mikemulrain

[mikemulrain]

Saturday 1st April

Happy Birthday Mike! Today was departure day. 3.30am; Sheila, Ian and Mary left to fly back to Edinburgh via the US. 8.30am Dawn and John & Francis left to fly back to Heathrow via the US along with Jules & Kate, who were staying in CR for another 5 nights enjoying the sunshine and surfing in Tamarindo. 9am Sarah & Lucy left to fly back to Heathrow via the US whilst the remaining 6; Ali, Mike, Diana, Jacky, Mike & I were not being picked up until 2.30pm! Mike headed off to explore and the remaining 5 of us walked into the city to spend some time at the market and the Opera House. Back to the hotel, packing complete and then it was our turn, off to the airport and our long flight home and then adjusting to the time difference and fighting jet lag, for a week or so!

Amazing holiday, amazing people, amazing guide and an exceptionally beautiful country with amazing animals & birds!

[mikemulrain]

Friday 31st March

Up early again! We are off to the Irazu Volcano National Park in the Cartago province of CR. Guillermo is keen for us to get to the top as quickly as possible to stand the best chance of getting good views before the cloud covers the top. Luckily there is a road right to the top, so this was not going to be a strenuous day for us, I’m not sure whether we would have managed too much, as we all seem to be running out of steam!

The drive up was very interesting with a wide variety of vegetation, we passed lots of small farms that form part of a larger collective, they grow potatoes, carrots, onions and there are also a number of dairy farms. The farmers get up very early and often have to work within the low clouds but the soil is very fertile and so produces high yields. The volcano gets its name from the Indian word for ‘rumbles’ and it’s last major eruption was in 1963, the day that JFK arrived in the country! The volcano was active for 3 years after that eruption and threw huge boulders out which have created large craters. The volcano is part of the Ring of Fire, the Ring of Fire is a string of volcanoes and sites of seismic activity, or earthquakes, around the edges of the Pacific Ocean. Roughly 90 percent of all earthquakes occur along the Ring of Fire, and the ring is dotted with 75 percent of all active volcanoes on Earth. There are currently 5 active volcanoes within CR, with 88 volcanoes in total within the country.

We reach the top, thanks to Victor and his bus and climb out to see an amazing view, we are 3432m high and the views are incredible, on a clear day the Caribbean and Pacific coasts can both be seen, but not today as the cloud was hanging below us, despite being told it will be cold at the top it seemed fine. We then drove down to the main car park to walk along the crater edge, lower down where we were in a bit of the cloud the temperature dropped and coats were needed!

From the volcano we headed back to Cartago for lunch and then on to a coffee plantation for an in depth talk and demonstration from the owners who moved to CR at the end of the 1970’s and have grown coffee ever since, over the years they have managed to improve the soil and so the yield. The farm was a little ‘Heath-Robinson’, with much of the equipment modelled from bits and pieces that they had lying around, quite fascinating! We took the opportunity to thank Victor by handing over a card and our thank you tips before we left the farm.

We headed back to San Jose for our farewell dinner, and as it would be Mike’s birthday tomorrow Guillermo had arranged for his wife to bring along a cake and the rest of the group signed a card for him. We had a lovely meal, at a local restaurant and as it had been Guillermo wife’s birthday in the last few days Julianna joined us, along with her parents and her grandmother, who is nearly 100 and is a famous CR artist (Margarita Gomez). Guillermo had produced a video of clips from our trip and we all watched it and have a copy to take home, we presented him with a card and thank you tips for all of his hard work, throughout the trip, nothing had been too much trouble. Mike had written a poem about our trip, which I read out at the meal and shared with everyone online. An amazing end to an amazing holiday.

As we travelled today Guillermo shared some more facts about CR with us:

1823 San Jose became capital, previously Cartago

When CR got independence from Spain, some people wanted to be part of Mexico, but others wanted independence (those in San Jose), a small civil war followed where a few shots were fired and the capital moved here 1823

President one term of 4 years, cannot run concurrent. Liberal government. 264 years of democracy and no army

Got rid of army 1948 and decided to spend money on education and health.

