La Fortuna to Tortuguero

We visited La Fortuna, the city where the Arenal Observatory & Trails Lodge is located, three times: to drop off laundry and have lunch the first day, to pick up laundry and have lunch the second day, stop for coconut water and to visit a family the third morning. Here is a poster that was in a central square.

I took this photo near the small laundry our first visit.

We lunched at the Don Juan Eco-lodge which I covered in a previous page.

Our second visit consisted of a nice lunch, laundry pickup, and a walk around the town:

Lunch arrived after 2 p.m.

Gil ordered a special dessert for us to share.

After lunch I took these photos while walking around town.

Our third visit to La Fortuna was after we checked out of the Arenal Observatory Lodge & Trails. We visited a family that ran a small coconut water stand.  I learned that coconut water is a very healthy drink and have since been having a small glass with breakfast.

Coconut water is rich in electrolytes: potassium, magnesium, and sodium, which are essential for maintaining hydration. The potassium and magnesium in coconut water may help regulate blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart disease. Studies suggest that coconut water may help lower cholesterol levels by inhibiting the absorption of cholesterol in the intestines. The antioxidants and vitamins in coconut water may help boost the immune system and protect against infections. 

The grandmother posed with Martha and our bus driver. 

Here is what was being prepared for their lunch.

The granddaughter helped serve the coconut water.

Cut off the top, stick in a straw, and drink up.  That is fresh.

They had some art for sale.  Instead I purchased two bags of coffee.  Unfortunately the coffee caused a hassle and delay at the Miami airport when my duffle was vectored aside so the coffee bags could be dug out and sniffed for drugs.

I wandered out front and took a photo of the view across the road.

They had peacocks in their side yard.

We said good by and headed for lunch.

Many days lunch was quite late and sometimes very filling.  Twice we actually decided to skip dinner!  Here is my lunch at 2:40 p.m.

Next to the restaurant was an old rum processing setup.

And an old cart.

By 5 p.m. we were back at the La Rose Hotel for our second of three stays.

That is my room with the open door.

There was a swimming pool that went unused, but it was a good spot to sit near.

This was the last night for Rachel, Wendy, and Joyce.  Tomorrow we would be down to six “tourists” and two guides.  So the large bus and its driver departed and were replaced by a van driven by Gil. 

Since I had the only long lens left on the trip, Ted suggested I ride shotgun, an idea I much endorsed and appreciated.  A number of times I was able to roll down the window or hop out and get photos that would have been missed otherwise — like two three-toed sloths.

I was packed up and ready to go right after breakfast. My camera bag was larger and heavier than the duffle for my clothes.

Using my iPhone, I took photos as we left San Jose.

I did an artistic rendering of this scene in Photoshop.

We stopped for restrooms at a very busy open air restaurant.  This cart was in the hall.

There were Great-tailed Grackles at this stop.  One female was building a nest.

While driving in a somewhat busy area, Gil suddenly stopped when he spotted a sloth in a tree.  I was able to get a photo but the lazy sloth did not look at me and I did not want to wait for it.

Amazingly, three minutes later there was another three-toed sloth. This one moved around a bit. I took these “action” photos over a span of 24 seconds.

We left the sloths and were cruising along when we hit a huge pothole. It was immediately apparent that a tire had blown.  We pulled into a local shop, asked if we could change a tire there, and unloaded our bags to get to the spare.  

Naturally I used this time to take photos. There were Great Kiskadees around.  I worked at photographing them in flight.

Near where the tire was being changed I found a woodpecker that turned out to be a Hoffmann’s Woodpecker.

I was amazed at how fast Gil changed the tire — about 15 minutes by the metadata on my cameras.

A bit over an hour later we stopped briefly to view a Northern Jacana.

Around 11:30 we arrived at the Suerte River for our boat ride to Tortuguero.  A man sat at the entrance to the toilets here and demanded $1 to use them. 

I was hoping for a slow cruise and seeing many birds along the way as when we took our many boat rides in Brazil.  But this ride was mostly just transportation, not a wildlife tour. However the driver did slow down several times for some nice wildlife.  I believe Gil was encouraging him to do so.

The first sighting was a Green Basilisk.

Then I was finally able to get a decent photo of a Laughing Falcon.   I got a very poor photo of one in Brazil, and I missed the one some of us saw at Arenal.  This one walked the beach then flew to a perch on the opposite side of the river.

We saw a Russet-naped Wood Rail standing near a huge leaf.

And an Anhinga.

Then it was as high-speed run to Tortuguero.  

We checked into the Hotel Tortuguero Beach, a very nice place.

Two nights and great meals were ahead before we boarded the boat for a very high-speed trip back to civilization.  In Tortuguero, travel is almost exclusively by boat or foot, and one can’t walk all that far except for on the beach.