January 27, 2022 - Monteverde, Costa Rica

We were up and out the door about 7 this morning heading to Curi-Cancha. In 1970 the Lowther family purchased the property and named it Curi-Cancha, the name derived from “Golden Enclosure” in Inca. At that time the property was approximately 1/2 pasture and 1/2 virgin rain forest. In the ensuing 45 years the Lowthers cleared no areas and allowed the majority of the pastured areas to re-grow into forest. In 1997 the property was legally designated a Refugio de Vida Silvestre and in 2011 Curi-Cancha Reserve opened to tourists.

Curi-Cancha is home to around 200 different bird species, making it a top draw for birdwatchers. We only saw about a half dozen, but it was still very fun. My pictures were take through the spotting scope and our guide was not as good at focusing the pictures as other guides we have had.

Yellow-Bellied Trogon

Brown Hooded parrots

Magenta Throated Hummingbird

Yellow faced grassquit

Crested guan

We did, however, see a resplendent quetzal so that made the day!

The resplendent quetzal was worshipped as a god, its plumage was sought after like gold and precious stones. It is classified by numerous experts as one of the most beautiful birds in the world. With an iridescent green and red body, yellow beak, and a multi-colored tail that can reach 65 cm in length.

We did see a Orange-kneed tarantula in the hollow of a tree-limb

and a side striped palm pit viper.

Near the end of the tour we saw two agouti . They are a rodent type animal that looks a bit like a really large guinea pig. Its coarse hair is covered with an oily substance that acts like a raincoat. The hair is longest on its rump.

Again, I was happy we hired a guide for our 2-1/2 hour tour.

This afternoon we hung out at our cabana. The hot water is solar so we took advantage of the sun and everyone had showers. That in itself was interesting. You have to turn on the cold water, then barely turn on the hot because it comes out so scalding! Once you got it adjusted, it was great but it definitely takes a little finesse! We made a trip out at sunset to the observation tower. In the lower dip you can see a bit of the bay!
 

At 7:30 we got picked up for a night tour at the Refugio Vida Silvestre Monteverde. Our guide, Steven, did a great job. I am just amazed how the guides find things in the daytime, but at 8pm at night when it is pitch dark in the forest, WOW!

Sleeping hummingbird

Snake

Walking stick

Horned katydid

Sleeping toucan

Side striped palm pit viper

Frog

Lizard

Believe it our not – a mossy walking stick!

Hummingbird nest with two sleeping chicks

He told us all about the leaf cutter ants that were SOOO active. This is a video of them at work.

https://youtu.be/4yTdg_K1TWc?si=PFwLNRVZEtaRXm2y
Leaf Cutter Ants in Action Video

Our tour was over at 10pm and they brought us home. It was a great day! Pura Vida!

January 26, 2022 - Jaco to Monteverde, Costa Rica

We left the warm temperatures of Jaco this morning on our journey to Monteverde. The drive was about 75 miles but took us close to three hours! The road was narrow and winding, but the view were great as we climbed to 4363’ elevation.

There were several “living fences” along the way.

From one of the high spots points we stopped for a look out over the hills to the bay.

We stopped at Restaurant El Sol for lunch. I really thought this table was interesting. It reminded me of a person with a flat hat on head!

We arrived at our Hotel de Cabañas Valle Campanas in Monteverde and settled in to our little cabana. There are two resident dogs and Draco followed us everywhere! There are some walking trails around the property and an observation tower to watch the sunset.

The cabana is an interesting little house. We have a small kitchen and dining area in the front of the house with two large bedrooms and baths behind. Our bedroom has a queen, double, AND twin bed! The other has a king, double and twin bed! Both of the bedrooms have private bathrooms. It’s not fancy, but perfectly fine. We just hope we stay warm – the temperature is down to 61 already and windy! 😮

 Quite a change from Jaco!

We drove into town and walked around checking out different tour options, picked up some groceries and rotisserie chicken take out dinner.

Tomorrow morning we are going to Curi-Cancha Reserve for a tour that starts at 7:30 am so it will be an early night for us!

January 25, 2022 - Jaco, Costa Rica

This was our last day in Jaco and it was pretty good! This morning Tobey and I walked into town to the post office and market and back – 5 km.

We hung out in the ocean and pool for most of the afternoon, getting the last of the of the beach for a while. We had to chuckle because the life guards waved at Tobey because they thought he was out too far in the waves. Tobey gave him the diver’s OKAY sign and they walked on.

Everyday there is a fellow that sells colorful sarapes just outside the resort we are in. He seems to do a pretty good business.

We watched the last sunset here in Jaco before heading out to dinner. It did not disappoint!

Dinner, however, did. The company was good, the food, not so much. It all sounded good on the menu, but NONE of us like our food! You win some, you lose some.

We walked downtown to get some ice cream and are just hanging out tonight. Another day in paradise. Pura Vida!

January 24, 2022 - Jaco, Costa Rica

It was cloudy this morning so we decided to walk into town again. On our way out we spotted two scarlet macaws landing on their nest at our property. It was difficult to see, but still fun.

While many parrots remain with their mate only during the breeding season, scarlet macaw pairs stay together year-round. Both parents teach and care for their chicks. They typically nest in natural or previously excavated cavities in trees, where the female will incubate 1-2 eggs for an average of 28 days.

After watching them for a while, we were off into town. And the clouds went away. And the temperature started rising! And we kept walking. It’s okay, we survived!

