Thursday, February 20 On to Sarapiqui

 Thursday, February 20

We wake to rain this morning - glad we'll have a covered boat as we'll retrace our route back to where Diego waits with the bus. But the rain doesn't last long.  Greg pays our bar bill, which comes to $38 for 4 wines and 2 beers.  

We travel from several inches above sea level to several feet.  Similar host of birds along the way and the crocodile (assume it is the same one?) in about the same spot.

                                                                     Ringed Kingfisher

Snowy egrets

Emerald basilisk lizard

part of a crocodile

We are back on Hwy 32 for a while, and stop for lunch at the same place we had breakfast a few days ago. This glass craftsman has a nice display there.  The boa and the sloth are still here, as well as a few small poison dart frogs which Greg sees, but I miss.

After lunch we turn towards the Sarapiqui area. More cattle and a few horses here and there, as this is traditionally a farming and ranching area.  Large pineapple and banana plantations employ 70% of the people in this area.  It seems that most houses have a dog nearby but we see only a few cats on this trip.

pineapple fields  ( photos taken from bus on the move)

Occasional roadside stands with pineapple, mango and other fruits.  Andrey says they grow citrus in Costa Rica too, but not in this area.

 Smaller road for a while and then onto a rough road full of rain-filled potholes.  We arrive at Selva Verde Lodge about 2:00.  Begun by a Canadian in 1984 and host for many researchers.  Nice resort with a colorful reception area.

At 3:30 we meet for a short walk in the Rainforest. We have been very pleasantly surprised to find few mosquitos or other nuisance insects.

We begin with a bridge over the Sarapiqui River (which we will raft tomorrow).

This huge tree has an opening on the backside that you can walk into.

This is a Keel Toucan, one of the 6 species found in Costa Rica.  They have quite a loud call but I have a hard time finding one to photograph.

Here's a much better toucan picture (complements of Rick).

We see various Heliconia, Scarlet-rumped black bird, papaya trees, huge trees, ferns, palms, bromiliads and all sorts of life.

This trio of little bats (I think Andrey called them long nose bats) were hanging out near someone's room.  Bats are some of the best pollinators and there are many varieties in Costa Rica.   

The trails were quite muddy today and I guess this isn't too uncommon, since they had a few of these stations set up around the complex.

There is a bird feeding station outside of the dining area which attracts quite a variety of birds. We sit and watch for a bit, while Andrey tells us the names.  Later, we have a discussion about feeding birds,  as I think Andrey doesn't really like it.  It provides photo opportunities, but is not natural and I think he feels that the birds should be doing their own hunting and eating.

Montezuma Oropendola

Red-legged honey creeper and blue-gray tanager.

Not sure, it may be a type of flycatcher.

Pair of woodpeckers.

Yellow crowned euphonia 

the red-legged honeycreeper again

Rufous Motmot  Greg got just as it was getting dark.

This clay-colored thrush is the national bird.  Its appearance and song tells the farmers when rainy season will begin.

A variegated squirrel and a white-tailed deer also make an appearance!  

Covered walkways connect all the buildings through pretty natural landscaping.

At 6:00 we have a lecture  by Rudolpho Alvarado  (Popo), about Sustainable Growth in Chilamate which is another name for this area.  He had some interesting stories about growing up in this area.  My impression was that it is a battle to support sustainable growth here.

 Only 2% of the light reaches the rainforest floor, as there are six layers of leaves over your head.   Now there is more carbon in the atmosphere (4% should be 2%) and this can slow growth of the rain forest.  The temperatures used to begin to cool at 10:30 PM,  now that doesn't happen till 3:30AM. 200 boats float the rivers every day, most motorized.  Less growth, more light, different temperatures all have their affects. So much of life is interdependent.

He reported on positive things being done in Costa Rica and encouraged each person to do what they can and learn from the local sustainable skills and knowledge of diversity of the rural Costa Rican people.  Single use plastics have been banned.  We have seen a few electric car charging stations.  Even when we got ice cream, Andrey encouraged us to get cones rather than use plastic cups.  They walk a fine line between keeping tourists happy to sustain their economy and avoiding wasteful or harmful practices.  

Dinner at 7:00.