My wife and I first landed and stayed the night were he lives in Alajeula, which is just North of San Jose. He lived in the traditional Central American way with extended family close by. I got to meet his grandmother and grandfather, uncle, aunt and of course his wife and child had a house there as well. Even before we left for our first "mini excursion" to the Arenal Volcano area, I was amazed at the amount of life I could see in his front yard alone. There were the most amazing caterpillars I have ever seen, moths, butterflies, dragonflies, damselflies, cockroaches (the BIG ones), spiders, all kinds of fruit trees and even a coffee plantation right across the street.
In Pablo's front yard. A Saddleback Caterpillar, which turns into a dull brown moth.
La Fortuna, Arenal Volcano
The first four days of our vacation we were in La Fortuna, Costa Rica. This is a tourist town NE of Costa Rica's most currently active volcano, Volcan Arenal. In the late 1960's there was some major eruptive activity around here and pyroclastic flows blanketed a small town. One of our guides told us some of the horror stories passed down from that dreadful day. The volcano still has regular bouts of activity in the form of lava flows and fumaroles. We were unable to see any lava at night, however, it is regularly observed in the evening and night hours.
The first four days of our vacation we were in La Fortuna, Costa Rica. This is a tourist town NE of Costa Rica's most currently active volcano, Volcan Arenal. In the late 1960's there was some major eruptive activity around here and pyroclastic flows blanketed a small town. One of our guides told us some of the horror stories passed down from that dreadful day. The volcano still has regular bouts of activity in the form of lava flows and fumaroles. We were unable to see any lava at night, however, it is regularly observed in the evening and night hours.
We stayed at the Hotel Los Lagos, which I would highly recommend as a GRADE A stay in Costa Rican terms (~$100/night just outside of La Fortuna). The first full day we did a hanging bridges tour in some primary and secondary rainforest. Our guide, Gabriel, was really knowledgable and passionate about guiding and birding. He was around my age and I could tell he was still learning the amazing amount of floral and faunal diversity of his amazing country. We saw quite a few birds on the hike, including: Black-cowled Oriole, Crested Guan, Black-cheecked Woodpecker, Long-tailed Tyrant, Great Kiskadee, Turkey and Black Vultures, Broad-billed Motmot, Montezuma Oropendola, Keel-billed Toucan and Stephanie, a pet Blue and Yellow Macaw at the front office of the park. Gabriel had said that his favorite bird he has seen there thus far is the Ornate Hawk-Eagle (which we didn't see).
We saw two polymorphs of the Eyelash viper, one solid yellow and the other green, brown, black and red (below left). Several other lizards were seen and even a wild Strawberry (Bluejeans) frog (also below right).
Orange-chinned Parakeets
.JPG)
Crab Eating Raccoon
Female ctenosaur
We saw two polymorphs of the Eyelash viper, one solid yellow and the other green, brown, black and red (below left). Several other lizards were seen and even a wild Strawberry (Bluejeans) frog (also below right).
Another fun thing that happened was when Gabriel asked if we were suddenly able to smell a certain odor. We soon caught a sweet stench. He said it came from a Collared Peccary and if we were quiet enough it might cross our path. Sure enough, several eventually crossed our path and with them went the odor.
Other highlights from this first hike were the stunning vistas around the volcano and also views of the rainforest from the hanging bridges (as seen below).
On the way back to hour hotel I asked Gabriel if he knew where we could see any tree sloths. He knew of an area where there had been a couple earlier that week. Sure enough there were two Brown-throated Three-toed sloths. He even used a spotting scope and my camera to get some really close pictures. Not the best quality, but extremely impressive nonetheless.
A view of Arenal Volcano during another tour with the RedLava company. I would highly recommend this tour as you see the volcano and get to hike near it, see rainforest, a highly popular waterfall (get ready for volcanic mud masks - free) and the highlight being a long swim in a thermal river!
Santa Elena, Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve
Our next destination was the cloud forests around the town of Santa Elena. We took the popular "taxi-boat-taxi" trip that consisted of three parts. The first taxi, a regular minivan, picked us up at our hotel and took us to Lago (Lake) Arenal. We then boarded a flat-bottom passenger boat and took that across the lake. It was very scenic as there were stunning views of the volcano and the surrounding hillsides.