In town, we looked in several shops and Ann was able to find a new bathing suit. Gary wanted a treat so we stopped at a bakery and he got some churros. I thought this bread was pretty interesting. We didn’t buy it, but I thought it looked fun.

We had to stop for ice cream to cool off before heading back. There were three “old guys” sitting at a table next to us talking about some guy that crashed his e-bike yesterday. Same accident we saw. They were saying that after two hours, he still refused to get in the ambulance and got up, picked up his bike pieces and walked away!

We had lunch on the patio and Gary and Tobey spotted whales in the water. Apparently, Northern humpbacks typically start to arrive in Costa Rica in December and can be seen until around April. They were quite a way off shore, but still, lucky us!

This afternoon was lazy – watching the whales, playing cards, swimming in the pool, and reading.

We had a beautiful sunset tonight before heading out to dinner at Amancio’s Pizza. The food was good, but the experience was even better. I had the chance to meet my cousin, Sue, and her husband, Ron. Our dads are brothers (mine was more than 10 years older than hers) and the last time we met was more than 60 years ago! It was fun getting to know one of my cousins on my dad’s side of the family since we lived so far away from most of them when I was growing up. They are moving back to the US later this year, so I hope we will be able to see each other again!

Life is good! Pura Vida.

January 23, 2022 - Jaco, Costa Rica

We had another pretty lazy day today. We are eating all of our “at home” meals on our patio/deck because that’s the only table with four chairs and it has been so nice outside. As we were having breakfast we saw several people out by the water and figured out they were watching rays that were close to shore. We finished up and went to check it out. It was pretty fun to see.

https://youtube.com/shorts/2yix38aO_iQ?feature=share
Rays along the shore in Jaco, CR video

There were several darting in and out of the waves. At first, the young feed on plankton, but as they grow, they eat crustaceans, small mollusks and larvae of aquatic insects. As adults they eat mainly fish and crustaceans. Where their eyes are positioned on their head it gives them nearly a 360° field of vision making it easy to spot their prey!

This afternoon called for splashing around in the waves, walking the beach, then taking a swim in the pool.

We decided to cook dinner tonight but needed some veggies for salad so Tobey and I walked into town to find a vegetable stand. On the way back we heard a terrible noise just ahead of us. A guy on a small electric bike missed his turn and hit a large flowerbed divider in the road. His bike flew over the top and broke into a couple pieces and he landed face down in the road. There were lots of people that ran to help him and call an ambulance. He landed face down and rolled over. His face was a bloody mess. I thought I wanted an e-bike, now, not so much!

The sunset wasn’t too spectacular tonight – too many clouds – but we enjoyed it anyway.

Another day in paradise. Pura Vida!

January 22, 2022 - Jaco, Costa Rica

Pool, sun, beach walking, reading. We played a few card games and went to a little restaurant around the corner for dinner.

Ann and Gary came back to the apartment while Tobey and I walked downtown. It was busy with lots of people out and music blaring from the bars. We stopped and got massages and walked home.

That was today. The end.

January 21, 2022 - Carara National Park, Costa Rica

We decided to visit Carara National Park today. Established in 1998 as a national park, Carara National Park (which means "river of lizards" in the Huetar indigenous language) is a favorite destination for bird watchers due to its immense amount of primary rain forest. It is also home to one of the largest population of Scarlet Macaws in Costa Rica. Surprisingly, we didn’t see any in the park!!!

It is in the transition zone between the tropical dry rain forest and tropical rain forest. This mesh of two habitats means flora and fauna from both live in one area, making it an extremely biologically rich zone. Due to the humidity and abundance of trees, there are a lot of insects in this area and in turn, many birds since there is so much food.

There are two sections of this park and we took the northern trail.  As we approached the main entrance to the park, a guide met our car and we negotiated a price for a tour – 42,000 Colones (about $70 USD) for the four of us. The entrance fee is $10 plus service fee per person.

Our guide, Franklin Sanchez, did a great job. Again, I don’t know how anyone can spot near the amount of birds that we saw without a guide. Well worth the price! Today you get pictures – lots of pictures – most of them taken with my phone through the spotting scope!

Rainforest - Carara National Park

Northern Ghost Bat

Female Blue throated golden tailed hummingbird

Turquoise browed motmot

Crested guan

White whisker puffbird

Capuchin Monkey

Black throated trogan - female

Male Black throated trogon
 

Howler Monkey

Our Guide, Franklin

Tobey by the buttress roots of a fig tree

Rufous tailed jacamar flycatcher

We arrived back at the parking lot and still had not seen any toucans or macaws! We hopped in the car with Franklin in tow and drove to an area outside the park where he spotted a couple nesting areas for the Scarlet Macaws.

Scarlet Macaw

We didn’t get to see any toucans today, but I am confident we will before the trip is over!

Franklin had lunch with us at Steven Lisa’s Restaurant in Tarcoles then we were on our way back to Jaco. It was cloudy, but we all put on our swimsuits and headed out to the beach to cool off. We spotted something washed up on the beach and couldn’t decide what it was from a distance. Then the lifeguards called the police. A huge sea turtle had washed ashore and was dead. It looked like a fishing line had gotten wrapped around its neck. They dug a big hole in the sand and buried it. It was pretty sad.
 

Tonight we picked up pizza and played some cards. Pura Vida!