Project Asis & Arenal Hot Springs

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Project Asis & Arenal Hot Springs La Fortuna, Costa Rica

La Fortuna, Costa Rica

WARNING: this blog contains lots of detail about ants and wildlife!

This morning we got up early again for another bird-fest at the La Quinta bird feeder, but didn’t see anything new.

Leaf-cutter Ant Farm:

After breakfast we got a tour of an ant farm at the Inn, led by an employee who only spoke Spanish. So Rayner had to translate for us. But it was fascinating. He had set up three different colonies of leaf-cutter ants. It was very unique because we got to see all the leaf-cutter ant activities, from start to finish. In the forest, all you generally see are the lines of ants carrying leaves back to the nest, and then the entrance to the nest.

The colonies at La Qunita had buckets of fern-like plants where the worker ants went to cut off pieces of the leaves. So we actually got to see them doing that. Then there were a series of wood branches leading from the plants to the ant colonies, some of the branches twisting up and down and all around. And everything was set up on tables that had cups of water around the legs. This was so the ants couldn’t wander off the tables.

We learned that in the forest, the ants leave a trail of scented pheromones between the plant source and the colony. That’s how the ants know how to get back and forth. And when it starts to rain, the water washes away all the scents and the ants can’t find their way back. So they just drop all their leaves.

The colonies themselves were inside boxes, with a door on one side that opened to glass. There were a bunch of cylinders inside the box that contained the actual colonies. And interestingly, the ants don’t actually eat the leaves. They are really farmers. There is another type of ant that takes the leaves, chews them up into small balls, combined with their saliva, and this provides food for a fungus. It is this fungus that the ants eat.

Each colony also had an opening where the ants would carry waste. In the forest, this would include dirt they dig out to expand the colony, but also includes discarded fungus.

There was another type of ant inside the colony called a soldier ant. These were much bigger than the workers and farmers, and their job is to protect the colony and fight off any invaders. Our guide tapped on one of the colonies so that the soldiers would come out and see us. He talked about how strong their jaws are, and brought one out to demonstrate. He had it bight onto a wood stick and showed how the ant could hold it in its jaws. It was amazing.

The coolest thing we saw was an ant colony that was all contained in one box. There were different chambers for leaves, the colony, and waste. And we actually got to see the queen! I was amazed at how large she was.

Our guide also described how new colonies start. There is another type of ant with wings, both males and females (or “princesses” as our guide called them). They leave the colony, fly away to find each other, and then mate. The princesses take a bit of the colony’s fungus with them, in their mouths. And after mating, she finds a place on the forest floor to begin digging out a new colony. She then lays her eggs, and the new ants begin the process of going out to get leaves and grow the fungus. The new “queen” then spends the rest of her life inside the colony just laying eggs.

Project Asis:

After the ant tour, we headed out on the road again. We had a pit stop at Restaurant Las Iguanas, where there was a viewing deck to see some really big iguanas in the trees. But one of them had ventured onto the deck and was checking out the inside of a trash can. Very cool.

For lunch we stopped at Rancho Mi Tato, a small open-air restaurant right on the side of the road. I got the casado con pollo (with chicken) which was served on a banana leaf! It was good, although I was surprised the chicken was fried.

It was a short drive from the restaurant to our main destination for the day, Project Asis, another wildife sanctuary. This was a much more established place than the first sanctuary we went to. They had regularly scheduled tours and there another family that joined us and our guide Carlos. He was a great guide because he was really passionate about the animals, very excited to be talking to us, and it was very interesting to hear all his stories.

We started off visiting Perla the peccary, very similar to a wild boar. Carlos actually showed us how Perla had a scent gland, and sprayed some for us. It was not a pleasant smell. But Carlos said people still like to have peccaries as pets. I guess they get used to the smell, because the peccaries spray their territory regularly. And Carlos said the smell made it easy for the authorities to know which houses have peccaries.

Carlos also talked about how peccaries that are rescued can’t be returned to the wild. That’s because the peccaries live in families that have distinctive scents. That’s why they mark their territory. So if a rescued peccary was released in the wild, he would smell different than the existing families and would not be accepted. Instead, the sanctuaries provide a place for the peccaries to live out their lives.

Our next stop was to visit a blue macaw. Carlos had a lot of funny stories about how the macaws are monogomous and find a mate to spend their entire life with. He called them a “couple.” He said they can live to be 80-100 years old. He also pointed out that parrots are not monogomous, and mate with many different birds over their lives. But they only live 40-50 years. Coincidence?

Carlos also explained that macaws needing a “couple” is why people like them as pets. Because when a person has a pet macaw, the person becomes that macaw’s “couple”. Carlos said the bond of that “couple” is so strong, that if one bird dies, the other will lose interest in life and die soon after. He even claimed to have a person on the tour once with a pet macaw, and after hearing this story got worried about leaving the bird for two weeks. And after the person got home, he discovered the macaw had died. Not sure if that was really true, but it really brought home the point that macaws were not meant to be people’s pets. Or be in zoos. They belong in the wild, having the chance to find their true “couple”, and live out their life in the forest.

Carlos also talked about how it’s illegal for people in Costa Rica to own animals and birds native to Costa Rica. But it’s not illegal in the rest of the world’s countries. That’s why they’re so endangered. People can make a lot of money selling them on the black market for the pet trade. He also pointed out that it’s not illegal in Costa Rica to own animals and birds from OTHER countries. So the blue macaw at the sanctuary is completely legal to own in Costa Rica, but is highly endangered in the amazon.

This reminded me of the time I went to a zoo in Miami that had lots of tropical birds, including parrots and macaws. I remember at the time being amazed and excited to see all the beautiful birds. And my mom and I even bought a picture of us holding some macaws. But after Carlos’ stories, I actually felt ashamed of enjoying that experience. He made me realize that animals aren’t meant to be in captivity. I understand the reason for zoos, both to help preserve endangered species and to educate the large majority of people that will never have the chance to see them in the wild. But after realizing how much it really harms animal populations to take them out of their natural environment, it made me lose all interest in ever visiting a zoo again.

