Happy New year from Antigua
This is the view of Volcan Agua from the rooftop deck of our hostel here in Antigua.
Location:Antigua Guatemala,Guatemala
Friday, December 31, 2010
Feliz Ano Nuevo!
Happy New year from Antigua
This is the view of Volcan Agua from the rooftop deck of our hostel here in Antigua.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Soy lattes in Granada
We found a place with soy lattes and veggie burgers in Granada Nicaragua
Yum!
Location:Calle La Libertad,Granada,Nicaragua
Monday, December 27, 2010
Leatherback Sea Turtle Laying Her Eggs
We are now in Nicaragua at La Isla de Ometepe and there is much to catch up on and much will have to wait.
But, I did want to write about one of the most amazing and magical things that Mike and I have experienced on any of our travels.... while still in Costa Rica we visited Playa Tamarindo expressly with the hope that we would get to see one of the baulas (leatherback sea turtles) climb to shore from sea to lay her eggs. They are severely endangered, primarily due to fishing nets, but also because of other human related causes, like developments on beautiful shorelines, so turtles are no longer able to use them as breeding grounds. Last year the count at Playa Grande (near Playa Tamarindo) was 45 females and this year there have been only 22. Leatherbacks are the largest sea turtle in the world and unlike other reptiles, they have the capacity to keep some of their blood warm, which allows them to live almost all over the world in waters of varying tempuratures.
We were picked up by a national park guide at 1130pm under the silver light of a nearly full moon. I was so hoping we would be able to see a turtle! We were prepared to wait for 4 hours in the middle of the night to wait to see of one arrived. We were very fortunate because almost immediately upon arrival to the national park, a turtle carried her massive body (2ooo pounds) from sea to shore, dug a hole several feet deep with her flippers, and began to lay her eggs. It was very surreal. I was also struck by the musky- animal scent as she layed her eggs. There were several biologists taking measurements and counting eggs and I am pleased to report that they were very strict with us about where we could be relative to the turtle and forbidding the use of cameras. Once she finished, she used her back flippers to cover the hole with sand and pat it firm. And then used her front flippers like shovels to scoop (And hurl) the sand over the hole. We had to get out of the way because of the massive quantities of sand she was scooping. Once she was finished with her actual nest, she made a fake hole next to it to mislead possible predators. And then began her trek back to the sea. Mike and I were totally blown away.... and then...
On our walk back to the boat, talking about what we had just seen, our guide stopped us to walk very carefully around hundreds of tiny baby Ridley sea turtles that had just hatched and were making their arduous and itty bitty ways to the sea!!! It was phenomenal! They were no bigger than silver dollars and everywhere and I cannot put to words their cuteness. Biologists believe no more than 1 in 1000 survives. It was very moving to watch them making their way into the waves of the ocean for the first time. And then....
A few feet down the way, a second glorious baula (leatherback) was climbing to shore from the sea. Again, very surreal to see this water animal bring herself to shore. The guides kept us moving and would not let us watch. I dont know if that was for the benefit of the turtle or because it was 2am and they wanted to go to bed. I am hoping for the former.
It was a magical evening and one of the most phenomenal things we have seen. We were not allowed to take photos, but these photos from national geographic are like what we saw both of the baula and of the baby ridleys
But, I did want to write about one of the most amazing and magical things that Mike and I have experienced on any of our travels.... while still in Costa Rica we visited Playa Tamarindo expressly with the hope that we would get to see one of the baulas (leatherback sea turtles) climb to shore from sea to lay her eggs. They are severely endangered, primarily due to fishing nets, but also because of other human related causes, like developments on beautiful shorelines, so turtles are no longer able to use them as breeding grounds. Last year the count at Playa Grande (near Playa Tamarindo) was 45 females and this year there have been only 22. Leatherbacks are the largest sea turtle in the world and unlike other reptiles, they have the capacity to keep some of their blood warm, which allows them to live almost all over the world in waters of varying tempuratures.
