The coastal areas of the Caribbean are very beautiful here. Several species of turtles come to the shores of Tortuguero to lay their eggs on the beach, however this is not currently the season, so I headed south to check out Cahuita.
Good weather made the stay very enjoyable. Very small, mostly geared toward beach and snorkeling activities on the coral reef. Cahuita National Park is a beach trail of about 8-9 kilometers, with many chances to see wildlife, like white-faced monkeys, or to duck over to your own private little beach, or one of the larger, blue stretches of white sand beach. Very pleasant, and nice weather for swimming, although it was a little too rough to allow good visibility for snorkeling. I was able to walk along much of the trail, do some swimming, and thoroughly enjoyed my time there. The weather was mid 80's, and the ocean there is warm enough while still being refreshing.
Further south, in Puerto Viejo, I had some contact with La Puente, a volunteer organization with programs that assist the Bribri and other local indigenous populations to access jobs, to help enroll kids in school, and food and micro-loan programs, among other activities. Puerto Viejo was a nice town, a little bigger and more touristy, but small enough to walk around. It was very rainy during my whole stay, but it did help kick up the Salsa Brava waves a little for the surfing crowd. It had been sunny and dry the whole week previously, so the rain can be expected eventually. I guess that's why they call it a rainforest environment....
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Friday, December 14, 2007
Excursion for rafting and ziplines
Our last tour returned us to the Sarapiqui region for a canopy tour on ziplines, 60-80 feet above the forest floor. They were quite exhilerating. The last one was 1000 feet long, and flew us over the river at around 30 or 35 mph. Quite a blast ! Then a rafting trip on Sarapiqui, with class 3 rapids, exciting enough, but not super-tough. We saw more monkeys and waterfowl, and enjoyed the day thoroughly. In the forest, we saw lots of different bugs and plants, including the famous bullet ant, which is almost an inch long, and feels like you've been shot with a gun if they bite you, for about 14 hours.
My friends were sad to go, knowing how much else was out there to see, like the Caribbean coast, and many other biological reserves. Because the trip was put together at the last minute, we were generally pleased with how details worked out, and we were continually amazed with the amount of vegetation and wildlife on constant display around us.
With advance planning, a trip of 10-15 days would allow one to see a lot of Costa Rica, and private commuter flights at around $100-$150 round trip would allow one to access areas such as Corcovado Reserve, in the far southwestern region near Panama, in about 45 minutes, instead of 9 hours in a bus. A 2 week flight pass would cost about $350 or $400, and would allow several jumps around the country. I think this is a good option if you can get away for awhile.
Turtle watching, whale or dolphin tours, snorkeling, surfing, sportfishing for sailfish, marlin and snook, rafting, ziplines, and wildlife viewing opportunities await you in almost every region of Costa Rica, so it is as much a choice of what to do, as to what you will choose to miss this trip....Costa Rica does not have the archeological prestige of the Mayan Riveria or Peru, but it is an ecological paradise, with over 25% of its territory dedicated as National Park or Wildlife Refuge. People have been very friendly and laid-back here, and it's a great place to come stay for awhile.....
My friends were sad to go, knowing how much else was out there to see, like the Caribbean coast, and many other biological reserves. Because the trip was put together at the last minute, we were generally pleased with how details worked out, and we were continually amazed with the amount of vegetation and wildlife on constant display around us.
With advance planning, a trip of 10-15 days would allow one to see a lot of Costa Rica, and private commuter flights at around $100-$150 round trip would allow one to access areas such as Corcovado Reserve, in the far southwestern region near Panama, in about 45 minutes, instead of 9 hours in a bus. A 2 week flight pass would cost about $350 or $400, and would allow several jumps around the country. I think this is a good option if you can get away for awhile.
Turtle watching, whale or dolphin tours, snorkeling, surfing, sportfishing for sailfish, marlin and snook, rafting, ziplines, and wildlife viewing opportunities await you in almost every region of Costa Rica, so it is as much a choice of what to do, as to what you will choose to miss this trip....Costa Rica does not have the archeological prestige of the Mayan Riveria or Peru, but it is an ecological paradise, with over 25% of its territory dedicated as National Park or Wildlife Refuge. People have been very friendly and laid-back here, and it's a great place to come stay for awhile.....
Day 2 vacation
Today we travelled to the Sarapiqui River on the Caribbean slope. We drove through coffee country to the north of San Jose, and stopped at Poas Volcano, hoping to see the huge, active crater. Alas, it was shrouded in fog, at about 9,000 feet.
At Sarapiqui, we boarded another riverboat for a wildlife viewing excursion. More caymans, and several families of howler monkeys playing in the trees. The usual herons and egrets were everywhere, as well as the iguana, and we saw many toucans, at least two different varieties.
We disembarked downriver and enjoyed a nice lunch in an open air, thatched roof type lodge. A strung up bunch of ripe bananas provided a roost for the many different birds and toucans to display themselves on as they gorged on fruit. Snake and amphibian exhibits were also set up at the lodge, but a heavy downpour arrived, and we had to leave a little earlier than we wanted to.
Day 3 We went to my house in Turrialba for a barbeque with the neighbor, and enjoying the nice weather. We toured the botanical gardens here at CATIE the following day, and visited a local serpentarium.
CATIE is a prestigious graduate school program that follows research in areas of tropical forest and crop management. For example, their 2,500 acre botanical garden gives home to the most important coffee and cacao collections in Latin America, with more than 1000, and 175 different varieties of each, respectively. These crops are not grown for harvest, but simply to maintain the genetic diversity for future hybridization. There is a cryo-seedbank for seeds which can be frozen, and there are many other types of tropical plants displayed in the gardens, like tea, guavas, macadamias, palms, mangosteen fruits (delicious !), annatto, and many many others.
