Tag: boat

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Cañon Negro: People & Other Wildlife

The Jacques Pellé’s
From France at my lodge and decided to join me on Cañon Negro trip
A very enjoyable couple!

 

Alex, our guide
Explaining this interesting plume plant
Cañon Negro, Costa Rica

 

Me
Thanks to the Pelé’s
Cañon Negro, Costa Rica

 

Red-eared Slider Turtle
Cañon Negro, Costa Rica

 

Green Iguana (male in mating orange)
Cañon Negro, Costa Rica

 

Spectacled Caiman
Cañon Negro, Costa Rica

 

Unknown Frog (Smilisca?)
Cañon Negro, Costa Rica

 

Red Seed of a Fruit used to Color Rice
Cañon Negro, Costa Rica

 

Dry Season Flowering Trees
Cañon Negro, Costa Rica

 

And many other interesting trees!
Cañon Negro, Costa Rica

 

A Big Boat for just 4 of us!
Cañon Negro, Costa Rica

 

Jacques captures the river ahead – Rio Frio
Cañon Negro, Costa Rica

Obviously, Cañon Negro was a highlight of the trip! Assuming that you saw the 19 different bird photos from the last three days’ posts. Harris’s Hawk,  Cañon Negro Birds 1, and Cañon Negro Birds 2

Tomorrow I will share shots from the Tenorio Volcano National Park, the closest place to Celeste Mountain Lodge and then more from the lodge another day.

And my general Costa Rica Photo Gallery is always available!

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On the River Again

First thing this morning I meet guide Evon at the Reception Desk and we drive to the boat dock for what I know has to be a better boat trip with always more birds in the mornings. Well it turned out to be maybe more but not a lot more, just a lot of different birds which is very good and worth the trip! I was especially pleased with photographing Crested Guans, Rough-winged Swallow, Green Ibis, Lattice-tailed Trogon and a Hook-billed Kite, among others.

We were then late for breakfast at Selva Verde and I treated Lavon with breakfast at a local Soda. Then when I returned to Selva Verde I decided to try the self-guided trail again, expecting it to be better in the morning (a la 10). Sure enough! I got more photos of Crested Guans here plus some wonderful close-up shots of a Pale-billed Woodpecker, probably my best yet of him! Also some fun lizard shots I haven’t identified yet. So a good morning!

Yesterday was too long and busy, so relaxing the rest of today and looking forward to my visit to La Selva Biological Station tomorrow morning for maybe the best birding yet (say some people). Then I head home.

Last night’s “Night Hike” was mainly about hiking in the mud in lodge-provided high boots. We saw some sleeping birds, lots of different frogs, an opossum, lots of insects, and probably something else I’ve forgotten. We went across the swinging bridge in the dark to the lodge’s primary rainforest across the river. Very interesting including a nice little waterfall with frogs around it. And of course the interesting people from all parts of Europe and North America. But for birding I still prefer my solo trips!


Levon helping another night hiker get wading boots.

Sorry, forgot to make any cellphone photos on the boat trip. Here’s one of the boardwalk to my room and one of a silk cotton tree on the trail near my room.

The red wood I thought was cedar is
actually almond tree wood.
I’m typing this at lunch while watching a Yellow-throated Toucan just below me eating bananas at the feeder. I’ve gotten so many toucan photos that it is no big deal anymore. That has been the most seen big bird here this week. I’m posting this now so I don’t have to bring the computer to dinner tonight. There is no Wifi in the rooms, only lobby and both restaurants.  Pura Vida!

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Panama Flycatcher & “Blue Boat”

Panama Flycatcher
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

For the birder readers, this is my first sighting of one of these here and in Costa Rica they are found only along the Pacific Coast. They are also seen in most of Panama. They look most like the Nutting’s Flycatcher which has more of a rufous tail and in Costa Rica is found only in the Northwest corner or Guanacaste Province and also in most of Nicaragua. 

Blue Boat
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Anytime I’m near water I look for what might be considered a “picturesque boat.” This one only barely qualifies, but really stood out against the brown water and bank with green trees. 

Anytime I have a guest who wants an easy half day adventure or birding experience, I take them to Tarcoles River, just a little more than an hour drive west of Atenas – if one of us has a rent car. My next post(s) will show more birds seen on this particular trip which I really enjoyed even if most of the birds are not new sightings. I can never get too many photos of a particular bird, only hopefully a better photo!  🙂
My BIRDS Photo Gallery, including the biggest sub-gallery of just Costa Rica Birds!

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Scenery Shots from Juan Venado Refuge

The Island of Venado is a strip of land running close to the mainland near Leon.
Much of the island and the channel of water between it and mainland is
Mangrove Forests which is good for birds, other nature, crabs, fishing, etc.
We got our boat in this little bay.

When you pay for a private float trip you get to sit in the front of the boat!
🙂   Here near end of trip we approach the rookery or nursery in earlier post.

Even when working, young people have fun on the water!

This is one of the government nature reserves.
I think there may be more private reserves than public right now.

It is currently legal for locals to collect firewood in the reserve as long as
it is already dead wood. In Nicaragua most people still cook on wood fires.

