Vida Pura - Rio Frio

Rio Frio through the Canon Negro Wildlife Preserve

Coffee on the lanai with your life long friend in Costa Rica - how much better could it get?

We stayed at the base of the Poas Volcano, an active volcano that has erupted 40 times since 1828 - most recently in April of 2017.  The volcano and the park surrounding it are both closed indefinitely.

Each bungalow was landscaped for privacy and beautiful birdsong and other "nature" sounds could be heard without the overlaying of car horns and train whistles - purely paradise.

After breakfast we were off to another adventure, driving through pinapple, sugar cane, teak and orange plantations.  Didn't recognize a teak plantation nor did I see anything that made me think of oranges (but I could have been dozing).  However, we did pass pineapple fields and sugar cane.

Pineapple in Costa Rica is like American pineapple on steroids.  The sweetness is unbelievable.  Every meal there was fruit platters set out including the locally grown pineapple.  For the brave (and Pat and I are bound and determined to be brave one day) you can use the rind of the pineapple to make a fermented drink - there is natural yeast in the rind that is the catalyst in the fermentation.  Sooo if you are adventuresome, get you a fresh pineapple.  Layer a good dose of sugar in the bottom of a jar, press in the rind of the pineapple tightly, cover with water and shake to dissolve the sugar.  Top the jar with a rubber glove.  When the glove waves at you it is ready.  That is how it was explained to us by Aaron who seemed to like it based on his smiles and inflection in his voice.

So we are tootling along the road way and Rolo comes to a stop and there was a monkey sitting on a tree limb watching the world go by.  I still get goosey bumps thinking about these animals running free in the wild and not in a cage at a zoo.

A bit further down the road we stopped again and everyone was pointing at a bush.

What I saw

What they saw - that teeny yellow piece in the "hole" of the tree.

What I finally saw hiding in the tree.

Off we went past fields/orchards(?) of banana trees.  The blue bags are to keep the moisture out and the bugs at bay as well as slowing the ripening process down, until they are ready to be picked.

Once again we stopped, this time for a couple of iguanas on a date.  The male is the bright orange one that is showing off for his lady.  We didn't stick around to see if she accepted his proposal.

One more stop this time preceded by the birdwatchers in the group shrieking "OMG OMG babble babble babble" while pointing out the window.  It was just a Yellow Throated Toucan (SQUEAL!!!)

Papaya seemed to be on the menu today at the local front yard café.

Time to board the boat and float down the Rio Frio towards Nicaragua.

Not our boat but one like it. Not a bad seat on the boat except the traffic flow was such that those sitting on the "curb" side got the better view.  Note to self - in the future sit on "curb" side of a boat or bus while on tour.  

Anhinga

This was used in the movie Avatar - the tree of life

Heron, green iguana and a Kingfisher

You know I would find rust...gotta have my daily fix of rust.

There was flooding recently and all the crocodiles along the river were back in the flooded areas where the food was plentiful and easily acquired.  The trio in the row boat were out fishing.  We passed one solitary guy that waved and then held up a humungous fish, I believe my buddy on board said it was a oorlog.  My buddy was the owner of the restaurant where we were to have lunch, he came along on the boat ride and was so sweet pointing out stuff to me, moving aside so I could get in a good position to see/shoot, and then started showing me all his photos on the phone.  The last little guy is a yellow crowned night heron.

So we head on down the river and we come to the marker between Nicaragua and Costa Rica and this sign.  Basically welcoming us to Nicaragua and telling us it is a natural preserve and to keep it that way.  The cutie standing beside the sign is our tour leader, Aaron who is by far the best leader I have ever had on any tour.  Three degrees - one in Toxonomy, grew up in Costa Rica and knows all the wildlife and all the plants.  Wealth of information!

See the green barbed wire behind the country marker?  That is their "wall" to keep the Nicaraguans out of Costa Rica.  Works well...not :)  They have a great influx of Nicaraguans coming for the Pura Vida and economic security.

 Soon time to head back to the dock and head to lunch.

"Bye...thanks for coming"