Tag: jungle

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Last Morning at Jungle Lodge

Heliconius Ismenius Clarescens 
 A regionally endemic butterfly found only in SW Costa Rica
Danta Corcovado Lodge, La Palma, Costa Rica

Golden-hooded Tanager
 Danta Corcovado Lodge, La Palma, Costa Rica

Chestnut-sided Warbler
 Danta Corcovado Lodge, La Palma, Costa Rica

Red-lored Parrot  Danta Corcovado Lodge, La Palma, Costa Rica

Pale-vented Pigeon
 Danta Corcovado Lodge, La Palma, Costa Rica

Simple Trails Like This Led Me To . . . 

The Birding Canopy Tower
 Danta Corcovado Lodge, La Palma, Costa Rica

Going early before breakfast gave me nice views as well as birds! 
 I went alone this morning compared to a group with guide on Wednesday.
 The birding tower is an excellent perk for birders who stay at
 Danta Corcovado Lodge, La Palma, Costa Rica

Lodge Office with Lobby to Left and Dining Room in the Background. 
See my photo gallery for more images of the lodge spaces and grounds.
 Danta Corcovado Lodge, La Palma, Costa Rica

The Last Trail Junction Before My Cabin 
I was in Gavilán (Hawk) Cabin
 Danta Corcovado Lodge, La Palma, Costa Rica

This lodge reminded me of the delightful days I spent at Boy Scout Camps as a boy, Camp Logoly near El Dorado, Arkansas and a whole summer while in college as staff on Camp Quapaw near Benton, Arkansas. There is nothing better than simple facilities totally emerged in nature! I have so many “favorite” places here in Costa Rica and this one is certainly near the top of the list! I will return in the future. And of course I hardily recommend it to anyone who loves nature and to my birding friends! After all, I found and photographed 4 “lifers” here or birds seen for the first time.! They were the Blue-crowned Manakin, Red-capped Manakin, White-shouldered Tanager, and the Scarlet-rumped Cacique.

I had intended to stay 5 nights but the airlines messed me up on that with only 4. Next time I will try again to stay longer and soak up the ambiance of this wonderful retreat! Another joy in being retired in Costa Rica! See more photos and all the birds & other animals in my TRIP Gallery:  2018 March 13-17 – Danta Corcovado. 
¡Pura Vida!
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Jungle Camping Tomorrow

Tomorrow (Tuesday) morning early I fly to Puerto Jimenez with a ride into the jungles alongside Corcovado National Park for 4 nights. My most primitive stay in the park yet at Danta Corcovado Lodge.

Corcovado is the largest protected coastal rainforest in Central America
Danta Corcovado Lodge, Costa Rica

My Room is basically a wall tent on platform with mosquito netting on bed.
Danta Corcovado Lodge, Costa Rica

Lobby and Dining Room feature rustic furniture
and I will eat lots of beans & rice, other basic Tico food
Danta Corcovado Lodge, Costa Rica

Hope I get this close to an Anteater! And maybe a Tapir!
Danta Corcovado Lodge, Costa Rica

Night Hike promises frogs, snakes, insects & surprises!
Danta Corcovado Lodge, Costa Rica

It is one of the few places for the endangered Squirrel Monkey
Danta Corcovado Lodge, Costa Rica

My days will be filled with hiking on the lodge trails on my own, and tours with professional guides

for a birding hike, interior of park hike, kayaking a river, a night hike, and possibly a visit to an indigenous people village, panning for gold, or I might even be ziplining above the forest. This could be one of my most adventurous trips since moving here. All of the above photos were copied from the internet, but I hope to return with many more of my own! They are suppose to have wifi in the lobby, but I doubt it will be strong enough for regular nightly posts. We will see! I had scheduled 5 nights, but this afternoon, Monday, Sansa Airlines canceled the Sunday flight, so I now come back Saturday evening. Adventure is good! said Aesop

Read about the place at http://www.dantalodge.com/
-o-

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
-Mark Twain
Retired in Costa Rica
¡Pura Vida!
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Birding Near El Copal

Enroute to El Copal area we passed this vista or mirador of Reventazón River below the clouds.
Most of the rivers around Orosi and Tapanti flow into this which flows into the Caribbean Sea, Atlantic Ocean.
Today was kind of like hiking through “Middle Earth” in The Lord of the Rings. As much of Costa Rica is!  🙂
Reventazón River, Costa Rica

We went further away today and did more mountain walking for a longer time, so I am quite tired! For those who know the area, El Copal is a famous private reserve in these mountains the other side of Tapanti where we were yesterday. The reserve takes visitors on a limited reservations system and they were not even open today, so we did not go inside the private reserve. But we birded all around it and saw about as much as I can handle in one day!  🙂   There is a rustic lodge in El Copal and in the future I will schedule a 4 or 5 day visit there with Cristhian. And yes, that is how he spells his name which I spelled wrong yesterday. I have two friends in Atenas who spell it Cristian, but in this culture (or language) they never spell the name Christian which would be considered English.