Back on the tour, we next visited two spider monkeys named Jessica and Hercules. Carlos explained how Costa Rica has four species of monkeys. Two of them, spider and squirrel monkeys are endangered, and the other two are not (howler and capuchin monkeys). Do I need to tell you why? You can probably guess. Spider and squirrel monkeys make great pets. They are both very loving and playful. Whereas the howler and capuchin monkeys are kinda mean, so no one wants them. But they are also very smart
. Carlos told a story about a place where a company started a river cruise, and would feed the monkeys from the boat. But the monkeys learned this, and started to come on the boat on their own and attack people, looking for food. They actually had to stop the boat tours.

Seeing Jessica and Hercules was actually one of the best parts of the tour. That’s because we each got a chance to hold Jessica’s hand. I couldn’t believe it. We’d actually already petted Perla the peccary, but I never imagined they would let us touch a monkey. I watched a few other people go before me. And then it was my turn. I was surprised at how incredibly soft Jessica’s hand was. And how much she was actually holding onto my hand. Even more surprising was that when I started to pull my hand away, Jessica didn’t want to let go. After that I completely understood why people want them as pets.

Our next stop was to see a boa constrictor. It was fairly small, and I remember Carlos told us some really interesting stuff about boa constrictors. But apparently it wasn’t interesting enough, because I can’t remember any of it now. What I do remember clearly is that Carlos brought the boa constrictor out of his box and was holding him while we was giving his talk. And after Carlos finished, he asked if anyone wanted to hold the snake, walked over to me, and just put him in my hands. It’s a good thing I wanted to hold it! I know I’ve touched a snake before, but I don’t think I’ve ever completely held one in my hands. It was really cool feeling it move over my skin. Mom also held the boa constrictor, but I was surprised when both Dad and Derek declined. I never realized they didn’t like snakes very much.

The rest of the tour went more quickly, with less stories. Or maybe just less memorable stories. We saw some red macaws, and a hybrid between the red and green macaws. I think the hybrids are even more valuable in the pet trade, but they’re sterile so they can’t really ever find a real “couple.” We also saw some coatis (kind of like raccoons, with a long snout and long upright tail). They are also very popular pets. Then there were many more spider monkeys and some capuchin monkeys. And last but not least, a beautiful ocelot.

Be thankful that I’m writing this almost two months later, because those last two paragraphs probably would have been at least ten if I could remember more of what we learned.

On the walk back from the tour, we crossed a bridge over a small stream and we got a great look at a bird that wasn’t in a cage – a boat-billed heron. We’d seen one briefly while river rafting, but from very far away. So it was great to get a close up view. They basically look like a great blue heron, except their bill is very large and kind of boat-shaped. Hence, the name “boat-billed”? Unfortunately it wasn’t in a great place for a picture, and we couldn’t really linger long.

Although the tour wasn’t actually over yet. We’d just finished the first part, where the guide showed us all the birds and animals. And the other family actually left after the first part. The second part was optional. It was a “volunteerism opportunity.” I’d known about this beforehand, and was actually worried that we’d be cleaning cages or something else gross. But it turned out to be much fun, because we got to help feed the animals!

But first, we got a refreshment break. They had some wonderful juice, although I can’t remember what kind. And fresh-cut pineapple and watermelon of course! It was delicious. Even the watermelon. I really had developed a taste for it.

Then we got to prepare for feeding the animals. That meant we got to cut up fruit and vegetables. I wasn’t too thrilled about it at first, because I don’t cook. Meaning I don’t like to prepare food. But it was actually kind of fun, and I ended up only slicing bananas. Apparently I looked like I knew what I was doing, though, because Carlos asked if I cooked a lot. I think I was just trained well as a child 🙂 It reminded me of slicing tomatoes for taco salad.

When we finished, we had a bunch of baskets full of food that we carried along with us to all the animal cages. We started off with the spider monkeys, Jessica and Hercules. We each got to hold a piece of fruit in our hand, right outside the cage, and then Jessica and Hercules would reach out and take them from us. It was very cool. And they were very hungry. Although they much preferred the bananas.

We next got to feed the parrots and macaws. That meant we actually got to go inside the cages, to spread birdseed and banana slices along their feeding trays. That was very weird to actually be inside the cage, with the birds flying all around us.

We finished the feedings with the rest of the monkeys, letting them take the fruit from our hands again. And then the coatis. For them we could only push the fruit through the small holes in the cage, and wait for them to take it. They were super-cute.

And that was the end of our tour. It was incredibly educational, and so much better than any trip to a zoo. It made me feel great to have supported an organization that not only provides great care to rescued wildlife, but also spreads the message about wildlife conservation. And I don’t think there could have been a better guide than Carlos. His energy and enthusiasm were infectious. And he also taught us a Costa Rican phrase that we hadn’t heard before – “pura vida.” The literal translation means “good life”, but it’s what Costa Ricans say to express amazement/wonder. So when Carlos asked us how our tour was, we all replied, “pura vida!”

Hot Springs at Arenal Volcano:

After leaving Project Asis, we had a little bit more of a drive to our final destination for the day. Our lodging for the night was at Los Lagos Hotel, which was a destination in itself. That’s because it’s one of several resorts at the base of the Arenal (ar-ee-NAL) Volcano, and it had amazing hot springs. I’d known we’d be visiting the hot springs from our itinerary, but I had never been to one before. So I really had no idea what to expect. And boy was I amazed!

The only annoying thing was that because of the ant tour and stopping at Project Asis, we didn’t get to the hot springs until about 4 pm. And sunset was at 5:30 pm or so. Part of the allure of visiting the hot springs was the view of volcano from the pools. I had seen pictures of it and it was a gorgeous cone-shaped volcano. Unfortunately it was fairly cloudy that day, and the top of the volcano was in the clouds when we got there. But I still wanted to enjoy the view from the water, before it got dark. So I felt really rushed as soon as we got there, to get checked in and to the pools as quickly as possible.

Thankfully, checking in didn’t take very long. Although it was a bit of a culture shock from our other lodging so far. The Los Lagos Hotel was really a big resort. We checked in at a building near the entrance, and got maps of the whole property. That’s actually when I started to get really excited about the hot springs. Because I could see from the map that there were a whole string of pools leading up the mountainside, with lots of buildings scattered about with the hotel rooms.

