Costa Rica to Canada

Posted on February 16, 2008 by JoeTourist

2008 Costa Rica Southern Skies Fiesta, Volcanos & Rainforest

Feb 15, 2008 – Friday – San Jose, Costa Rica to Seattle, WA, USA

Flight map - San Jose - Houston - Seattle — Flight map – San Jose – Houston – Seattle

I’m up at 4am after about 4 hours sleep. I’m going to be beat flying to Seatac, so it’s probably a good thing that I overnight in Seattle to allow me to get some sleep before returning home. Diego and Walter are there at quarter to five to pick me up, along with another couple leaving on the same flight. I guess Diego and Walter will be going back and forth to the airport all morning as flights depart.

I pay my US$26 Departure Fee, clear security and wait for my Continental flight to Houston. There are only folding chairs in the departure area – I hesitate to call it a “lounge”, since there is no counter, and the gate itself is well-hidden. I start the waiting process by sorting through my photos after find a carpeted bench area to sit on so I can plug my notebook adapter into a nearby outlet. My friends soon show up, and we trade stories about the last week, since they went off on their own instead of booking the Volcanoes and Rainforest tour. My group certainly accomplished more, but my friends wanted some down time to just relax, which I can relate to.

Flying over the Gulf of Mexico shoreline

Since I only slept four hours last night, I try to get some rest on this leg of the journey once we’re airborne. The breakfast bun Continental serves is dreadful, but I eat the egg and ham and drink the lukewarm coffee. Once we land in Houston at the George Bush airport, my friends and I take one of the golf cart shuttles since our gate for the flight to Seatac is a long way across the terminal.

Our flight to Seatac is full except for one empty seat which my friends happened to get in their row – a good thing. I’m seated in the third-to-last row, which is fine except for the deodorant smell emanating from the nearby washrooms. As on the previous flight, I zone out by listening to music through my noise-cancelling Shure earphones. That way I isolate myself somewhat from the stress of a full aircraft cabin, as well as from the noise of the jet engines. When I arrive at Seatac, I experience no ringing in my ears. Previously, I would normally have ringing in my ears for a couple of days, and have trouble hearing.

I like George Bush airport in Houston, since despite it is huge, it is well laid out and I find it easy to navigate. There is a good choice of services near each group of gates, and the airport staff are helpful and friendly. I find that Seatac airport is also improving as far as customer service is concerned, however the poor layout and those infernal trains between various terminals present challenges to passengers who have to find their gates.

When I arrive at Seatac I clear customs and immigration, retrieve my checked bag, and then proceed to the ticketing and check-in area at the front of the main terminal. I find the Horizon Air counter and ask if there is a seat available on the flight leaving this evening. They confirm the flight is fully-booked, so I then find the Continental counter and tell them I will need a hotel voucher, as instructed by my travel agency. After a short delay, the woman gives me the voucher for a stay at the nearby Clarion. I proceed to the hotel shuttle pickup area, call the Clarion, and shortly after the shuttle picks me up. This hotel at Seatac is not exactly a first rate hotel, but the room is clean and the bed feels good.

Feb 16, 2008 – Saturday – Seattle, WA, USA to Victoria, BC, Canada

I am up at 5am in order to be at the gate at Seatac for my 7:30am flight to Victoria. I am out the door at 5:45am and join several other folks in the shuttle to the airport. I check in at the Horizon Air kiosks that are located in the walkway between the drop-off point and the main terminal. I print my boarding pass and go to the baggage check-in area for Horizon/Alaska airlines. It is very crowded, but I get through after waiting only about 10 minutes and check my bag – no overweight charges this time thank goodness! The line to clear security is very long, but it moves quickly.

I find my gate with almost an hour to spare, get myself some coffee and sit down to work on my notebook computer for awhile. It is great to have my notebook with me, since it gives me something productive to do during the inevitable waiting time while travelling. By the time I get home I’ll have all my photos organized and captioned, which will be a big help to process them more quickly than my last trip, which took me many months.

