Costa Rica 5, Fauna

July 3, 2012July 3, 2012 / Juliana Lightle / 8 Comments

Costa Rica continued to surprise me. I did expect some of the animals, photos of which are posted below, but did not expect so many cattle, especially the dairy cattle, including Jerseys, Guernseys, and Holsteins, that populated the steep mountain slopes. They grazed everywhere up to their tummies in grass on even the steepest mountainsides. I kept wondering how they learned to balance themselves and why they did not fall over, catapulting down the mountain. Everyone in the group commented on the fat, happy cows. Such abundance resulted in fabulous steaming milk for morning coffee, rich cheeses, and the creamiest ice cream imaginable.

A cow pen near the top of a mountain on the Caribbean side next to the restaurant that sold cheese and where I ate the raw turtle egg. Most of the cows roamed free up and down the mountainsides.

In the lowlands on both the Pacific and Caribbean sides of the country, Brahma cattle relaxed or grazed in the lush grass. It reminded me of the landscape near Veracruz, Mexico, where I lived many years ago.

The most common meat besides fish, most of which is talapia, is chicken. Near the mountain top where the Jersey cow above was photographed, I saw a huge shed and when I asked about it, was told it was a chicken farm. However, pork is frequently served as well and occasionally beef. I took the following photograph at a small place on a dirt road. We stopped there to drink coconut water. The spotted, pregnant pig was due soon. However, the fate of the black pig remained less lovely–food. Their girth resulted from eating coconuts; they constantly gorged themselves.

Birds abound, from the protected scarlet macaws on the Pacific Coast to tiny hummingbirds. Hundreds of species I had never seen before and many I had seen rather often like various egrets and herons. And then there were the monkeys which I did expect to see but found difficult to photograph with my ordinary camera.

These white faced monkeys roamed everywhere near the beaches at Manual Antonio National Park, begging for food and if that did not work, actually stealing it.

While the white face monkeys remained highly visible, the howler monkeys could be heard easily but were much harder to locate because they tend to stay high in the tallest trees. Without a good telescoping lens, this was the best I could do.

Look for the dark blob in the middle of the photo. They also move fast so hard to locate and follow and even harder to photograph under those conditions.

Just as we arrived, walking, at the entrance to Manuel Antonio, a downpour began. Not fond of drenchings, I stayed back, hoping it would stop, and suddenly saw a small sloth, the grey spot in the nearly leafless tree in the middle of this photo.

Lizards of many varieties abound. The tree near my hotel room in Jaco contained four iguanas that appeared nearly lifeless since they never seemed to move. Again, without a better lens I could not really photograph them. However, at Manuel Antonio many other kinds of lizards ran here and there only slightly afraid and relatively easy to photograph.

When I think back as to what I expected, it never occurred to me that huge, brackish (salt) water crocodiles existed in such abundance or even existed there at all. Near Jaco, on the Rio Grande Tarcoles the Costa Ricans created a preserve to protect the endangered scarlet macaws and crocodiles. We arrived early in the morning and floated around the river, into a mangrove swamp, watching birds and crocodiles. The list of common birds included 58 species and we saw others that the guide referred to as “bonus birds”. The following photos come from this lovely, relaxing river ride. Truly, I loved this part of the trip.

Entering the mangrove swamp.

Two months old.

Where the Rio Grande Tarcoles enters the Pacific Ocean.

The boat captain feeding the crocodile in the mud barefoot. I thought about touching this one he was so close until I was told they could swim as fast as 55 miles per hour. It occurred to me that he could turn around really quickly and snap off my hand so…

Costa Rica: 4, Flora

July 1, 2012July 2, 2012 / Juliana Lightle / 2 Comments

For a person who loves flowers (and I do), Costa Rica exemplifies a lush, green heaven. This intense green makes the flowers show up more than they would in a duller landscape. Whether in the high mountains near Monteverde or down in the coastal lowland jungles, flowers abound. So many flowers everywhere made me want to photograph them all, but there are too many; I photographed a few.

My friend, Anabel McMillen, the professional photographer, just about went nuts there were so many spectacular things to photograph. Last count I think she hit over 1000 photographs.

While wild flowers grow everywhere, the people also take great pride in both their personal and public gardens. Even at the simplest country house, flowers and other plants could be found growing in profusion. Almost all towns, like La Fortuna in the photo above and the one below near Arenal Volcano, create a public square with a church and gardens.

Hydrangeas like this one above grow along the roads everywhere near Monteverde.

Not only are the flowers frequently much larger than the same flowers grown here, but in the lowlands, in particular, many of the trees seem huge. Costa Rica also cultivates flowers for export. Net covered fields of ferns grow all over the steep mountain slopes.

In the highlands near Monteverde more than one hundred species of plants can be found growing on the surface of one tree as shown in the photos below.

Twice we stopped at a place called El Jardin, once on the way to Monteverde and another on the way back to San Jose from the Pacific Coast town of Jaco. In addition to their beautifully landscaped outdoor gardens, they possessed a small greenhouse filled with butterflies and a sculpture water fountain in an indigenous style seen throughout the country.

As I looked at the following bouquet where we ate lunch near the Sarapiqui River on the Caribbean side, I touched it because I remained unsure as to whether it could be real. It was.

PURA VIDA!!

Pura Vida: 3, The Volcanos of Costa Rica

June 25, 2012 / Juliana Lightle / 1 Comment

Of the six active volcanos in Costa Rica (61 are dormant), this month I visited two. Poas, a caldera volcano about 1 1/2 hours from San Jose in the Central Highlands, rises 8, 885 feet and is one of the largest and most active. Its crater contains water and rising steam. Lush rain forests surround the volcano. It rained the entire time I was there.

Arenal rises 5, 437 feet above the surrounding forests and verdant hills. It has been the country’s most active volcano for more than 40 years. In 1968, a large explosion buried three villages and killed 87 people. More recent eruptions have been much less severe. Smoke drifts skyward daily. Arenal is a strat0 volcano, tall and symmetrical. The lake near Arenal is manmade and an excellent place for kayaking in relatively serene waters. The lake provides 12 per cent of Costa Rica’s electric energy.

Due to Arenal’s geothermal activity, the surrounding area contains a number of hot spring resorts, one of which is El Tocano, where we stayed two nights.

This place is delightful and relaxing. The bar tender made yummy margaritas. If you want to drink wine, Costa Rica is not the place. However, the national beer, Imperial, tastes quite good and I do not usually like beer.