We drove and walked on dirt roads through the jungles of this mountain area in south-central Costa Rica most of today. Quite an experience! I just love it here! We even walked by Cristhian’s hermit uncle’s little cabin in the woods. Cool! There is so much to explore in Costa Rica!   🙂
Tomorrow I explore some more of Orosi with the old colonial church ruins expected to be the highlight and the Orosi Mirador.

¡Pura Vida!

An unusual jungle flower today. Click to enlarge.

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The Lost City of the Monkey God

Nope, not my next trip! The Lost City of the Money God, A True Story is a book I’m reading right now on my Kindle Fire and it is fun! It is mostly about the 2012 and 2014 explorations of a totally uninhabited rainforest in eastern Honduras mostly to see if there really was a “lost city,” “White City” or “City of the Monkey God” of legends and what they discovered just might become the largest of all pre-Columbian indigenous cities in Central America. It will take years to know. It will certainly rival the Mayan city of Copán now attracting tourists to western Honduras.

Here’s the National Geographic summary story by the National Geographic writer who also wrote the book with photos by the Nat Geo Photographer who traveled with him.

Or here is a different summary by CBS News online

And some additional bits on the National Geographic Website with a little video

This is in one of my neighbor countries now and really interests me. The new Mayan city discovered in Guatemala is suppose to be the largest one yet, though this one is sounding like a possible rival and it may not even be Mayan. They don’t know yet what culture.

This also interests me because the jungle there is so like the jungles here that spark my sense of adventure and exploration. Their encounters there with a Fer-de-lance Viper like one I found dead on my street as starters. And I look forward to another new adventure this coming Saturday, Tenorio Volcano Park and Canon Negro. Though I do hope the vipers keep their distance!   🙂

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Its a Jungle Out There!

From my kitchen looking across the DR/LR and terrace at another rain.
Our rainiest rainy season in years has everything growing. 

Step out my back door and the flower garden is 6-7 feet tall!

And the screen of little palms outside my office/guest room is growing too! 

Usually by December the “Dry Season” or our summer has begun, but it is raining again today and forecasts are for more. Its a good thing that I love the jungle!  🙂

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Safari Hotel – Almonds & Corals Manzanillo

My Room, a large wall tent on platform.
Almonds & Corals Hotel, Manzanillo, Costa Rica

 

 

Two Four-poster Beds
Almonds & Corals Hotel, Manzanillo, Costa Rica

 

Aff Hammock for daytime resting
Almonds & Corals Hotel, Manzanillo, Costa Rica

 

Sink, toilet & Shower beyond the Hot Tub
Almonds & Corals Hotel, Manzanillo, Costa Rica

 

The “Hallways” between Room, Dining, Beach
Almonds & Corals Hotel, Manzanillo, Costa Rica
Covered Outdoor Dining Room
Almonds & Corals Hotel, Manzanillo, Costa Rica

 

And Short Walk to the Beach
Almonds & Corals Hotel, Manzanillo, Costa Rica
Wood Carving of a Toucan by Office
Almonds & Corals Hotel, 
Manzanillo, Costa Rica

Note that this property is right on a beautiful beach which I will show in a separate post. AND many of the photos of animals were photographed right here on the hotel property in the jungle! It is truly living in the rainforest of South Caribbean Costa Rica. The beaches and towns on the Caribbean side are smaller, less crowded, more rustic and more natural than the much more developed Pacific Coast. And less expensive! But both sides have a lot to offer! And the reason I live in Central Valley instead of either coast is that both coasts are very hot and humid year-around and more expensive. But from the Central Valley I can easily visit both coasts and live in “The best weather in the world!”  🙂

 

PURA VIDA!

 

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Exploring Tortuguero

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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Layering My Private Jungle

Year-around blooming flowers for my terrace rocking chair view.
And behind my terrace planters are three layers of plants in my yard
and another in the neighbor’s. Soon we will be separated by a jungle!  🙂
One of the round pots I moved from inside because of a lack of sun there.
The other had ornamental grass which I will replace with something green.
Like my garden, the yard and terrace are always a work in progress!
And my poinsettias are still blooming to the right at terrace entrance!