The gamble of removing their army paid off, never invaded as CR does not have wealth in natural resources or strategic ports so never invaided. Have a police force, right to bear arms, UN and good relations with USA

Poverty levels have gone up, partly due to immigration from Nicaragua, Venezuela, Haiti, DR and elsewhere South America & Africa etc trying to get the USA

High levels of gun ownership, drug cartels. Have meant there is an increase in gun crime. Young kids cannot afford to go to higher education, drug lords recruit them it’s an increasing problem! Drugs are mainly passing through although they are getting local youngsters addicted.

CR is known as the Switzerland of South America

[mikemulrain]

Thursday 30th March

Today we left Drakes Bay, we were all sad to leave as today we were returning to the capital San Jose and felt like our trip was at an end, it wasn’t, as none of us depart until Saturday and we still have a trip to the Irazu volcano to come tomorrow. Our boat was taking us back to Sierpe to meet up with Victor and the bus again. We managed to spot some more wildlife on the way back; an osprey, an incredibly well camouflaged young potoo, without it being pointed out to us we would never have spotted it, it looked just like the bark of a tree, it is rarely seen due to its amazing colouring, another lucky spot!

Our boat captain took us into the mangrove forest that lines the Sierpe River, the trees are huge and the root networks intricate, we spotted a number of varieties of crab in this area, the boat had to be navigated through some vey narrow passages but we did get out the other end and back 80th the main river. By the time we reached the dock Victor was waiting for us and we loaded up ready to take our longest drive back to San Jose for our last 2 nights in the country, for most of us! We stopped off for lunch and took the opportunity to purchase some souvenirs and bits to take home with us and finally arrived at the Park Hotel, having battled through the late afternoon traffic.

Happy hour tempted us all to the bar, once we had settled back in and whilst some had the energy to head out to an Argentinian restaurant, the remainder of the group eat in the hotel. Guess what, one more early morning tomorrow!

[mikemulrain]

Wednesday 29th March

Last night there were 5 not going out to snorkel, today 2 more had joined us so we had a leisurely breakfast followed by sun bathing for me, catching up on messages from home for Mike, a bit of swimming etc. I sent a number of emails home telling everyone about the wonderful trip that we were having and how good the weather had been … ooops, famous last words by the end of the morning the sky had turned black and by the time we sat down to lunch we experienced a proper tropical rainstorm, the rain bouncing off of the water and the sides were quickly put down on the restaurant but within half an hour all was fine again, the sunshine reappeared and all was back to normal!

About 2pm the rest of the group returned, they had a great trip and had luckily managed to miss the rain. They had swum with turtles, seen lots of fish and seen a pod of dolphins from the boat. The afternoon was free again and our last few hours in the wilderness before returning, tomorrow to San Jose.

[mikemulrain]

Tuesday 28th March

Breakfast taken and waiting by the pier, Guillermo checked we had everything we needed with us, did we all have copies of our passports? Nope, I’d forgotten ours so a quick run back to the room and a sort through the suitcase, and run back to the boat and we were ready to go! We headed for the park by boat and arrived around 45 minutes later for a wet landing at the San Pedrillo Ranger Station. This National Park is described as ‘the most biologically intense place on earth’ and is the largest park in CR encompassing 13 major ecosystems across various elevations. Scientists have recorded half of all species in CR in this peninsula alone, there are more than 500 tree species and 365 bird species present. We had two guides from the lodge with us in addition to Guillermo, once we had waded across a small river we changed into walking shoes and headed into the trees. Within minutes we had spotted a coati high in the trees, our group was 19 people but we were told to stand back about a metre and the coati came down the tree and started rooting through the undergrowth managing to locate a crab to eat. The coati was completely unconcerned by the group of people busily snapping away! Coati was one of the animals on the list that we had discussed at dinner the previous evening, not many more that we have yet to see!

As we proceeded through the park we came across a number of troops of monkeys, white faced capuchins, howler monkeys & spider monkeys, we watched their antics for ages and as the guides had telescopes with them those with mobile phones were able to take photos through the telescopes. One of the guides spotted a mother coati with a litter of about 4 youngsters, we were not able to get too close but could see them exploring, trying to climb the lower branches of the trees and bushes, with Mum watching over them.

