Rio Tres Amigos Safari

My 4th time at Maquenque Ecolodge, but first time to go on this particular float trip (their web description link) though I’ve canoed their lake and been on the bigger river, San Carlos, in a larger boat. The only reason I’ve missed this one is that they require a minimum of 2 paying customers and I travel solo! 🙂 This was the first time there were other guests interested in this same float trip to make up the minimum with me. They were a lovely couple from Europe, he Italian and she Swiss! We had a great time together and I got a lot of photos which is right now the only part of my Maquenque Trip Gallery that is completed. So you can see more photos at Rio Tres Amigos Safari GALLERY.   🙂

And note that the only wildlife (The cow doesn’t count!) that I show in this post is one bird, but it’s a rare photo of a female Sunbittern sitting on her nest! In earlier blog posts I’ve shown you 3 animals from this safari:  Crested Caracara, Green Iguana and Mantled Howler Monkey, yet there are still many more in the above gallery including 12 species of birds!  🙂  And here are 6 shots to give you an idea of what just one morning at Maquenque can be like!  🙂  Still my favorite lodge!

A fresh fruit & water break along the Rio Tres Amigos, Costa Rica.

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“Sometimes-Green” Iguanas

🙂   I say that because they are not always green as anyone who visits the tropics has noticed. I especially enjoy the males in mating season when they turn bright orange (not this time, though you can see them in my gallery). This time they were green to brown or greenish brown with some blue-gray and one black. And yes, I know that there is one called a “Black Spiny-tailed Iguana” or the “Common Spiny-tailed Iguana” (Ctenosaura similis), but it’s features are different and it lives only along the Pacific Coast and thus would not be at Maquenque Lodge which is on the Caribbean Slope where only the “Green Iguana” (Iguana iguana) lives. And it is interesting to note that the babies of both species are bright green.  🙂

Green Iguana, Rio Tres Amigos, near Maquenque Ecolodge, Boca Tapada, Costa Rica.

Below are 4 more photos (in different colors) from this trip and then a link to my photo galleries of both species of Iguanas . . .

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Mantled Howler Monkey

Called a “Congo” by Costa Ricans, the Mantled Howler Monkey is the largest and loudest of the four species of monkeys in Costa Rica and the only one I got photos of this trip, from alongside Rio Tres Amigos on float trip last Wednesday near Maquenque Ecolodge. I heard them at the lodge but never was close enough for photos and the same for the Spider Monkeys. I’ve been photographing Howler Monkeys since my first weeks in Costa Rica and have an okay GALLERY: Mantled Howler Monkey of Costa Rica.

Mantled Howler Monkey male, Rio Tres Amigos, San Carlos Canton, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Immature Mantled Howler Monkey, Rio Tres Amigos, San Carlos Canton, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

The Stately Crested Caracara

I photographed this beautiful bird along the road on our way to Rio Tres Amigos for our floating safari. The guides and drivers are all so good about stopping when a significant bird is seen. I would not have photographed this bird had we not stopped the van. The map on eBird shows this falcon type bird throughout the Americas, but more so in Central and South america.

Crested Caracara, near Rio Tres Amigos, San Carlos Canton, Alajuela, Costa Rica.
Crested Caracara, near Rio Tres Amigos, San Carlos Canton, Alajuela, Costa Rica.

I was originally planning to do my post on Rio Tres Amigos today, but simply have too many photo of too many things to have them ready by today, plus this is a very full week with two medical appointments and tourist friends from the states stopping by!  🙂  So I may stick to individual birds, etc. for most of this week. But that Rio Tres Amigos was a great half-day trip that is going to make a super gallery when finished!

And oh yes, my Crested Caracara GALLERY!

¡Pura Vida!