Our rooms were actually in the building that was closest to the hot springs. Rayner dropped us off and told us to meet him for dinner at 7:30 pm. Then we raced to get to the pools. Although our rooms were gorgeous. We actually had two queen beds, and a huge bathroom. It felt so much nicer than the other places we’d stayed. Mom and I both agreed that we kind of wanted to just stay there for the rest of our trip. We were getting a little tired of all the driving so far.

Anyway, after donning our swimsuits we walked past the hot springs, ogling at how beautiful it was, and over to the entrance. They had lockers and towel service, which was great.

So now to describe the amazement of the hot springs. They basically looked like amazingly-decorated swimming pools, with fake rocks and landscaped gardens. But the water was piped i
n from the hot springs and very warm!

The bottom pool was the largest, and it had a wet bar, meaning that one edge of the pool was a bar, with bar stools inside the water. I had seen one of these on a cruise before, and always wanted to drink at one. So the wet bar was our first destination. And drinks were soon had. It was very fun, sitting at the bar, in warm water, with beer in hand, gazing up at the volcano.

There was also a water slide going into the main pool. So after we finished our drinks, we had to go try it! It wasn’t that incredibly tall (at least compared to the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas), but we were all surprised by how fast it was. Which meant it was very fun! And we immediately had to try it again! I think we ended up each going three times before heading off to explore the other pools.

By this time it was mostly dark out. But that kind of made the pools even more beautiful because there were lots of colored lights in the water. So the water sparkled with glimmers of color everywhere.

We first went over to a real swimming pool, which had normal pool-temperature water. Not that we wanted to swim, but we had heard from other people at the bar that there were more water slides by it. There were stairs leading up to two water slides. We went to the tallest one first, which had a few curves and went underground for a little bit. Not that we could tell at that point, because it was really dark and there were no lights by the water slide at all. That actually made it kinda scary, because we couldn’t see where the curves were. And then the slide ended at least 4-5 feet above the pool. Very fun! We had to go a second time, of course, although realized it was really kind of bumpy. Our bodies were starting to feel bruised, so we didn’t go again.

Then we went to see the rest of the hot springs. The next pool up the hill was actually the most beautiful in the night-time lights. It was fairly shallow, with fake trees overhead that kind of looked like mushrooms. But the whole pool shimmered with the color of the lights, and the color changed every now then from blue to green and I don’t remember what else.

From there we continued to explore the rest of the pools up the hill. Although it became more difficult because the paths between the pools weren’t lit that well. There was one pool that was perfect for couples because it had little alcoves with seats lining two sides. And the acoustics were really neat. We were the only ones there, so we had fun, each sitting in our own alcove, making funny noises.

The best pool was at the top. Not that it was the most beautiful. It was actually relatively plain. What made it great was that there were two pools right next to each other, with stairs in between. One was pretty hot, and the other was ice cold. It reminded me of a place my mom and dad used to vacation at on Lake Superior. It had a sauna right next to the bitter cold lake. And they would sit in the sauna until it was too hot to handle, then plunge into the icy lake water, and keep alternating until their bodies were completely and utterly relaxed. So we tried the same thing with the hot and cold pools.

We started off in the hot pool, and boy was it relaxing. Then we went up the stairs and down into the cold pool. I plopped down, all the way in, and it was so shockingly cold that I think I literally screamed a little. But I forced myself to stay in until I was somewhat used to the temperature. Then I went back to the wonderful warmth and started to feel my body really relax. After another trip to the cold shock, I returned to the warmth and noticed that my whole body was tingling with pins and needles. It felt a little weird, but soon I was the most relaxed I have probably ever been.

Unfortunately we knew we probably didn’t have much more time before we needed to head back for dinner. So we reluctantly made our way back down the hill, stopping in a few of the pools to enjoy the warmth a little while longer.

We made it to dinner on time, in another open air restaurant. I was glad to be away from the constant buffets at our last hotel, and was also getting a little tired of all the Costa Rican food. So I decided to try some pasta, but it wasn’t very good.

I’ve no idea what we did after dinner, except that we wished we had more time to enjoy the amazing hot springs. We only had one night there, and would be off the next morning to continue our adventure.

Buenas Noches!

Daily bird count = 2
Life bird count = 2

Trip bird count = 66
Trip life bird count = 53

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Rafting the Sarapiqui River

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Rafting the Sarapiqui River Sarapiqui, Costa Rica

Sarapiqui, Costa Rica

This morning Rayner had told us that we could get up for a 6:30 am bird feeding at the hotel’s bird feeder. I really wanted to sleep in, so I didn’t plan on going. But then Mom knocked on our door and told me I should get out there. So I did.

I was really sleepy at first, but I was really glad Mom woke me up. The birds were amazing! The hotel had put out a bunch of fresh fruit and there were tons of birds both at the fruit, and in the surrounding trees. I got lots of great pictures and was amazed at how colorful some of the birds were.

After a while we went back to our rooms to get ready for the day and then had a buffet breakfast.

Our mission for the day was a rafting adventure on the Sarapiqui (sarah-pi-KEE) River. After all the rain the day before, we’d been worried about how much we would enjoy the rafting. But we woke up to gorgeous blue skies and sunshine!

It was a short drive to the start of the rafting. The first section would be white-water rafting. Normally it takes ~3 hours for this part, but the river was 10 feet higher than normal. So Rayner said it should only take about an hour.

When we got there, it was just us and the rafting guides. And a very cute sloth high up in a tree, hanging upside down by its feet, and scratching itself. So adorable!

We got all our gear and got instructions from our rafting guide, Walter. We had three commands (forward, back, stop) and two safety positions (lean in, and go down). This was way more informal than the one other time I’ve been rafting in the states (at New River Gorge in West Virginia). That time I had to watch a 30 minute safety video that scared the **** out of me and made me too nervous to actually enjoy the rafting).

Derek and I got the front seats in the raft and got to enjoy the “refreshing” splashes of river water much more than anyone else. Only the first couple of rapids were kind of big, but very fun. On the second, Walter told us to “get down”, so we sat down in the floor of the raft and got to enjoy a roller-coaster of rapids. It was very fun. The rest of the rapids were pretty tame, compared to what I’ve done before, but it was still awesome. A very much-needed break from all the bird-watching.

