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| A view from the continental divide at the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve |
It's been a long day!
We woke up in San José at 6:00am and ate breakfast at 6:30. At 7:10 we got on our bus and left the hotel; our destination was a boat launch area near the Caribbean coast. We stopped twice to stretch and use the restroom, and at the second stop (a hotel) we found a snail-eating snake and some poison dart frogs!
After two hours on the road we stopped at a banana plantation where individual migrant workers were using a cable system to haul 25 bundles of bananas at a time from the point of harvest to the next step on their journey out of the country. Costa Ricans don't eat those bananas (they are primarily exported to European countries, but some go to the U.S.) because of chemicals that are applied to eliminate a fungus that causes them to ripen faster. We only stopped there for a few minutes because of how strong the chemical smell was in the air, and our guide ("Tex") got a slight rash where he brushed against a banana tree he was showing us. The chemicals have also been linked to infertility in male monkeys!
When we arrived at the boat launch the bus (and "Bodyguard", our driver) left us with Tex and "Captain", our boat operator. We spent at least two hours navigating a river and saw a whole bunch of awesome stuff, including: crocodiles, a spider monkey, tons of birds (I'm up to 25 new species thus far), basilisks, iguanas, a three-toed sloth, butterflies, and other insects.
We finally arrived at our new hotel in Tortuguero. It's a series of lodges incorporated into the jungle, with two main docks, some pools, and a central "lobby" area with Wi-Fi (which is where I am now, with geckos chirping on the ceiling over my head). The buildings are slightly raised and are connected by concrete walkways. The jungle (which is very marshy) among the walkways is teeming with huge crabs (think fiddler crabs, but at least 10 times larger than the biggest one ever), toucans, oropendulas, spiders, lizards, monkeys and more!
When we got off the boat we put our stuff in our rooms and ate lunch. It was a modest (but tasty) buffet. Then it was back on the boat for a 10 minute ride to the black sands beach. We walked a couple of miles in the most amazing sand you will ever feel, and it took a couple hours because, along the way, we found some awesome stuff. There were birds, sea turtle nests, cool animal skeletons, pumice rocks, coconuts (yum!) and more.
We met Captain at the end of our trek and took the boat back to our hotel, where we swam for half an hour before dinner. One of our group had a birthday celebration complete with cake, and I had food from the buffet, tamarind juice, and coconut flan.
That's been our day so far, but now I am going to walk the trails with my flashlight in the hopes of finding some neat animals. I'll probably run across the others, too. I'll be quick though, since I'm getting up at 5:30am tomorrow to go birding with Tex and Dr. Combs before breakfast. After that, my day will be at least as busy as today was!
== DAY 2 (May 15th) ==
Last night we found a Hercules beetle, a white-collared manakin, and a porcupine. At 6:00 this morning a few of us walked a trail for an hour (and were eaten alive by mosquitoes) looking for birds and other critters.
After breakfast, today has been mostly spent on the water, but we stopped in town for some frozen treats and visited a Sea Turtle Conservancy field station. We just had lunch and will be going out again in 15 minutes at 2:15. I'm up to 41 bird species, including the red-capped manakin that I really was hoping to find! There are four more species that I want to see as well, and I'm also actively looking for an eyelash viper. One can hope!
== DAY 3 (May 16th) ==
Today was almost entirely spent on the water and road from Tortuguero to Arenal, but we did take a chocolate tour along the way. The tour consisted of a hike and a "bean-to-bar" demonstration of the chocolate-making process, as well as a history of cacao and chocolate. During the hike we crossed the longest hanging bridge in Costa Rica (twice), which I traversed without touching the cable railing (both for the bragging rights and because bullet ants suck). On the road we encountered a laughing falcon, various hummingbirds, several passerine bird species, a two-toed sloth, howler monkeys, and more.
