Costa Rica Pictures

**Glacier** · 03-11-2011, 04:20 PM

Seems like since I came back here all I've posted is sad stuff! So I thought I'd post some happy pictures! Stuart and I spent 3 weeks in Costa Rica in November 2010, thanks to a remarkable friend who agreed to take on the enormous task of caring for our zoo! We loved Costa Rica. It's a beautiful country. We're planning to return in 2012 and hopefully purchase property there...a winter escape place!

I took three cameras with me! They all got a workout!

We spent a few days at the Arenal Volanco. It's one of the ten most active volcanos in the world. It's erupted almost daily since it's last major epurption in 1968. It was pretty quiet while we were there and the top was clouded over much of the time, but we did hear and feel some rumbles. Very cool! The area is spectacular even without the volcano!

We went swimming under the La Fortuna Waterfall in the same area. The trail down to it is treacherous with huge signs saying not to try it if you have balance or cardiac problems! It was worth the effort!

We hiked on the Hanging Bridges there too; 13 bridges strung at different levels in the rainforest. We were lucky enough to get very close to a troop of Howler Monkeys. It was a highlight of the trip for me. I've always wanted to see monkeys in the wild! We saw howlers several times during the trip and white faced capuchins in a different area!

These guys were all over Arenal, Coatimundis or Pizotes. They are kinda like racoons, although they have regular racoons there too.

After we left Arenal, we worked our way over to the Pacific Coast. One of our stops along the way was Las Pumas, a big cat rescue. It was amazing! They do great work. Many of the animals were kept as pets and can't be released, but they also have a vet clinic and rehab area. Animals that are injured in the wild are cared for, rehabbed and whenever possible they are released back into their natural habitat. This jaguar was watching for her lunch! The food guy was coming!

more coming....

**Glacier** · 03-11-2011, 04:30 PM

We rented a little cabina in Tamarindo.

It was great! Had a kitchen, a little pool and provided surf boards & bikes! Just a short walk to the beach! Plus the owner lived on site and had a lovely dog and cat! The cat's name translated to Mooch! He certainly knew a sucker when he saw one. He basically moved in with us after I came back from the Automeracdo with Whiskas treats!

The sunsets were amazing!

We went kayaking in the tidal estuary, where we saw a huge crocodile, more monkeys and mangroves.

Spent a day out on a catameran, snorkelling and cruising! We went deep sea fishing one day too and caught some skipjack tuna. The boat captain came over that night and cooked our catch for us. That day was the highlight for Stuart!

We saw some of the traditional crafts of the country, like decorated ox-carts and beautiful pottery. I have a tiny version of this cart sitting on my dining room table now!

We had a rental for the whole trip so we toured around quite a bit. Driving in CR is an adventure! Not big on road maintenance and signage is non-existant, even our GPS was pretty much useless! I got really good at asking for directions in Spanish!

one more post coming

**Glacier** · 03-11-2011, 04:48 PM

The country is beautiful with all kinds of terrain, from open plains to mountains! This was taken in the Central Valley region, from a little roadside restuarant...that had the best fresh pineapple juice ever!

Then we spent a few days in Alajuela, just outside the capital city. We stayed in a little hotel owned by an ex-pat Canadian, Hotel La Rosa de America.

We toured a coffee plantation and stuffed as much of that stuff as we could into our suitcases! It certainly makes you appreciate that morning cup once you see how much work it takes to produce it!

One of our last stops was Zoo Ave. It's primarily a bird sanctuary, but they have all kinds of other animals as well. All the animals are rescues, either former pets, injured wildlife or orphaned young wild animals. They do not capture wild animals for their zoo. The macaws are free ranging and could go where they please, but why leave easy food! Zoo Ave has a very successful bird breeding program that is trying increase the numbers for some endangered species.

It was a great trip. The critters all behaved. Things went nuts not long after we got back, but our sitter never even called our vet! We're looking forward to our next trip! We'd like to explore the Caribbean side next time!