Our grand finale at Curi-Cancha – Costa Rica Day 9

After our first couple hikes in Monte Verde we were a bit apprehensive about our final day and the early morning birding tour we had signed up for. We made our way up the hill to the Curi-Cancha reserve to meet our guide, and like before, started off with some hummingbirds. This time the weather was much better though and the “hummers” were enjoying and fighting over the large verbena bushes on the edge of the parking lot. By this point we had come to expect the hummingbirds, but these were a joy to watch.

My favorite was the purple-throated mountain-gem. This little male was quite interesting to look at the entire time with lots of wild copper and green color on its chest and sides, as well as a clear white line coming off the eye. The real stunner though is when it turns to look at you. At that point you get a chance to see that purple throat and his metallic blue green cap. The color comes from the structure of the feathers, which makes it very directional. You can see the difference in the two images below which were taken only about 2 seconds apart. It was really incredible to witness.

You can see the purple-throated mountain-gem’s feathers that will form the colorful display, but they look very plain from this angle
The same bird showing off his colorful head and neck

The show from the parking lot continued though, and we ended up spending about a half hour admiring various birds right from there.There were Baltimore orioles, brown jays, and even parrots. From there we headed off into the woods to find some of the more elusive species.

Over our first few stops in the woods it became clear that we had a truly excellent guide for the day. He was extremely engaging and clearly loved spending time looking for these birds. He was always happy to answer questions and seemed to immediately know where to find every bird we saw in his massive book of costa rican birds. He pointed out a number of trogans, flycatchers, and tanagers, but I’m going to skip over all of those for now, as you have seen all those already in my previous posts. Ok fine, I can’t resist. here’s just one for you:

This little yellow faced grassquit was not happy that we were passing through his field

Now if you have ever looked into birding in Costa Rica you have surely heard of the resplendent quetzal. This bird is famous for its color and impressive tail feathers, but we had yet to spot one on our trip. This wasn’t too surprising, as they are quite reclusive. Given that we were quite surprised to hear our guide confidently check his watch and say something like “well, we should head to the avocado tree, the quetzal should be arriving soon.” We hadn’t been let down yet though, so we were happy to head that way. It turns out the quetzal took an extra half hour to arrive, but sure enough it did eventually come and sit in the avocado tree that he took us to. She was still pretty tough to get a good look at, but she definitely did look nice. The crowds of people quickly closed in and before long there were about 40 people admiring this one bird. It was pretty surreal.

The female resplendent quetzal resting in the avocado tree

At this point we were riding high and thinking that this was clearly a tour that was well worth our time. However, the guide had more in store. We continued to walk the grounds of the reserve and were treated to a couple of encounters that were even more incredible. The first was an emerald toucanet that was enjoying the berries on some of the bushes on the side of the trail. It happily hopped from branch to branch and gave us lots of opportunities to admire it. It’s a pretty large bird that we had previously only seen from a distance, so it was a very special moment.

The toucanet keeping an eye on us right back
The keel billed toucan says “Helloooo?” from far above

The second memorable encounter of the day was a lesson’s motmot that we came across perched on a branch at chest height right on the edge of the trail. It simply sat there looking for insects with it’s bright red eye, and didn’t seem to care at all that about 10 people were circled around it admiring the amazing colors in it’s head and neck, as well as the incredibly distinctive tail.

Our friend the lesson’s motmot keeping an eye out for food on the trail
Sometimes you need to do a big of preening to keep up those good looks

The Curri-Cancha reserve is different from the cloud forests in that it is not an entirely natural environment, but a former plantation mixed with some old growth forest. The result is a much more open feel, with fields and much more open views. This gave the reserve a lot more variety in the trails than elsewhere, and we had a wonderful time exploring them. After the end of our tour we even came back for another hike later in the day and explored a bit more.

A rotting stump with some crazy patterns
A strangler fig tree with the light peeking right through the “trunk”

In the end Curi-Cancha was the perfect capstone to our adventures in Costa Rica. We wrapped up the day happy and the next morning started our trip back down the mountain and to the airport. It’s an incredible country that I feel like we just barely scratched the surface of. I would highly recomment it to anyone with a sense of adventure and a desire to see some wildlife.

