... any way the wind blows ...

WEEEEEeeeeeeeeeee............

4 to 8 Mar, 2009 - Santa Elena and Monteverde, Costa Rica

Finally, the group has reached maximum size. Picking up Shannon and Chester in San José brought us to seven. But that was it for two nights, With time rapidly running out for them, they decided they wanted to try and squeeze a bit of beach time in. We decided it was time to stay put. We have never quite done it like this before, travelling with such a group. And although it would not be a great way to do it, long term, it was a lot of fun for the short stint. Especially because everyone was so great. Adam we have known for quite some time now, (1998?) and he really is counted as one of our very good friends. Lisa we instantly felt comfortable with, and she is fun to be with and amazingly easy to talk to. Brent is a funny guy, and as generous as can be. Shannon and Chester (siblings), we only spent the one full day and a bit with, but felt as close to them as the others.

The Notorious Seven
Adam Lee, Lisa Matasovsky, myself, Jo, Shannon Dyrud, Chester Dyrud, and Brent Olson.

Double Rainbow and Moon
Rainbows are not that rare in Santa Elena, where the wind whips moisture down from the cloud forest, and the afternoon sun creates many rainbows day after day.

We have done a few bits and pieces in this area. We toured the cheese factory, originally established by Quakers who fled the US draft in the 1940's. That was far more interesting than it sounds, with an obligatory tasting session.

We were told the rain would not affect the fun of our zip-lining experience. My goodness, we both had such a blast. A dozen or so cables running through the canopy of the rainforest. We wore harnesses attached to a pulley. Pulley gets attached to cable. Away you go! WEEEEEEeeeeeeee!!!!! The cables vary in length, height, and gradient (and therefore, speed). The longest cable was around a kilometre long. Some of the cables ran 200 metres or more above the forest below. And some of the cables had no slack, and serious velocities were reached! Brakes? Thick leather gloves allowed us to grasp the cable. Whipping through the clouds was incredible. Some spans were almost entirely above the trees, while others went through long gullies calved through the foliage. There was also "Tarzan swing", which was a lot harder to leap off than I thought. I screamed on the way down, which changed to joy as I swung past the bottom, and changed back to fear again as I reached the top of the other side, then joy again as I swung back, and so forth, till finally it settled down. Although it was not really raining that hard, the precipitation about made me reluctant to take the camera. So, no photos at this point. A Canadian with a waterproof camera made some for us, and hopefully we will receive them in an email in due course. Watch this space!

We spent the majority of one day exploring the cloud forest of Monteverde. Reserva Biológica Bosque Nuboso Monteverde. The forest was stunning, with trails running to high lookouts and down gullies to picturesque waterfalls. The hummingbird feeders near the entrance were also quite a highlight.

A View From The Trail
View down to the Pacific from the Monteverde Cloud Forest.

Hummingbird At A Feeder
Getting a sugar hit. If anyone can get me an identity on this one, that would be appreciated.

Lovely Texture
The rich texture on these leaves and the deep colour really made a beautiful composition.

A Cuddle On A Bridge

Suspension Bridge

Interesting Fungus

Now, That's What You Call a Leaf

Obviously, Jo and a Tree

A Superb Tree
Well, I'm not sure it it is just one thing growing there, or if it is multiple trees that have combined to form one super-tree!

Freeze-frame
A Violet Sabre-wing Hummingbird captured in all its glory. 1/4000th of a second exposure.

It Aint Called A Rainforest For Nothing

2 to 4 Mar, 2009 – Tortuguero, Costa Rica

We are now five. We passed through Alajuela and picked up Brent, another friend of Adam's. After a few rough bus rides, a longish stint in a boat, and some tight connections (which must have worked because of divine intervention, because luck would not have been enough), we ended up in the village of Tortuguero. Surrounded by national park, with no roads, and only accessible by air or water, this little village is the jumping off point for visits to the park.

In the morning, it was raining while we had our coffee, but by 5:45 it had eased to a light shower, so we set off. Five in a canoe, plus guide. For the first couple of hours, while viewing wildlife, the rain came and went, and when it was came and not went, it was light. We saw a number of birds, including the Great Green Macaw and many waterbirds. We saw two species of monkeys, Central American Spider Monkeys and Howler Monkeys. We saw a magnificent, and not overly shy, Caiman. The highlight was seeing the Basilisks, though. Gorgeous green lizards, with prehistoric looking blades on their heads. They are also known as Jesus Christ Lizards, as they have the ability to run on water.