After being dropped off at the southern edge of the lake we loaded up our luggage into a 4-wheel drive minivan. The next couple hours was on some narrow dirt roads through some pretty rugged terrain. There was some excellent scenery of mountain valleys that had been cleared for cattle farming. One final (of many) steep ascents took us into the town of Santa Elena. We were dropped off at our hotel, the Monteverde Inn, a quaint yet comfortable place surrounded by its own trails of secondary rainforest. In fact, over the next couple days I saw and photographed several birds just outside of our hotel room. These included: Dusky-capped Flycatcher, Yellow-throated Euphonia, House Wren, Red-billed Pigeon, Black Guan and Great-tailed Grackle. Also noticed was the abundance of moth species I could see at day and especially active at night. Costa Rica boasts 1,500 species of butterflies and it is thought there are as many as ten times that amount of moths! Next time I go to Costa Rica I am definitely bringing a large white sheet for insect photography at night.
Being first time tourists of Costa Rica we found out some things the hard way. The time I had scheduled to see Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve was from around 12 PM to 4 PM. This is the time of day when the clouds roll in from the Pacific side and drench the forests. As a matter of fact, in the rainy season (from around April to October, we went in June) it rains in the forests almost every day between 11:30 AM to around 3 PM. Needless to say, my wife and I got really wet as we had one umbrella. I was able to get some really neat photos of what the cloud forests looks like during this time. During these rainy periods are when cloud forests live up to their name. A hike up to the continental divide provided something akin to looking into the cloud point blank. Next time I visit Monteverde I am going to get up around 5 AM, get a good bird guide and go from there.
Trail near entrance of Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. Before the rain came!
Clouds sweep through the forest and it started to rain. Afternoon rains are typical almost every day during the rainy season.
An oak tree covered with epiphytes at Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve.
What was perhaps most disappointing about the time I chose our hike was that we did not see any birds. They were all hidden and sheltered during this time. Next time I go I hope to see and photograph the Resplendent Quetzal. I will definitely get a guide for this species. They are well worth the money spent to even get a small glance at them.
Not all was lost though! As we were waiting for our taxi to come back and pick us up we ran into a hummingbird feeder setup outside of the visitor's center. It was here we saw around half a dozen or so species of hummingbirds. In a bush close by was another variant of Eyelash viper - green!
Purple-throated Mountain-gem female
Green-crowned Brilliants (three in foreground from right)
Green Violet-ear (on right)
Green Violet-ear (far left), two Green-crowned Brilliant females (next two from left), two Purple-throated Mountain-gem females (next pair from left, center and center right), Green-crowned Brilliant male looking back at a blurred Purple-throated Mountain-gem male
Two Purple-throated Mountain-gem females (center and center right, notice the white eye lines)
Purple-throated Mountain-gem male (far right, notice iridescent green/blue crown and purple/reddish gorget)
Juvenile Violet Sabrewing male
Violet Sabrewing male (previous three photos, notice the deep iridescent purplish shades of color, amazing)
Green-crowned Brilliant (at right, left lateral view)
Purple-throated Mountain-Gem female
Green Eyelash viper near the hummingbird feeders. Probably waiting for one to mistakably perch in its bush.
We also did quite a bit of free hiking near the Monteverde Inn. The trails near the hotel were secondary growth forest. A little history about this kind of forest.
Around 40-50 years ago, Ticos (native Costa Ricans) had been clearing much of the forests for coffee plantations, banana plantations and cattle farming. As much as 50% of Costa Rica's rainforests were cut down for these purposes up until the late 1960's. Around the late early 1970's pro-environment movements began to organize and even gain some political power. Ecotoursim was eventually born in Costa Rica and it has helped protect nearly 25% of its wild places and regenerated places up till the present day.
Secondary forest have been regenerating for around half a century. They are absolutely full of birds, mammals, insects and various flora. There were even some areas that were designated as banana growing areas and the bananas are still cultivated by locals. Perhaps one of the best moments we had hiking here was when my wife and I intercepted a moving group of about half a dozen White-faced Capuchins. They first came crashing through the forest to stop at a 300 year old strangler fig we were soon also admiring. They were hard to see as the forest was really misty, however, I was able to capture a few images of them.
