A high and dry, wild and wet, majestic history medley – RTW 2018

[JohnM]

Over time we have also encountered some problems with our Sony-don't think Sony will be our next camera
Just caught up with a lot of this report-great stuff, some great experiences

One of the other people has the type of Sony small-body camera that has the big lens and that has basically failed as well. Small sample, but two different models and mine repeating the problem every time I go into rainforest seems a good indication that they have a major underlying problem with moisture.

 

[JohnM]

Moved back to the highlands and the cloud forest today.



We reached 3350m (I believe 3800m is the highest point in Costa Rica) before dropping into the Savegre River valley to our lodge at 2200m.

Altitude brings us back to humming bird habitat but the real target here is the famed quetzel. Up at 0500h tomorrow on a search.

Nice place here but slow WiFi is a PITA. Giving up adding more pics.

 

[JohnM]

Getting a little later here so I’ll test the WiFi with a couple of humming bird pics taken directly with my phone and one of the acorn woodpecker through our guide’s ‘scope.

A phone camera can be good - if you can get close enough. Those humming bird wings move fast.

Speed is better but now need to hit the sack for a very early morning tomorrow. Fingers crossed for seeing a quetzel.

 

[JessicaTam]

Getting a little later here so I’ll test the WiFi with a couple of humming bird pics taken directly with my phone and one of the acorn woodpecker through our guide’s ‘scope.

A phone camera can be good - if you can get close enough. Those humming bird wings move fast.

Speed is better but now need to hit the sack for a very early morning tomorrow. Fingers crossed for seeing a quetzel.

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Terrific photos @JohnM

 

[JohnM]

Bingo! It was worth getting up at sparrow’s .

One male and two female Resplendant Quetzals spotted and stayed sitting and occasionally moving about in a tree for a good hour or more.

The male was just showing early development of the spectacular mating tail plumage seen in the stuffed specimen in the nearby research centre facility (its demise resulted from flying into a window.)

Pics on the phone through the ‘scope again.








Andres, our guide taking phone pics through his telescope.



And why I am being seriously emotionally scarred by this trip...

 

[JohnM]

The Sevegre Valley is chockers with hotels and lodges. Ours is pretty good - slow WiFi being the biggest bugbear after generally blazing speeds everywhere else (including on our mini bus.)

The meal service is interesting. Breakfast is buffet, which is normal and fine - although no egg chef. Lunch and dinner can be a la carte or buffet, depending on numbers.

We arrived fairly late yesterday and lunch was a la carte and I had the trout and part of a bottle of Albarino. Dinner last night was buffet, my pet hate , which I preceded with the rest of the Albarino and with it had some of a SFO Bay Area Merlot, the origin of which intrigued me.

Wente is apparently the oldest family-run winery in LOTFAP. Being in the Livermore Valley east of Berkeley is an interesting aspect. I’ve always been intrigued by the somewhat, to me, oddly named ‘National Ignition Facility’ at the Lawrence Livermore Lab, so I had to ignite my taste buds with the local wine .

Lunch today was again a la carte, so I had the tenderloin (fillet) with the cream green peppercorn sauce and finished the Merlot.

The served meals were very good and the Merlot had improved greatly overnight.

Now just chilling after lunch before wandering around to spot more of the amazing birds here. But I have to say humming birds are becoming just so ho-hum... .

 

[JohnM]

After coming back from the early quetzal watching, we had breafast and then were driven in some great very early model Landcruisers up the (steep) side of the valley for a morning walking a few kms on a network of trails and back down in the cloud forest.

The weather was cool and mild when we started and a little cloud formed as we came down. Just divinely peaceful and beautiful. The hotel is on a farm property that has been turned to mixed-use eco-tourism since the 1980s. The climate is so mild they can even grow apples - which are flowering now.

This place is a great penultimate finale to the tour proper. Tomorrow (Friday) it’s back to San Jose and the tour officially ends after breakfast on Saturday. I have an extra night there before heading back to LOTFAP early Sunday.

 

[JohnM]

A few things along the morning walk.

Camera trap for the larger mammals.

 

[bPeteb]

I just have to brag here. I spotted the first one yesterday morning .

Very late to the party. We heard but did not see. Did see a puma crossing the road way in front of us.

 

[bPeteb]

Loving this trip John. Sitting here wondering where to go with those DSC and Mexico and Central America looking very tempting!

What company for the Costa Rica tour?

 

[JohnM]

Early afternoon Fridayb and back in San Jose.

Our guide gave us some history and other general information as we entered the city.

