2008 Costa Rica Southern Skies Fiesta, Volcanos & Rainforest

Feb 5, 2008 – Tuesday – La Ensenada “Star” Lodge, Abangaritos, Puntarenas, Costa Rica

Early morning wildlife walks are conducted by our guide Diego every day we are at the lodge. The main draw is the variety of birds, however iguanas, squirrels, vegetation, flowers, and the farm animals are also observed by our group. For those of us who are dedicated night sky observers, we sometimes join the wildlife walks as the Sun rises, before having breakfast and then going to bed!

I don’t have high expectations for the Tractor Ride this afternoon, however it turns out to be a memorable experience. The owners of La Ensenada are Italians, and their son Giancarlo guides the hour and a half Tractor Ride all over the property. We see their salt ponds, horses and Brahma cattle grazing in the pastures, stop at the Aguna Observatory wildlife observing platform at a pond. Along the way we spot lots of birds and iguanas, and near the end we wind up a narrow road to the top of a hill overlooking the property and the Gulf of Nicoya. Giancarlo’s Mama serves us some superb antipasto, beer and soft drinks while we take in the view. What a nice touch! By the way, the passenger wagon we are seated in is being pulled by an Italian Landini tractor.

It is clear this evening, so I take a series of wide field photos of the Taurus-Eridanus-Aires area, and then the Orion area later. Eridanus – The Celestial River – is a very large constellation near Orion, but it hugs the southern horizon from our nothern latitude, so observing it from Costa Rica means it is much higher in the sky. I then capture a series of photos of the spectacular Eta Carinae Nebula before midnight, however my tracking mount isn’t properly aligned with north, so the photos are not very useful. So this evening is rewarding for visual observing, however I have to refine my astrophotography technique.