In one of the smoother spots on the river, we pulled the rafts to side and stopped for a break. Walter cut up some pineapples and watermelon for a snack and they were delicious. I think this is when I started to realize that I might actually like watermelon. I don’t normally, but there is something very different about fresh watermelon. It is very juicy and tastes so much better than what you get in the states. That’s because in order to transport it, they pick the watermelon well before it’s ripe. That way it will ripen while it’s being transported. But it doesn’t ripen nearly as well as if you get it fresh. The same goes for pineapple. That’s why I love fresh pineapple, but hate it at home.

When we got back in the water, it was only a few more rapids until our lunch stop. As we were leaving the river, Rayner spotted a Spectacled Owl perched in a nearby tree. We had seen one at Toucan Ranch, but it’s so different seeing them in the wild. I’d never expected to see any owls in the wild, since they’re mainly nocturnal. So that was really cool.

For lunch, we went up on a bluff with a great view of the river and had some nachos. We turned them into a taco salad with a base of crushed tortilla chips, meat, beans, and cheese sauce. It was yummy.

After lunch, we went back into the river for the float trip part of the day. We could actually take our cameras and binoculars on this part of the trip, which was nice. But what was really nice was just enjoying the calmness of floating down the river and the sunshine. It was very peaceful. We were actually the only ones on the river. What a different experience than I had in West Virginia. That place was basically wall-to-wall rafts. But this time we really got to enjoy the solitude of the river. We did see a few birds, and also saw some spider monkeys way up in the trees.

I was actually glad when we finally got to the end because my back was starting to hurt from sitting on the raft all day. But the dock was interesting because it was barely above water. I could see that there were stairs going down at the end of it, but they were mostly under water.

We got back to the hotel a little early, and we decided to go swimming in the pool. The water was a little chilly, or “refreshing”, as Rayner would say. But it was a beautiful setting so we stayed for a while.

Dinner was the buffet at the restaurant again. and I spent the rest of our free time downloading pictures and checking off birds in my bird book. Before the trip, I bought a wildlife guide to Costa Rica, and I’ve been writing in the place and date that we first see things. So that is priority #1 when I have free time, since I will forget that the quickest. Then I download pictures, delete the bad ones, and post the good ones to Facebook. Unfortunately, that doesn’t leave time for much else.

Beunas Noches!

Daily bird count = 16
Life bird count = 14

Trip bird count = 63
Trip life bird count = 51

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Estrella Lagoon Canoe & La Selva Bird Watching

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Estrella Lagoon Canoe & La Selva Bird Watching Sarapiqui, Costa Rica

Sarapiqui, Costa Rica

Estrella Lagoon Canoe:

This morning we had an even earlier bird watch, getting up at 5 am to leave by 5:30 am. But this time we were driving to a nearby lagoon for a canoe ride. It was in a lagoon that used to be the delta of the Estrella River where it entered the ocean. But a while ago there was a huge storm that drastically altered the course of the river and created a new delta. So the old river mouth turned into a lagoon.

The best thing about the canoe ride was that we didn’t have to paddle! We had a local guide, Dennis, who Rayner told us used to be a logger. The strict environmental laws in Costa Rica have been ******* a lot of small towns because it has taken away their livelihood. And it’s hard for them to understand why they can’t cut down trees anymore. They need the money to feed their families, and many don’t have any other alternatives. But Dennis was able to find another way. Rayner told us that the government at first didn’t do very much to help the local communities find other ways to survive. And so the locals were angry and frustrated at all the new laws. But that is getting better.

The other great things about the canoe ride were how scenic it was. We got there just as it was starting to get bright in the sky, and by the time we left it was sunny and getting warm. The water was also very calm, providing some great reflections in the water. And we were the only ones there! The only bad thing was that the canoe itself was very uncomfortable.

Leaving the Caribbean Coast:

After the canoe ride, we went back to the Magellan Inn for some breakfast and then got back in the van to continue our journey. Shortly after we left the dirt road, Dad realized he still had his room key in his pocket. So we had to go back to turn it in.

By the time we were on our way for good, it had clouded over and started to rain. We basically traced our route almost all the way back to San Jose, and it rained the whole time. At least it was light out this time, but there wasn’t much interesting to look at. I would have liked to work on my blog, but the roads were way too bumpy for typing. So I got sleepy and spent much of the ride resting my eyes.

When we finally turned onto a new road we immediately stopped for lunch at Ranch Roberto. It was buffet style and pretty good with rice, beans, plantains, and different meats.

La Selva Biological Station:

After lunch it was a fairly short drive to our next stop, the La Selva Biological Station. This is a very special ecological spot in Costa Rica because it is a middle elevation rain forest. There are lots of rain forests preserved in the coastal lowlands and in the mountains, but there aren’t many places where the middle elevations are still preserved. And this one is in a place where there’s continuous rain forest all the way from the lowlands to the mountains. It provides a very important biological corridor and is one of the most biologically diverse places in Costa Rica. It also rains. A lot. Their average rainfall per year is 13 feet!

Thankfully when we arrived the rain was lightening, and by the time we started our walk through the rain forest it had stopped. We were joined by a local guide, Miles, who said the rain was so bad in the morning it felt like being under a waterfall. He skipped the normal introductory lecture so that we could go straight to bird watching while it was dry.

We started on a trail through secondary forest. These are lands that used to be completely open, but the forests have been allowed to grow back. And they are great areas to go birding, because there are lots of open areas where it’s easier to see things. And we saw a lot of cool birds. The real noteworthy bird was the Northern Jacamar. Miles told us how a lot of birders come to Costa Rica with a list of birds they really want to see. And the Northern Jacamar is one of them. I can understand why because it was really pretty, and even hung out on an exposed branch for a long time.

We next went across a bridge over a river and started walking through primary forest. These are fully mature forests where it is much harder to bird. The trees and vegetation are much thicker, so it is much harder to find the birds.

To get to the primary forest we had to walk through their primary research station. La Selva is one of the main places that scientists perform research on the rain forest. There are many schools that visit there, and over 200 scientific papers a year are written from research done there.