Basilisk
Prehistoric looking basilisk. Also known as the Jesus Christ Lizard because of its ability to run on water.

Trying To Remain Inconspicuous
A caiman assesses the world around him.

As we paddled back to town, the intensity of the rain just grew and grew. It was so intense, we had difficulty seeing. Rivulets of water ran through gaps in our wet weather gear, down our backs in to our pants, or down our legs in to our shoes. We were so incredibly thankful to get back to town and get hot coffee and dry out!

Hercules Beetle
Note the barbs on his legs! My goodness, when I tried to remove him, he did not want to let go. Those feet just dug in harder, like fish hooks.

Me With My New Friend
This friend did NOT want to leave me.

In the afternoon, we headed in to the park by foot. It was a chance to see and learn about the plants and the smaller animals. The evening highlight was the red-eyed green tree frogs. Unfortunately, they were not as spectacular as the magazine pictures, due to the fact that they were asleep, and most of the red and blue was hidden. They were little green blobs on green leaves, with tiny orange accents!

Green Tree Frog
A red-eyed green tree frog tries to get some sleep under a leaf.

Frog Burrito
A frog catches some shut-eye, hoping he is thinking he is nice and hidden in a leaf wrap.

Dinner was a special affair, at Miss Junies. Apparently, Fidel Castro and Che Guevarra have both dined at Miss Junies. Don't know what that means for us, exactly. In any case, Caribbean styled seafood was quite the hit for us all! Great food, and great company. A memorable night for sure.

Five At Miss Junies
A delightful Caribbean seafood dinner. Adam, Lisa, Jo, and Brent.

There Really is a Volcano There!

1 to 2 Mar, 2009 – Volcán Poás, Costa Rica

It's not the first time we have gone specifically to see something, and not seen it, and I'm sure it won't be the last. Volcán Poás was to largely remain in cloud. We caught the briefest of glimpses of the lake in the bottom of the crater, for about a minute, but that was about it. We could smell the steaming fumaroles, but the smoke and steam they produced just mixed in with the cloud that raced around us, propelled by a fiercely cold wind.

Now four, we were at least able to say that none of us had expected the views we had. We arrived in the afternoon, and were deposited by a local bus at the end of his run, some kilometres short of the park entrance. We had some lunch at the mirador dining establishment that was right there, and were very impressed by the views, over 5 of Costa Rica's 7 provinces. By the end of lunch, we had decided to rent rooms for the night. In the evening, trying to warm up by a fire in the dining room, we got an amazing surprise after sunset, when we realised just how far we could see. All of San José lit up for us, and every town and village between us and the Pacific Ocean.

Long Exposure Hummmingbird
1/200th second. Don't know the breed, but tiny as!

Sunset at Poás
Hummingbird feeder and sunset.

Grandma Impersonations
Jo and Lisa fight the cold.

Twice in One Trip

26 Feb to 1 Mar, 2009 - Alajuela, Costa Rica

We came to Alajuela, which is close to San José, in order to meet up with Adam. Again! We met up with him two months ago in L.A. So, this now makes country number five for us to meet with him. We will travel with him over the next few days or week or so, collecting some more and more of his friends as we go. Today, we will be 5, with Lisa to join us.

While waiting for her to arrive, we have done a couple of things around Alajuela. Sarchí is a town which is known for remarkable woodworking. In particular, they make traditional Costa Rican ox-carts, which are decorated for parades and exhibitions all over the country. We also made a stop at a snake farm, near Grecia.

A Carreta
A painted ox-cart, an unofficial symbol of Costa Rica. This is from Sarchí, a town known for woodworking, and especially for this sort of carreta.

Me and a snake
Richard gets up close and personal with a false coral snake.

A treat and a bird

25 to 26 Feb, 2009 - Mirador de Quetzales, Costa Rica

After all the camping, we decided to treat ourselves and stay somewhere a little more special, Mirador de Quetzales. A little more expensive than our usual sort of thing, but with the bonus that it is one of the few places where you are almost guaranteed to see quetzales in the wild. They are fairly small, and stay quite high, so excuse the quality of the snaps, but they are very beautiful birds.

A quetzal
A quetzal, looking somewhat like a Christmas decoration in his red and green. Those magnificent tail feathers were much sought after in times gone by.

Wilderness

17 to 24 Feb, 2009 – Puerto Jiménez & Parque Nacional Corcovado, Costa Rica

Sorry about the delay in blog update, but we were in the wilderness. Lots of animals, but no internet.