The Horizon flight to Victoria departs on time, and the flight to Victoria is uneventful. Although there are lots of clouds, there are enough clear spots to give me opportunities to photograph the Olympic Mountains from my left side window seat. My checked bag appears on the baggage belt at Victoria airport, and I clear Canadian Customs in short order. The officer asks me about my farm stay, but wasn’t concerned since I say it was a week ago, and my shoes had been washed since that time. I find my vehicle parked in the long term parking, pay the fee and drove home.

El Silencio Cloud Forest

Posted on February 14, 2008 by JoeTourist

Feb 14, 2008 – Thursday – La Fortuna to San Jose, Costa Rica

2008 Costa Rica Southern Skies Fiesta, Volcanos & Rainforest

We leave the Tabacón resort this morning, returning from La Fortuna and Arenal Volcano to San Jose and the Central Valley. First stop is El Silencio de Los Angeles Cloud Forest. This is the first Cloud Forest I have experienced up close, and it is fascinating. We see lots of fauna and flora, including several varieties of hummingbirds, army and leaf-cutter ants, orchids and other amazing flowering plants. The cloud forest lives up to its name as the clouds silently drift through the forest canopy, nourishing all the life below. We have a very nice lunch at the adjoining Villa Blanca restaurant, and I admire the folklorique mural on the wall depicting historic industry in Costa Rica.

Historical scene on a tile mural in the Villa Blanca lobby

We get back on the bus for the drive back to San Jose, however there is the inevitable shopping stop at Sarchi. Thank goodness it is only a half hour this time before we are underway again. I really find the shopping part of these tours to be boring and a waste of my time. We run into rush hour traffic as we approach San Jose, which makes us late for our Farewell dinner. We all rush through our Courtyard Marriott hotel check-in, and manage to get to the restaurant before they cancel our reservation. This is a different restaurant than last week. The dinner is very nice – no band playing this time, a few short speeches are made, and I get to talk with some of my fellow Canadians in the group.

Rush hour traffic on the highway into San Jose

I have to be the first to leave the restaurant, since my flight tomorrow leaves at 7:45am. I am told my airport transfer is arranged for 5am, so that means I have to get up at 4am – a killer hour. Also, due to a scheduling mistake by Continental Airlines, I now have to overnight in Seattle-Tacoma, so I won’t be returning home to Victoria, Canada until Saturday instead of Friday evening. Back to the reality of a more crowded, hectic pace, with travel stress and decisions to be made, after a sublime two weeks in rural Costa Rica.

Arenal Volcano

Posted on February 13, 2008 by JoeTourist

Feb 13, 2008 – Wednesday – Arenal Volcano

2008 Costa Rica Southern Skies Fiesta, Volcanos & Rainforest

I have a nice breakfast of waffles with fruit and chocolate sauce, coffee & fresh fruit juice at 5:30AM. Today is obviously starting off early, since we go on a hike to see a volcanic flow on Arenal Volcano. A woman in our group sits on an unstable rock and rolls to the ground, resulting in some cuts and bruises. Otherwise, everyone coped well with the sometimes rough terrain. There is some rain at the start of our hike, and it is cloudy to clear the rest of our time on the mountain shrouded in cloud, which is not unusual for Arenal. The last time I was here 10 years ago, Arenal was in cloud as well. We watch the volcano spit hot boulders for awhile and then return to the bus.

The Arenal Volcano Observatory is our next stop – a sublime place which has a nice restaurant overlooking the volcano, a resort, Lake Arenal, and the observatory operated by the Smithsonian Institute. We have a leisurely lunch, observe the volcano from the deck, and have fun watching the tropical birds feeding on some fruit left out for them at a feeding station. There is also a Coatimundi foraging in the gardens. From this vantage point I take better photos of the mountain than from our hike earlier in the day. Steven O’Meara shares a bit of history about Arenal, and then we get back on the bus and return to Tabacón.