A golden-browed chlorophonia sitting in the mistletoe. Apparently it’s their favorite
I leave you with this very relaxed Coati

Taken 2/19/23

Santa Elana “Mud Forest” – Costa Rica Day 8

After our guided adventure in the Monte Verde Cloud Forest the day before we were looking forward to something a bit more independent at the Santa Elana Cloud Forest the next day. We may have gotten a little more than we bargained for though…

An eyelash viper peeking through the leaves

We got off to a nice start with a beautifully maintained trail. Right off the bat we glimpsed some birds and an eyelash viper relaxing on a branch only about 8′ off the trail. We continued up the hill to a tower sitting on top of the ridge. It had incredible views of the valley, but also featured a bat falcon that soared on the strong winds.

The bat falcon on one of it’s few stops on a tree

From there it was down the hill and through the woods. The trail was quite pleasant for the next mile or so and we appreciated the views of the moss covered trees, as well as the occasional bird. The wildlife was definitely more sparse here though, so I don’t have many photos to show for it.

A millipede that was also using the trail
Admiring the many vines and mosses

As we approached the furthest point on the hike the weather took a turn for the worse. The rain started to pick up and the trail got worse. For a while we simply hoped that it would be a temporary change, but it turned into an hours long slog through deep deep mud. The trail was easy to see, but very hard to follow. We spent lots of time hopping across sticks that we hoped would hold our weight out of the mud, and nearly lost some footwear when it didn’t. All the while the rain continued. In the end it was a 3.5 mile hike that took us 3.5 hours. All with little elevation to show for our struggles. It was a beautiful forest, but we would definitely recommend staying off the Sendero Cano Negro.

A forest stream that we crossed on one of a few small bridges
This is the one good bird photo I managed on this hike. Not the best
The same viper had moved just a bit by the time we got back to the start and was nice enough to pose for this shot

Taken 2/18/23

Visiting the cloud forest – Costa Rica day 7

For our first full day in Santa Elena we went right for the main attraction, the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve. This was the main reason we decided to visit this area, so we were excited to experience the cloud forest. Given that this area is famous for its biodiversity, especially in birds, we signed up for a birding tour for the whole morning. Unfortunately it was raining steadily when we arrived, so we knew it was going to be a bit of a slog.

The hummingbirds really were going for the feeder this morning

The tour got off to a great start at the hummingbird feeders where there were clouds of hummingbirds flying in and out to grab a bite to eat. They would yell and fight at each other and simply did not care about our presence. It was really something to feel the wind of these little missiles as they cruised by our heads. From there we headed up into the main portion of the reserve to spot some more birds.

You get one guess as to what this yellowish flycatcher was up to…

Unfortunately, that is when we realized what kind of tour this would really be. We spent a couple of hours slowly walking the trails looking for birds. We did see a few from time to time, but never got a great view of them. All the while, the rain just kept dripping down on us. I only ended up with a few really good photos, and I’m pretty sure that breakfast was everyone’s favorite part.

A violet sabrewing screaming for attention from the ladies
This black faced solitaire didn’t seem to mind the moisture

After our tour ended we decided to go for another walk along the forest trails on our own. I was really feeling the need to move around after the super slow birding tour, so we set off on a big loop around the park. The hike turned out to be lovely, though still wet. The cloud forest is certainly a different landscape than what we had seen in the Arenal area. There was moss everywhere. We saw a few more birds on our loop then headed back to our room to dry off and warm up a bit.

This collared redstart was busy hopping around the trail looking for insects
A small waterfall from a dedicated viewpoint. This one was underwhelming after all of the falls we saw in Arenal.
A scenic suspension bridge had some of the few longer views on our hike

Taken 2/17/23

Sloths. That’s pretty much it – Costa Rica day 4

So before I get into this, yes, I know I missed day 3. We’ll get back to that shortly. For now I’ll skip ahead a day though and get to one of the highlights of the trip: the sloth tour.