Silhouette of a White-faced Capuchin
Me by a really old strangler fig tree.
The first night we were there we did a guided night hike on the trails near Monteverde Inn. Our guide, Fabian, was just out of school and was very knowledgable about the nightly activity in the forest. You could tell he was a budding biology student with a large vocabulary of terms. Highlights of the night tour were walking alongside White-nosed Coatis and Agoutis. Coatis are related to racoons and Agoutis are large rodents the size of a small dog. Also seen were many large insects including: walking sticks, tarantulas, giant wolf spiders and leaf-cutter ants. I would highly recommend a guided night hike and especially a guided one as in some areas we were warned not to walk towards because of very steep cliffs in the vicinity!
Someone on the hike actually stepped on this poor guy. : ( We nonetheless marveled at him for a few minutes and then let he or she go. It appeared to be some type of katydid with abdomen shaped exactly like a dead leaf This type of biological camouflaging is known as "cryptic mimicry".
Walking Stick on Maglite. I believe Fabian said that this one was a male. The females are much, much larger.
Wolf Spider...much larger than my hand!
Jenny looking up into a several hundred year old strangler fig.
A photo up into the center of the strangler fig tree.
A quick story about the life cycle of the strangler fig. The strangler fig is an amazing species of flora in the rainforests. The reason that the previously depicted stangler figs were still standing is actually a good one. Those who initially cut down the virgin forests had respect for these trees due to their tremendous size. Many of the secondary forests have these monstrous old trees scattered throughout. They are the trees that have the giant buttress roots, of which some can become much taller than a human. Now for the story about their life cyle.
A bird or mammal will eat the figs of this tree and digest the fruit, however, not the seed inside. Instead of being digested, the seeds get defecated onto the branch of a large tree species. Once the fig seed is defecated onto a branch it will soon sprout and its roots will penetrate the bark of the host tree. It then spends the next phase of its life as a vine that slowly entangles and "strangles" its way around the entire host tree. The vines get thicker and more massive and eventually grown together to become one large solid wood organism. Eventually, the host tree inside dies and decomposes and what is left is the late stage adult form of the fig. The previous photograph depicted shows the perspective of looking up into the cavity where the host tree used to exist. There are some fig trees in Costa Rica where you climb up into the inside!
The last early morning at the Monteverde Inn I took one more hike by myself. It was an amazing experience and my goal was to be absolutely as quiet as possible in hopes to get a good feel for how much life there was around me. Not long into my hike I ran into the group of White-nosed Coatis my wife and I had seen with the night hike group around 12 hours before. There were around 25 of them in total and they were all up in the top of the trees. Most of them paid no attention to me as I approached, however, there was one that appeared upset over the fact I was getting so close. Others were fighting near me as if I were just another tree in the forest. There were tiny babies that scurried through the branches and they were REALLY cute. I stood there and followed them through the forest for about 20 minutes and then moved on to a different area.
Birds that I saw on this morning hike included: Emerald Toucanet, Blue-crowned Motmot and Golden-browed Chlorophonia (endemic to Costa Rica and Western Panama).
Blue-crowned Motmot, I also saw the Broad-billed Motmot (blurry depiction below) in the Arenal Area
The one Coati in the group who appeared to mind my presence.
Next time I am in the Santa Elena area I plan on two good FULL days. There are a couple other cloud forest reserves in the area including the Children's Eternal Rainforest. The town of Santa Elena itself looks like it is worth a visit.
Pics from the trails near Monteverde Inn (secondary growth rainforest)
After visiting Monteverde, my wife and I took a bus back to Alajuela and stayed with my friend and his family for a night. It was nice to get back to Pablo's and we were excited to spend the next few days with them. I was able to get another quick photo shoot in his front yard before we left for Manuel Antonio.
Pixie
Yojoa Hairstreak
That next day we drove to Quepos, the town right outside Manuel Antonio National Park. The ride down was really nice as we were on portions of a brand new highway (portions toll). After a couple few hours we were on the beach right outside the park. Pablo said that the beach was much more dirty and developed since the last time he had seen it. There were all sorts of restaurants, souvenir shops and nearby hotels. We spent that evening on the beach just hanging out and talking. The beach was full of people doing all sorts of things. Horseback riding, parasailing, swimming, surfing and sun bathing to name a few. There were also Orange-chinned Parakeets in the palm trees above us.