The factoid that I found most interesting: Costa Rica does not have a military. It was a decision taken in the late 1940’s, with the aim of redirecting the funds to education and health. Now, how crazy is that as an idea ...

No military shatters a stereotype of Latin America .

It’s a very benign and friendly country and fascinating to visit (principally because of the natural attractions, of course.)

 

[drron]

We do know a fellow from Costa rica quite well.His view on the claims to fame of the country.
Army-why do you need an army when you call it a police force.
Totally renewable electricity-well it is all from hydro.

 

[JohnM]

We do know a fellow from Costa rica quite well.His view on the claims to fame of the country.
Army-why do you need an army when you call it a police force.
Totally renewable electricity-well it is all from hydro.

I haven’t seen an overt police or an intimidating paramilitary police presence. We came across one traffic stop for checking of licenses and breathalysing, but no more overt than a booze bus stop in Australia.

The police carry sidearms but I haven’t seen any carrying automatic weapons - unlike Bolivia where there was a permanent riot squad, replete with a permanently-parked rather ancient-looking water cannon, around the presidential palace (but all bored stupid and on their mobile phones.) There is concern in Bolivia that Evo Morales is showing despotic signs.

 

[JohnM]

After arriving back in San Jose yesterday afternoon, I spent a little time wandering around the commercial centre.

National Theatre.



Schmick-looking hotel at the other side of that plaza.



Metropolitan Cathedral.





We had a group farewell dinner at nearby Tenedor Argentino. A casual hip parilla with excellent steaks and a good Argentinian red wine list. As I noted in the wine thread, there was only one white wine on the list - a Chardonnay. But they produced a good Torrintes from Salta when asked by one of the ladies if they had something besides Chardonnay.

At my instigation a few of us indulged in a little wine tasting. The Catena Malbec (Mendoza) was very good, the Fin del Mundo (‘end of the world’) Malbec (Neuquen, N Patagonia - and the second-highest latitude S hemisphere wine region after Central Otago) was excellent, while the Fin Special Blend (40% Cab Sauv, 40% Malbec, 20% Merlot) was simply amazing.

Getting into the Fin wines satisfied a thwarted ambition when I was in the Neuquen region a few years back only to find that it was a gaping hole in my TomTom GPS maps and I got there too late - but I had spent time at Familia Schroeder, the other top producer in that rather different region.

They also make excellent Pinot Noir there.

 

[JohnM]

This morning I spent several very pleasant hours wandering around the historical part of San Jose. Buildings such as the legislature, national museum, national library, high courts, ministries, a university, historic train station are all within a quite compact area, interspersed with parks, pedestrian ways, excellent street art and some lovely dwellings.

A very enjoyable morning.

I thought that the National Museum was exceptional. It’s in an old colonial fort on a hill. The fort was re-purposed as the museum in 1949 and the top was symbolically removed to signify that it was now for peaceful purposes, and coincided with the dissolution of the army. It’s not exceptionally large but the excellent presentation works steadily through a timeline dating from the pre-Columbian era to the present and covering a great diversity of topics in an extraordinarily clear and concise way. One of the neatest clearest museums I have seen. A credit to the curators.

An absolute highlight is the enormous butterfly house that forms the point of entry and exit. Blue Morpho butterflies galore. I even had one land on me. But they are so hard to photograph with their wings open.

 

[JohnM]

More museum.

 

[JohnM]

Wandering around.

Some gigantic Melaleuca quinquenervia.



The Escuela Metallica. Those panels are steel, bolted to a steel frame.



Train station.



National library.

 

[JohnM]

It was a very good way to finish my visit to Costa Rica.

Tomorrow it’s SJO-xPHX-DEN. Rent a car, overnight DEN and on Monday heading to the Dakotas.

It will be interesting to see whether the warmth and dryness in LOTFAP will resurrect my now completely dead #@/%* Sony camera.

 

[JohnM]

Back at groovy Tenedor Argentino right now. It’s on the first floor, with an open terrace, opposite the side of the National Theatre. Perfecto.

Costa Ricans do hip with style - and the matching eye candy can be excellente too .

Starved myself with no lunch today in preparation for getting the nosebag on tonight. Fanged into a lovely smoky chorizo starter and couldn’t resist pepper steak again.

Plus another Fin del Mundo Special Blend.

Now I know why I can’t wait for Chile and Argentina again next year .

Exiting Costa Rica on a high . Muy bien!

 

[JohnM]

For those who may be interested (I’m not), the GLQBTI scene is very open in Costa Rica. In fact, there was something on it in the recent social changes section of the National Museum.