The local snake expert has 43 years of experience studying snakes, and gave an informative talk about snakes, and especially pit vipers, of which there are many types in Costa Rica, such as the famous bushmaster, and the much feared, aggressive, fer-de-lance viper. One particular fer-de-lance in his serpentarium has been featured in 9 documentary films, such as by National Geographic, and holds the world record for most venom in its glands. Untreated, a bite from the fer-de-lance will destroy the kidneys in 30 hours. Fascinating stuff.
At Sarapiqui, we boarded another riverboat for a wildlife viewing excursion. More caymans, and several families of howler monkeys playing in the trees. The usual herons and egrets were everywhere, as well as the iguana, and we saw many toucans, at least two different varieties.
We disembarked downriver and enjoyed a nice lunch in an open air, thatched roof type lodge. A strung up bunch of ripe bananas provided a roost for the many different birds and toucans to display themselves on as they gorged on fruit. Snake and amphibian exhibits were also set up at the lodge, but a heavy downpour arrived, and we had to leave a little earlier than we wanted to.
Day 3 We went to my house in Turrialba for a barbeque with the neighbor, and enjoying the nice weather. We toured the botanical gardens here at CATIE the following day, and visited a local serpentarium.
CATIE is a prestigious graduate school program that follows research in areas of tropical forest and crop management. For example, their 2,500 acre botanical garden gives home to the most important coffee and cacao collections in Latin America, with more than 1000, and 175 different varieties of each, respectively. These crops are not grown for harvest, but simply to maintain the genetic diversity for future hybridization. There is a cryo-seedbank for seeds which can be frozen, and there are many other types of tropical plants displayed in the gardens, like tea, guavas, macadamias, palms, mangosteen fruits (delicious !), annatto, and many many others.
The local snake expert has 43 years of experience studying snakes, and gave an informative talk about snakes, and especially pit vipers, of which there are many types in Costa Rica, such as the famous bushmaster, and the much feared, aggressive, fer-de-lance viper. One particular fer-de-lance in his serpentarium has been featured in 9 documentary films, such as by National Geographic, and holds the world record for most venom in its glands. Untreated, a bite from the fer-de-lance will destroy the kidneys in 30 hours. Fascinating stuff.
A week of tours in Costa Rica with friends
Back home now after hosting a couple friends for the week. We stayed in a budget hotel in San Jose, and did guided tours each day, which included meals, transportation, and bilingual guides. It's a good way to see the country without hassling too much over details. The roads here are narrow, and not signed particularly well, so it was nice to relax in our mini-van and let someone else do the driving. There is so much to see here, it was difficult to choose between various tours. Here's what we were able to do:
Day one:
Best of Pacific Tour -
We headed west towards the central Pacific coast. On the Tarcoles River, we boarded a boat for a wildlife viewing cruise. We saw at least 30 crocodiles, caymans, 2 types of large (3-4 feet) iguanas, several types of heron, egrets, pelicans, osprey, and other water birds. The vegetation and wildlife were quite amazing, and the weather was perfect.
One crocodile came right over to our boat, and my friend was so busy trying to focus his camera, he did not realize that this croc was already nose up to the boat, right next to him. The guide warned him not to stick his arm out, and he looked up from the camera to total surprise at the 15 or so footer croc. The croc was surely disappointed that he did not fall out of the boat....
Afterwards, we completed the drive to Playa Blanca at Punta Leona Resort. Much of the Jurassic Park movie was filmed here amongst the lush vegetation. We did a short rainforest walk, and spent the rest of the afternoon wading in the ocean and admiring all the scenery and seashells on the beach. The food at the resort was excellent, and made for a very satisfying day.
Day one:
Best of Pacific Tour -
We headed west towards the central Pacific coast. On the Tarcoles River, we boarded a boat for a wildlife viewing cruise. We saw at least 30 crocodiles, caymans, 2 types of large (3-4 feet) iguanas, several types of heron, egrets, pelicans, osprey, and other water birds. The vegetation and wildlife were quite amazing, and the weather was perfect.
One crocodile came right over to our boat, and my friend was so busy trying to focus his camera, he did not realize that this croc was already nose up to the boat, right next to him. The guide warned him not to stick his arm out, and he looked up from the camera to total surprise at the 15 or so footer croc. The croc was surely disappointed that he did not fall out of the boat....
Afterwards, we completed the drive to Playa Blanca at Punta Leona Resort. Much of the Jurassic Park movie was filmed here amongst the lush vegetation. We did a short rainforest walk, and spent the rest of the afternoon wading in the ocean and admiring all the scenery and seashells on the beach. The food at the resort was excellent, and made for a very satisfying day.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Jesse draws a gutshot wound
Does anybody know what that strange organ called the appendix is for?
The "up-end" icks came up and bit Jesse like a snake on the trail, suckered up on him reel sneaky like, right b'fore he was fixin' to leave town. Ol' Jesse was in a mighty bit of pain til the doc done worked his fee and save his outlaw hide.
Thankfully we only get one, and that one's gone now....
The "up-end" icks came up and bit Jesse like a snake on the trail, suckered up on him reel sneaky like, right b'fore he was fixin' to leave town. Ol' Jesse was in a mighty bit of pain til the doc done worked his fee and save his outlaw hide.
Thankfully we only get one, and that one's gone now....
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Welcome to Paradise
Thanks for coming by. I am getting ready for the big trip south. But I think I'm in Paradise already. Paradise is a state of mind, and its hallmark is freedom. I may fail or lose my way, but I relish the chance to step out of the ordinary and onto a new, inviting path just ahead. Finding the freedom within to take a chance and do something you never thought you could.... Attitude is everything in Paradise. Friends, family, lovers, and haters: all are welcome here. Thanks for your interest.........
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