La última galería
Our final days in Costa Rica included a few more frogs and birds, a guided visit to a coffee estate, some tree-top adrenaline and a short interlude of 5-star R&R to fortify us for our next destination. Here is the final gallery from our time in Costa Rica.
This panorama at Catarata del Toro (Waterfall of the Bull) shows the incredible lushness of cloud forest habitats
This beautiful waterfall drops some 90m into an extinct volcanic crater. Hiking all the way to the pool at the bottom makes for a beautiful walk, and you certainly earn your lunch on the way back up.
A red-lored parrot shows off his powdery blue crown
Parrots are believed to mate for life, and the flocks that we regularly saw at dusk were always flying in tightly-knit pairs
Frog’s Heaven is a family-run business that has transformed their smallish property into a “mini-reserve” with optimal conditions for (free-roaming) frogs. As a result it’s possible to photograph up to 20 species of frogs in a natural setting. Heaven for frogs and heaven for photographers.
This little guy startled me with a giant leap onto my shoulder. Fortunately he wasn’t a spider or it might have caused complete mayhem.
Perfect blue jeans on this fellow
During a birdwatching cruise on the Río San Carlos, we spotted this terrapin basking in the sun
Our disconcertingly determined guide located this frog during an after-dinner excursion. Juveniles do not have the blue sides that give this endangered species its name.
A red-eyed tree frog trying its best to ignore Saul
Torch ginger is not native to Costa Rica but it’s a successful plant with wide distribution in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. Unopened flower buds and other parts of the plant are edible and are widely used in Asian cuisines. Some of the 207 different combinations of rice-and-beans in Costa Rica would probably benefit from this as an additional ingredient.
Another sleepy frog does his best to ignore us
If Anne Geddes were to photograph frogs instead of babies, this is the shot you’d get.
Red-eyed tree frog at Frog’s Heaven
Coffee may be good for one’s liver, but it is clearly very bad for your grammatical abilities
Costa Rica grows fantastic coffee, but unfortunately most of the good stuff is exported. We also weren’t fans of the local brewing method, which is akin to pouring water through a sock full of ground coffee. WAY too much sediment…
Saul photographing something small
And here’s the photo he was taking
After being cooped up indoors as the edge of Hurricane Otto passed over our location, an outdoor adventure seemed in order. A canopy zipline tour in the Arenal volcano reserve fit the bill.
As regular skiers, the cable car ride up the mountain seemed familiar. But the equipment and weather conditions were a bit different from what we’re used to.
Lake Arenal from above
…there are hot springs! Saul hangs out in one of the private pools at the 5-star Nayara Resort, our special treat to round off Costa Rica before plunging into Cuba.
Saul has an excellent grasp of how to keep me happy when we’re doing a spot of travel into the developing world
Stunning photos!!!
Thanks Di. Gonna miss you when it’s time for New Year’s Eve bubbly next week!
Nice to get your email today – by coincidence I went on a run with Gary Voss this morning and he asked where you were…great photo of the kiskadee and the sloth
Hope you have a great New Year’s Eve
Craig