A few hours ago we arrived at the Arenal Volcano Observatory Lodge (see the link below), which has the swankiest accommodations I've ever been in. We ate a very nice dinner, and Tex took some of us on an hour-long night hike to look for snakes and other critters. We found a few cool insects, two species of toad, various frogs, a scorpion, a tailless whip scorpion, and other assorted animals, but the real treat came after we got back to the lodge: Dr. Combs and Dr. Brown found a brown blunt-headed vine snake on the balcony of their room. I got a picture (as well as a video) of it. How ironic is spending one hour looking for snakes in the forest, giving up, and finding one next to your room upon your return?
I am getting up at 5:30 to look for birds with Tex, Dr. Combs, and a few others before breakfast, and I hope to find several new species. I've passed 60, and my revised goal for the trip is 100 birds that I've never seen before. I'm sure we'll add on to my list in the morning, and the rest of the day will be spent hiking around the volcano.
== DAY 4 (May 17th) ==
I began my day at 5:30am again to look for birds. I am now up to 88 species, and only need 12 more to reach my goal of 100! We ate breakfast after our morning bird walk and then got ready to leave.
On our way to the day's activity (hiking) we found a massive fer-de-lance (the most dangerous snake in the country) by the side of the road to our hotel, and stopped to visit with a worker who showed us an even larger rainbow boa constrictor. We hiked a road that had a good view of Arenal Volcano (which is spectacular, by the way), and found a mating pair of bird-eating snakes (something that National Geographic folks apparently pay big bucks just to try to find). When we reached the end of the road we took our bus into town, where we stopped for 30 minutes to browse the shops. Dr. Brown, Dr. Combs and I visited a supermarket and purchased drinks (my Gatorade was ¢940, or about $1.70 USD), and I split up with them to join some of the others who were visiting a couple of souvenir shops. I didn't purchase anything else, though.
From the town we drove to get lunch, which was at an organic farm growing 113 crops without pesticides. There were hummingbirds and other animals everywhere, which was a stark contrast to the barren monocultures in the U.S. I definitely prefer Costa Rican agriculture. The farmer's family served us a wonderful almuercito campesino, complete with the best coffee and mixed fruit dessert I've ever had. Everything in this country is delicious, and it will be a shame to return to bland food in the 'States. After lunch the farmer showed us some of the many crops he was growing, taught us some local words, and demonstrated how sugar cane was used by the local people.
From the farm we went to a trailhead near the base of the volcano and hiked to what remained of a lava flow. Along the way we encountered an eyelash viper(!) which was very awesome. At the flow, Tex gave us a recent history of the volcano and its activity, and Dr. Wolak explained what the different rocks around us were, as well as the geologic processes that formed them. We left after an hour or so at the end of the trail, and on our way back we found a baby fer-de-lance less than half a meter from where some of us had already passed. Needless to say, that was very exciting, and we showed several other hikers the "terciopelo" too. We got back to the bus just as night fell, but our adventure wasn't over yet.
When we arrived back at the hotel we returned to our rooms to wait an hour before dinner, but one of our group was bitten by a bird-eating snake that was on her balcony! They are, fortunately, nonvenomous, and she was fine, but someone else found a vine snake on their balcony and Tex thought it best not to push our luck by exploring. Even though the vine snake is rear-fanged and venomous, the venom is only strong enough to immobilize lizards, and it never bites humans. Tex said that the number of snakes we were seeing was virtually unheard of, though, and that they were just too active for us to safely conduct a night walk.
Dinner was AMAZING, and I ate the best steak I've ever had, along with two kinds of juice, chicken soup, and vanilla flan (all delicious). That wrapped up the day, and tomorrow it's another 5:30am start. We will be leaving the hotel shortly after 8:00am, and will drive over four hours to our next destination: the Monteverde cloud forest!
== DAY 5 (May 18th) ==
Today was almost entirely spent on the road, but before we left Arenal (and during the drive) there were some neat activities, including the daily bird walk as well as a hike to a nearby waterfall, where the geologists nerded out and collected rocks. I got several new bird species to add to my list (more on that later) also.
It is interesting to note that Monteverde is only about 23 miles as the crow flies from where we were staying at Arenal, but it was a five hour drive because the fastest route goes around Lake Arenal and is partly gravel. Tex jokingly refers to gravel roads as "massage roads".
