Pacific Lowland Forest - Costa Rica Part 3

Time moves on and we needed to also.  We drove along the Pacific Highway northwest to Ojochal where we would be staying at the Hotel El Castillo for two nights.  Perched on the cliff 600 feet above the ocean it was very elegant, but the driveway to the hotel absolutely required our 4-wheel drive vehicle.

Northern Jacana

On our way we did see some birds that were  worth a stop . . .

Roadside Hawk

Red-breasted Blackbird

Sunset from the Hotel El Castillo

After checking into the hotel, first priority was a dip in the infinity pool.  Felt wonderful after enduring days of heat and humidity.

Blue Morph Butterfly

Each morning we drove to Hacienda Baru' for guided walks through the Pacific Lowland Forest.  After three hours of magnificent birding we were treated to a Costa Rican breakfast of Gallo Pinto (rice & beans) with scrambled eggs and tortillas.  Then a couple more hours of birding.  Here's a sample of what we saw. . . .

Ctenosaur

Great Curassows - turkey sized

Orange-collared Manakin

Owl-eyed Butterfly

Boat-billed Heron

Cattle Egret in breeding plumage

Chilamata Tree with buttressed roots

Three-toed Sloth high in the tree canopy

White-faced Capuchin & baby on back

Heliconian

Mangrove Cuckoo

Rufous-naped Wren

Beetle with powerful mandibles in the hotel

Yellow-bellied Gecko on hotel ceiling

White-faced Capuchin checking us out

Cocoa Tree - fruit forms on trunk

Gray-necked Wood Rail

Blue Dacnis female

Potoo taking a nap

Black-mandibled Toucan

Carmen and Troy tested the waves on the way back to the hotel

White-necked Puffbird near the hotel

Ida, Ty, Troy & Carmen by the roots of the Chilamata Tree

Now for the afternoon drive back into San Jose; a special supper that cost 68,898 colonies (that could make you faint if you didn't know the exchange rate).  Repacking for the flight home and trying to get some sleep before a 4 am breakfast and shuttle to the airport.

All in all this trip was wonderful, thanks to Troy & Carmen's planning.  Memories will last forever.  What a marvelous adventure seeing so many exotic birds, animals and plants.  We ended with 245 species of birds (171 lifers) for us and many more for Troy & Carmen.

Just a taste of all that God has created.
Ty & Ida Baumann