Pura Vida, the Great Life Contunues....

The beach in Domanicalito...land of excellent smoothies!

Meanwhile, back in the warmth of Costa Rica...

This day was sort of a day off to rest and recuperate from the hiking and sweating in the forest primeval. And what did we do? Go to the beach along the pacific shore to dabble in the water...and sweat a little more. I discovered how out of shape I am this winter! I REALLY needed this day for a little rest. Ahhh, chillin' under a coconut tree...life really is "Pura Vida" down here!

Of course with Brian at the helm, a man who can't sit still for more than 30 seconds, and that's pushing it, we ended up  wandering through the jungle at the beaches edge and over a small river in search of gold...or birds...whichever...

Here's some more evidence that I wasn't in Ohio anymore!

Yep, still dealing with that birds from behind stuff...one these days I'll get it right...or not.

By the way, that's a black-hooded antshrike.

We saw hundreds of brown pelicans sailing and hunting fish over the ocean...or was it the same 12 every time? Hmmm...

Yeah, I know, he's out of focus...actually that's one of their defense mechanisms. Honest.

This is a flower...with ants. Yep.

In case you were wondering, yes indeed, this is another flower. You can find flowers here...in FEBRUARY!

This is Bob. Bob is a great-tailed grackle...and he followed us. Good dancer too by the way...

This crabby crab is a hermit crab that was feeling crabby.

 

Now here's a raptor, and I'm stumped on what he is. He looks like a juvenile with that much barring and he has a full crop. 

Hunting at the forest edge must be good!

 Brian makes a great bird spotter, he saw the raptor and this red-naped woodpecker before me...I was still watching Bob the grackle dancing...

 

Just like home! A bird I know, a spotted sandpiper in his winter home!

 He was hunting along the rivers edge and caught something tasty!

Zoom in!

 

 I knew I wasn't home anymore when we saw this variegated squirrel...a coat of many colors! 

 

Well, back to the real world...until next week when I post more of my adventures in Costa Rica!

 

PURA VIDA! My first day in Costa Rica...

My new buddies at Manuel Antonio National Park...

Wow! What a great vacation in the middle of winter! Thanks to our great friend, Brian, we all had a wonderful time discovering the wonders of Costa Rica. From birds to waterfalls, ocean front beaches and great food, we learned about the people and places in this amazing country.

Brian recently retired, along with a number of his friends, I'll retire in October(so excited!) and he decided it would be great fun to get everyone together for a trip to paradise to celebrate...which we did everyday! We hiked through a number of national parks, swam at beautiful waterfalls, relaxed at the beach and poolside and had wonderful meals together. Costa Rican food is delightful by the way...fresh seafood, vegetables and the best smoothies I'd ever had!

Our first destination was Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio. A three hour drive from the airport in San Jose, this place is amazing...rainforest, mountains and hills and out to the Pacific Ocean. The sights you'll see can be overwhelming. Please remember to bring your water bottles...unlike me...doh! A little bout of vertigo hit me near the end of the hike, but it was well worth it! And bring binoculars! There are birds galore out there, hiding and every once in a while coming out into view...and wildlife like lizards, mammals and snakes. Unfortunately I didn't see any snakes, next visit I'll look harder!

Anyway, here's a few photos from our first day out...

Brian our glorious leader and host telling me to be quiet and pay attention!

This is a species of basilisk reptile, I'm not up on my Costa Rican reptiles...

 

I don't know how our guide spotted these two brown bats high up in a tree!

 One of the first birds that I spotted on my own, I almost lost the group as they were looking at a clay-colored thrush...by the way, this is a black-hooded antshrike.

 

 

Flights of brown pelicans were very common along the coast.

 

 

  

 Another great bird to see! A chestnut-backed antbird.

 

 

It took us a while to see where our guide was pointing, but when you finally spotted this common pauraque camouflaged in the leaves, it was a great sight!

There's a famous bridge along the way on Costanera Sur highway. It overlooks the Rio Tarcoles and is said to contain the largest amount of crocodiles in the world!

No swimming, it's against the law to feed the wildlife...

If you're looking for great-tailed grackles, turn around, they're everywhere!

A heliconia...the hummingbirds that we saw were way to fast for me to get any photos...next time!

The forest is alive with iguanas and lizards!

This orchid was growing on the side of the tree along with a number of other epiphytes.

My first scarlet macaw of the trip! Surprisingly difficult for a color blind burd nerd to see!

I envy three-toed sloths...that life of leisure...

 

We were lucky enough to see a group of white-faced capuchins feeding on fruits in the jungle!

 That's all for today...stay tuned for more in Adventures in Costa Rica!!