We headed on towards the beach where those that wanted could swim in the river and found a mother and baby sloth, high up in a tree asleep, we managed to get some good shots of the faces of the mother and baby despite them being so high up. The walk back to the landing point was hot and several of the group found it tough going, but everyone was patient and helped out those that were struggling. We spotted a number of new birds along the edge of the forest. Back at the landing point we had pieces of fresh fruit, they tasted delicious after our long trek, fore climbing back aboard our boat to return to the lodge for lunch.

The afternoon was free for us to choose what we wanted to do, so most of us relaxed and enjoyed the fabulous views. The sun leaves the property by mid afternoon although the air is still very warm and the pool is warm and salt water, so ideal to float in! This lodge does washing for free, so most of us have taken advantage of this fearing that the weather, once we get back home, may not be suitable for drying our clothes, it is nice to think that most of our clothing will be going home clean. Dinner was uneventful, no visitations by animals, unless you count the toad that was sat under the table by Mikes foot, it was safely removed, no birthday cake tonight, either! Tomorrow is an optional snorkelling day but we will not be going, we will have a quiet day at the resort.

[mikemulrain]

Monday 27th March

Bags outside for 6am and leave at 6.30, and we were all ready, except for our breakfast packs, finally off at 6.50 and goodbye to the Savegre Hotel! After just over an hour we stopped for coffee and a spectacular view, we also managed another first, a pair of swallowtail hawks. Another short stop, this time around for the bank and then headed on towards the pier to join our boat to Drake’s Bay, our final destination, where we will stay for 3 nights before heading back to San Jose.

After a very bumpy boat ride, first along the river and then on to the Pacific we arrived at our latest home, upon arrival we were straight into lunch and then off to settle in to our latest bungalows, not the most beautiful buildings but the view from the veranda was stunning. The remainder of the afternoon was our own to check out the sun beds, before the sun disappeared, swim in the pool or take a short walk to the nearby beach where swimming is recommended.

We all met for dinner and before we had a chance to start our meal the waiters told that there was a tapir outside, we all rushed out, with cameras as the pair, one male, one female wandered around outside of the restaurant oblivious to our presence but within touching distance, they were both pretty big, standing over a metre tall. As it was Kate’s birthday we were treated to a very generous slice of birthday cake, then headed off for what had become the norm, an early night, as tomorrow we are off to walk in the Corcovado National Park. Breakfast will be at 5.30, the boat leaves at 6.30!

[mikemulrain]

Sunday 26th March

Overnight in the UK the clocks went forward so we need to remember that instead of being 6 hours behind the UK, we are now 7 hours behind, I’m not sure that will help the jet lag!

Today was to be a free day to explore the trails and discover as many of the 170 bird species that dwelled here, however Guillermo planned a couple of optional walks. We arrived at breakfast to join a group of excited bird spotters on the veranda as the pair of quetzals were close by and we couldn’t miss the opportunity to try and get some photos, we did, indeed manage to do this, and reluctantly headed for breakfast. This mornings trip was up, up, up into the cloud forest above the hotel, walking for those who felt fit enough and were coping with thin air due to the altitude, so 8 of us, the remains 8 took a hotel 4x4 up the track and joined us at the top for a walk through the cloud forest which is populated mainly with oak trees.

On the walk up we saw and heard numerous birds and saw a red squirrel, our only non-bird spot of the trip! The call of the rusty- gate bird is probably the most bizarre that we have heard, it is two toned and sounds exactly like the opening of a rusty gate! We did not however, manage to spot one! The trip up by vehicle was bumpy! Now the group was together we headed off on a narrow track into the cloud forest, although it was not quite what we had expected, today the sun shone and there were no clouds in sight! During the walk we mainly talked about the flora of the area. The tracks are all well maintained but although as this is the end of the dry season and is the most popular time of the year to visit we have not encountered large groups of visitors everywhere we go, in fact CR seems to be extremely good at ecotourism and so manages visitor numbers well.

On our return to the hotel, we spent the hour before lunch back in the hummingbird garden and then had a sleep for a couple of hours, the busy trip catching up with us a little. Just 4 of the group went on a walk along the river to a small waterfall, no swimming allowed here in the rivers or pools. Packed the suitcase, once again and brought the blog up to date and then headed for our final dinner here, trout for supper with a teriyaki sauce … delicious. A WhatsApp group has now been set up so that we can all share our best photos. Time for bed as we have our earliest start ahead of us tomorrow, 6.30 departure with a packed breakfast!