Someone preparing a parasail with Costa Rican flag in the background.
Orange-chinned Parakeets
That night we stayed at a place called Hotel Mimos. It was $40 and was really, really nice. The next day we got up early and visited the popular Manuel Antonio National Park. It was Pablo, my wife and I that took this hike. We entered the park and did a some hiking on our way to the beaches. Although we did not have a guide, we saw a lot of stuff. It was here that I realized the importance of having a paid guide!
We loosely trailed a group that had a guide and were able to "follow up" on what they were seeing. I wouldn't recommend doing this too much because it is a little rude and most of the guides are local and it is their livelihood. Next time I am in Costa Rica I will 100% get a guide for hikes through any national parks or reserves.
I was able to see several frogs and some amazing caterpillars because of the guide we were "following". I was amazed at the number of terrestrial crabs and lizards we were also able to see. I did not see many birds, however, I am sure that would have been a different story with a guide. After some hiking we treated to the beautiful beaches of this park. On the beach we saw a species of raccoon called the Crab Eating Raccoon that is a specialist (obviously eating crabs). It was much moe gracile then the common raccoon.
On the hike out of the park our collective highlight was definitely watching a Golden-mantled Howler Monkey eating fruit out of a tree. It was a male and he had climbed out onto the terminal end of some branches that were dangling near the trail. After watching the howler for a bit we exited the park via taking off our shoes and crossing a small stream, which lead out into the ocean. I would highly recommend Manuel Antonio as it is not overwhelming or big, it is easy to navigate and it can be done in a few hours. I would recommend about 5-6 hours if you really like to explore.
We loosely trailed a group that had a guide and were able to "follow up" on what they were seeing. I wouldn't recommend doing this too much because it is a little rude and most of the guides are local and it is their livelihood. Next time I am in Costa Rica I will 100% get a guide for hikes through any national parks or reserves.
I was able to see several frogs and some amazing caterpillars because of the guide we were "following". I was amazed at the number of terrestrial crabs and lizards we were also able to see. I did not see many birds, however, I am sure that would have been a different story with a guide. After some hiking we treated to the beautiful beaches of this park. On the beach we saw a species of raccoon called the Crab Eating Raccoon that is a specialist (obviously eating crabs). It was much moe gracile then the common raccoon.
On the hike out of the park our collective highlight was definitely watching a Golden-mantled Howler Monkey eating fruit out of a tree. It was a male and he had climbed out onto the terminal end of some branches that were dangling near the trail. After watching the howler for a bit we exited the park via taking off our shoes and crossing a small stream, which lead out into the ocean. I would highly recommend Manuel Antonio as it is not overwhelming or big, it is easy to navigate and it can be done in a few hours. I would recommend about 5-6 hours if you really like to explore.
Terrestrial crab
The above small green lizard was a baby of the one depicted below. This was some particular species of ctenosaur, male shown below.
.JPG)
Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth
Playa Manuel Antonio
Crab Eating Raccoon
Brown Basilisk
Golden-mantled Howler Monkey
Female ctenosaur
Leaving Manuel Antonio
Two really cool things I remember in Quepos city limits were seeing Squirrel Monkeys and eating at the restaurant El Avion. Squirrel Monkeys are the more rare of the four monkey species one can see in Costa Rica. Seeing these helped us check off all four monkey species in the country.
The story behind El Avion restaurant is a little long to share on this post, however, I will put up a link to it below.
The story behind El Avion restaurant is a little long to share on this post, however, I will put up a link to it below.
Squirrel Monkeys crossing road via rope in Quepos.
Just outside El Avion Restaurant.
Costa Rica is definitely a paradise of all things flora and fauna. It offers the ease of travel and safety that most other Central and South American countries cannot. There are 890 recorded species of birds in this country, which is about the size of West Virginia. It also offers so much more for those who just want to get to a beach and relax with a drink in hand.
"Pura Vida" to you all, which is the Costa Rican motto meaning, "Pure Life".
No comments:
Post a Comment