We were picked up by a national park guide at 1130pm under the silver light of a nearly full moon. I was so hoping we would be able to see a turtle! We were prepared to wait for 4 hours in the middle of the night to wait to see of one arrived. We were very fortunate because almost immediately upon arrival to the national park, a turtle carried her massive body (2ooo pounds) from sea to shore, dug a hole several feet deep with her flippers, and began to lay her eggs. It was very surreal. I was also struck by the musky- animal scent as she layed her eggs. There were several biologists taking measurements and counting eggs and I am pleased to report that they were very strict with us about where we could be relative to the turtle and forbidding the use of cameras. Once she finished, she used her back flippers to cover the hole with sand and pat it firm. And then used her front flippers like shovels to scoop (And hurl) the sand over the hole. We had to get out of the way because of the massive quantities of sand she was scooping. Once she was finished with her actual nest, she made a fake hole next to it to mislead possible predators. And then began her trek back to the sea. Mike and I were totally blown away.... and then...
On our walk back to the boat, talking about what we had just seen, our guide stopped us to walk very carefully around hundreds of tiny baby Ridley sea turtles that had just hatched and were making their arduous and itty bitty ways to the sea!!! It was phenomenal! They were no bigger than silver dollars and everywhere and I cannot put to words their cuteness. Biologists believe no more than 1 in 1000 survives. It was very moving to watch them making their way into the waves of the ocean for the first time. And then....
A few feet down the way, a second glorious baula (leatherback) was climbing to shore from the sea. Again, very surreal to see this water animal bring herself to shore. The guides kept us moving and would not let us watch. I dont know if that was for the benefit of the turtle or because it was 2am and they wanted to go to bed. I am hoping for the former.
It was a magical evening and one of the most phenomenal things we have seen. We were not allowed to take photos, but these photos from national geographic are like what we saw both of the baula and of the baby ridleys
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Tortuguero
Hi friends and family,
Carol and I are now in Nicaragua but did want to finish sharing some of our wonderful times in Costa Rica. This photo was taken from a boat in Tortuguero National Park. This park on the Carribean side of Costa Rica is most famous for the migration of Green Turtles to lay their eggs on the beaches of the park. We knew going into this part of our trip that we wouldnt be there during the nesting season but from Carols previous trip there in 2003 we knew there would be much more to see than turtles...and we did. We saw caiman and crocodiles about 5 minutes after our boat ride into the jungle waters of Tortuguero. There were also all kinds of beautiful birds. Probably my favorite spotting was of a pair of toucans. A very lucky find was getting to see what is called the Jesus Christ Lizard named for its ability to walk on water. We didnt get to see it do that but we did experience its ability to hide itself in green leaves. Click here to see its skills! We also got to see lots of beautiful small frogs including the poison dart frog, and red eye frog. No trip to the jungle is complete without seeing both spider and howler monkeys. We got pretty close to both on our last walk in the park along a jungle trail. The howler monkeys are apparently one of the loudest animals in the world. We have now heard them throughout Costa Rica and in Nicaragua. Check out the link above to both see video and hear there amazing sounds!
Equally interesting to me was the human life surrounding the park. On the long drive to our boat (the only way into the park) we passed two huge banana plantations owned by some names you might recognize- Del Monte and Chiquita. I did get to ask our guide a little bit about the conditions and she said they were very poor. Although the working conditions are poor, its still a good job opportunity for the people who work there. About 70 percent of the employees on the banana plantations are Nicaraguan. Costa Rica has a similar relationship with Nicaragua as we do to Mexico. Nicaraguans come to Costa Rica for job opportunities and Costa Rica relies on their cheap labor to do things such as process bananas to ship around the world. Of course, Chiquita and Del Monte are owned by Britain and the U.S. respectively so there are multiple layers to the stories of these bananas. ...more on Tico-Nica relations in future posts!
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Paraiso!
