Costa Rica

Just visited the township, M. Had to have a fresh Coco Loco. Mrssf went for the unadulterated one, both tasted good! Very interesting community, lots of shacks, shops and street vendors but no hassle. At the end of the town we turned and walked through the school yard, children playing all in their very smart uniforms, teachers kicking back watching over them, they are very used to the tourists.  Here we turned on to the beach and back to the lodges. Saw Frigate Birds, Royal Terns and some small strikingly blue finch like birds,  wrens and yellow flycatchers which I must identify later. The wifi is very slow so and once I've downloaded photos and changed their size I will post them. 

Just a few snaps to test my posting capability. Such a fabulous day in the canals of Tortuguero. These are not really canals, not man made but a delta which comes together again as a single river which then empties into the Caribbean Sea.  In past decades small ares were logged but much of the primary forest still exists. Even the logged areas, were not cleared totally, have regenerated themselves into secondary rain forest once more. The abundance of wildlife is incredible.

Great shots Mickysf, thanks for posting

Thanks from me too. 

Great pictures, micky - those are the Montezuma birds aren't they? We saw them but not perching long enough to get any decent pictures, but they're very colourful - and noisy! Glad the trip's going well so far - lots to look forward to. Have you got your name down for that zip lining yet?

They are, M. They build pendulous nests and the social finch also takes up residence at the bottom of this. What a noise they make, if anything sounds like it should live in the jungle this bird does. Similar to that sound made by members of the oriels. Today we saw toucan, trogons, motmots and several kinds of tanagers. Such colourful birds all of them. Spotted that Swift Tailed Kite too you mentioned M, like a ballet dancer in the air. I'm in awe wherever I look!

Yes, it's an amazing country for wildlife, isn't it?

What's on the agenda next - Monteverde? If you get chance while you're there, walk up the (very steep) hill next to El Establo to the humming bird feeding station which is worth half an hour of anyone's time!

(If you're not staying at El Establo, you could always pretend you are and get the hotel's shuttle bus up there! )

Tomorrow we move on to the Arenal Volcanic National Park. Today we have visited a traditional farmstead. I was a little dubious about this but it turned out to be a most informative and enjoyable experience. We learnt about traditional and modern day farming methods, about bananas, pineapples and coffee. We also heard about how the modern day Socialist Republic of Costa Rica has opted to transform itself into the most eco friendly agricultural and social society in the Americas. The Ricans are extremely proud of their nation, low unemployment, very high rates of literacy, medicare for everyone, pensions, etc. Like the farm we visited the majority of them are members of cooperatives. As well as selling their produce through markets, both local and abroad they also trade their produce with others  in their communities who can provide skills or materials etc they need. The government even encourages and provides incentives for this. However, like all countries, including Blighty, it is not without problems mind but in the international league table for happiness, Costa Rica always appears in the top few.

Unfortunately, my iPad is playing up as far as photos are concerned, it tells me it's a memory issue. I'm trying to sort that out, any ideas? I've Deleted User aload but to no avail.

Haven't got an i pad so can't help you on that one but thanks for the informative post. 

You're in for a treat at Arenal, micky. I guess you'll be walking on the 1958 trail.