A few shots made my first day at Tapirus Lodge, enjoying the many “green things” walking around the lodge. And its a pre-made post for while I am getting settled back in at home in Atenas.
Rainforest Green
Costa Rica
¡Pura Vida!
Seeing Green
Rainforest Birds +
My second time to ride the canopy tram here and first time in the sunshine! It was better with a few more birds this morning after breakfast, but still difficult to photograph moving birds from a moving gondola! Sorry for not better photos, especially of the tiny Tawny-capped Euphonia!
I also walked around the campus again and down to the river and got two more Sunbittern – the featured photo – a rare and elusive bird that all birders desire! It was not from the tram! 🙂
I leave tomorrow morning from my different and good rainforest experience. Though difficult to rate, I will try to do so in another post and on TripAdvisor. And . . . oh yeah, of course it is raining again as I type this! 🙂
Today’s Birds
Nature from the Tram
¡Pura Vida!
The Park – Braulio Carrillo
Thursday morning was my time to hike one trail and part of another in the national park IN THE RAIN! Which meant no birds but I did get one very wet Sloth and lots of plants & streams which I like! All of the parks are very well maintained here and have a lot of nature to share! The park website: Braulio Carrillo.
Braulio Carrillo Pix
Visiting Braulio Carrillo from
¡Pura Vida!
Translation of quotation sign in park:
“This land belongs to all Costa Ricans, some have already died, others of us still live, but most are not yet born.” ~Anonymous
My First Tram Ride
These shots were Tuesday the 24th as a part of my “Birding Tour” with guide Cristian who is the guy in the gondola with me. I said “first” because I am doing it again tomorrow morning the 26th and hope for more than one bird! Though the Aracari shot Tuesday wasn’t bad! 🙂 And for it to not be raining! It has rained constantly for the last 4 days. And hoping for a shot of an Umbrella Bird before I leave Saturday morning.
The Longest Tram Ride in CR, 2.6 km
Tapirus Lodge Rainforest Adventure
The photos title has their bragging number of 2.6 km, length of your ride round trip! One-way from beginning to the other end up on a mountain top is 1.3 km, but either way it is long! 🙂 If you are the only one riding, it takes an hour and 15 minutes. But every time they board or exit someone more minutes are added. When the cruise ship passengers were here this morning it was taking them about two hours with people in most of the gondolas.
It will be quieter tomorrow morning right after breakfast with few if any other people and hopefully more birds in the tree tops! 🙂 There is the option to get off at the top with a guide and hike a trail up there, but my birding guide said it was not very good for birding, so we didn’t. I think the manager is sending one of his birding guides with me tomorrow to help me find birds in the tree tops. Fun! This is what you do when you are “Retired in Costa Rica.” 🙂
¡Pura Vida!
Birds & a Tapir – Perfect Christmas!
On Christmas Eve, yesterday, my 5 year anniversary of living in Costa Rica I had a birding guide and got one “Lifer” (first time seen) bird, the rare White-tipped Sicklebill, plus a lifer mammal if you please! A Wild Tapir came right up to the restaurant building eating from the flower beds! 🙂 Though not new for me, I also got some more photos of a very rare Sunbittern! And all of the below photos from yesterday were made in the rain. It has not stopped raining for two days and nights now in this RAINforest. 🙂
Birds
Forest Walk
I also got some interesting photos on the canopy tram ride which I will share in another post the next two days or whenever I return to the entrance for Wifi.
¡Pura Vida!
Reflecting on Past 5 Years
DECEMBER 24, 2014
Five years ago today I left my secure cottage at McKendree Village across from Andrew Jackson’s historic house in Nashville, TN with 5 suitcases for the Nashville International Airport and my one-way flight to San Jose, Costa Rica. I had taken more than a year to make the big decision to move my retirement from Tennessee to Costa Rica (2014 blog posts) and the big moment had finally come! I was doing it!
It was late afternoon when my delayed flight our of Miami arrived and getting dark as the taxista crammed 5 big suitcase in his little car’s trunk and backseat with me sitting up front with him. After a few short kilometers on congested Highway 1 or Pan-American Highway from the busy airport we exited into La Garita onto Ruta 3 for the last 15+ miles through the mountains in the dark to Atenas, Alajuela Province where I had decided to begin my new retirement adventure in the very center of the country, 45 minutes from the big airport and close to the medical services and shopping of the capital city San Jose in a quiet little coffee farming town of about 5,000 people.
My bad Spanish was even less then and of course the driver spoke no English. In the darkness of the country road going up and down hills and crossing one-lane bridges I must admit some doubts crossed my mind and I felt a little insecure. Did I make a mistake? Will I ever learn to speak Spanish? What will the apartment be like I have reserved? But then I already know an American couple living in those apartments, so not all strangers! And so on the many thoughts raced through my head on that dark, lonely road with almost no Christmas Eve traffic. Plus I was very tired, coughing from chest congestion, and physically not feeling well.