Parque Nacional Corcovado is on the Osa Peninsula, which has few residents, a couple of “towns”, and thousands of hectares of protected rainforest in national parks and private reserves. The jewel is Corcovado. We reserved a few days in advance, and were lucky to get a reservation for the campsites, as the daily numbers are very limited and strictly enforced. We met many who only got to spend one or two nights as they reserved late. We spent five nights.

Day 1 - Arrive at the park (Los Patos). This is not as straightforward as it sounds. Take the 5:00 a.m. bus from Puerto Jiménez to La Palma, where you can get a coffee before heading off on your first 14 km of walking. Remember, your pack will be extra heavy today, as you will be carrying 5 days worth of food and fuel, including some fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as tinned fish, etc, etc. After a few hours, find a nice spot for breakfast, somewhere along the road. A highlight of the first day is soon after breakfast. Two km down the road, you will be delighted to remember that you have left a bag at your breakfast spot. Nothing valuable, but containing things you don't want to face replacing, and might need in the next week anyway. Luckily, you will have your spouse with you, who can sit with the big packs while you go back for said bag, hoping it will still be there, finding it, but effectively adding another 4 km to your walk. After 7 km (or is that 11 now?) the trail becomes a 4wd track up a very rocky river bed. Here, you may get your lucky break for the day, being picked up by a park ranger on his way in, meaning you only have to cross the river twice on foot, instead of the total 20 odd times. Arriving early at Los Patos, and setting up your tent, you can now compensate for the unwalked kilometres by visiting a fantastic swimming hole at the base of a waterfall – 2.5 km each way, steep up and down twice. Cook dinner, eat, and go to bed ridiculously early (7:00) because it is pitch dark already.

Day 2 – Walk from entrance to centre of park (Los Patos to La Sirena). Set alarm for 5:00, and promptly make your coffee, eat breakfast, pack your tent, and set out. Today you will cover 20 km, and your pack will in fact be heavier, despite having eaten some food, as you will probably need every drop of the 7 litres of water you are carrying (3.5 each). The first 6 or 7 km will be the hardest, rising up to the highest point of the day early, and then rising and falling. Don't forget to admire the magnificent primary rainforest with its 50 metre trees. Stop to photograph bugs and birds and flowers, but try not to let too much time pass with your pack on the ground and the camera in your hand. Once you finish the ridges, the remaining 14 km will be basically flat. For quite a while, you will still happily scan the woods and trail for wildlife. The large birds (including hawks), the very exciting deer sighting, and the family of coati will help you maintain that enthusiasm. However, be warned, towards the end of the walk, you will stare straight down at the trail, plodding on, waiting for that wondrous moment when you burst from the jungle into the camp. Thankfully, that moment will arrive, and not too long after lunch time. Amazingly, before dinner, you will find that you have enough energy to go for a pre-sunset walk to the river to try and spot more wildlife.

Day 3 – Explore the trails around La Sirena. On this third day, you should once again hit the trails early, as you may catch some early animals. Large groups of monkeys (all four species which live in Costa Rica) will entertain you at various times. When you get back to camp for your late breakfast, a delightful family of endangered squirrel monkeys will play, fight, and eat in the trees opposite your table. After lunch, a canoe trip awaits, allowing you to view rainforest life from the river perspective. You won't miss the crocodiles, but you could miss the sharks. That's right, the bull sharks actually come up the river and live happily in the fresh water. Minutes before sunset, you will see your first tapir. A fair way away, but clear in the fading light, as it gets a drink before disappearing into the vegetation for the night. Yet another early night awaits you.

Day 4 – Another day of local trail exploration around La Sirena. On your 4th day, there will be no need for you to set an alarm, as the Howler Monkeys will be in the trees right next to the camp, and they have been instructed to wake you at 4:00 with howling and screeching and general carry-on. The morning walks will be on the same trails as the previous day, but the wildlife will be very different. The first highlight animal will be the ocelot – unfortunately you will only see it for about 10 seconds and it will be gone before you can get the camera out, but don't worry, your photos would not have turned out, because at 6:30 in the rainforest, nothing but shapes can be captured. However, an hour or so later, when you find a tapir in the brush, be prepared to take many photos. Not only will the light be significantly better, but the tapir will be very compliant and will allow you to take as many photos as you feel you need. Make sure you leave some space on your memory card for photos of the peccaries in the afternoon. These wild pigs will also allow you to come quite close before moving along. Unfortunately, your camera will not capture the smell of onions that will accompany them. A super early night will set you up for a super early start tomorrow.