[mikemulrain]

Saturday 25th March

After breakfast we departed towards San Gerado de Dota and Savegre Cloud Forest. This area is said to be one of the best places in CR to see the beautiful and notoriously shy Resplendent Quetzel, these endangered birds rely on the cloud forest for their habitat; the males are particularly striking with a green crest, red breast and tail like feathers that can reach a metre in length.

Along the journey we stopped for a comfort break and to take photos before continuing on to the city of Cartagena, home to a spectacular basilica, it is said that a miracle took place in the woodlands where the city now stands when a girl collecting firewood came across a doll like icon which she took home, overnight it disappeared and she rediscovered it back in the same place in the woods, on a number of occasions, the local priest was called and stated that it was a miracle and a sign from God that he wanted a church to built on the spot! On the 15th April thousands of people flock there to seek the healing powers of the icon.

Our last 7km were down an extremely bumpy and steep track, barely wide enough for 2 vehicles with a very sheer drop, fortunately we were doing the trip in dry weather! Straight into lunch upon our arrival, 3 courses included, we all tucked into our meal, Guillermo had advised us that the hotel was supplied by a local trout farm, and so this came highly recommended as a dish to be tried. We booked in to our delightful bungalows amongst the prettiest gardens so far, offering a huge amount of bird life, especially numerous varieties of humming bird, the hotel has a spa but we will be hard pushed to find time to use it. A shout went up, just as we reached our rooms, the quetzal is visible in the hotel ground, in fact a pair of birds had decided to start nesting close by, we saw them briefly but were promised better sightings.

Our afternoon was taken up with a short walk to see the greenhouse on site, housing many succulents and then on to a local garden which was set up with multiple bird feeders to attract a wide variety of bird life, which could be seen at close quarters. The seating area allowed clear and close up visibility of several hummingbird species, several types tanagers, melodious blackbird, rose-breasted grosbeak, acorn woodpecker, rufus- collared sparrow and a great view of a northern emerald toucanet. It was so relaxing watching them come and go we spent quite some time there. We had an enjoyable evening meal discussing all the birds that we had spotted in the afternoon and headed for bed.

[mikemulrain]

Friday 24th March

Moving on again today, heading to the Turrialba Valley, a rich agricultural area in the Central Highlands, about a 6 hour journey, which was broken up with a couple of stops, including our first sight of the Turrialba volcano, one of 5 active volcanoes in the country. We pulled over to photograph a 3 toed sloth, unfortunately the camera was playing up but we should get clearer pictures later in the trip! Guillermo had booked a traditional CR restaurant for lunch, rice and beans with a choice of meats or vegetables and guava juice from the restaurant’s garden, the views from the restaurant were amazing and as we had made good time on our earlier drive we had plenty of time to soak up the views and wander around the beautiful garden. We had been told that this place produced amazing ‘postres’ and most of us were tempted, our table of 8 decided to each choose a different dessert and to share, the selection was impressive; passion fruit cheesecake, lemon tart, chocolate cake, a caramel pudding, a vanilla cake and more, including Churchill, which is a bright pink cake! All were very tasty but we were now fully fed and we’re heading off for a walk!

About 45 minutes further on and we stopped at La Marta Wildlife Refuge, an area of primary and secondary forest within La Amistad Biosphere ( recognised as a UNESCO World Patrimony of Humanity). The area is mountainous with waterfalls, rivers and caves and supports a wide range of plants including orchids, bromeliads, lichens and mosses and animals including anteaters, ocelots and tapirs. Well, we got to see the plants but no animals, as they are mainly nocturnal, and a few glimpses of birds. Most of us took a walk up to the viewpoint, from where we had an amazing view of the surrounding forest, mountains and volcano. We also saw a derelict coffee plant which operated a century and a half ago, the coffee was brought in by the ‘burrocarriles’ or mule trains from the plantations. The site also housed a number of cattle and the workers lived there, as the plant was so remote. The weather turned a little wet,which made the ascent and the descent a bit slippery, so as the rain started to turn heavier we returned to the bus and drove to our next overnight stop. This area has many sugar cane plantations, Guillermo told us some of the history and that they burn small areas of the field at a time to get rid of the snakes etc before the workers go in to remove the cane and it is bundled up on to cart to be taken away for processing.

