River Boating and Pineapples!

Pura Vida!

We packed quite a lot into the past few days - lots of touring and talks on the rain forest, the culture in the area, pineapple growing and volcanos 101.  These tours may be for “mature” people, but the pace rivals any trip I took in my youth.

On Thursday we boarded a boat for a leisurely trip down the Sarapiqui river.  The object was spotting wildlife, and Andres and our boat captain, Pedro, didn’t disappoint.  Their expert eyes quickly recognized birds and animals of all kinds.  I would never have seen most of them if they didn’t point them out and flash a mirror to show us where to look.  There seems to be no end to the fabulous variety of birds here.  In fact, Costa Rica is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world because of its formation.  The origins of Costa Rica lay under water until two tectonic plates slid over one another and raised the mountains and plateaus of Costa Rica.  When that happened, animals from the north traveled south and animals from South America moved north. 

Here are some of the birds we saw along the river (well, the first bird is me!):

A little mangrove swallow traveled with us.  We thought she might have a nest in the eaves of the boat.

 

Green Ibis

Anhinga

Some long nosed bats sleeping on a log.  I was fascinated they rested right out in the sunlight.

Bare-throated Tiger Heron

Trees reaching for water

Little Blue Heron

Tri-color Heron

Sun Grebe

Andres spotted some animals for us as well.  

Do you see the cayman?  I didn’t, until I looked at my photo afterward.  It’s incredible to see how well camouflaged all the birds and animals are. 

Howler monkeys!  I got excited and snapped a few (😊) photos.  I was disappointed they didn’t howl for us, but Andres said they were preoccupied with eating the leaves.

I was on the lookout for sloths to show my little fourth grade friend, Abby.  She LOVES everything sloth.  They are extremely hard to spot because they are so well camouflaged.  Andres and Pedro saw one in the trees and it took me forever to see it myself.  It’s a two toed sloth, which has longer fur and a different face  from the 3-toed version.  Andres has a big spotting scope and took these pictures on my camera.  The sloth wouldn’t turn around for us, but still very cool.  You can see the algae that grows on their fur — perfect for them to snack on while they are busy not really moving. Doesn’t everyone love sloths?

We said goodbye to the river and traveled to an organic pineapple plantation for a tour and talk on growing the fruit.  Pineapples take a year to mature.  The best are dark, not yellow, and it’s bad to tap them to see if they are ripe.  The ripeness depends on the color.  Our guide, the owner of the plantation, said the best fruits are not exported, so if we want the most delicious pineapples, buy them frozen.

They are planted by hand.  This gentleman can plant 1000 a day!

The seed of the pineapple is the leafy top.  In this climate, you just dig a hole, drop the seed into it and you will soon have a pineapple plant.

The best part - our guide stopped the tractor, walked into the field, yanked a pineapple plant out of the ground and served it to us.  It was so delicious, I want to keep the taste of that pineapple in my memory forever!  

Our last stop at the plantation.  Lucia the dog needed a nap. Me too!