Thursday, November 21, 2013

Nicaragua Without A Passport!!

Of all the Costa Rican preserves, and there are many, Cano Negro seems to have the largest viewable selection of native animals.  Today we were off on a guided river boat (called a panga) up the Rio Frio. Little did we know we were headed into dangerous territory ... and we had left our passports home!!!

More rain ... and more rain.  Although I didn't really see anyone speeding, there is so much rain here, it still causes accidents.  This poor fella had his car tied with a strap to his buddy's car, trying to pull him out.  It wasn't to be and they were blocking the road.  Once released by his friend, his front door was almost torn off as it rolled back into the ditch.  Hope he got out okay!!!
Arriving in Los Chiles, our panga awaits!!  Loaded on board, our guide Greivin, who is a naturalist, botanist and extremely knowledgeable guy (and good looking besides) ... oh come on, you KNOW I was looking!!  Anyway, he took us up the river on what became the best part of the trip for me ... capturing the wildlife with my camera.  
All along the banks the "green growies" were amazing.  Even dead logs became beautiful!!
Here's the Costa Rican Kingfisher.  Pretty large compared to our species.  It's rather difficult to take good images of far away creatures, in the dark, overcast jungle from a moving boat.  I think I'm lucky to have gotten any images at all!!!
Bats!!!  You should have heard the murmurs from the boat about these little guys.  Barely 3 inches tall, they hang in clusters on the trees during the day and eat mosquitos at night!!  YAY for the bats!!!  By the way, up til now, we hadn't noticed the mosquitos much.  Later, it was another story.
Aningas were everywhere.  This beautiful male had been fishing under water.  Their nickname is Snake Bird ... when they swim, only their neck and head are above water, moving in such a way as to look like a snake.  Once they catch a snack or two, they climb up on a branch to let their wings dry before the next attempt.  
The next two images are Howler Monkeys.  Not the biggest, nor the prettiest ... but boy can they make some noise!!  These guys woke us up on several occasions.  They almost sound like a barking dog ... the males making sure no one comes into THEIR tree near their girlfriends!!
These two were both males ... but we also saw females with babies hanging on for dear life.  You will see later on, they use their tales as another hand to hang on as they travel from one tree limb to another ... just as insurance they don't fall.  These guys never come down to the ground ... they live in the tree tops only.
All the water we traveled through and on in Costa Rica was this dirty brown.  There is just soooo much rain washing dirt into the rivers, along with partial salt water, that it isn't exactly great for swimming.  Besides, there are crocs and caiman lurking in the depths.  
Speaking of which ... this little guy was hiding in the bushes.  About three feet long, he thought he was camouflaged perfectly.  Again with the moving boat and blurry image, but you get the idea. 
These large palm leaves this howler is using as a highway, are the exact ones you see on top of houses, making a waterproof roof that will last 10 or more years.  
This is a beautiful Basilisk Lizard ... well not exactly beautiful, but his girlfriend thinks so!!  Another name for this creature is Jesus Christ Lizard ... see the long toes on his feet??  They capture tiny air bubbles on top of the water as he runs, allowing him to "walk on water" and escape predators
We saw many Great White Herons ... surveying their territory regally.  
Here's a good representation of what the jungle is like.  Lots of green hanging over the edges of the river with trees over 100 feet tall.  The scenery was just spectacular!!!  As we drifted along, we were all expecting the hippo to attack us and the elephant to spray water at us, as happens on the Disneyland Jungle Ride.  Alas, no hippos or elephants, but it was amazingly similar!!!
THIS is a Snowy Egret!!!  So beautiful as his wispy feathers move in the breeze.  The creatures were so distracting, we didn't realize where we were.
All of a sudden ... OH NO!!!  We are in Nicaragua!!!  We crossed the border ... without a passport!!!!
LOOK OUT!!!  DUCK!!!   Okay, we didn't get shot at, nor did we get detained, NOR did we go very far when we crossed over to the dark side.  With one swift pull on the throttle, we were back in Costa Rica.  WHEW!!!  That was close!!!
Another howler beauty ... after awhile, we were wishing there weren't QUITE so many.  Their screaming disputes woke us up many a morning and kept us up late at night!!
Heading back to Los Chiles through the 20,000 acres of the Cano Negro preserve, we asked about fish that might be caught in the river.  Nope ... NO fishing allowed in the preserve.  These two ladies weren't really fishing ... they just had sticks with line attached to the end ... trying to kill mosquitos!!
Back at the dock, boys will be boys ... and as I held up my camera, they did flips into the dirty water.  Nothing like a little afternoon fun!!
These gentlemen on the dock were waiting for a boat to Nicaragua.  This is the end of the line for roads ... any travel further North must be done on the river.  
On the way back to our hotel, we made a quick stop at Restaurante Las Iguanas.  In order to attract more customers, he started feeding a couple of local iguanas.  Best intentions ... but it worked.  Pretty soon there were hundreds of iguanas ... that he still feeds.  Now people stop all the time to check them out, especially a bus-load of American tourists!!
Not afraid of the touristas, this guy only moved his eyes until someone got a little too close.  I think a big tail slap was in order until I yelled "Look Out"!!!  
Not the prettiest guys in the jungle ..... but they pose nicely for photographs.
I love taking pictures of the locals ... this gentleman made his way slowly across the street, sporting his Sunday best and his umbrella as he returned from the grocery store.
Another bad window shot, but as we passed by rather quickly, I saw the horses.  You KNOW I was all over this.  A couple of quick shots show a local party!!  Greivin said the Costa Ricans like to have a couple beers and party with their neighbors (it was Sunday afternoon).  On two occasions however, I did see bull fighting rings.  Although he didn't want to talk about it, I do think they have bull fighting here as they do in Mexico, and my guess is that's what was going on here.
Back at our Spa Resort at Arenal, we had a great dinner.  Most times it was buffet city ... but on a couple of occasions, we were allowed to choose between three entrees.  In all cases, the food was excellent.  I'm not sure if this was really local fare or more tailored to American tastes ... but no matter where we ate, it was good.  Pumpkin/squash soup was served often, along with fish and beef.  Rice seems to be a staple here, and although we did see spaghetti occasionally, pasta wasn't always on the menu.  Dessert was served after every meal, from coconut candy to the best cheesecake EVER!!!  Nobody went hungry!!

Tomorrow we head back towards San Jose.  The trip, for most, is coming to an end!!

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