. The lake hosted a couple of Muscovy Ducks. As we returned to our bus, the rain forest lived up to its name with a cloud burst of rain as we hustled up the trail. Back on the ... read more
Scarlet-rumped Tanager
Female Scarlet-rumped Tanager
Rufous-tailed Hummingbird

Central America Caribbean » Costa Rica » Alajuela » Arenal February 1st 2020

The day started with breakfast at the hotel where they provided great bird photo ops by feeding the birds just outside the dining room. Guans, tanagers, woodpeckers and honeycreepers came to eat. We were hoping that the day would be clear and the volcano fully visible, but clouds quickly covered the top allowing only a brief glimpse at the top. The day was scheduled to be a free day with an optional boat tour in the Cano Negro National Park near the border with Nicaragua. We chose to do the optional tour for the chance at more wildlife photography. We first had about an hour and a half bus ride to reach the park. After arriving we boarded a nice catamaran with plenty of room to walk about and get photos of the wildlife along the ... read more
Arenal Volcano
Wren
Seedeater

Central America Caribbean » Costa Rica » Alajuela » Arenal January 31st 2020

We were now traveling from San Jose to the area of the Arenal Volcano that erupted suddenly in 1968 after being dormant for hundreds of years. Its last activity was in 2010. On our way we stopped at Sarchi, an artisan shop, where we had a chance to see the art work created and buy some locally made crafts. From there we continued on to Zarceri where we stopped at the San Rafael Church and its Topiary Garden. The church was simple inside and the topiaries were interesting. Around noon we stopped at Cuidad Quesada for lunch at Pizza Hut. After eating we walked into the Cathedral while we were here. Again the church was very simple compared to other cathedrals we have visited. Our final stop was in La Fortuna, a village that was spared ... read more
Grasshopper from the bus window
Largest Ox Cart
Inside the San Rafael Church


As I mentioned earlier there was no glass in the windows of our room only screen, so when the Howler Monkeys became vocal in the morning, the noise was not muffled. They started in at 5 am which ended my sleep for the night. As it got lighter outside, I got dressed and decided to look for the monkeys. At the next building there were several people with cameras pointed to the trees. In the trees were monkeys, but they were Spider Monkeys not Howlers. I have no idea where the noisy ones went, but the Spider Monkeys were putting on a show as they ate on the fruit of the tree. In addition to the monkeys, birds were flying into the trees to eat as well. I was pleased to see Montezuma Oropendulas and Collared ... read more
Collared Aricari
Sharing Breakfast
Spider Monkey


After breakfast in the Monkey Dining Room, we once again boarded a boat to explore the waterways of the Tortuguero National Park. Because of the diverse wildlife in Costa Rica, that tends to be the primary focus of any excursion. As we made our way along the waterway we watched for birds, monkeys, lizards, iguanas, and other animals that may be within sight. Toucans were high on the list of birds to see and we found three perched in a tree for our viewing. Other birds found on the trip were Tiger Herons, Green Herons, Egrets, Sungrebes and Anhingas. Larger animals included Howler Monkeys, Spider Monkeys and White-faced Monkeys. Iguanas and lizards were also along the river. We returned to the hotel for lunch and found a little White-faced Monkey playing in the tree right outside ... read more
Tropical Flower
Female Emerald Lizard or Jesus Christ Lizard
Keel-billed Toucan


Up and out by 6 am, we were on our way to Tortuguero. We left San Jose and crossed the mountains to the Caribbean. About half way into the drive we stopped for breakfast at a restaurant owned by the company that also owns the Evergreen Lodge where we were spending the next two nights. After eating breakfast we explored area around the restaurant and found a sloth resting in a tree and poison dart frogs along the ground. From the restaurant we continued on our way to the river at LaPavona where we boarded a boat to take us to our accommodations at the Hotel Evergreen. As we traveled to La Pavona we passed a number of banana plantations. The ride along the canal took about 1 1/2 hours as we watched for and photographed ... read more
Colorful wall in San Jose
White-winged Dove
Tropical Flower


We left this morning from Orange City, Florida to drive to Miami to catch our flight to San Jose, Costa Rica. The drive was uneventful and we arrived in time to pass through security with plenty of time before the first leg of the trip. We had a little over three hour flight to Panama City, Panama where we changed planes for an hour or so flight to San Jose. We were joining a tour with Gate 1 tour company and our ride to the hotel was waiting when we landed at 10 pm. After arriving at the hotel we organized our belongings as we were heading to Tortuguero in the morning and could only take a limited amount of luggage. Then it was off to bed for a little sleep before leaving at 6 am ... read more
Leaving Miami
Island below




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