I had exchanged some of my dollars for colones in the airport and paid the taxista the agreed amount + tip when we pulled up in front of the Hacienda La Jacaranda Apartamentos office. The Dutchman owner/manager came out and I introduced myself. He said, “Oh, I thought you weren’t coming until after the first of the year.” (I had discussed that but told him in an email I decided to come Christmas Eve.) He then said, “Well, we have a vacancy but X (I don’t remember the name of his Philippine girlfriend.) will have to go up and clean it out for you.” She took off up the hill and after I got a key and all was agreed upon (I had already paid in advance for the first month). The taxista drove me and all my bags up the hill to the ground floor apartment. When I finally got to bed, I slept well and late!
SETTLING IN
It is just a simple fact that with any change there is adjustment and time needed to get settled into a new way of life and this was no different and possibly a bigger adventure than any other change I’ve made except maybe the move to The Gambia in 1999! 🙂
Rainforest Adventure
That is also the name of the company that operates this little lodge of only 10 rooms — RAINFOREST ADVENTURE. And that is what I am having! I’m almost at the bottom of the mountains of Braulio Carrillo National Park, though we are on the side of a hill or mountain, on the “Caribbean Slope” just barely across the province line into Limon Province, about a 25 minute drive to Guapiles for those who know the area. And in a real rainforest. It rained part of yesterday afternoon and has rained all day today so far. I skipped the morning nature walk that comes with the room because of rain (my camera doesn’t like) but made the night hike last night for lots of frogs and snakes! 🙂
There is no wifi in the lodge-restaurant area and so I took the shuttle bus up to the front gate on the highway (4 km) which is the only place with wifi. Thus I will not be doing a post every day. Today is my personal explore day, tomorrow an all day birding tour on my 5 year anniversary of living in Costa Rica, and Christmas Day I do the “Canopy Tour” or zip-lining. The birding tour includes a round trip ride on the tram through the tree tops. The 26th I tour the National Park and 27th rest before returning to Atenas the 28th.
That is it and I may or may not have another post from here – a little bit of trouble. The place is geared more to young adult adventures, but is a great rainforest to stay in. The room is small but okay though I must drink only bottled water here. Food is okay, not great. One of the guides here is Moises who was one of my guides at Turtle Beach Lodge in Tortuguero (the younger ones move around some). So, in spite of a lot of rain here I’m having a great time! Here’s the first afternoon/evening photos in three categories:
Frogs
Snakes
Insects
Forest-Lodge Area
One Bird
¡Pura Vida!
Christmas Parade!
“The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.”
~Will Ferrell, ‘Elf’
And that is what they do in the annual Christmas Lights Night Parade in Atenas with participants and viewers coming from other “pueblos” (towns) surrounding Atenas including the large Zarcero Community Band which marched in the Rose Parade earlier as well as smaller, rural bands and dance groups. Colorful, long, and loud!
A terrific Christmas Fiesta that continued after the parade with live music & food in the partly remodeled Central Park Atenas until midnight! Since I can hear the sound system from my house, it meant I was delayed going to bed last night! 🙂 And for some of us . . .
“The world has grown weary through the years, but at Christmas, it is young.” ~Phillips Brooks
Atenas Christmas Parade 2019
For more photos see my Christmas Parade 2019 Photo Gallery!
¡Pura Vida!
Christmas Time
“And we are better throughout the year for having in spirit, become a child again at Christmas time.” ~Laura Ingalls Wilder
And that is what I am doing again for this Christmas! Tonight (Friday) I watch the Christmas Lights Parade in Atenas which is always beautiful and colorful. (Feature Photo is 2017 Atenas Parade) I missed the parade last year while on a trip. That means that tomorrow, Saturday, I hope to report on the parade with photos, though it could be mid-day before I can get that many photos processed! 🙂
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Then Sunday morning I leave for the mountains where I will be spending the week at Braulio Carrillo, our second largest national park in Costa Rica at the Tapirus Lodge which I’m hoping was a good choice since my first choice (Arenal Observatory) had no vacancies a year ahead of this Christmas Week! (I now have them scheduled for Christmas 2020! Tapirus is operated by Rainforest Adventures which seems to emphasize the young with zip-lining and white-water rafting much more than bird-watching (but I am becoming a child again!) – so we will see! But at least I will be in the forest – me gusta mucho! 🙂
¡Pura Vida!
Christmas Cakes! ¡Queques de Navidad!
I know, the Spanish dictionaries will say “tortas de Navidad” or “los pasteles de Navidad” but Costa Rica has its own Spanish and we call cake “queque” here! 🙂
My favorite bakery here is Crema y Nata and they got an order this year for 40 Christmas Cakes for a corporate Office Christmas Party in San Jose. I snapped a few shots of my friends there preparing some of the 40 cakes. Also there are some shots of the patio dining area where I have coffee and sometime breakfast at least twice a week. In addition to their Christmas Cake which is okay (like a spice cake with icing, fruit on top & nuts inside–not as good as Corsicana TX fruit cake in my opinion) they have the best eggnog I have ever tasted in my life – very rich! Called el rompope here!
Queques de Navidad
“Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.” ~Norman Vincent Peale
¡Pura Vida!
¡Feliz Navidad!