Villa Florencio is the grandest place that we have stayed, we were fortunate to have a wonderful room but only had 1 night to enjoy it. Dinner was a bit of a shambles, we sat with Kate & Jules, from the Mumbles and had a great evening but the restaurant service left a bit to be desired, 3 starters and a main course arrived, the main course was sent back, the final starter arrived after two of the main courses had arrived followed immediately by a main course, which was sent back and the guys had completely finished their main courses before we got ours delivered to the table, at least 10 minutes apart. Apparently this is not a new issue here, as Kate had read reviews saying this was previously an issue. Off to bed and as we finally have good internet connection we were able to get the blog posted up to date.

[mikemulrain]

Thursday 23rd March

Today was a free day in Cahuita, we had the chance to take part in two optional tours. During the day there was a tour to meet the indigenous people, learn about the local herbs, learn about chocolate production and swim by the waterfalls and in the evening there was to be a night walk, not in the National Park, as it would be closed, but along the roads and we would likely spot snakes and spiders and a few other creatures! We decided that we would not take part in either but would head back into the National Park on our own to try and find a raccoon, as Mike had not seen any on the previous day, we hoped to find other animals too.

After breakfast the heavens opened for a short but sharp shower and we sat on our balcony whilst it lasted. Then we headed out on the Sendero Trail and managed to spot a yellow eyelash viper, which was tiny and was not a threat to us, as it consumes small amphibians. Further along the track we came upon a two-toed sloth, high up on a tree, we knew it was two-toed as they are nocturnal, whereas the three-toed sloth is active during the day! It was midday and getting very warm so we stopped at a picnic bench on the seashore and watched the large rolling waves of the Caribbean. Further along the track we came upon a single raccoon, who looked a bit grumpy, our mission accomplished we headed for lunch in the small town.

The rest of the afternoon was spent by the pool and resting before packing up again as we will be leaving tomorrow to head towards the cloud forest. There were 7 of us that did not take part in the night walk and we headed down town together to eat dinner, it was back to the same restaurant as lunchtime, unfortunately the evening meal was not so good but we had a really good evening chatting with everyone and headed home for bed, our last night at Ciudad Perdida.

[mikemulrain]

Wednesday 22nd March

Today we headed into the Cahuita National Park, a fairly small reserve of just 2,711 acres of land and 600 acres of Coral Reef, the largest reef system in CR. After entering the park the rangers checked our bags to ensure that we were complying with the littering rule. We had been told to put our packed lunches into our rucksacks inside a ziplock bag, with no outer wrapping to ensure litter does not get left in the park, the checks were not very comprehensive though!

The rain started to fall as we headed into the park so we all donned our waterproofs and started off along the boardwalk. Guillermo is extremely knowledgeable making our progress slow, there was so much to see, especially the flora within the rainforest. It was quite dark and so although we could pick out the sounds of birds and animals is was difficult to spot them and even more difficult to photograph them. We looked for snakes and frogs in the damp environment but luckily did not see any! Before long the rain stopped and the sun shone and the waterproofs were stripped off!

After nearly 3 miles in, to what was described as a 4 mile walk we stopped at a ranger point, Mike decided that he would not continue with the walk, as we were not yet a third of the way through, so he returned to the bus with Victor. They chatted about his family life, he is native to CR and has never left the country, he supported Man. United and was now working for an extra 2 years, due to Covid, to enable him to get his pension. The rest of the group carried on, now walking along the edge of the beach, where we spotted another sleeping sloth, frigate birds, gulls and a number of other small birds and some crabs. Guillermo told us that the reef was damaged in places when a large earthquake hit the country in the 1991, dead coral can be seen on the beaches and plates of the reef sticking out of the sea.