The rest of the afternoon is free, so I go to the hot springs and spa and soak in the hot pools. Some of them are very hot (41.5°C) and others are as cool as 25°C. I find a hot pool away from the crowds and alternate between hot and cool for about an hour. Our hotel room booking includes admission to the hot springs, so many of my group are also taking advantage of the facility. Normal admission is $60/person for a day pass. There is a free shuttle between the hotel and the hot springs – they are located about a block apart.

We enjoy a sumptuous dinner at Arenal Kioro Hotel, a resort located toward La Fortuna not far from Tabacón. This two year old resort is situated on the mountain and has wonderful views of the area. The whole complex is quite spectacular. After dinner, we drive back to Arenal and park along an access road, trying to spot the hot lava rocks as they tumble down the mountain, but it is so cloudy we only spot a couple before giving up to return to Tabacón.

Sarapiqui River Rafting

Posted on February 12, 2008 by JoeTourist

Feb 12, 2008 – Tuesday – Sueño Azul Hotel to the Tabacón Grand Spa and Thermal Resort near Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica

2008 Costa Rica Southern Skies Fiesta, Volcanos & Rainforest

As I sit on the deck this morning before breakfast, I see a Kingfisher dive for his breakfast, and the Snowy Egret is wading in the pond, along with many other birds in the trees. It has rained off and on more or less continuously since we arrived at the Sueño Azul Hotel. Despite being quite a long way from the Caribbean coast, this area is only about 60 metres about sea level, so it is very wet and tropical here.

After check-out, we drive the short distance to the Hacienda Pozo Azul Butterfly Garden in La Virgen, so I get a second chance to see the butterflies and manage to take some good photos. We then continue to a drop off point for our river rafting on the Sarapiqui River. I think everyone was a bit concerned about the river rafting, however this is a Class 1 trip, which means no white water, no helmets or strap-ins needed – just a gentle float down a calm river.

It rains hard for the first few minutes as we load onto the inflatable rafts, but we have perfect weather for the whole 2-hour trip down the river. There are three or four sections where the water runs a bit faster, but nothing I would call rapids. I think everyone has fun. I certainly enjoyed myself, since we have very cute boat men. We see lots of wildlife up close, including a Jesus Christ lizard, Howler monkeys, a snake swimming across the river, tiny bats roosting in the trees on the shoreline, and countless birds. There is juice and fruit waiting for us at the end of the trip.

Jesus Christ lizard being held by our boatman

Our bus driver Walter then drives us to La Fortuna, where we have a wonderful lunch at the Don Rufino restaurant mid-afternoon. When we arrive at the Tabacón Grand Spa and Thermal Resort, they have drinks waiting for us, give us express check-in, and deliver our luggage from the bus to our rooms. Speaking of the rooms, they are deluxe – the best grade hotel we’ve stayed at for the whole trip.

The skies are cloudy and there are frequent rain showers at this location. I don’t see how we are going to hike in these conditions tomorrow, but according to Diego and Steven they plan to take us onto an Arenal Volcano lava flow tomorrow morning starting at 8am. We will then visit the volcano observatory and have lunch before returning to the Tabacón in early afternoon.

Tomorrow is when we can go to the Spa, or just soak in the hot pools. For this evening, Steven is suggesting we try to photograph the glowing boulders rolling down the mountain using time exposures with our cameras. That might work if we can find a perspective from our hotel location where we can clearly see the volcano’s flank.

Our dinner at the hotel this evening is later than usual at 7:30pm, in order to give us time to digest our sumptuous lunch. We have the Chinese-themed buffet at the Spa restaurant this evening. The food is very good, but it is quite noisy due to the whole spa complex beside the restaurant being very busy since it doesn’t close until 10pm.

