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.

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!