Like an Old Married Couple

3/14/13     Tapanti -> Hotel de Montana Paraiso Quetzal

The morning began with a bird-viewing at 6:30 AM.  I wouldn't call it a walk since we only walked over to the trout farm where we proceeded to hide from the rain for about an hour.  We stayed in that particular area because there was a Violet Sabrewing, a hummingbird, frequenting the area.  These guys are cool because they're very large for hummingbirds- 6 inches- and are vibrant purple.  We saw him twice over the span of 45 minutes before heading back to the room to finish packing before breakfast.

The bus arrived around 8:45 and we left for Finca Christina, an organic coffee plantation.  The owner, Ernesto, gave us a tour from plant to finished product.  He talked about all the different aspects of growing the crop, harvesting and pruning- both the crop and shade trees.  He discussed that although his son (an ornithologist) has made the farm bird friendly and has seen over 300 of 800 birds species in Costa Rica, the farm is still not certified bird friendly because of the way they handle their shade trees.  Trust me, there were birds everywhere- this place was like a bird sanctuary.  We then moved over to his processing buildings where they remove the beans, dry them, and sort them by weight.  They're then stored in silos until they're ready for roasting which his wife Linda is in charge of.

We were able to taste some coffee (I thought it was pretty good and I don't drink the stuff) and then purchase some.  They also have an online website.  Any price you see there includes shipping to your front door.  Feel free to check them out if you love coffee.

A Tit Bit Nipply

3/13/13            Tapanti

We headed out at 8AM today.  Kiri Lodge, where we're staying, is not in the park so we had to walk to it.  It probably took around 30 minutes (to be honest my judging of time has gone completely out the window on this trip so I may be wrong).

Once we reached the park entrance we took use of the facilities while checking out the trail map.  Dr. George told us we'd be doing the Sendero Arboles Caidos Trail, which was around 2-3km, followed by the Oropendola Trail.  There's a spot by the river with a swimming hole on this trail.  Since I was already soaked to the skin, and we had only just entered the park, it sounded like a decent plan.

The rain calmed down by the time we reached the trail-head.  We were told the trail was steep, but I wasn't expecting it to start right away like it did.  It all worked out, though.  We steadily made our way up the mountainside in the company of trees completely covered in moss and epiphytes.  It was green everything... except for the mud.

The fun really began when we began the descent.  Portions of it were even steeper than the way up.  The people up front (Dr. George was in the back at the time) even considered sliding down on their butts in a couple of places.  It didn't fully come to that, but it was close.

Hairy Woodpeckers

3/12/13      El Zota -> Tapanti

I woke up early today because I was having an awful time trying to sleep.  No more than 20-30 minute intervals at a time.  So I was up and ready for the 6:30 AM walk with Dr. George, Kevin, Joey, and Burt. 

We went down the main road in a direction we haven't before.  I saw a Variegated Squirrel, not usually a thrilling sight, but in the rainforest it is.  We also saw some fun birds- Little Blue Herons, Blue Ground Doves, a Roadside Hawk, and a Squirrel Cuckoo.

After breakfast we departed El Zota on the army truck.  We made the transfer to the blue van and continued on our way.  Over an hour of the trip was unpaved roads.  We all cheered when we finally hit paved roads again.  We ate at La Casa de Dona Lela again for lunch.  Delicious.  We then began our 1.5 hour drive to the Kiri Lodge right outside Tapanti National Forest (a cloud forest).  The drive was pretty fun through the city.  There was a lot of interesting sights to see and jokes to crack.  We stopped at a market in Orosi and bought some fun food items.  I bought some chocolate wafer things and I already wish I bought more.  They're quite delicious.