Friday,
January 10, 2020
Emerald Princess
92F,
sunny
Puntarenas, Costa Rica
Today
was another early day with Donna and Lawrence. TK and Donna had arranged a “Thumbs
Up Tour,” a private company that was highly recommended. Wait till you see
what we did for $75/per person.
Eleven
of us boarded the air-conditioned van by 8:15 a.m. Carlos, our excellent guide
gave a quick tour of Puntarenas, population 14,000. Costa Rica’s diverse population is 5 million.
The town was still sleepy, and Carlos said that children are on vacation till
February.
From my 2010 blog, Puntarenas, Costa
Rica, Central America, is a small coastal town on the Pacific Ocean. Costa Rica,
population about 4.5 million, is known as the “Switzerland of Central America.”
There are tall mountains with some peaks as high as 13,000 ft. above sea level.
It is also known for its agriculture---rice, coconuts, mangos, bananas,
cashews, sugar cane, coffee, cattle, and orchids (800 varieties). It has the
perfect climate for vegetation—ornamental plants like ferns are exported, too.
Costa Rica has 750 species of birds, 150 species of frogs, and 2500 species of
native plants. It is illegal to cut down any tree unless it is a plantation
tree. It seems like these countries are very aware of the environment and
ecology.
At
our first stop we saw white throated capuchin monkeys, including a mother carrying
her baby. Carlos said these monkeys are very “tricky” and can open backpacks
looking for food. Their favorite is Doritos. I will add that feeding wild animals
in Costa Rica is against the law.
White throated capuchin (Cebus capucinus)
White throated capuchin monkey, mother and baby!
We
passed the port of Caldera, the largest port, mostly merchant, although
cruise ships use it in rough weather or when there are two other cruise ships
in port. Three per day is the limit. The largest industry is tourism, next is
bananas. We passed honeydew and cantaloupe plantations, as well as watermelon
and pineapple crops. The coffee harvest is going on now, but this tour did not
include a tour of that. Rice is another big crop.
Carlos
and the driver took special care to find a scarlet macaw. He
found a beautiful pair for us to photograph. He had a set up so that those with
cell phone cameras could get a close up but I had the DSLR for mine.
Scarlet macaw-pair
Scarlet macaw
Beach almond-scarlet macaws eat these, as well as nuts, fruit, flowers, snails, etc.
Our
next stop was the “Jungle Crocodile Safari,” with a small covered boat on
the Tarcoles River for a 75-minute nature tour. With only 11 of us on
the boat, we each had our own row of seats which made this boat ride extra
special. Carlos and the captain were fabulous at spotting some wonderful
wildlife!
A boat like ours
Some
examples of what we saw:
Green iguana
Young heron
Great blue heron
Cormorant
Orchids!
Common Basilisk lizard (also known at the Jesus Christ lizard for its
ability to run on water--large rear toes!)
Crocodile headed our way!
Donna and Janie, scared out their minds on the
Tarcoles River, hahaha
Snowy egret
Osprey
A pod, scoop, or squadron of pelicans! All are names for a group of pelicans
Not all the same species
Foreground: Tarcoles River
Background: Pacific Ocean
Brackish water
Roseate spoonbill-I was lucky on this shot. They are not usually seen
Boat billed heron--nocturnal, another lucky shot
Great kiskadee
Red Edged dracaena
Dracaena marginata
Brazilian Red cloak- Megaskepasma erythrochlamys
After
the very pleasant boat ride, we headed for a great restaurant for lunch, included
in the tour price! Rice, beans, chicken, salad, and rice pudding—superb. The
view of the bay and the Tarcoles River was spectacular.
Janie and Donna at Ti-Ko Restaurante!
The Tarcoles River and the Pacific Ocean--site of our boat ride from Ti-Ko
This iguana stopped by for lunch too!
Donna rested while Lawrence, TK, and I had dinner tonight. The turkey pot pie was super delicious. The best meal so far.
We have to set the time forward an hour again tonight. I do not really think Panama is on EST, but we will be from now on. I am glad tomorrow is another Sea Day--we need a rest!
TK's Takes: The Thumbs Up Costa Rica tour was very well organized. The view was great at the TiKo restaurant. He did not trust the monkeys so he did not get close to them.
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