As soon as we were on the ground in Costa Rica we started seeing sloth themed stuff everywhere. They seem to practically be the national mascot. However, for the first couple days of our trip we saw no sign of them. We did see one on a river tubing trip on the third day, but it was from very far away. Given that, our expectations were tempered for the sloth tour. We were hoping we could catch a glimpse of a few.

A curassow watching us from her perch in a tree over the path

We quickly discovered that we would see a lot more than we had expected as our guide pointed out the first sloth (a mother with a baby) less than a hundred yards from the meeting point. Actually getting a good look at them was a bit harder though. The sloths were quite high, and almost always obscured by branches and leaves. It was still pretty cool to see though, and the guide had a telescope that gave everyone a good look. Further through the tour there were a couple sloths that gave us a bit better look though, and one even posed for a photo.

This was pretty typical of our early views of the sloths. The green haze on the bottom is very out of focus leaves
I think he’s either smiling for the camera or laughing at a joke

As the allotted time wound down we were all feeling pretty happy with the tour. We had seen lots of sloths and had learned some fun sloth facts (apparently baby female sloths inherit their mother’s tree). So when the guide said we were going to head back to the entrance and see one more sloth, we didn’t think much of it. As it turns out though, this one last sloth was a mother sitting in a tree with her baby. This tree was quite a bit smaller though, so we were able to see them both very clearly. It was a really special moment just watching the mom sleep and the curious baby climb around nibbling on leaves. This one tree would have been worth the entire tour.

Are you awake mom?
The baby looked our way as it climbed up the branch
Just hanging out for a mid morning snack

With that it was back to the car and on our way. The tour was really incredible, one of the highlights of the trip. If you end up in Costa Rica, definitely check one out!

Taken 2/14/23

A night out with frogs – Costa Rica day 2

As you might imagine, my idea of a fun night is less about the bar scene and more about the activities. When those activities include photography, I will probably enjoy it. We had booked a guided frog tour fir our second evening in Costa Rica so that we could hopefully catch a glimpse of some of the crazy frogs we had seen photos of before our trip. Going in our expectations were fairly low, and in the beginning we didn’t get much. We walked along the trails with our flashlights looking for frogs that were nowhere to be seen and had to settle for some crickets, moths, lizards, and spiders (click to reveal) .

A cricket resting on a leaf
A beautiful moth we found on the trail. it was less than two centimeters across.
An anole watching us walk by

However, as it got darker the frogs started to show themselves. We saw a number of small brown tree frogs on various leaves before we made it to some ponds that had built in the woods to provide a habitat for some of the more interesting frogs. The highlight here was the red eyed tree frog, which was a truly striking sight.

A pair of mating red eyed tree frogs
I love the green spots on this one

After an hour and a half we made our way back to the parking lot and wrapped up the tour. In the end it was a really fun activity. I was even inspired to walk to the end of the neighborhood our Airbnb was in to do my own mini frog tour the next evening. I’m happy to report that I was able to apply my newly acquired frog spotting skills to find a couple more on my own.

I’m not sure what kind of frog this is, but he looks cozy
A savage bullfrog waiting for his dinner – another frog – to walk by

Taken 2/12/23 and 2/13/23

Our first afternoon in La Fortuna – Costa Rica day 1

This yellow-throated toucan was sitting by the side of the road as we approached the parking lot for the falls

After our morning tour of the Mystico hanging bridges we took the afternoon to explore La Fortuna a bit. First up was lunch (it was great) then we made our way to the La Fortuna waterfall. The excitement started before we even arrived when we saw a toucan sitting on a branch near the side of the road. This was one of the big name birds we had hoped to see, so of course we had to stop and take a close look. It seemed perfectly happy just sitting there watching us, so after a few minutes and a few hundred photos (don’t worry, I’m only sharing the best one) we continued on. We knew walk to the falls was not far, so we were a little surprised to see how many signs there were warning us how strenuous the walk down and up the stairs would be.