While walking through the research area, Miles and Rayner heard the call of the Great Green Macaw. This is another of birders “must-see” birds when visiting. They’re basically really large green parrots, and they are very endangered. There were only 220 in the wild at last count. So as soon as they heard them calling, we booked it to the primary forest to try and find them. And we did! At first they were way up in some trees, pretty hard to see through the green tree leaves. But then one moved to open branch and we had a great view! We were all very happy, because it was definitely a bird we really wanted to see. Rayner later told us that he only sees the green macaws on less than half his trips to La Selva. And probably only gets a good view in 1 trip out of 10. So we felt really lucky.

Unfortunately after we got the good look at the macaws, it started to rain again. Bad enough to make us get out our umbrellas. And then it got worse. There was no way we were going to see anything else under those conditions, so we just ended our tour and headed back.

We were soon back in the van and had another short drive to our next hotel, the La Quinta Country Inn (no relation to the La Quinta hotel chain). This was a much bigger hotel, with a large open-air reception area and bar/dining area. There were lots of cabins with rooms, and a whole series of covered walkways connecting everything together. That was a good things because it was still raining! Our rooms were great, with an outside patio/hammock. And there were lots of plants everywhere, so it felt even more like we were in the middle of the rain forest.

We had dinner at the hotel, because we were nowhere near anything else. It was buffet-style and just okay. The only thing memorable was the home-potato chips.

Adios!

Daily bird count = 27
Life bird count = 23

Trip bird count = 43
Trip life bird count = 37

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Cahuita National Park Bird Watching & Ocean Swim

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Cahuita National Park Bird Watching & Ocean Swim Cahuita, Costa Rica

Cahuita, Costa Rica

Morning Bird Walk:

This morning Rayner invited us to go on a bird walk before breakfast, just going down the road next to the hotel. At 6:30 am. Costa Rica is in the central time zone, so that meant my body would think it was 4:30 am. I wasn’t sure whether I really wanted to do that. But I decided to try it and see how I felt. When the alarm went off at 6 am, I really didn’t want to get up. But once I did, I actually felt pretty good. So I went.

It was raining slightly, so we took our raincoats with us. Although by the time we got back, I realized that my raincoat was worthless. It’s about 5 years old and is no longer completely waterproof. Because I was wet underneath after we were done.

The bird walk was pretty cool. Although the first thing we saw was a mammal. And it was in the garden at the Inn. It was a large rodent called an agouti. Kind of like a small Capybara if you’ve ever seen those in a zoo. Mom and I also saw a woodpecker while sitting and waiting for everyone.

I will try not to just list all the birds we see in the blog. I’ll only mention the noteworthy ones. In this case the cool bird was the Purple-throated Fruit Crow. Not because it was spectacularly pretty or anything. It looked like a small crow. But it was the first time Rayner had seen it in two years. That means it’s a pretty rare sighting. Thus, the coolness.

Although the coolest things we saw on the walk were not birds, but mammals. We saw our first monkey, a howler monkey, sitting way up in a tree. And then we saw a very wet two-toed sloth in a tree right next to the road. We wondered if it was the same one we saw the night before. And the really awesome thing was that the sloth was actually moving. We watched as he moved across a tree, and then down the trunk. Rayner said that in the wild sloths spend all of their time up in the trees, eating leaves. They have to eat a lot of leaves, so they don’t have a lot of extra energy. That’s why they move so slowly. The only time they go down to the forest floor is once a week, to go potty.

Rayner also told us about an interesting symbiotic relationship between sloths and a species of moth. The moths live in the sloth’s fur on their back. Then when the sloth goes potty, the moths lay their eggs in the sloth’s droppings.

After the bird walk we had breakfast at the Magellan Inn. It started off with a plate of fresh fruits – banana, pineapple, watermelon, and papaya. The pineapple in particular was amazing. I always forget how delicious it is when fresh. I ate the watermelon, although I’m not a huge fan. And I tried the papaya, but I did not like it.

Cahuita National Park Morning:

So the plan for the day was to go to Cahuita National Park and hike a trail that was next to beach and went around a peninsula, swimming at a nice beach along the way. It was a one-way trail and the van would meet us at the other end. It had started to rain fairly steadily, and Rayner didn’t have an umbrella. So we stopped at a couple of shops in the city of Cahuita until he found one. Derek hadn’t brought an umbrella on the trip, so he got one too.

When we got to the national park, we stopped at the gate for Rayner to pay the entrance fee. But when he came back to the van, he told us that the road to the hiking trail was closed. He said it had been closed two weeks ago, the last time he was here (guiding the same two week trip we’re on now). Then it was closed because the tide was really high, and there were really big waves crashing onto the road. Apparently the waves had been so strong that they had washed out part of the road.

So our plans changed. Rayner said we would hike along the road for a while on that side of the peninsula. Then we would come back, drive over to the other side, and hike out to the swimming beach.

The first part of the hike was not any fun at all, at first. That’s because the rain was coming down pretty good. I took my umbrella with me this time, but it was awkward holding my binoculars and camera underneath it, trying to not get them wet. And I couldn’t see the forest much above my umbrella. At least we didn’t really see anything to look at, because I’m not sure how I would have used either my binoculars or camera without getting the other wet.

After a few bends in the road, we made it to the beach and thankfully the rain decided to stop. And we started to see things. Although I still didn’t enjoy walking on the gravel road very much. That’s not hiking. But we did see some cool things. And I discovered how awesome my new camera is. I hadn’t really intended to get a new camera for this trip. I’d just bought a new one a little over a year ago. But on our last trip in Austria, the shutter button had fallen off. And I waited too long to get it fixed. So I thought about just buying the same one and then selling it, but then I found a better one with a 65X zoom (compared to 42X on my other camera). I figured with all the birds and wildlife we’d be seeing on this trip, the extra zoom would probably be worth it. And boy was it. I was able to get good close-ups of a gorgeous bird called a Slaty-tailed Trogon. Even though it was way up in a tree.

We continued along the gravel road next to the beach for a while. We actually saw the place where it had washed out, and we understood then why it was closed. Only half the road was there.

