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!