Non-commercial Fishing is allowed in the reserve.

and “Nature Tourism” is growing here!

My guide Freddy had new hiking shoes he did not
want to get wet, so boatman carries him across stream.
I got my old shoes wet – no big deal anymore!  🙂
And why didn’t he take them off and go barefoot?
Good question! The boatman is barefoot!

Where we got our boat was a little “Comedor” which is the same as a
“Soda” in Costa Rica, a small Mom & Pop restaurant for cheap local food.
We did not eat here but got sandwiches at a little local bakery.  

And don’t miss my Nicaragua Birds photo gallery for 98 different species!

And remember that both my trips to Nicaragua were provided by Tours Nicaragua!  Check out what they offer! I’m happy with them!


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Tortuguero Miscellaneous Photos

Okay. I’ll try to make this the last post from Tortuguero, then back to Atenas posts tomorrow!  🙂

Bus window view of Chiquita Banana Plantation, Costa Rica
Modern buses like this is how many tourists get around inside Costa Rica.
All the dozen or so lodges have boats making the 1.5 hours trip into park.

Our group on one of the Laguna Lodge boats enroute to lodge.
Robert Umaña, our guide, listening for a bird or other animal.

Robert using sand drawings to tell us about the life cycles of
the green sea turtles that lay their eggs on this beach and each
baby that makes it goes to ocean and returns years later to lay their own eggs.
One of the many river channels and canals we traveled looking for wildlife.

Another lodge’s guide pointing out a bird, monkey or other animal.

Unidentified butterflies/moths in our Laguna Lodge garden.
Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica
Pura Vida!


This trip significantly improved some of my photo collections in the PBase Galleries:
Later I will be adding a trip gallery in the travel section of my galleries, but not enough time yet!
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Tarcoles Village

Dog on Porch Roof, Tarcoles, Costa Rica

Tarcoles Village is where the Tarcoles River goes into the Pacific Ocean near Jaco and Carara National Park. It is where I have taken four boat trips on the river including the one today. It is where we got our good photos of Scarlet Macaws yesterday morning before going into the park where they are even more difficult to photograph. (Sharing those photos in tomorrow’s post.) And it is just a typical Tico small town, quiet, lazy, hot, and humid with sights like above and below before you get on your boat for the cruise. 

A boy brings in part of the morning catch at 8:30.
You can buy fresh fish along the road.
He caught those fish in a boat like this.
Then repair the nets for tomorrow’s catch.

The main road through Tarcoles.

And the only sign seen more than Coca Cola,
Costa Rica’s own, locally made, Imperial Beer.

For you Nashville readers, Kevin Hunter has ridden through this village with me for our birding/croc cruise. I came here two mornings on this trip; Friday for Macaw photos and Saturday for photos of other birds from a private boat. Someday I will just come and photograph the village. 

Growing up in a small, hot, humid town like this in South Arkansas near Louisiana and Mississippi brings me to a quote by Harper Lee in To Kill a Mockingbird.  Life in Tarcoles is like this:
“Maycomb was a tired old town, even in 1932 when I first knew it. Somehow, it was hotter then. Men’s stiff collars wilted by nine in the morning. Ladies bathed before noon after their three o’clock naps. And by nightfall were like soft teacakes with frosting from sweating and sweet talcum. The day was twenty-four hours long, but it seemed longer. There’s no hurry, for there’s nowhere to go and nothing to buy…and no money to buy it with.” 
― Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird
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Tarcoles Trees

Palms and a Tour Boat like the one we were on

In case you are tired of birds, here’s some trees! But I do have more bird photos to share if nothing exciting happens around home the next few days.  🙂  Here are 5 trees photographed from our boat and I’m sorry I haven’t researched the proper names of any except the one already photographed in Atenas. I just like looking at trees regardless what they are called!  🙂  Always, you can click a photo to see it larger.

 

The shapes, the designs, the colors, the strength, all awe me!

 

Pink Trumpet Tree or Roble de Sabana
See earlier posts: one from balcony and one up close.
It seems to be this month’s blooming tree, like Poro last month.

 

Lone Wolf!

 

“Umbrella Tree” said our guide.
Look close for cow under it on left, avoiding the sun.

My Trip Advisor Review of this trip with photos!

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The Costa Rica Amazon?

Aerial View of Tortuguero River/Canal not showing the beach area.
Photo from Chris Howard’s Live In Costa Rica Blog site

Chris Howard’s newsletter today tells about one of my favorite places in Costa Rica, Tortuguero which he calls Costa Rica’s Amazon. Having experienced part of the Amazon, I agree. And see my photos of Tortuguero as Days 3 & 4 in my Costa Rica 210 Photo Gallery. Or look at some professional photos on the Anywhere Costa Rica website, noting there are two sets on that site, one by tapping the arrows on the header collection and a static collection seen by scrolling down the page. There is good information on the Wikipedia page too!

Well, you can see it is one of the places I love in Costa Rica and will continue to visit while living there! There is another jungle boat ride in Los Chiles that is almost as good and of course Corcovado is the largest rainforest, but that is mostly seen by hiking with a guide. Recently a young man from Alaska was lost hiking there, meaning a guide is necessary. Well enough jungles for today!