Aside from birds, we saw some other cool things:

• Coati: a mammal that crossed the road in front of us. It’s related to raccoons, but looks like a mini-anteater because it has a long snout.
• Tent-making bats: Rayner found them in a large ground leave that had been folded over by the bats. They were dangling underneath it.
• Howler Monkeys: there was a whole troop climbing up in the trees. I’m so used to seeing monkeys in zoos, that it felt really strange to see them up above in a tree. Rayner clapped his hands and made them howl for a while. It actually wasn’t nearly as loud as I thought it would be. I’ve heard them on Survivor before, but I now realize they are exaggerating how loud they are.
• Jesus Christ Lizard: the lizard itself wasn’t that interesting, but it gets its name because it can walk across water.
• Eyelash Pitviper: a snake that was curled up on the side of a tree. Rayner said it’s actually one of the most poisonous snakes in Costa Rica, although not dangerous. He said most poisonous snakes won’t attack you if you leave them alone. It’s only if you step on one, or put your hand on it that it will bite.

After we got back to the van, we first went back to the city of Cahuita for a bathroom break and a snack break. Rayner got us these small pastries with some sort of fruit inside. It was bright pink and very sweet.

Cahuita Naitonal Park Afternoon:

The trail at the other side of the park was much nicer. It actually felt like a walk through the woods. Although, it was very sandy because we were right next to the beach. We walked a ways until we got to a place that a river entered the ocean. And that’s where we swam.

We all went out into the ocean while Rayner stayed at the beach and watched our stuff. We couldn’t believe how warm the water was at first. But then as we got deeper, it got cooler. We think it was because of the river entering the ocean right there. But thankfully, the sun picked a great moment to finally come out. We stayed out there a while, enjoying the fact that we were somewhere warm and swimming in the ocean.

Here’s the cool things we saw on the hike:

• Leaf-cutter ants: I’ve heard about these for a long time, but to see them in person was amazing. What I had known was that they’re tiny ants that go out and cut leaves in the forest, up to 20X their weight, and carry them back to their nest. What I hadn’t known was that the leaves
  they cut are pretty far from their nest, and there are so many ants going to get leaves that they form a distinct line through the forest floor. We actually saw a line cross the trail shortly after we started hiking.
• Howler Monkeys: we saw another troop crossing over the trail above us in the trees. The really cool part was that there was a mother with a baby hanging onto its back. Rainier said that monkeys have to be able to hold onto their mother from the day of their birth, or else they won’t survive.
• Green Iguanas: there was a large male and female way up in a tree. Rayner said you always see the two sexes together. And the male is actually orange, not green. They have a big flap on their chin that they display to the female, and we actually saw this male do that. Very cool.
• Racoon: this was a different species that in the US and very fat and cute, sitting up in a tree.
• White-faced Capuchin: the second of four monkey species that occur in Costa Rica. We only saw one, but he climbing all over the trees close to the trail. Probably trying to get food from all the tourists gathered below.

For dinner we went to the city of Cahuita to Restaurant Mingo. It was another open-air restaurant and we sat upstairs. It was a great setting, looking down onto the dirt roads of the town. That was good because it took about an hour to get our food. I got steak because there wasn’t anything else I thought I’d like. I asked for it medium-rare, but I think it was more like extra-rare. It was very good, though. Mom got a whole red snapper and didn’t realize it would be the entire fish, eyes and all.

We got back to the hotel pretty late again, so there wasn’t much time for blogging or anything.

Buenas Noches!

Daily bird count = 16
Daily life bird count = 11

Trip bird count = 20
Trip life bird count = 14

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Toucan Rescue Ranch

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Toucan Rescue Ranch Cahuita, Costa Rica

Cahuita, Costa Rica

1/31: Updated below!!!

I wanted to write a quick note on why I’ve not been posting any blogs. Basically, we’ve been too busy. Our days are filled with activities, travelling, and sit-down meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That means we don’t have a lot of free time in a day. I really only have time to go through my pictures and post some to Facebook (which is way quicker that writing out a full blog). I’ve also been reviewing my wildlife guide to mark everything we’ve seen. There’s been so many amazing birds and wildlife that I don’t want to forget!

I had been hoping to use our travel time to work on blogs. However, we’re in a large van and the roads are so curvy/bumpy most of the time that it’s impossible to type on a laptop.

We actually did have a few hours of free time yesterday, but why spend the time blogging when I could be soaking in our hotel pool with some cervezas!

There was one day when I had some time to start a blog, so please enjoy in the meantime. I’ll update this later with the rest of the day and pictures.

Meeting at the Airport:

So my first morning in Costa Rica I hung out at my hotel for a while, waiting for everyone else to arrive. It was a very nice place to hang out. I even sat out in the sun for a while by the pool, and it felt wonderful! It was really warm, but not hot at all.

I left shortly after noon and took a taxi back to the airport, where I was supposed to meet everyone else when they arrived at 12:41 pm. I knew there would be someone there waiting for us, with a sign with our names on it. So I made my way back over to baggage claim, said no to all the taxi offers, and then scanned the line of guys waiting for people. I didn’t see our name on a sign so I just stood in the back for a while.

After about 5-10 minutes I noticed a new person and could read through the back of the printed paper that it said “Linda, Larry, &amp; Derek Haas.” So I went over and told him that I was Erin. We had to wait another 15 or so minutes before everyone else finally came out. Then we walked outside and waited for our driver to come pick us up.

It turns out the guy waiting for us was our tour guide, named Rayner. And it also turned out that our group tour was going to be very small because we were the only ones in the group! We couldn’t believe it.I had been wondering how and when we’d meet the other people on the tour, but we didn’t have to!

Our driver, Freddie, soon showed up with a really big white van, and we loaded all of our bags in the back. Then we were on our way! We were headed about a half hour away to the Toucan Ranch Rescue Center. This surprised us because our itinerary said we’d be driving three hours to the Caribbean coast and then doing a night hike. So we weren’t exactly prepared to do anything right away. But that was fine, we were all happy to not have a three hour drive right away.

I should probably mention a little about the geography of Costa Rica. It’s a small Central American country just north of Panama. We flew into the capital of San Jose, which is in the center of the country. It’s in a large flat valley surrounded by a bunch of volcanic mountains that stretch the length of the country from north to south. On the eastern side of the mountains you have the Caribbean coast, and on the western side is the Pacific coast. And everywhere there are rainforests with incredible biodiversity.

