It's almost time to say our goodbyes to Costa Rica, but not before sharing some last pictures and stories from our tours here. (The picture above is our buddy Diego the black iguana by the way, he's pretty cool :))
Day 15: Coffee tour in Monteverde, hike around the hotel and another night walk
Nothing to share from the coffee tour really, but we were lucky enough to spot a White-nosed Coati at the hotel just before we left, minding his own business!
It's the first time we saw one clearly and from up close, another one to scratch from the list.
After the coffee tour, we followed a trail around the hotel and were happy to find some recently fallen trees and branches, with a couple of new orchids we hadn't seen before.
This Platystele oxyglossa for example:
And sitting right next to it, we think a Pleurothallis tonduzii:
Further along the trail, we found a branch packed with this Muscarella sp. We had to resist the temptation to take one home :)
Actually, while posting this picture I noticed this Lepanthes looking plant on the left bottom, didn't see that one originally when we were actually holding the branch...funny.
We went to the restaurant for a quick dinner, where we met up with our guide for our night walk. It was raining moderately (for Costa Rica) during our walk, so we didn't get to see mammals, but quite a few insects and frogs and other unnatural-looking animals, such as this beautiful leech:
And this tiny frog, nameless but beautiful!
On the way back, we got to see an Olingo! You'll have to google that one for a picture as we got to see it quite well, but it was impossible to take a picture of it at night that high up in the trees...
Day 16: Guided walk through Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve and another visit to Monteverde Orchid Garden
Here's one we saw right at the entrance, no idea what genus or species it is, other than that it belongs to the Pleurothallidinae alliance.
Another lucky shot followed for us, because we saw another Resplendent Quetzal a few minutes after heading into the park:
And a bit further again, our friend the Orange bellied Trogon joined the party:
Once the guided walk was finished, we headed back into the jungle (duh!) and found this beatiful Dracula sp. hanging right next to a hanging bridge, our first Dracula!
While waiting for a taxi to get back to the hotel, we noticed this miniature Pleurothallis sp. with beautiful colours:
Afterwards, we went back to the Monteverde Orchid Garden, where we had the pleasure to meet the owner and his son, who took us on a private tour through the garden, sharing some fun stories!
Along the way, we found this Epidendrum piliferum being visited by its pollinator butterfly:
Interesting fact to know is that, despite being located in town, most of the orchids found their natural pollinators in the garden itself! We saw a bunch of seedlings growing on the trees where the motherplants were located.
Day 17: Departure from Monteverde and transport to our final destination Manuel Antonio
And right before we left, we noticed, of course, another orchid at the entrance of the hotel! This magnificent Epidendrum santi-ramonii:
During our stop on the way to Manuel Antonio, we had to go and check out the crocs at the Tarcoles bridge of course! Mandatory stop when travelling through Costa Rica!
Day 18: lazy day at the hotel and visit to Manuel Antonio
Beautiful beaches and weather of course, but the highlight of the day for us was this lovely miniature praying mantis we found on our towels:
Day 19: Guided walk through Manuel Antonio park
Well they said it was a small park, but concentrated in wildlife and we have to agree! Lots of tourists, but lots of animals to be seen as well!
We had an amazing guide, a true nature encyclopedia who told us many wonderful things about everything we encountered, such as this rarely seen Helmeted Basilisk:
Some terrific bats hanging from a tree:
And some Howler monkeys, with a young one peeping through!
Oh and we've seen a lot of sloths so far, bit this Two-toed sloth is just smiling at us :)
Surprise picture taken by our guide! If you go to Manuel Antonio, book your tour at Iguana Tours and ask for Andres!
Day 20: Mangrove tour, again with Andres :)
Not a lot of pictures to share right now as everything was pretty far away and not to be captured with a phone camera! Better pictures will follow once we get back home!
But, this sleeping Mangrove tree boa was just awesome to see frop up close!
Okay well that's it folks, we'll just be enjoying a few drinks tonight at El avion, have a lazy day tomorrow, pack up and go back home!
This has been an unforgettable trip, filled with great people, beautiful orchids, amazing animals, delicious food (do not believe people telling you Costa Rican food is boring!) and unforgettable moments.
We hope you enjoyed our little blog and if you plan to go to Costa Rica, feel free to ask us any questions you like!
¡Pura vida!
Yéri & Davina