As lunchtime approached we came across a raccoon, he seemed very comfortable being close to a group of humans and allowed us to get some close up photos, raccoons are scavengers and had of course learnt that the easy way to get food was from humans! We found a picnic spot on the beach and several of the group went into the milky Caribbean Sea for a swim, lunch completed we were relaxing before heading off to complete our walk when Guillermo jumped up and started chasing a raccoon which had stolen a bag of food that had been left by someone’s rucksack, he did not catch him. As we were packing up a group of capuchin monkeys arrived, they had been alerted by the raccoons antics and tried their luck at getting hold of another food bag but were thwarted! As we headed off we saw the raccoon with its spoils and Guillermo decided to get the bag away from him, the raccoon turned very nasty at having his winnings removed, although by now only the plastic bag remained, bag retrieved we continued with our walk coming across bold monkeys and raccoons along the way. Although they were coming close to us, it was important to remember that they are wild animals and that they may well carry disease and so we need to be mindful not to get too close or get scratched or bitten by them.

The remainder of the walk passed without further incidence, a few more bird sightings were made, a couple of sea turtles popped their heads up and we made our way out of the park and back to the hotel where a dip in the pool was a must! The rest of the afternoon passed quietly and we headed out together for dinner at 6pm, a great restaurant with exceptional food and then home to bed!

[mikemulrain]

Tuesday 21st March

Today we moved on from Evergreen Lodge back to Siquirres Pier, initially an hour and a half back by boat to join our bus and driver, Victor, who will remain with us for the rest of our trip, followed by a very long journey down the Caribbean coast to where we each have a small bungalow for the next 3 nights in Ciudad Perdita, Cahuita. We are situated in another area of the rain forest so will need to remember the insect repellent as the place is buzzing with mosquitos, especially in the evenings! This eco lodge only provides bed and breakfast so we will be exploring the small town for our evening meals. On the journey down we stopped at a banana packing plant and then at a supermarket to pick up some snacks for tomorrows walk in the National Park, as there is nowhere to buy supplies within the park. Our guide and driver took us into town for supper this evening, we went to a beachside restaurant and headed home for yet another early night.

During our long bus journey today Guillermo gave us lots of information about Costa Rica, I jotted down notes, as he was speaking and have included the highlights below. The first thing that he told us was that at 10.28 on Monday night there had been an earthquake recorded as 5.5 on the western coast, 40km south of San Jose - we will be heading back that way as our trip progresses, hopefully there will not be anymore!

Costa Rica is bordered by both the Pacific & the Caribbean oceans (we will be visiting both coasts on this trip)

CR has 5% of the worlds biodiversity

There are active volcanoes here

Earthquakes - yesterday 5.5 & 4.5. Last big one was in the 1980’s

Big businesses - Tourism, Bananas

Export Crops - Bananas, Coffee, Sugar cane, macadamia, tilapia, shrimp

No army since 1948 money saved had gone to education, one of highest literary rates in world

Uniform and school mandatory

Great healthcare system, universal & private system

Worker gets 9% deducted - pensions & health

Official language Spanish

Pura Vida - a welcome or way of saying Hello in CR

Rain - 1.5metres in the dry zone to 7 meters in the wet zone only dry in north west area

Traditional gardens with flowers, all year around

85% catholic, some Jews, Protestant, Jehovah’s Witness

Electric, running water 98% of country

Renewable and natural electric production - water, volcanic & solar

32% of the county is protected for nature within National Parks

McDonald’s brought beef from Costa Rica after the war as bananas & coffee were not selling. Rainforests were cut down for grazing. Then US boycotted buying beef from CR because the rainforest was being cut down!

Sell oxygen, CR partners with countries that have bad pollution record, plant rainforest to balance up the harm done .... this is then turned into national parks.

National corridors link national parks .. conservation areas.

In the past banana plantations used excessive amounts of pesticides and the workers became sterile … went to court and large settlements were made to those affected

CR has created the biggest inventory, in the world, ever made of all natural things within the country - animals, birds, plants, insects etc.

Ecotourism - didn’t want backpackers, wanted middle class groups

Reforestation now happening 65% forested

Considered a developing nation

Coffee plantations in CR are generally small, 2-15 hectares small family concerns that export whereas the banana industry is run by big companies, due to the huge costs of setting up the industry.

