Caño Negro and Río Frío

After a wonderful breakfast at our “hotel,” we headed north to within a few kilometers of the Nicaraguan border. We took a river cruise into the Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge on the Río Frío. I can’t tell you how many species of reptiles, birds, and mammals we saw and learned about, certainly more than 30, perhaps more than 40. Here are some of the highlights. 

For mammals, we got to hang out with howler and white-faced capuchin monkeys on separate occasions. The howlers stayed higher in the trees to rest, while the capuchins came right down next to our boat and hung out with us for quite a while. We even got to see a few young ones, along with a baby riding on her mom’s back, pretty special moment for all. We also saw a rare-ish Mexican tamandua (anteater) hanging out. They crawl along dying branches and eat ants all day long high up in the trees. 

For reptiles, they were out in force enjoying the sun, as it had rained for a couple of days and they needed to warm up. We saw a lot of the smaller crocodiles found in Costa Rica called caimans. We saw everything from small ones to big ones. We also saw a lot of green basilisk lizards, a.k.a. “Jesus lizards,” as they can get up speed and walk on water from one bank to another. We also saw many of the largest iguanas found in Costa Rica, the green iguana. The bigger ones we saw were 4 feet long.

For birds, I have no idea how many different species we saw but it was a lot! We saw many different storks, falcons, kingfishers, diving birds, herons, egrets, etc., etc.. Probably the two most unique sightings were of a scarlet macaw (the largest parrot found in Costa Rica) and a flock of 4 jabirus, which stand 5 feet tall without stretching their necks. This was our guide Daniel’s second ever sighting and he has been guiding for decades! 

On our way home we stopped for a fabulous traditional home-cooked meal as an extra from ACIS. All the food went down quick as it was delicious and they were hungry. We took a group photo at the lunch spot and continued on back to La Fortuna. As we approached town we were able to see 3/4th of the volcano Arenal, as it finally broke (well mostly) from the clouds. 

Upon arriving back at the “hotel,” you guessed it, they spent the afternoon swimming and relaxing. Then we cleaned up and went to town for dinner. After dinner, you guessed it, they swam more. The area with the pools is lit up at night with different colored lights. It’s really quite surreal. 

Tomorrow is another transfer day, as we head back into the mountains to the famous cloud forest of Monteverde. After travel and lunch, we’ll spend the afternoon walking a “canopy tour” of the cloud forest. As always I’ll update you again tomorrow night :)

Click on photos for better view.





Popular posts from this blog

Monteverde Cloud Forest Day 1

Image
We were treated to a surprise visit from a tucán this morning as we walked to breakfast. Then, we headed back up into the mountains and over to the Pacific side. The weather is much drier, sunnier, and cooler over and up here. It feels good. We took two breaks on the way here, a snack/bathroom break and then lunch. We arrived high in the cloud forest for our hanging bridges tour. We spent the afternoon walking the forest floor and then crossing 5 large hanging bridges to get an up close and personal look into the canopy. Below are photos! The highlight was that we saw two Quetzals! I’ll post a video of one tomorrow, but for now I added one obstructed shot I took. We checked into our new hotel. Most of the students organized a game of kickball in the field, while others ran and explored the trail behind the hotel. We went out to dinner at a really good Italian restaurant. After getting back to the hotel, they had some free time, which most spent outdoors, since the weather was so temper...
Read more

Arrived in San Jose

Image
Today was a long travel day. Luckily all our flights were on time. After arriving in Costa Rica, we checked into our hotel. Students cleaned up, swam in the many pools, and just relaxed. We are going to have our welcome dinner tonight here at the hotel, so it’s been a pretty simple, smooth day. Everyone is exhausted, so we’ll be going to bed early tonight. We have a big day tomorrow, as we’ll be traveling to La Fortuna in the north, which is at the base of a huge volcano. After a big buffet breakfast, we’ll take a quick bus tour of the city on our way out of town. Daniel will be looking for monkeys and birds for us to see on our trip north. Once we arrive in La Fortuna, some will go to an ATM (no cash needed yet). From there students will have a lot of free time to explore the quaint town, have lunch, and shop, all at the base of the volcano. After that, we’ll check into our hotel and then head to the volcanic hot springs. 
Read more