La Selva Preserve

Posted on February 11, 2008 by JoeTourist

2008 Costa Rica Southern Skies Fiesta, Volcanos & Rainforest

Feb 11, 2008 – Monday – La Selva Preserve, Sarapiqui Rain Forest, Heredia, Costa Rica

We visit the nearby La Selva Preserve this morning, which is a biological research station focused on the rain forest. Our guide is a bird nesting researcher, so he is very knowledgeable about the many birds we encounter on our nature walk. He also has interesting stories to tell about La Selva itself, as well as the flora and fauna in the preserve. He catches a Blue-black Grassquit to show us the feathers, and we also see a poison dart frog on the forest floor (Oophaga). He calls the birds to us using a portable speaker he drives with a bird song database from Cornell.

Oophaga - poison dart frog on the forest floor

Our guide Diego conducts a walking tour near the hotel this afternoon, but I just want some down time, so I don’t go. It is wonderful to just sit on the deck overlooking the lagoon; watching and listening to the rain come down in showers, and observing the interesting wildlife, which is so close. As I explore the hotel grounds, I also discover some unique features of Sueño Azul Hotel, including high wire acrobatic apparatus, and a horse barn with a riding ring. Then there’s the previously mentioned pedestrian foot bridge across the river, providing guests with their main access to the hotel.

My wildlife spotting list from this amazing tropical area just for yesterday and today reveals an abundant diversity!

Cherrie's tanager perched on a branch in the rainforest

Poas Volcano & Sarapiqui

Posted on February 10, 2008 by JoeTourist

2008 Costa Rica Southern Skies Fiesta, Volcanos & Rainforest

Feb 10, 2008 – Sunday – San Jose to Poas Volcano to Sarapiqui Rainforest, Costa Rica

I have a nice omelet for breakfast this morning in the Marriott before we leave San Jose. Our new, smaller group departs a little after 8am, driving north out of the city through coffee plantations in Alajuela. Our first stop is Doka Estate Coffee Plantation for a rest break, where I have a very well-made cappuccino, and I purchase a coaster with a Costa Rican frog motif embossed on it.

Nearby Póas Volcano is our next destination. Since this is Sunday, the place is crowded with Costa Ricans. The weather is notoriously fickle on top of this volcano. Our group hikes from the visitor centre to the main viewpoint, and as we arrive the clouds part for about a minute. Unfortunately I don’t take any photos before the clouds completely obscure everything again!

Steven O’Meara is on this trip as an expert in volcanoes. While we wait for the clouds to part, he stands on his Pelican case and gives us an impromptu presentation on the special features of Poas, and shares a general dissertation on global warming and how volcanoes are contributing to the problem in a major way. After about a half hour, the clouds blow away for 10 minutes or so, giving us a good photo opportunity before we leave Poas Volcano.

Our next stop is to see some spectacular falls along the road that follows the Sarapiqui River northward and then east over the mountains through the town of Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui. We have a late lunch along the way at Hacienda Pozo Azul Adventures, where the restaurant has a butterfly house with some very nice tropical butterflies. It’s free admission, however I only have a few minutes to take some photos before we depart, heading southeast.

We pull off onto a side road and park while our luggage is loaded into a pickup truck and taken to the Sueño Azul Hotel. We drive a bit further, and everyone walks across the river on a foot bridge, directly to the hotel grounds. Once I am settled in my room overlooking one of the many lagoons on the property, I observe several birds from my deck: a Snowy Egret and a Green Heron are fishing in the lagoon, and also several colourful birds are in the nearby trees.

We leave the hotel after dark for the Tirimbina Rainforest Center, where we are given a wonderful introduction to the bats which are found in the area. One of the rangers catches several bats and brings them inside so we can look at them up close. They are fascinating creatures, and so small and cute. Their little faces are all screwed up, since they are so frightened by being handled, but they are soon released back into the night by members of our group. After returning back to the hotel and navigating the foot bridge once again, we have a very nice late dinner at 9pm.