Our first view of the falls

We quickly made our way down to observation area and were immediately impressed by the falls. They are strikingly powerful, and quite beautiful as well. I had some fun taking some long exposure photos of the falls and trying to capture the power of the spray that they threw up, but after about 20 minutes it was time to head back up. The climb back up was not as bad as the signs made it out to be, but it definitely got your heart rate up!

The main falls and the field of wet boulders at the base. Watch your step!
A little cascade near the falls that had a comparative trickle of water

To round out the day we headed back to our Airbnb for a float in the pool. The wildlife sightings didn’t end there though, and we saw a few more interesting birds right there in the yard. Definitely a fitting way to end the day!

This was our lifeguard as we swam in the pool. Very attentive

Taken 2/11/23

Walking the Mistico Hanging Bridges – Costa Rica day 1

Today I’m happy to kick off a review of our latest travel adventure – this time to Costa Rica! The aim here was to not only see the rain forest, but also to check out the huge variety of wildlife that live there – particularly birds. Let’s get started!

The mist clinging to the hillsides as we started our tour

Our trip started at the San Jose airport with an unfortunate rental car adventure. The company we had a reservation with gave up our car because we were “more than half an hour late”… Not great. After running around a bit to find a last minute alternative (at a price of course), we headed out to La Fortuna where we stayed for the first half of the trip. Fortunately the Airbnb check in was much more smooth, and our place was lovely. We quickly headed to bed and woke up ready to start our trip for real.

A bat watching us from his perch over the trail
The vipers hang out in the trees and sleep during the day

Our first stop was the Mistico hanging bridges tour. This tour was really an incredible introduction to the primary forest and some of the wildlife we had hoped to see. The guide pointed out all kinds of things that we certainly would have missed, and gave us lots of great information about the forest.

One of the bridges making its way through the trees
Walking along the bridge

The hike itself was not too hard. The pace was relaxed and there were plenty of stops. It did take quite a while with all the stops to admire the views from the bridges. Though this park is known for the bridges, I would not say they were the highlight of the tour for me. They gave you a good perspective of the canopy, but there was so much going on down below that it was incredible to look around along the entire trail, both for the plant life and the animals.

This rufous motmot sat looking for bugs near the trail
An owl butterfly Caterpillar on the railing of a bridge

Costa Rica is famous in birding circles for the diversity it has to offer. I am no birder, but they were still a special sight. There were a variety of colorful visitors that we saw on the trail. We didn’t see any of the famous birds we had heard about (yet), but they were still a lot of fun to watch.

This little one was quite hard to photograph

I could keep going on for a while about everything we saw on this walk through the woods, but I’ll let the photos do the rest of the talking. It was a very worthy first stop in the country and we were excited to continue the action for the rest of the trip.

Looking down the edge of the trail into the jungle
A beautiful waterfall that could have been a destination all on its own

Taken 2/11/23

Fall Colors on Mt. Monadnock

Today I have a timely update for the season, some gorgeous fall colors on Mt. Monadnock! I went for a very nice 6 mile hike there earlier this month in what must have been their peak leaf season. The hike and weather was excellent, the colors were stunning, and the views were amazing. I can’t recommend this one enough. Enjoy!

A high alpine pool near the summit
There was plenty of interest along the ground with the bright red maple leaves everywhere
The colors looking down into the valleys were stunning. It gives a great perspective of the change from the high alpine pines to the lower elevation maples, birches, and oaks.

Taken 10/8/22

Mt Tripyramid Loop

It’s definitely been a while since I added any new photos here, it’s been a busy summer. Don’t worry though, I’ve still been going on plenty of adventures and taking plenty of photos. Today I have one such adventure in the white mountains with my cousin. We started at the Livermore Trailhead and headed up towards the Scaur and Waterville Flume. The Scaur was a nice overlook, but was otherwise not too noteworthy. The flume on the other hand was a little more unique. We hiked to the bottom of it and spent a few minutes poking around the stream and the little chasm it passes through.