Toucan Rescue Ranch:

So it was about a 45 minute drive to the Toucan Rescue Ranch, but all of it was on city streets so we weren’t going very fast. I’ve no idea how people learn directions in San Jose, because there were no major streets except leaving the airport, just lots and lots of turns.

When we finally got to the ranch, Freddie and Rayner left to pick up some lunch from a local restaurant. We met one of the founders of the ranch, Leslie Howie, who told us the story of how it started. She had lived in Costa Rica for about 10 years as a child, moved back to the U.S. and eventually moved back to Costa Rica when the opportunity arose to help study some wild macaws. She had always had a great love of birds and had lots of pet birds in the states (that took a year to get moved to Costa Rica with all the required permits and everything!). She knew about bird rescue centers on the Caribbean Coast,but there was nothing similar in the central mountains around San Jose. So she decided to start one, in particular for toucans.But over the years it’s evolved into a sanctuary for all kinds of animals, and Leslie has become known for being able to nurse birds and animals back to health that no one thought was possible.

Leslie also showed us a short video that was a trailer for a documentary about the rescue center. She said a film crew had spent a month at the center filming, and were currently trying to get funding to continue development and distribution of the documentary.

While waiting for food, one of the ranch’s helpers, Carol, brought out a baby anteater for us to see. And then brought out a couple of baby Sloth’s that needed feeding. They were so incredibly cute! They were in a plastic bucket, wrapped up in blankets, and Carol tore up some leaves for them to eat. Needless to say, much picture-taking ensued.

As we watched the sloths, Leslie told us about why they need rescuing. Essentially, people try to smuggle them out of Costa Rica to sell on the black market. And they aren’t generally well-cared for, so any that are discovered need nursed back to health until they can be released back into the wild. She mentioned that cars get checked going across the border to Nicaragua in the north, and the police will find sloths in the trunks of cars in boxes.

Leslie also said that many times the poachers will take the adult sloths and leave the babies behind. In this case, if the babies are found and brought to the rescue center, they will have to stay there for the rest of their lives. Normally the sloth parents teach the babies how to live in the wild. So if the parents are gone, there is no one to teach the babies and they would just die if left there.

When Freddie and Rayner got back with our lunches, we sat outside at a picnic table and all tried a Casada. It’s a typical Costa Rican lunch and the word actually means “marriage” because it has all of the typical Costa Rican foods – rice, beans, plantains, potatoes, and meat. We all got it with fish and it was delicious.

During lunch Leslie brought out a tiny baby sloth and was feeding it with an eye-dropper. And it actually got fairly cold at the ranch. It had been warm and sunny when we got there, but it had since clouded over and the wind was blowing. The center was up in the mountains a bit too, so it was at a high elevation. I actually had to borrow Mom’s rain coat just to stay warm. And that turned out to be a good thing, because it sprinkled raindrops the rest of our time there.

After lunch Leslie gave us a tour of the ranch. It was basically her house, a couple of rooms to keep the sick birds, a huge outdoor kitchen for preparing the animals’ food, and a bunch of cages in the yard for resident or rehabilitating animals. They also have a cottage that they rent out as a B&amp;B.

Our tour started in one of the sick rooms. We saw a parrot, toucan, and toucannette (technically a type of toucan, but looks like a mix between a parrot and toucan). And also a very rare find – a great potoo. Leslie said everyone who stops by the ranch has to see the great potoo because they’re night birds and very hard to see in the wild. It looks kind of like an owl, but isn’t. It has a very large mouth, which it holds wide open as it flies through the night and devours all the insects it can.

While there, Leslie told us about why all the birds end up at Toucan Ranch. It’s because of the pet trade. In Costa Rica, it’s illegal to have any native birds and animals as pets. So some of the rescued birds are those that people illegally keep
in their homes. But a lot are birds that people try to smuggle out of the country. And many of these birds come to the ranch in very poor condition. The birds tail and wing feathers are generally clipped off so that they can’t fly away. So it takes ~6 months just for those to grow back. Many are also very dehydrated. She showed us pictures earlier of a toucan that came in with a very blue bill. That happens because of dehydration. Normally a toucan’s bill is not blue at all.

Back outside, we saw several very colorful birds and a bunch of beautiful owls. Then we got to see something else very rare – an oncilla. This is the smallest wild cat in Costa Rica and extremely rare to even see in the wild. Leslie said no one believed she actually had an oncilla. She had to get a genetic test done to prove it. He was beautiful, and just slightly bigger than a house cat. I was surprised when Leslie fed him a dead mouse. It was very cool to see.

There were also a couple of resident sloths. Leslie opened up one of the cages so that we could see it, because he was laying in a basket wrapped up in blankets. Then we saw all the toucans. There were three different kinds and all were incredibly beautiful. I’d seen them in cages before, of course, but I had a hard time imagining that we would be seeing them outside in the jungle.

The last part of the tour was another sloth, Andy. Leslie brought him outside and put him in a tree so that we could see him moving. And it was incredible. I couldn’t believe how slowly and fluidly he moved. It was like watching an animal moving in slow motion.

We were all very impressed with the stop at Toucan Ranch. It was great to get to do something right away, and it was a great introduction to the wildlife and ecology of Costa Rica. We were also very impressed with Leslie’s passion and enthusiasm while giving us the tour. We knew she’d probably told the same stories over and over again, but she seemed so excited to have us there that it felt like the first time.

By the way, Toucan Ranch is an entirely nonprofit organization. They don’t receive any government funding and rely solely on private donations. If you would like to donate, please visit their website:

http://www.toucanrescueranch.org/

Drive to Cahuita:

I was highly surprised when almost immediately after leaving Toucan Ranch, we entered the jungle. And it almost immediately started to really rain as well. We went up for a short while and went over a pass that was 2700 meters high (~8,000 feet). And then we went down. Way down. For a long time. We finally reached the Caribbean lowlands where the road leveled out, and the rain stopped. It was here that our guide, Rayner, explained a little about the history of Costa Rica. He said that the economy was originally based on banana plantations and cattle. And the area we were passing through used to be a lot of banana plantations. However, some sort of fungus destroyed the main exportable variety of banana. And scientists haven’t been able to come up with another variety that is as sweet and will transport as well (i.e. without many bruises).

