A bird and some butterflies
Costa Rica day ten
12.02.2022 - 12.02.2022
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Costa Rica 2022
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Panorama, Selvatura Park
I woke early so sat up to watch the sky lightening, with pretty pink clouds scudding across in the strong winds.
Hanging bridges
After breakfast we were picked up by the bus that serves Selvatura Park, one of several private concerns in the Monteverde area that offer various experiences to explore the cloud forest. We had pre-booked a hanging bridges walk and also a visit to their dome. What I didn't know was how much else there is to do there. I knew about the zipline canopy tour but had discounted that as it's not advised if you're prone to back trouble. So we weren't carrying a lot of spare cash and couldn't opt for any additional experiences such as the hummingbirds garden or sloth encounter. Nor could we book a guide for the hanging bridges tour but on the whole we were happy to do that alone. Maybe we missed some wildlife, despite looking carefully, but Marcela's tour yesterday had equipped us with a fair bit of information about this special ecosystem and we enjoyed identifying some of the details she had pointed out. And with better weather today (dry, mostly cloudy but no moisture) we could take our time over the photos. Here's a selection:
On one of the hanging bridges
View from one of the bridges
Looking down from a hanging bridge
Young ferns and leaves
Daisy-like flower
Dramatic red
Lichen
New leaves
However the benefits of having a guide weren't totally lost on us. Towards the end of the trail we came across a group of three being shown something by their guide. They kindly allowed us to stop and get his guidance in spotting what was causing the excitement - a Resplendent Quetzal! I'm sure we would have missed this had we not run into this group, so it was a real bonus to have done so and to tick off the iconic Costa Rican bird sighting. This is a male - his beautiful long tail is the key to that. He was very hard to photograph between the trees but I managed one half-decent shot.
Resplendent Quetzal
Butterflies
We were back at the centre in time to join the 10.15 butterfly tour. Along with about half a dozen other visitors we were escorted to the dome a short distance away. The guide explained how the temperature was controlled to suit the butterflies, a bit warmer than that outside. All the species are native to Costa Rica and include the Blue Morphus and Monarch. Inside he showed us Blue Morph eggs and a caterpillar, and the cocoons of several species. He explained that some feed on nectar and some on minerals such as potassium, salt and sugar. There were plates of mashed up banana for the latter and a good range of flowering plants for the nectar feeders. Then we went up to a platform at one end from where we could watch and attempt to photograph the butterflies. I had some success but not with the Blue Morphus which just wouldn't cooperate and stay still for a second!
Owl butterfly, underside and above
There was also a scarlet macaw near the platform, and it was much easier to get photos of him!
Scarlet Macaw
At one point a butterfly landed on my finger. I know it was only interested in the salt in my sweat, but it was nevertheless a special moment!
Butterfly on my finger
We had to hurry to catch the next bus back to the hotel. They only run every two hours and with limited cash in our pockets we didn't want to have to hang around that long. After dropping off unneeded waterproofs and some other stuff we walked back down the hill into town.
A quiet afternoon
We had lunch at the same coffee shop we'd been to two days previously and then split up. Chris wanted to take photos on the far side of town while I was keen to find a gift shop and look for a possible souvenir of the trip. I had no luck in finding anything that appealed but did find a few more good murals.
Murals at the shopping centre
On the edge of town near our hotel
But I soon returned to the hotel to try my hand at some bird photography. I managed to capture another hummingbird but nothing else.
The climb to our bungalow at Senda Monteverde
Hummingbird
Late afternoon we went down to the bar for happy hour and on the way back to the room spotted the resident agouti which was cool. Dinner was less good than the previous nights as my fish had clearly been cooked prior to my ordering it and left to dry out a bit. But the wine was good as was the cheesecake so we finished the meal on a high.
Posted by ToonSarah 15:15 Archived in Costa Rica Tagged trees birds hotel insects costa_rica forest street_art butterflies
Another lovely day. I always see amazing butterflies when I go walking here but they never stay still long enough for me to photograph them. You are much better at getting them to pose. Costa Rica looks like a wonderful place to visit.
by irenevt