Tropical Wonderland- Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica
December 28, 2013
Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica
From aerial trams in the rain forest; to zip lining, to boat rides, a wide range of activities make-- the most of Puerto Caldera. Our guide for the day was Luis (again) of Los Suenos Travel who took us first to the 64 mile- long Taracoles River. There was an entrance fee for independent guests and a fee for the boat ride. There were twelve of us in the group, 4 Canadians, 2 Americans, 2 Australians, 1 Englishman and 3 visiting Taiwanese.
Our first animal sighting by the river was a male and female iguana. The guide explained the difference between them, the male being bigger than the female but- the female can move faster than the male. Next was a Jesus lizard, the ones that look like they are walking on water, hence the name.
There were many interesting birds along the shore. Our guide kept pointing them out one by one by shining a mirror on their location. It was amazing how fast he could spot them. It was like the birds were planted there purposely for the tourists to see. We have a 1' x 1' laminated reference card to check the names of the birds in three languages.
"No 23, it's a bleu heron," I volunteered after spotting a heron. "Not that one, it's French," the guide replied referring to my card. "It's okay, I'm from Canada, we're supposed to parlez vouz Francais!" I replied.
The Taracoles River is part of a National park rich in flora and fauna. Soon we saw more snowy egrets, and other different kinds of birds. We drifted further up the river, and there were sand pipers, northern jacanas, amazon and green kingfishers, egrets of many kinds and then there was a falcon standing on the bank near a crocodile with some missing teeth.
"There's Hugo Chavez with his missing teeth, because he fought with George Bush," exclaimed our guide while pointing to a nearby smaller crocodile. "We have so many crocodiles here. We have 25 crocodiles per each mile. This is now the end of the mating season and soon they will lay their eggs. They can lay from 10-50 eggs but sometimes only 1 survives. The mother crocodiles have to watch their babies after being born because the male crocodiles eat them," he explained. "The babies stay with their mother for only two months. After that, it's adios!" he added.
The popular Tarcoles river that houses more than 1000 crocodiles.
Costa Rica is a small country with only 51,000 sq. km. The same size as the State of Virginia, but it has 28 national parks, 8 bio reserve parks, 1% mangrove swamps and 30 % of the total land area is protected.
At a bend in the river, the driver of the boat Jose, got out and got close to Hugo Chavez. Two more crocodiles were just two feet away from our boat. From our boat, the crocodiles were just two feet below us.
"Would they be able to jump inside our boat," somebody asked. "We're Chinese, we eat everything," replied Eric acting as the translator for his Taiwanese friends. "Were lucky that we have you, it will frighten them, " I joked.
The man dangled a fresh chicken in front of the crocodile's mouth. Everybody kept silent, waiting for the big bite. He was two feet away from Hugo Chavez. Beady eyed, the crocodile lunged but missed. Its nose was just inches away from the mans legs. If I were him, I would have lunge for the bigger piece of meat which was the mans legs. He dangled the chicken again teasing the crocodile and we got a most fantastic close up shot of Hugo Chavez gulping down the chicken in a split second. Moments later, the now fed crocodile swam away.
No one knows where he came from. He just surfaced close to our boat. "He is the king of the river. He is nineteen feet long and weighs more than 2,000 lbs. He mates with fifty crocodiles and no one challenges him. He is very difficult to find, and he is always hiding, but today we were lucky we saw him. That explains the name," the guide said.
Leaf cutter ants.
We took several pictures of Osama. He looked ferocious and mean. On the way back to where we started, we saw a glimpse of Osama once again. This time, we only saw a part of his head above the water and then he swam away. Since we didn't see any toucans during our boat ride, Luis took us to a beach where a pair of toucans have their nests. We spotted them right away and Luis set up his binocular for those who didn't have the telephoto lens with their cameras.
It was still early after we finished our river jungle cruise and everybody wanted more. We all agreed to take a hike at the nearby Caracoles National Park. The Caracoles National Park charges US$10.00 per person or the equivalent in Costa Rican currency.Luis took us to the trail that he is most familiar with and is not crowded with tourists. A few feet down the trail, he got excited. "There's a white tailed bat, it is only found here in Costa Rica!" he announced.
We all looked up at the same time and we found a tiny white thing attached to the palm leaf. A few pictures and we moved on. The trail was covered with so many dried brown leaves and it gave me the creeps every time I stepped. I was extra cautious and made use of my eagle eyes in case there was a snake hiding under the leaves.
The two other Canadians and Luis went off the trail. We stayed and waited, and a good thing we did; because when they came back, Luis explained they went searching for the resident Anaconda!!. With that, shivers went up and down my spine, my knees felt like jelly, and goosebumps went up all the way to the back of my neck. I was bitten once before by a snake in Texas," I announced.
Soon, the lady ahead of me kept warning her husband to watch out, and not to go ahead of the group. It was so hot on the jungle trails. My hair started to stick to my neck, my camera straps started weighing on my shoulders and my backpack felt heavier. We saw so many bananas along the trail. A hummingbird was feeding on a banana heart - but it was too fast for anybody to capture a picture. There was a huge iridescent blue moth bigger than my palm. On my left, we saw a huge purple dotted flower that looked like a Venus fly trap. Luis pointed to several vines clinging to the tree trunks, and explained why they are a menace to the trees. A black iguana was in front of us in the middle of the trail. Everybody took pictures and suddenly a bright orange bird flew and landed on a branch to our right. Everybody got excited about the bird and forgot about the iguana. When one of the Taiwanese moved backwards, the iguana was startled, and the three Taiwanese jumped to their feet and screamed. We saw the iguana instantly change its colors. Whether it was the Taiwanese, or the iguana that changed color first, it was hard to tell.
Another activity not to be missed is the Aerial Tram ride at Rain Forest, a 1,000 acre nature reserve. It is a unique experience that delivers views amid dense jungle, so vast allowing one to see hundreds of butterflies and birds swooping through the mass vegetation. It's alfresco as it can get.
Meanwhile, if you enjoy the aerial tram, the canopy tour is even more spectacular. It involves traveling from the treetop canopy on a series of horizontal traverse cables. It is easy to feel like a hobbit while cruising Tarzan like in towering trees thick with vines and bromeliads. It is perfect for travelers who seek outdoor adventure in a short span of time.
In Puerto Caldera, you see nature beckoning at your doorstep! Here, people can find just what they need for outdoor adventure and at the same time be able to relax and enjoy. And by golly, we just did!
Comments
Happy New Year and quite a adventure trip you and Bert having. Enjoy the life to the fullest. Cheers, Julie From Julie Lee, on Jan 3, 2014 at 12:01 a. m.
Wow...how exciting this place sounds! I like the fact that female Iguanas can run faster than males....lol A 2000 lb, 18 foot croc would scare the heck out of me! I would be afraid he would topple the boat! I'm really enjoying following your adventures! You write so well that I feel like I am right there seeing what you see!! Take care...stay well....enjoy!!!! From Marcelle, on Jan 3, 2014 at 02:31 a.m.
Yikes !!! That croc is way too close... Can U Imagine how many shoes & purses that big old croc would make !!! Lol From Kim Connelly, on Jan 4, 2014 at 10:22 p.m.