Pratt/Thor Adventures: Travel to the Pacific

March 28, Tuesday - Today was a travel day, taking us west from Sarapiqui to Punta Leona, climbing a steep twisty road over the continental divide and then down through the congested Central Valley to the Pacific Ocean. While on the bus, we climbed up to over 6,000 feet, passing very near to Poas Volcano, which was only lightly wrapped in clouds today. We probably could have seen the caldera and lagunas had we the time to detour there.

Our first rest stop was at an overlook for the San Fernando Falls. The stop was at a former village that was wiped out in the 1990s due to an earthquake. The stop was famous for serving a hot sugary drink made from boiled-down cane sugar and had a number of bird feeders. The view of the falls was somewhat mundane compared to the bird sightings.

There was a group of guys dressed in camouflage and holding super long telephoto lens cameras waiting for hours for 2 rare birds, which arrived just as we did. When they starting shooting rapid fire photos, so I did too, resulting in some great photos of the 2 types of Barbets endemic to Costa Rica.

Red Headed Barbet

Pronged Billed Barbet

Our second stop was for lunch at a place known for fresh strawberry drinks. We had the traditional lunch of rice and beans ("Casado") with meat/fish of one’s choice. We ate and got underway so that we could arrive to Punta Leona by 3:00 pm - the Costa Rica soccer team was playing Hondurasand our guides wanted to watch the game.

Rice and Beans with Chicken, with plantain, salad, and vegetable side, possibly yuca (not yucca the ornamental plant); the strawberry juice is shown in the upper right

The Punta Leona is a big, modern resort, with amenities like TVs and air conditioning and stronger Wi-if. The air is hotter and dryer here, so that bathing suits and towels wil actually get dry (when we opened our suitcase, we could still feel the moisture in our clothing from the Caribbean side.). Betsy and I changed in bathing suits and walked the half mile to the large swimming pool area, which was adjacent to the black sand beach (Playa Mantas). Tomorrow, we will check out the other nicer beach Playa Blanca (white sand beach).

The pool water was quite warm as was the ocean. There were a pair or two of brightly colored parrots flying around over the pool area, though I was unable to get a photo. After some swimming and reading, we walked back to our room. On the way we saw Macaw nesting in the hollowed section of a tree.