After leaving the hotel (and seeing another fer-de-lance) we made a brief stop at a restaurant with a wonderful view of Lake Arenal, and I bought a hand carved wooden mask for ¢10,000 (~$18.00). That was my first souvenir purchase, and I chose it because the wood is exceptionally pretty. We also stopped to hike along a gorgeous stretch of road for half a mile or so.
Lunch was a modest affair at a restaurant in a small, pleasant town an hour and a half from Monteverde. I had a local soup dish and a mango milkshake (which was very tasty).
After lunch we drove for a little while before stopping at a place called the Bat Jungle, where we met with one Dr. Richard LaVal, a very well-known bat biologist. He gave a presentation on bats and we went on our way.
We drove a very short distance before arriving at what has been the highlight of this trip: a hummingbird garden where there were numerous individuals from seven species feeding. Five of the species were new to me, which took my new bird total to 104 species! Words cannot even describe how beautiful these brilliantly-colored birds were, and so I recorded a two-minute video of one of the feeders that I made while holding my phone less than 1 foot away (I'll upload it when I get back in the U.S.). Hummingbirds were everywhere, and had no qualms landing on us to feed; they were mere inches away the entire time, and it was awesome. A female green-crowned brilliant landed on my finger and ate from one of the feeders, and I am still giddy about that hours after the fact.
Tomorrow will consist of the routine bird walk, a hike through part of the cloud forest, a trip to town, and more I am sure. I cannot wait!
== DAY 6 (May 19th) ==
Today was fantastic, even if my feet are now sore from all the hiking. We began at 6:00am with our (now routine) morning bird walk before breakfast, and ate at our hotel before taking the bus to Selvatura Park in the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. In the park we hiked a trail connected by several hanging bridges over and among the forest's canopy. I saw numerous species of birds both new and old, but the real prizes were multiple resplendent quetzals (my bird número uno for the trip) and three-wattled bellbirds, two amazing species that many people place at the top of their list when birding in Latin America. We also found a striped palm pit viper and a black guan, and I bought a shirt before we left.
We ate lunch in town, and while the food was being prepared I purchased two bags (over a kilogram total) of whole-bean coffee from a nearby supermarket for $10.88. The coffee is Costa Rican, and the specific kind and brand were recommended by Tex as being the best you can buy. Fret not, Austin, I'll share with you!
After lunch we drove to the Monteverde Reserve proper and browsed the gift shop while Tex bought our tickets, and I purchased two more shirts. Once we had our tickets we entered the reserve and hiked all the way to the top of the continental divide; on one side was the Caribbean and the other the Pacific. It was amazing because walking a mere 10 feet to one side or the other resulted in drastic changes in temperature and wind conditions. We finished our hike with about 20 minutes until sunset, and spent that remaining time playing with the hummingbirds in the garden nearby.
Once the hummingbirds left to roost for the night we got back in the bus. Tex told us that he had made dinner reservations for 6:30pm, and we arrived very shortly thereafter at an Italian pizzeria and restaurant. I ordered jugo de mora (raspberry juice), caprese (a salad of tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella), and a ham and mushroom pizza that was cooked in a brick oven. One of our group members had their birthday today, and so he was given a big slab of tiramisu. Everyone else ate a smaller portion of some cake and ice cream dish for dessert. Do I even need to mention how tasty everything was?
After dinner we returned to the hotel, because tomorrow will be busy. There won't be a bird walk in the morning because we are eating breakfast at 6:15am and leaving by 7:00am to drive to the Pacific coast for some fun in the sun (there is a nice white sand and black sand beach we will be visiting). I'm not sure what the rest of the day will hold, but I believe it will end with us arriving in San José, since our flight leaves the next morning. I plan on enjoying my last full day in Costa Rica!