Day 5 - Walk from centre of park to exit (La Sirena to La Leona) – This morning, be ready to hit the trail at 4:30. This has two advantages. The first is it allows you to cross the first river at low tide (knee deep, as opposed to waist deep at high tide). The second is that you will complete the longest beach stretch before the sun gets too high and makes you feel sick by beating directly down on you. Today, you will be provided with two French walking companions, helping you to not notice how much walking you are actually doing. (By the way, it is 16 km, and although your packs will be their lightest, a fabulous offset will be the walking on the beach – Great work out on the soft sand!) Still, keep your eyes open when the trail ducks back in to the trees, as the animal spotting is not over. Arriving at La Leona before lunch, have a coffee, a swim in the sea, before doing some little walks along the trails local to this final station. Tonight, a final tick check will reveal that you have 8 or 10 ticks burying in to your skin while your wife in untouched (by ticks, anyway – mosquitoes have ensured she will not leave the park unscathed.)

Day 6 – Leave the park (La Leona to Carate) – The truck you will take from Carate back to Puerto Jiménez will leave at about 8:00, so wake in time to walk the 3.5 km along the beach. If you have been prudent, you will have allowed more time than you thought necessary, allowing you to be relaxed when you overshoot Carate by 1.5 km and you have to double back. This is almost guaranteed, as nobody who has not been there before would believe that Carate is simply a car park with a single shop which is not open. Congratulations, after two bumpy hours in the truck, you will be back at Puerto Jiménez.

We had a magnificent time, and saw heaps.

 enchanting tapirs;
 a brief sighting, but an ocelot none-the-less;
 Collared Peccaries;
 Red Brocket Deer;
 noisy Howler Monkeys;
 cheeky White-faced Capuchins;
 rare and comical Central American Spider Monkeys;
 rarer and cuter Central American Squirrel Monkeys;
 cuddly White-Faced Coatis;
 shy Agoutis;
 squirrels;
 frogs and toads;
 innumerable lizards and skinks, including the remarkable basilisk;
 crocodiles;
 sharks, rays, and fish;
 hawks;
 opreys;
 toucans (well, one);
 noisy and colourful Scarlet Macaws;
 slightly quieter parrots;
 absolutely silent hummingbirds;
 knocking woodpeckers;
 herons and other wading birds;
 large ground birds (sort of sized like a turkey);
 little shore and beach birds;
 many more birds of varying sizes and habitats;
 spiders;
 hundreds of butterflies;
 millions of insects, especially ants;
 insects and beetles as big as your hand.

Wow, what an experience. An absolute highlight!

Scarlet Macaw
Beautiful and unmistakable.

Beetle
A beetle with attractive spots to look like eyes.

Toad
This guy was big. Note the size of the leaves around him!

A rainforest flower

Gorgeous squirrel monkey

Tapir
A tapir in the undergrowth, not far from the river, close to the La Sirena campsite.

Tapir
What is there to say? Isn't she (he?) beautiful?

Tree...
Well, some of the magnificent root structures of one of the trees.

Big spider, and little spider
A large spider awaits dinner. This is the female, and you can see the tiny male (not quite in focus) hanging around, too.

Big bug
Maybe a type of locust? It looks more like a grass hopper, but flies, and it is bright red and blue when it is in the air. Stationary, it is like a leaf. Oh, by the way, this was about 10 or 12 centimetres long.

Oink!
A peccary stops in his tracks to check us out.

Peccary dashes across the trail
A large group of peccaries were trampling through the undergrowth, and wanted to be on the other side of the trail. One by one they broke out of the vegetation and dashed across the path to the other side.

Toucan in the sun
Late sun catches this beautiful bird in a bare tree.

Croc

Coati digs up a large crab
A coati watches warily while consuming a crab he has dug up.

Smile
A coati looks up from work, foraging for crabs.

Mum eats, baby just hangs on
Looking over the shoulder of mum, a baby monkey peers at us.

Just hanging
A white faced capuchin strikes an adorable pose.

Monkey mums and bubs
Two spider monkeys with babies on their backs swing casually through the trees. Baby monkeys learn very young how to hang on!

Central American Spider Monkey
A spider monkey casually hangs while eating above the trail, near La Leona.

Sunset
View from La Leona campground, on our last night.

San José

15 to 17 Feb, 2009 - San José, Costa Rica

Between running around and doing various jobs in town, we managed to see a couple of sights from the capital. We did especially enjoy the Museo de Jade, for the pre-columbian pottery as much as the jade objects.

Pot
A fantastic pot in the Museo de Jade, San José.

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