We just spent the last couple days soaking in the most incredible hot springs at the base of the Arenal volcano. Carol visited the magical Tabacon hot springs in 2003 and was excited to come back some day and share this slice of paradise with me. 8 years later we made it and she was right about how wonderful it is. Dozens of pools of varying temperatures, waterfalls to soak in, lush vibrant, and colorful plants everywhere and having a swim up pool bar with fabulous cocktails made with fresh fruit juice rounded out the experience quite nicely.
Location:142,La Fortuna,Costa Rica
Monteverde
After leaving Alajuela, we ventured north to Monteverde. I visited here in 2003 and while I have strong memories of all that I loved about my time (particularly seeing a male Quetzal), I have equally strong memories of unpaved roads and an extremely difficult time getting cash (only one ATM machine that did not work and so I kept buying things at the super mercado and getting cash back) and no one took credit cards, so I definitely had a few stressful moments. So, we came prepared with cash and an expectation to have to use it. However, the changes blew my mind- no longer a sleepy mountain town, but a bustling tourist center with paved roads and the ability to accept cards wherever we went- not only one kind, but about five different card options. And with these changes, much, much higher prices. So, a very positive visit, but also a bit sad to have it be such a tourist blob.
We stayed in one of my most favorite places ever- Arco Iris Eco Lodge... a lovely little retreat that feels secluded from everything, but is a short walk into the town and lots of natural wood. We took a night hike into the forest and saw some sleeping birds, tarantulas, leaf cutter ants, a frog, and of course, coatimudis. The next day was truly the highlight- we went hiking in the Cloud Forest, which was spectacular and we were super lucky with awesome weather. At the very end of the hike we saw a female Quetzal- not as dramatic as her male partner, but still gorgeous and am glad she made an appearance for us.
We also flew through the cloud forest on zip lines. I do not know what possessed me to sign up for this given my terrible fear of heights, and that I love hiking thoughtfully through landscapes, but I suggested to Mike that we do it. And so, away we went! The zip lines were a series of 13 lines hundreds of feet in the air and ranging from 90-1300 feet in length. You get strapped in by a harness and then zip through the air above the cloud forest. I decided to go with a guide, so that I did not have to deal with managing my speed and my sole job was to view the forest and hang on for dear life. It was absolutely spectacularly amazing. Mike and I agreed that we were really able to see the contours, colors, shapes, and beauty of the forest in a whole new way. We hope to post some videos of us zooming along. I surprised myself by totally loving it. It culminated with a Tarzan Swing where we leap off of a 50 foot platform and swing through the air. The only thing that got me through was having done a trapeze class with Annelise, which was actually scarier than the Tarzan Swing (so, Annelise, thanks! I thought of our time multiple times and I think it´s what got me to climb up to the first platform and not run away into the woods). It is good to be back in Costa Rica. ¡Pura Vida!
We stayed in one of my most favorite places ever- Arco Iris Eco Lodge... a lovely little retreat that feels secluded from everything, but is a short walk into the town and lots of natural wood. We took a night hike into the forest and saw some sleeping birds, tarantulas, leaf cutter ants, a frog, and of course, coatimudis. The next day was truly the highlight- we went hiking in the Cloud Forest, which was spectacular and we were super lucky with awesome weather. At the very end of the hike we saw a female Quetzal- not as dramatic as her male partner, but still gorgeous and am glad she made an appearance for us.