The bottom of the Waterville Flume, our first stop of the day
There wasn’t too much water coming down the flume, but it was definitely pretty

We were still feeling pretty fresh, so we soon headed out and up towards the day’s main event: Mt. Tripyramid. The approach is simple enough, but the trail quickly starts ascending up a creek bed that slowly becomes an open slide. This section of the trail is extremely steep. (1500′ in 0.7 miles) It quickly became scramble on all fours, and did not let up much until just before the summit. On the plus side, the views are spectacular the whole way up. We had plenty of time to take it all in as we picked our way up and stopped to catch our breath.

The beginning of the north slide. It’s hard to appreciate the steepness of this from the photos, but
Nearing the top of the slide

This is one of the most impressive trails I have ever done in the whites. It really is something that has to be experienced. Once we cleared the top of the slide and finished off the last of the elevation and arrived at the summit of North Tripyramid. From there we continued south along the ridge to the middle and south peaks as well. It’s a good thing the views from the climb were so good, because the summits were nothing to get excited about. They were all covered in trees and offered virtually no views. Once past south peak though the fun began again, with the descent down the south slide.

The view from the top of the south slide

This slide was about the same steepness as the one we came up, but was tighter and had more gravel along the way. Fortunately it was also more boulder covered, so we made steady progress back down. From there it was a long but uneventful hike back out to the car. All in all, I really enjoyed this hike. It’s a great example of going on a hike “for the journey.” Totally worth the trip, but doesn’t have much of a “destination” either.

Taken 9/10/22

270 Camp to Pearce Ferry – Grand Canyon Days 16 & 17

We only had to cover 9 more miles to get to the takeout and had a full day to do it, so this was a pretty relaxing day on the water. We started off with a relaxed morning around camp. I took a few more photos of the travertine cave I had stayed in for the night now that there was more light, and then checked out a couple of small hot springs that were adjacent to the camp. They weren’t that hot, but it was neat to see warm water come bubbling up out of the ground.

I think the travertine looks biological when you see it up close like this
The larger of the hot springs near our camp. The plant life clearly appreciates the consistent source of water.

Much like the day before, the Colorado is very calm, very wide, and very slow through this section. It was a laid back trip, though it did require constant rowing to make sure we were still making progress.

Looking downstream towards the last curve in the river before we paddle out of the canyon
One of the many slides we saw along the side of the river as we passed

Though it was a short day on the river, it wouldn’t be complete without a lunch time stop. The stop for this section of the river was Columbine Falls. It was a short hike up to this pretty little ribbon of water that flowed down the wall. According to the guidebook this used to be a much more impressive sight though, as the canyon it drops into has been slowly filling up with silt because of the slow pace of the river below. There were signs of the accumulation all around, as we hopped across the rocks at the bottom of the falls.

Looking up at Columbine Falls
Another “book of worms” rock that was laying by the side of the trail. Honestly this was even more impressive than the actual book we had seen a few days earlier

True to form, the canyon did have one more surprise in store for me. It became obvious as we got closer and closer to our camp that the canyon was not going to slowly fade away, but would have to end suddenly. However, even knowing that it was incredible to see how it changed all at once. After we left Columbine Falls the river rounded a bend and cut right out into the surrounding low desert. The cliffs simply ended over the course of a quarter mile of water, leaving us in completely different terrain. By the time we got to camp a mile later you would never know that the canyon was even there. The entrance simply blended into the edge of the Colorado Plateau in the distance. It was pretty surreal, and also made for another unique camp on a sandbar.

Looking upstream from the Columbine Falls trail head. Can you tell we are a half mile from flat terrain?
Our last camp. No lack of space at this one! Definitely a lack of cliffs though…

We all relaxed that evening, played some bocce (I finally won one), and reminisced on the trip and everything we had experienced. The next morning we floated the last half a mile to the takeout and disassembled the rafts. It was an epic adventure. 17 days on the water, miles of hiking, thousands of photos, and more stories than I can count. I would recommend the trip to anyone that loves the outdoors, and I’m sure I’ll be back at some point.

Pearce Ferry Rapid is the reason for the takeout. That wave in the middle would have no trouble flipping a raft

Taken 11/11/21 & 11/12/21

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