Flora y Fauna of South Nicoya

These aren't really in order. I'll make comments on them where needed.

Bananas growing on the road toward Organos beach.

Pods growing on a tree of the private beach near Tortuga.

?

Moss on a rock.

The way its growing...

This is a little alter of sorts at the private beach.

Driving past a stand of trees that reminds of Palmyra, New York in the Sacred Grove.

The way some trees grow their branches is like someone put it there. How did this happen?

Beautiful flowers in the Roma del Mar.

Interesting vine.

Mangroves

Single red flower.

Spiky palm leaves.

The way they grow...they crawl on the ground then go up.

This vine...

Mud ball nest

"The earth is insulted and offers its flowers as a response". Deep.

A type of orchid. 

Bright pink flowers...bougainvillea?

Pretty

Pano by a creek

Mangroves

Blossoms down the line

 

Weekend Excursion #4: South Nicoya Day 3

Our Airbnb was in a place called Rio Negra, in the mountains northeast of Santa Teresa. It was a rough drive on country roads to say the least. We had no service and thankfully the caretaker pulled in soon after we did about 9 at night. We had no way to reach our host or instructions for entering the house. 

Even though this Airbnb didn't stick out in appearance, it had a few other things to offer. First, ants freely crawled in under the door. They were harmless though. Its Costa Rican countryside so we weren't really surprised. Next, when it was time for bed, I noticed we only had top sheets. I messaged the host to clarify if there was a mistake. He said, "No this is typical for accommodations to not have blanket because of the heat." Except in the case of this house, which was well equipped with air conditioning. I explained to him perhaps some guests have different needs and blankets should at least be available. After all, some people do want air conditioning and a sheet while their partner might get cold with the air running and need a blanket. He apologized and the next morning said he gone straight to Walmart to provide blankets. He offered to give us a discounted additional night but we politely declined. 

The other fun detail was the noises we heard in the morning; the deep loud barking like dogs. Not dogs though...howler monkeys. These guys are loud! I say guys because it is the males. We could see them in the trees as we looked from the back deck of the house. 

This tree was outside our Airbnb. The pods are giant!

Here is one laying on our kitchen table.

On our 3rd day in Nicoya Peninsula, Clark planned for us to go here. However, he misread the information about the tides and realized that Sunday morning when we were arranging to head out. He was disappointed to say the least but quickly decided we could check out another interesting nearby place: San Lucas National Park. 

San Lucas is referred to as the "Alcatraz" of Costa Rica. It was an island that housed a prison until 1991. There are some beaches and also a shipwreck to explore. Clark bought the tickets and we headed back toward Paquera. As we were getting closer, I asked Clark a few questions about how we were going to get to the island. We soon realized that the tickets he thought were for "the boat", were not for transportation but for this ship-wrecked boat on the island. The only way to transport to San Lucas is from Puntarenas, the town. Oops. 

By then we had reached Naranja, the north ferry dock for Nicoya. We called the national park system to see about changing our ticket dates and the service rep. told us just to come anytime and they would honor our tickets. I guess we'll see...San Lucas wasn't something originally on our list of places to explore so we'll see if we even make it there.

A day before on our way to Santa Teresa we saw this rural airport. On the way back, I got a picture of it. You can a line of people maybe waiting to board or greeting passengers?

As we were driving around the countryside, it is noticeably drier than in San Jose.

After we realized we couldn't get to San Lucas, Clark decided to go back to the cove from a couple days before. They had a pizzeria there so we could order lunch too. Our GPS led us a little astray to this beach. I didn't get a picture of it. It was pretty busy but the water wasn't calm enough for snorkeling, so we back tracked to the cove.

Back at the cove, called Roma del Mar. Unfortunately, the tide was up so the snorkeling wasn't as good as it could have been, but the pizza was delicious, and it was such a tranquil place to spend the afternoon. It was like going to the lake.

We decided we wanted to grab some ice cream before getting on the ferry, so we headed back to Naranjo. I asked Clark if we could grab our ferry tickets first and thankfully, we decided to do that because the line quickly became very long. We didn't end up going for our ice cream, but there was an older gentleman there with his ice cart making sno cones, Tico style. I asked him if I could get some pictures. He was happy to oblige.

You can see the chunk of ice in his cart. He uses this metal tool to shave the ice until the scoop is full. Then he transfers the ice into a cup. He adds powdered sweet milk then another scoop of ice. Next, he puts on the syrup and lastly, the condensed milk. It is fabulous!!

I wanted some coconut water for rehydration, so we got a fresh coconut for drinking too.

Only one driver was allowed in the car to board. This meant we had to walk on. This ferry was smaller and packed to the brim. There is a lower level under the deck for more cars.