So now the economy of Costa Rica is primarily based on tourism. And because of that, Costa Rica has some of the strictest environmental and conservation laws in the world. That’s because tourists primarily come to Costa Rica to see birds. And birds only live in the rainforest. So in order for Costa Rica to sustain and grow the tourism industry, they need to sustain and grow their rainforests. Rayner said in the last 30 years or so, Costa Rican rainforests have actually grown by 12%.

When we got close to the Caribbean coastline, we passed through the town of Limon (lee-MONE). It is the primary port of Costa Rica, and we saw many, many container boxes stacked up right beside the road. It felt like we were driving right through the Port of Seattle.

Rayner told us that Limon is the most diverse region in Costa Rica. That’s from when they were building a railroad from Limon to San Jose. First they brought in Chinese slaves to do all the manual labor, but they weren’t very good at it. Then they brought in African slaves. So there is a high percentage of Africans and Chinese in the area. Ironically, the railroad is no longer used. There was an earthquake 10 – 20 years ago that severely damaged the railroad. And the government didn’t have a lot of money, so they just decided not to fix it. So now they use semi-trucks to transport all the containers.

Speaking of damage, the roads in the lowlands were very, very bumpy. Rayner said the roads in Costa Rica are actually way better than they were 10 – 20 years ago. But the government still doesn’t have a lot of money, so the roads aren’t maintained that well.

By the time we got through Limon, it had gotten dark out. And it was another bumpy hour to our final destination of Cahuita (cah-WEE-ta), on the Caribbean coast. We turned off the main road and onto an even bumpier dirt road. I was getting very tired of the bumps, so I was eagerly awaiting our arrival at the hotel. But then we stopped suddenly and Rayner got out of the car and made us all get out too. There was a sloth hanging from an electrical wire right above the road! We couldn’t believe it.

When we got back in the van, it was thankfully only a short drive to our hotel, the Magellan Inn. If you’ve ever imagined a hotel right in the middle of the jungle, this is it. The reception-dining area was all open air, with a small garden/pool out back. On one edge were the small white cottages with our rooms, including double-paned glass doors opening onto a patio, hammock included. And surrounding everything was jungle.

We did not stay long, however, because we needed to get dinner. We got back in the van and drove down some more bumpy dirt roads to a restaurant called Sobra las Olas. It was also open-air, but we got a table outside, right beside the beach, with candles providing our light. It was a very cool setting, although we couldn’t really see much of the ocean, just the waves crashing on the beach. I decided to try the fish with coconut sauce, but it tasted a little too weird for me.

During dinner we had our nightly briefing, where Rayner told us what we would be doing the next day and how to prepare (i.e. what type of clothes to wear, whether we need sunscreen/bug spray, etc). It was nice to not have to worry about any of that for ourselves.

By the time we got back to the hotel it was pretty late, so we didn’t stay up very long. Although I did realize something that would be a trend in all of our hotels. The air conditioners all have remotes to turn them on and off and control the temperature. It was very useful.

Adios!

P.S. My fitbit stopped working a few days into the trip, so I’m not going to bother posting any more step counts. However, I will start posting our daily and trip bird counts. I’ll keep track of both the total birds seen, and my life birds (i.e. birds I’ve never seen before). And I’m only counting birds seen in the wild (i.e. the ones in cages at Toucan Ranch don’t count). But we did see a few wild birds at the ranch today. I’m also only counting birds that I see well enough that I can tell from the picture in my bird book that it’s what I saw.

Daily bird count = 4
Life bird count = 3

Trip bird count = 4
Trip life bird count = 3

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Central America Newbie!

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Central America Newbie! San José, Costa Rica

San José, Costa Rica

I always hate writing a blog for the first day of a vacation, because it’s generally pretty boring. And today was no exception. But I did have a great view of Mount Rainier and the Rocky Mountains on the flight to Dallas. It’s been a while since I’d been to the Dallas airport, so it was strange to be back. But I did discover something very exciting. They have a Fuddrucker’s restaurant there! It’s my favorite hamburger in the entire world! Although I didn’t find it until after I’d already eaten. But I have a 4.5 hour layover there on the way home, so I will definitely check it out then.

The flight down to Costa Rica was actually very pleasant for once. When I’d booked the ticket there weren’t any Economy seats open, so I paid a little extra to get an exit row seat. I’ve experienced getting bumbed off a flight before, when I didn’t have a seat assignment, and I in no way wanted to risk that again. And it was actually pretty awesome to have all that leg room. I could put my bags under the seat and stretch my legs all the way out! I even paid to watch a movie – Guardians of the Galaxy. I’ve heard lots of good things about it. I, however, was very unimpressed.

When we arrived in Costa Rica it was already dark out, so there wasn’t anything interesting to see. I was surprised at how small the airport was. There are only 9 gates. So customs and baggage claim were a breeze. The fun part was getting money out of the ATM. The currency in Costa Rica is the Colones, and the exchange rate is about 500 Colones to one US Dollar. I wanted to get about $200, which meant asking the ATM for 100,000 Colones. That felt really weird. And all the bills were 10,000 Colones (~$20 USD).

It was a very short walk to get a taxi and I soon arrived at my hotel. The group tour doesn’t start until tomorrow, and my parents and brother are flying down in the morning. So I was on my own for the night. I was surprised that I was pretty nervous and worried about getting money and getting the taxi. I’m so used to the Euro and public transit in Europe that I don’t worry when I go there anymore. But this was my first time getting a taxi in a non-English-speaking country. But it worked out fine.

The hotel was actually very nice, but as soon as I got into my room I went straight down to the hotel restaurant for a cerveza. It was actually called Bavaria for some reason, but was a local beer and not bad for a lager.

And then I did something I haven’t done in a very long time. I actually wrote the blog for today on the same day! I’m really hoping to not get too far behind. And I still want to finish the blogs from my Austria trip!

Adios!

P.S. I’m again eagerly awaiting how many steps I’m going to get every day on my Fitbit. I even walked way more than I had to at the Dallas airport, to try and get some extra steps in. And it worked! I managed to just meet my daily goal of 10,000 steps!

Daily Step Count = 10,260
Miles Walked = 4.55

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