Return to San Jose from La Ensenda Lodge

Posted on February 9, 2008 by JoeTourist

2008 Costa Rica Southern Skies Fiesta, Volcanos & Rainforest

Feb 9, 2008 – Saturday – La Ensenada “Star” Lodge to San Jose, Costa Rica

We spend our last morning at the Lodge comparing observing notes from the night before. Several of the group pulled all-nighters, since the sky was so wonderful. I think it was perhaps the all-time best observing evening I’ve ever experienced. It was warm, the magnitude 6 sky was steady and crystal clear, and of course the temperature was very comfortable at about 25 Celsius. The bonus was virtually no mosquitoes. I don’t know where they went, but it was a welcome relief.

During our time here, I visually observed more than a dozen southern sky objects visible from this latitude of 10 degrees north. Observing from here has driven home the point that I must travel to the southern hemisphere (South Africa, New Zealand or Australia) sometime in the near future. Observing from those locations will reveal a whole new sky to me. After my trip to New Zealand and Fiji in 2004, I’m convinced that the southern hemisphere has more than its fair share of superb celestial objects, and I must add some of them to my observing log within the next few years.

Before leaving the lodge, we have a group photo taken with our guides and lodge staff, settle our bills, leave some tips for the staff, and then climb aboard the bus bound for San Jose. It is a long drive over the mountains, however we stop for lunch at Sarchi. This is also the tourist trap: t-shirts and caps, knickknacks, and the painted ox carts and furniture Sarchi artisans are famous for. After we check-in back at the Courtyard Marriott in San Jose, it’s nice to have a hot shower and get the dust washed off. It’s also wonderful to connect to the Internet, catch up on the news, and post to my JoeTourist travelogue.

We attend a farewell dinner at the nearby Laguagua Cuban restaurant this evening. It is very noisy with a band playing and the service is slow, but it’s nice to have one last meal together before most of the group return home. Some of us are staying in Costa Rica for a few more days to continue on with the Volcanoes and Rainforest tour (starting tomorrow).

La Ensenada Lodge – Day 4

Posted on February 8, 2008 by JoeTourist

2008 Costa Rica Southern Skies Fiesta, Volcanos & Rainforest

Feb 8, 2008 – Friday – La Ensenada “Star” Lodge, Abangaritos, Puntarenas, Costa Rica

This is our last full day at La Ensenada “Star” Lodge. Before sunrise, I see Rigel Kentaurus and Hadar with the Southern Cross in the beautiful pre-dawn light. I then go on our final nature walk this morning as the Sun rises. We spot lots of interesting wildlife, including a Cane Toad in the dining room as we gather, and then a Green heron on a snag in an algae-covered pond, a Clay-coloured Robin Clay-coloured Robin, Southern white-crowned shrike, Squirrel Cuckoo, and a Tropical Kingbird perched in trees.

Crux and other southern constellations in the pre-dawn southeastern sky

I sign up for a horse ride this morning. We all have a good time; especially considering none of us have ridden horses for many years. The last time I rode a horse was when I was an early teen. The horses are very well trained, and the ride is an interesting two hours going all around the ranch. We go to the top of a hill overlooking the coastline, and ride around the hill where the tractor ride took us previously. I take some video which captures the experience pretty well, despite all the bouncing around I was doing while on horseback. We even see a pair of Double-striped Thick-knee birds run across the pasture grass.

After lunch, two musicians play the xylophone tandem in the bar/lounge. Otherwise, our afternoon is free of activities. I have a nap after dinner, waking up around 7:30pm to clear skies! This is the opportunity I have been waiting for all week. I take a time lapse of the southern horizon over a 3 hour period until midnight, which shows some of the southern celestial objects in the sky as they rise. I then setup the Astrotrac after finding a spot where I can see Polaris, finally getting a good polar alignment. Now I’m cooking! I image the Eta Carina region, and then move to Crux, imaging the Southern Cross and the Coalsack dark nebula.

