Natural Wonders of Costa Rica


 

 

There are three things that you can depend upon on a tour within the tropical rain forest of Costa Rica, lush greenery, remarkable exotic animals and little to no internet connectivity. 



Luis, our Guide

We are into our eight day of our tour of the natural wonders of this wonderful Central American country.  I usually get frustrated with the limitations of a planned tour.  It can drive me nuts trying to grab pictures while the group moves ahead and out of site, but I have learned to accept the restrictions and enjoy the experience while planning to come back another day for the carefully constructed shots that I would prefer.  In the meantime, I take what I can get.  Happily, we have a small friendly group of fellow explorers and a remarkably knowledgeable guide.  Our itinerary is packed, making it difficult to find time to describe our experiences so far,  but I didn’t want to miss a blog and thought it would be a good time to share some of the few image among the nearly 4,000 that I have shot so far.  I will have a lot of work to do when I get home.





Hanging Bridges



 

 

This morning we hiked through the tops of the tropical forest on hanging bridges and this evening we will be visiting a sugar plantation and local farm, for a traditional dinner, but just now I have a couple of free hours to try to post a small sample of images.

 

 

 

 

 

 



"Jesus Christ" Lizard, Walks on Water

This trip is mostly about the diversity and beauty of the wildlife, and especially the birds. As I always point out, I am not a birder, but it is impossible to ignore the excitement of see the wild range of winged species.  We have explored the variety of animal around the Alajuela Poas Volcano in the highlands above the capital of San Jose and visited the Doka Coffee Estate to learn about the production of one of Costa Rica’s highest quality coffees

 

 



Jacana, Tortuguero



 

We spent two day at a lodge in the isolated Caribbean costal village of Tortuguero.  The Tortuguero National Park includes a network of natural waterways which is home to a remarkable diversity of plants and animal life including more than 100 reptiles, 60 mammals and hundreds of bird species.

 

 

 



Three Toed Sloth Family

From Tortuguero we traveled by boat and bus to the Seva Verde Lodge in Sarapiqui, in Costa Rica’s Caribbean lowland.  One again we hiked through the rainforest sampling one of Central America’s richest sites for birds.  We also had a chance to white water raft down the Sarapiqui River.

 

 



Shooting the Sarapiqui

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Red Eye Tree Frog 

I have now moved to Arenal Volcano National Park and hiked to a spot at the edge of one of the volocano’s most recent eruptions.  The spot had a great view of Arenal’s classic conical peak and also Arenal Lake.  This large man-made lake provides hydroelectric power and also shifted the drainage of the region from the Caribbean to the pacific.

 

 

I can only touch on the wonderful time we have enjoyed so far, and the remarkable experiences have been greatly amplified by the knowledge that all of you back in New England have been struggling through all the snow and cold.  We will be heading back to reality next Thursday.  Try to keep the storms away until after then.  The Meantime, stay warm and GO PATS!

As I get a chance, I will be adding images to my  Costa Rica Gallery