We also flew through the cloud forest on zip lines. I do not know what possessed me to sign up for this given my terrible fear of heights, and that I love hiking thoughtfully through landscapes, but I suggested to Mike that we do it. And so, away we went! The zip lines were a series of 13 lines hundreds of feet in the air and ranging from 90-1300 feet in length. You get strapped in by a harness and then zip through the air above the cloud forest. I decided to go with a guide, so that I did not have to deal with managing my speed and my sole job was to view the forest and hang on for dear life. It was absolutely spectacularly amazing. Mike and I agreed that we were really able to see the contours, colors, shapes, and beauty of the forest in a whole new way. We hope to post some videos of us zooming along. I surprised myself by totally loving it. It culminated with a Tarzan Swing where we leap off of a 50 foot platform and swing through the air. The only thing that got me through was having done a trapeze class with Annelise, which was actually scarier than the Tarzan Swing (so, Annelise, thanks! I thought of our time multiple times and I think it´s what got me to climb up to the first platform and not run away into the woods). It is good to be back in Costa Rica. ¡Pura Vida!
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Walking stick
We saw this insect in monteverde reserve which is one of the few cloud forests in the world.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Alajuela
We spent the day orienting ourselves to lovely Costa Rica and figuring out an itinerary for our time here. It´s great to be back and fun to share Alajuela with Mike. I did a home stay- language immersion program back in 2003. My school and host family were located a bus ride outside of Alajuela and I hoped to share them with Mike.... If I could recall where to catch the bus. After some wandering around, we did arrive at the bus garage with the same little food stands as before. But, the buses have been upgraded from yellow school buses to more modern adult sized buses. The sugar cane fields and coffee fields were a green landscape to traverse through and reminded me of my time here when I watched the cane fields get cut and then burned. I also hoped to remember where to get off the bus, but that proved to be easy, as I recognized the Pavo Real market right away. The only disappointment was to discover that the school had been converted to a hotel! We enjoyed a late lunch of empanadas in Alajuela´s mercado. This evening we had an adventure trying to describe a vegetarian restaraunt we wanted to go to to our taxi driver. Turns out addresses are useless and people know things by points of reference (a block from the church, to the right of the cemetary, etc) and that is useless to us when we don´t know! So, we did not go to the vegetarian restaurant, but rather drove in circles for a bit before finally just asking to be let out and we would figure something out- and we did- a cute place with fried plantains, guacamole, yuca, and beans for dinner. Tomorrow we venture to Monteverde!
Primera Clase
Hello friends and family,
We departed Seattle yesterday, Tuesday Dec. 14th, for our holiday travel adventure in Central America. After pulling an all-nighter getting all of our gift packages ready for family, packing, paying bills, and cleaning the house'- we hopped in a cab at 345am in the morning to catch the first of the three legs of our flight to San Jose, Costa Rica. Despite our weariness from lack of sleep, we were quite excited to start our month long vacation. As luck would have it, Carol and I got to fly first class the whole way. Due to a lucky draw with our Alaska miles we were booked into first class for no extra charge. ....and our conclusion..first class is pretty great. The beverages were flowing on each leg of our flight- tomato juice, orange juice, white wine, diet coke, water, and more. The seats were quite comfortable- lots of leg room and elbow room- multiple reclining positions were also available for our chairs. We arrived in San Jose at 10pm last night and successfully got our bags and were happy to be met by a shuttle driver from the Alajuela Backpackers Hostel. ......and so our adventure begins!
More soon....
We departed Seattle yesterday, Tuesday Dec. 14th, for our holiday travel adventure in Central America. After pulling an all-nighter getting all of our gift packages ready for family, packing, paying bills, and cleaning the house'- we hopped in a cab at 345am in the morning to catch the first of the three legs of our flight to San Jose, Costa Rica. Despite our weariness from lack of sleep, we were quite excited to start our month long vacation. As luck would have it, Carol and I got to fly first class the whole way. Due to a lucky draw with our Alaska miles we were booked into first class for no extra charge. ....and our conclusion..first class is pretty great. The beverages were flowing on each leg of our flight- tomato juice, orange juice, white wine, diet coke, water, and more. The seats were quite comfortable- lots of leg room and elbow room- multiple reclining positions were also available for our chairs. We arrived in San Jose at 10pm last night and successfully got our bags and were happy to be met by a shuttle driver from the Alajuela Backpackers Hostel. ......and so our adventure begins!
More soon....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)