[mikemulrain]

Monday 20th March

A great nights sleep so we were ready to meet our guide, Guillermo (William) for our pre-breakfast trip. The weather was perfect and we spent over 2 hours heading up and down the Tortuguero waterways in search of the flora and fauna. We were out early in the day as this is the best time to spot the wildlife, we were on the search for some of the many species recorded in this area.We got to see capuchin monkeys, a baby sloth, which was curled up tightly asleep, iguana and of course lots of birds. The toucan, kingfisher and macaws are still alluding us, we have seen them in flight but none that we can get a good picture of, yet!

A return to camp meant breakfast, we all had a healthy appetite after our early trip. Then off to the pool to relax in the sun, catch up on emails and then to lunch. A quick sleep for Mike and a wander around the grounds for me added to our photos; a turtle and a family of white faced capuchin monkeys that seem to have adopted the lodge grounds as their home. 3pm and we were off for an afternoon boat trip towards the mouth of the river, catching sight of a cayman on the way! The Caribbean coast looked very rough with large white horses, the sea here is not safe to swim in due to rip tides. We saw a huge iguana at very close quarters hugging a tree, he photographed very well, a small green gecko and a crowd of vultures and a number of different birds.

On the way back to the lodge we got some reasonable pictures of a toucan, it took a lot of skilful manouvering by our pilot to get us in a good position. A pair of kingfishers were also spotted, they are much larger than the UK version and not so iridescent, photographing them is still proving challenging! Home to pack as we are on the move tomorrow morning. We did spot a large toad in the grounds of the hotel and went searching for a sloth in the lodge grounds that some of our group had spotted earlier, but no luck for us! We had negotiated a large table for our group this evening so we sat and talked through the day and got to know our fellow travellers a bit better before heading off for an early night, we are still all exhausted at the end of the day. Final note we spotted two large, blue crabs on our way back to our lodge.

[mikemulrain]

Sunday 19th March

Today we left San Jose, the capital, and travelled to Tortuguero National Park, where we would be staying for the next 2 nights, it is situated in the north-east of Costa Rica, accessible only by boat or light aircraft. Tortuguero has a vast network of waterways, canals and swamps that are remarkably tranquil, unspoilt and devoid of noise pollution. A journey of around 6 hours, on a bus shared with several other groups of travellers, which was punctuated by breakfast stop No2 with a short photo opportunity and then arrival at the dock, to catch our small boat to our first hotel, the boat trip took around an hour and a half and our pilot stopped a couple of times to point out wildlife along the way, we have had our first taste of a number of the birds and some monkeys. A welcome cocktail met us upon arrival and small chalets were allocated just ahead of lunch. The lodge is situated on a small strip of land between the CaribbeanSea and the main lagoon.

Our Exodus Group consists of 16 people, similar ages to us and our local guide. We will be spending two weeks travelling together and sharing experiences, it will be a new experience for us to take part in a group trip but will take away the organisational responsibility and enable us to benefit from the local knowledge of our guide.

Having settled in to our chalet Mike opted to stay back and catch up on some sleep whilst I headed out, with most of the group, to visit the local turtle museum and the village. The area is probably most famous as a nesting site for the endangered green turtle, which can be seen arriving on the beach to lay eggs between late July and October. Hawksbill, loggerhead and giant leatherbacks also nest in this region and during November to January the turtles hatch and make their way to the ocean. The afternoon was extremely hot and humid so a quick dip in the pool was needed ahead of our Welcome Meeting, upon our return! He outlined our programme, took our insurance details and answered questions about our forthcoming adventure. We all managed to make it through dinner but most people headed off soon after to try and catch up on some much needed sleep ahead of another early rise, in the morning.

[mikemulrain]

Saturday 18th March

After a night at The Holiday Inn, Gatwick Worth we got an early taxi to the airport, checked the bags in and headed for breakfast. Unfortunately the flight was delayed but only by just over an hour, so we left the UK around 12.30. We had a good flight, we’re well looked after by the cabin crew and arrive tired, as it was now around midnight back at home, and met up with some of the group that we would spent the next fortnight with. A transfer was arranged to our first hotel where we decided to try and get onto local time, which is 6 hours behind the UK. So evening meal at 2 in the morning and after booking a 5.30am alarm call we headed off to bed.

[mikemulrain]

Friday 3rd March

Two weeks to go and we will be staying at Gatwick in readiness for our flight to San Jose!