Here I was thinking "Wow, am I really in Costa Rica? I can't believe this!" It was such a beautiful day and the views were spectacular.

Looking back at Paquera.

Arriving to Puntarenas.

The ferry ride was pretty fun because there was also a bit of a fiesta happening. It seems karaoke is a regular form of entertainment here. There were some live performances happening during the ride. Of course, that was accompanied by dancing and singing along; great way to wrap up our busy weekend.

 

Weekend Excursion #4: South Nicoya Day 2

I wanted to mention these delectable body products offered in our dome tent. Each one was a different fruit aroma. These were wonderful products!

As we drove to Curu, on the road near Paquera, we passed this cart being pulled the old-fashioned way. . 

At Curu

Near the entrance of Curu Refuge. These are coati mundi ladies with the children.

The male came out to drink for a moment.

Up in these trees above the coati's were monkeys. If you zoom in, you might find them?

Pano as we crossed a little river.

This is a smaller version of a capybara called an agouti.

 A stand of bamboo like plant.

Pano of the pond habitat in Curu. There were these interesting water birds "grazing" on the water lilies. You might make them out in the left of the picture by zooming in. The green plants in the center are water lilies floating in the center of the pond.

I loved how Rosabel's shirt matched the vibrant green of the foliage.

We were amused by the barbie doll bodies on this tractor we passed on the trail.

A view of the more open trail in Curu, near an encampment of squirrels we observed.

There are these large mud balls in the trees. At first, we thought they were abandoned wasp nests but later we changed our minds to think these are ant nests.

This is a trail made by a tiny type of termite.

Looking closer, you can see the trail is made a little under the dirt to produce a tunnel. Here the tunnel roof has been knocked away to reveal the termites.

A meandering creek on the trail. We saw a lizard and water hawk. Also, a neat red bird.

The views of Guanacaste are very similar to what we see in rural Missouri, across Kentucky and Tennessee. In fact, I could trick my mind into thinking I was in the USA for a minute.

The country is much different here than near San Jose. There are many farms raising crops and cattle.

Clark wanted to check out this waterfall in a town we passed through.

The waterfall. Not quite like a La Paz but the picture also doesn't capture the beauty of the location. There were many people walking up and down the trail here.

Montezuma. This town was a bit touristy and reminded me of a Tico style Eureka Springs. 

The river comes into the ocean here and the coast was gorgeous. Think Big Sur and Monterey, California. Plus, it was HOT!

A row of permanent street vendors on the left running down the main street into Montezuma's food district.

It was Super Bowl weekend. I found this amusing...a little taste of "home" because not many Ticos even think about American football. This is definitely for the tourists.

We have seen this type of jay before, near Caldera beach but we got a good view this time. This guy came to visit while we waited on our oceanside lunch.

Nachos. Rosabel has the stink eye on our blue jay friend. S/he swooped down at an opportune moment and snatched a piece of chicken right off her plate. S/he actually landed on Rosie's arm to achieve this. Something s/he has done before? Most likely!

Chicken burger

Fish tacos

One of the beaches of the day...Santa Teresa or Hermosa? We stopped at 3.

A tree I observed above Hermosa.

We collected this refreshment as we left a beach we viewed between Santa Teresa and Hermosa. The Tico made it at a portable table right in front of us. Fresh pina, fresh coco water, ice...it was divine!

Rosabel asked me to capture the way the sand coated the sole of her foot..."a perfectly clean line", she said.

This isn't the best example we saw, but I finally took a snapshot of what happens when you leave your car for the day on the roads in Southern Nicoya. It is VERY dry, and the roads are mostly unpaved. We saw one car with literally two inches of dust on it. Think how your car gets covered in snow, but with this dust. Wild!

The beaches were COVERED in these hermit crabs going everywhere!!

Three hermits snuggled in for bed at sunset. I found them this way. Haha!

Walking down Hermosa beach at sunset. We crossed the path of a couple Ticas with horses on the beach, a pretty sight.

The following series is from the tidal pools at Hermosa or a beach near Hermosa...We explored for quite a while. We love discovering all the different hidden lives among the rocks...

Barnacles (top and bottom)

A sea "caterpillar"...sea slug that opens up like lettuce

The pinkish-red hue is baby coral (zoom in)

At the tidal pool near Hermosa

Hermosa at sunset

After the beach, we stopped in the very tiny "blink and you'll miss it" central shop of Hermosa beach. There is a small grocer with a soda (family cafe). As is her habit, Rosabel made friends with the animals...there were two cute kitties without table manners...This seems to be a regular state of the animals...

Casado

The sign in Santa Teresa as we passed back through to find our Airbnb in the rural area. Santa Teresa was a VERY busy place at night.