charliedoggett.net
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| Sungrebe (mating female) at Tortuguero National Park (A first sighting for me!) |
Lots of catch-up work at home today that did not include managing my thousand+ photos from Tortuguero, so many more to share in time. 🙂 I’m taking Reagan to Alajuela tomorrow where I do much of my shopping. Then Saturday to the Pacific Coast, Jaco Beach and maybe Puntarenas. His last two days of Sunday and Monday may be a lot slower. We are both tired.
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| Collared Aracari Toucan Eating Papaya in the village of Tortuguero, Costa Rica |
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| Black-mandibled Toucan Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica |
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| Keel-billed Toucan At Park Headquarters Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica |
The Toucan by Shel Silverstein
Tell me who can
Catch a toucan?
Lou can.
Just how few can
Ride the toucan?
Two can.
What kind of goo can
Stick you to the toucan?
Glue can.
Who can write some
More about the toucan?
You can!
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| Green Basilisk or “Jesus Christ Lizard” (because he walks on water) It is also called emerald, plumed, or double-crested basilisk (Nat’l Geographic) From a boat on Tortuguero River – CLICK TO ENLARGE |
We are busy & upload is slow, so I’m saving the bird photos for when we are home tomorrow or later this week. Lots of birds! Good tours today! I recommend Laguna Lodge at Tortuguero!
And if you are going to the west coast or especially Manuel Antonio, I recommend our guide for these 3 days who usually works over in Manuel Antonio National Park. His name is Robert Umaña, robert.uma8@gmail.com or call (506) 8881-2240. He is very personable and well organized and good at finding birds. Though I have had guides more knowledgeable of birds, he is going to continue getting better as a young man. And he is real good about taking a picture for you with your cell phone through his spotting scope, which I find very impressive for most people from the U.S. And he is very patient with people which is important for a professional guide. Guides here are trained by the government and certified which means most are good and that is a big plus for Costa Rica tourism! I’ve never had a bad guide, just some are better than others. Robert’s one of the best!
Follow Reagan’s Blog for his view of his visit here! He is not into birds like me or the wildness, but he likes the adventure and the opportunities to make photos and share them just like me! So we are both having a good experience in “The Amazon of Costa Rica.” Pura Vida!
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| Red-eyed Tree Frog, Tortuguero, Costa Rica by Charlie Doggett |
A long, busy, and very productive day ended with me getting my best yet photo of the red-eyed tree frog. And that was after getting photos of 3 kinds of Toucans and many other birds/animals! But with a 5:30 AM birding trip tomorrow, I am settling for this one photo tonight. Reagan doesn’t enjoy the wildlife like me, but he is still having quite an adventure and will be back online Wednesday night. And I will have a lot of photos for future posts! 🙂
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| Gabriel was our guide at El Toledo Coffee Farm |
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| His Mom made the coffee samples |
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| And we decided our favorite before he told us which was dark roast, light roast or medium roast |
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| Then we watched the beans roast |
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| Which were earlier sun-dried like this |
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| We learned how organic “natural” farming is better than just organic |
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| The purpose of many different kinds of trees among the coffee plants |
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| And ate a typical Tico lunch at Gabriel’s aunt’s house. A great total experience! |
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| Reagan continues to say that sitting on my terrace is his favorite place. I never show the driveway in photos, he noted; so here it is! Not picturesque! I only use it when I have a rent car, like this week. |
Tonight – Sunday night – we are at the Hampton Inn Airport where we will be picked up at 5:30 in the morning for our trip to Tortuguero on the Caribbean Coast. Our big adventure starts with the van trip to the boat dock in the morning, driving over a mountain range and into the coastal rainforest for and hour and half boat trip through the jungle to our Laguna Lodge.
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| Flash Back plays for dancing at Augostos Restaurant tonight |
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| Scarlet Macaw at Zoo Ave |
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| Keel-billed Toucan at Zoo Ave |
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| An Injured Toucan rescued and nursed to health |
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| Green Iguana, one of many around the park |
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| Wild Spectacled Owl visiting Zoo Ave |
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| Striped Owl at Zoo Ave |
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| Crested Owl at Zoo Ave |
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| Emu at Zoo Ave |
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| Great Curassow Male at Zoo Ave |
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| Great Curassow Female at Zoo Ave |
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| Squirrel Monkey at Zoo Ave |
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| Spider Monkey at Zoo Ave |
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| Helicopter Damselfly at Zoo Ave |
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| Baird’s Tapir or Central American Tapir at Zoo Ave |
Zoo animals are ambassadors for their cousins in the wild.~Jack Hanna
We started today after breakfast with a visit to the Feria or Farmers’ Market. See my photos from earlier post or how I use fresh fruits in an earlier post. The Feria is always a place my visitors want to see even if we don’t purchase anything.
The little Railroad Museum is nearby, so we went by it to make sure I knew how to get there Sunday afternoon which is the only time it is open. So some snaps of it before . . .
Ice cream at POPS, then we hang out at home rest of today.
And have dinner at a neighbor’s house nearby, Richard next door. It was really nice! I’ve included a shot of the view from his house looking over the roof of my landlord’s house. Quite a bit more expansive than my view! 🙂
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| View from Richard’s house at dinner tonight, looking over the roof of my landlord’s house. |
Follow Reagan’s Blog for his view of his visit here!
After a Tico breakfast at Casita del Cafe outside Atenas with a beautiful vista we drove up into the mountains with hopes of seeing Poas Volcano and the waterfalls of La Paz. Well, as we drove higher the rain increased and at the gate of Poas National Park we were told we could enter for $15 but we would not be able to see the volcano. So we turned around and headed for La Paz Waterfall Gardens where it was raining has hard but we could see most of the sights. Ponchos and a lot of dampness accompanied our tour of the gardens. But we did see quite a bit! And chose not to eat in the expensive La Paz tourist restaurants, instead driving to La Garita for lunch at Arroz Mango. Then home for sitting in sunny Atenas on my terrace until a little Mexican dinner at Donde Bocha Antojeria. An adventurous day!
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| Finally my concrete wall made pretty! Triquitraque or Flamevine |
The triquitraque or flamevine I had planted 7 months ago started out with a burst of growth and then just quit and never bloomed much. So Jean-Luc suggested I feed them since the construction site soil was not particularly rich and I thus added a fertilizer, sort of a 12-12-12 from the La Coope Farm Store. Wow! what a difference it made! They grew and got greener and are now just starting to bloom. I think there will be more, but I’m sharing what I have now and I’m pleased! It kind of makes up for the Porterweed not blooming now. Both attract hummingbirds.
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| From above the flamevine contrasts nicely with the blue plumbago below. I love it when a plan comes together! 🙂 |
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| And just in time for the visit here by Reagan Frazier from Nashville. Photographed here on his camera on my terrace overlooking Atenas. |
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| Thanks to Reagan for snapping this photo of me at the San Jose Airport! I promise to give a warm welcome to anyone who comes to visit. Pura Vida! |
Reagan arrived yesterday afternoon and today we took it easy, walking around Atenas Central a little and eating a typical Tico lunch or “Casado.” Tomorrow we start with a Tico Breakfast with a beautiful view at Casita del Cafe and then drive to Poas Volcano and the La Paz waterfalls so he can feel like a real tourist! 🙂 Follow Reagan’s Blog for his view of the visit here!
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| Yigüirro (clay-colored thrush) The national bird of Costa Rica is one of many landing in my fast-growing guarumo (cecropia) – hoping it will soon be a toucan! |