Feb 9, 2008 – early morning, Saturday – While the camera is imaging the Southern Cross region, I process the Eta Carinae images since I can see they are quite good. Finally, I’m happy with some results from this dark sky location! Both my friend and I are up until 4am imaging the night sky, since this is our last chance. Several of our group pull all-nighters, since the sky is so wonderful. I think it is perhaps the all-time best observing evening I’ve ever experienced. It is warm, the magnitude 6 sky is steady and crystal clear, the temperature is very comfortable at about 25º Celsius, and there are no mosquitoes!

La Ensenada Lodge & Carara Park – Day 3

Posted on February 7, 2008 by JoeTourist

2008 Costa Rica Southern Skies Fiesta, Volcanos & Rainforest

Feb 7, 2008 – Thursday – La Ensenada “Star” Lodge & Carara National Park, Puntarenas, Costa Rica

Our guide Diego and bus driver Walter take us on a day-long trip to Carara National Park today. First stop is to see some 33 big crocodiles under the Taracoles bridge along the way. After we arrive at the start of our little hike, there is some rain from the tree canopy falling on us. Along the trail we see some Leaf-cutting ants, 2 Scarlet Macaws in a tree (a thrilling sight), a Slaty-tailed trogan hiding in the trees, a huge Black Spiny-Tailed Iguana, and air plants flourishing on the high branches. The Cicadas fill the forest with their chirping sound.

We have a very nice buffet lunch at Hotel Villa Lapas, which is located in a gully along a nearby river. Diego points out the Noni bush – supposedly a miracle health plant that is currently all the rage with the Ticos. We return through Miramar and stop for a swim at the beach at Caldera, just south of Puntarenas. I spot the 4-masted SV Legacy sailing ship anchored in the bay, which was formerly operated by Windjammer Barefoot Cruises. Diego and Walter serve us watermelon and cold water – again, a nice touch.

I have been frustrated with my astrophotography efforts while staying at La Ensenada “Star” Lodge. The skies are nice and dark (around mag 6.0), but Polaris is very low in the northern sky. This makes polar alignment with the Astrotrac tracking mount very difficult. The first night I tried to just take a north line across the field from where I was setup using a GPS, but that didn’t get me close enough, so I ended up frustrated with poor quality photos.

The second night I borrowed a telescope from the Sky and Telescope folks, so I could visually observe. I hadn’t brought any binoculars with me, which in hindsight was an oversight. My friend showed me the basics of drift alignment, which enabled me to align my Astrotrac much better the second night, so I could take some astro-photos. As I write this on our third night, it is quite cloudy – frustrating!

La Ensenada Lodge – Day 2

Posted on February 6, 2008 by JoeTourist

2008 Costa Rica Southern Skies Fiesta, Volcanos & Rainforest

Feb 6, 2008 – Wednesday – La Ensenada “Star” Lodge, Abangaritos, Puntarenas, Costa Rica

On our early morning nature walk this morning, we spot a Rufous Motmot, Screech Owl, a Black Spiny-Tailed Iguana out in the open, a Clay-coloured Robin, and a Tropical Kingbird. Costa Rica is a birder’s paradise, especially during migration season!

We go on a boat ride to see the mangrove that is located just around the point from where we are staying. Several of the group that went yesterday were soaked on the way back from the oncoming swells in the late afternoon, but we did much better. Only one member of our group was hit by the wash. It was a rewarding trip, since we cruised right up close to several birds and even a baby alligator was sunning himself on a small log and stayed around long enough for us to get some photos. Birds spotted: Brown Pelicans, a Kestrel in flight, Whimbrel, Roseate Spoonbill, Snowy Egret, and Royal Terns when we return to the dock in front of the lodge.

After turning on my cellphone this evening, it shows a decent signal, so I call home to check in with the family. We have another clear night, so I’m out on the observing field marvelling at the Zodiacal Light – the first time I’ve observed this phenomenon. I try to capture a time lapse of the Zodiacal Light, but it doesn’t work out. I pack it in for the night at 9PM since I’m tired from the day’s activities.