== DAY 7 (May 20th) ==
Our final full day was mostly travel. After breakfast we left Monteverde and drove for two hours down a gravel road to about sea level, where we made a brief stop for refreshments. After a couple more hours of driving along the Pan-American Highway we reached the Pacific coast, and stopped to change into our swimsuits. We then turned on to a recently-made-public access road leading to what Tex promised would be a beach paradise.
Along the way we passed some very ritzy condominiums and houses (Tex said that the latter could go from $100,000 to $500,000 USD), and an absolutely massive ceiba tree that had a scarlet macaw roosting in a hole a few dozen feet above the ground. I got a really good look at it through both my binoculars and Tex's spotting scope, and I can tell you that it was one of the most beautiful birds I've ever seen. As we were leaving to get back on the bus a pair of macaws flew over our heads.
From the ceiba tree it was a very short drive to the beach (Playa Mantas, so named for the abundance of rays found there). There was a fault separating the beach into two halves, one of which was black sand and the other of which was white sand. We hiked a short distance along the fault until we found a pass in the rock, and climbed up and over it to the side opposite the one we had been walking along.
The beach was amazing; it had rocky tidal pools with tons of marine life (various fish, brittle stars, mantis shrimp, limpets, crabs, snails, barnacles, urchins, and much more) and rocks in the surf, but there was a patch of water mostly devoid of rocks that we swam in. I can still bodysurf with the best of them even after many years away from the beach. Needless to say the geologists were ecstatic because of how unique the beach is, and someone even found a piece of olivine (the rock that the Earth's mantle is made of). We were there for several hours, and it was so much fun that I was sad to leave.
Unfortunately, I stepped on a pretty nasty rock in the surf and sustained a small puncture in the arch of my foot, and I also got a wicked sunburn. I did not make an intelligent decision when I applied one coat of 50 SPF to only my upper back and upper arms, and I really (really really truly) regret that choice now. I'm not the only lobster, however!
We left the beach and drove back up the access road, and then along a larger (yet still gravel) road to "McDonald's". Tex told us to keep an eye out for the "Golden Arches", which turned out to be the roof of a small, mom-and-daughter restaurant right on the coastline where we ate a very late lunch. The food — I sound like a broken record — was delightful: fish; fried plantains with bean paste and Lizano (a tasty salsa); rice and fresh, mixed vegetables; and a coconut "fudge" (the Spanish name escapes me) made with fresh coconut, powdered milk, condensed milk, and brown sugar. The fish is apparently caught fresh and delivered to the beach in front of the restaurant each day.
After lunch we got back on the road, and this time our destination was San José (more specifically, the hotel we stayed at our first night in the country). I slept most of the way, which I attribute to my sunburn and general fatigue after a few hours in the waves. Our bags were unloaded upon arriving, but before we could check into our rooms we first had to mark what we wanted for dinner on little slips of paper so that the kitchen staff could get a head start on our feast.
Andrew and I got our keys after that and, after a lengthier walk than the one we had during our first night, discovered that our room is what I can only describe as a luxury suite. I actually checked the evacuation map, and there is only a single unit larger than ours; however, a handful are of equal size. My bed is in a loft above a very spacious common area with a writing desk, chairs, a couch, and a sweeping view of the pool, and Andrew's is in a separate room entirely that is next to the bathroom. He has a writing desk too, and a view of the parking area.
I borrowed Dr. Combs's first aid kit (the professors have a suite on the other side of a wall from ours) to treat my puncture and some of the spicier portions of my sunburn, and then laid down before dinner. I was the last one to arrive at the table, but there was time to spare before we ate. I had ordered a Cesar salad and a steak medallion with mushroom sauce and a side of rice and vegetables, and had juice and water to drink. Dessert was a crêpe with vanilla ice cream that tasted just like a Nutty Buddy.
After dinner Dr. Wolak gave Dr. Combs a wooden carving of a keel-billed toucan as thanks for setting this whole trip up, and everyone got a postcard to pass around to exchange signatures and nice little notes. That ended our last day in this incredible country. Tomorrow we will eat breakfast at 6:30am, and our flight leaves for Miami later in the morning.
¡Pura vida!
I loved reading your blog! What an awesome trip!!
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