Lomas del Volcan is a collection of individual bungalows with westerly views of the Arenal Volcano, a good location and correctly advertised as 3 star. As previously mentioned there is a wide array of activities here: Kayak Safaris, Canoe & Rafting, Hikes, Night Walks, Eco Safaris: (they have certainly done Eco and Bio to death). As we already had similar things in our itinerary we opted for the Hanging Bridges Hike " a gentle 2 mile hike where we will be able to see howler, spider and capuchin monkeys, snakes, armadillos, coatis and lots of birds." The brochure's words not mine.
When we saw the size of the parking lot we became concerned. The bridges (highest at 45 meters)and trails were very well done, the guide tried his best to make it interesting but for the most part there was almost nothing there. It's not surprising, when you see the size of some of the people getting off those busses I would think any wild life would head deep into the jungle, as far away as possible and stay there. At the end the guide asked what we thought and we said we were disappointed in the lack of wildlife. His response was classic:" If you want to see more animals you need to come at 6 in the morning." To which our not unreasonable reply was " then why did you arrange to pick us up at 8?"
The canopy over the bridges was exceptional:
The other feature of this area is the numerous baths (Ecothermales of course) which we enjoyed one evening before the short drive to Selva Verde, another collection of bungalows on stilts.
Arriving in the early afternoon we collected the keys to our river room, which was nowhere near a river. Back to reception where they explained that river means it's on the river side of the road!" Not good enough" we said so we were given the 'last room near the river'.
We spent the afternoon on the veranda waiting for the birds. After a week of going looking for them we thought that maybe we should let them come to us. Eventually some toucans arrived and the odd
wader along the riverbank. I took the night tour across the river which was mostly to see frogs, spiders, ants and small creatures, By the way the famous blue jeans frog, which is red with blue legs and is usually about 6 feet long on the side of a bus is actually about an inch, head to tail. Best sighting was the black throated trogon, which is mostly yellow.
Costa Rica will be in the top 3 global destinations this year, they have done a good marketing job but by now you may be getting the idea that we are somewhat disappointed. We certainly have not come close to seeing the 420 species of birds or many of the other animals advertised and when we have it is usually in ones and twos, except the monkeys.
The Ticos (locals) are not overly friendly (guides and front desk managers being the exception) and the food is exactly the same everywhere. The bananas, papaya and pineapple are excellent but after that it is pinto (black beans & rice) plantain, eggs and chicken and carrots, lots of carrots.
One expects to eat what is locally grown and fresh but there is no imagination at all in the cuisine
and not much enthusiasm in serving it either.
But our next location will be different we say.
Sometimes the journey to a destination can be more interesting than the final stop and the ride to Tortuguero National Park was like that. The bus journey in through vast pineapple and banana plantations was revealing, particularly the airstrip and the crop dusting planes, I hope they don't put the bio label on these bananas.
Hanging metal tracks stretch deep into the patches where the green bananas are covered in blue plastic, hooked on and pulled by hand, 25 bunches at a time back to the sorting/shipping area.
The transportation has been well organised and the transfer from coach to boat was efficient, no empty seats and little waiting time. From the dock it is almost 90 minutes along the lagoons and canals to the lodge and this was a beautiful ride, calm water, a wonderful variety of trees in every shade of green shone in the sunlight and the cooling breeze was most welcome.
In the afternoon we went in a smaller boat into some of the narrow canals again seeing a number of individual birds, most of which we have seen before. Parrots are proving to be elusive, they stay well overhead.
By now we have come to realise that our trusty little camera which has recorded everything on this blog to date, is not up to the task. We are seriously outclassed by the equipment on display by fellow travellers. One Japanese chap had a lens so big I would bet he could put his head inside it!
But even then it's not easy, many birds seem to have a way of getting a branch in front of their head or turning their tail feathers in your direction just when you think you've got them.
So most of what we saw will stay in our heads to save any embarrassment!
The lodge has a sustainability plan and all the places we stayed in urged us to: conserve water, recycle, help mother earth by turning off the lights etc. So we were pretty shocked to take the excursion across the river to Tortuguero town where we were conveniently left at the souvenir shop.
Most of these residents work in the Eco Lodges so you would think they would be somewhat 'on message' with the conservation ideal. Sadly not, the town is filthy and the people disinterested. The beach on the Caribbean side is just 100 metres from town, this is the largest nesting area for green turtles in the world. Why the turtles always return here even after many years is still a mystery but the theory is that the volcanic dust which comes out in the rivers is washed back onto the beach thereby creating a magnetic field which acts as a kind of GPS.
We have now completed the same journey in reverse, spent a night in San Jose (lots of green parrots here) and this morning we will fly south to the Osa Peninsula and the Lapa Rios rain forest reserve.
Arriving in the early afternoon we collected the keys to our river room, which was nowhere near a river. Back to reception where they explained that river means it's on the river side of the road!" Not good enough" we said so we were given the 'last room near the river'.
The Sarapiqui River
We spent the afternoon on the veranda waiting for the birds. After a week of going looking for them we thought that maybe we should let them come to us. Eventually some toucans arrived and the odd
wader along the riverbank. I took the night tour across the river which was mostly to see frogs, spiders, ants and small creatures, By the way the famous blue jeans frog, which is red with blue legs and is usually about 6 feet long on the side of a bus is actually about an inch, head to tail. Best sighting was the black throated trogon, which is mostly yellow.
Costa Rica will be in the top 3 global destinations this year, they have done a good marketing job but by now you may be getting the idea that we are somewhat disappointed. We certainly have not come close to seeing the 420 species of birds or many of the other animals advertised and when we have it is usually in ones and twos, except the monkeys.
The Ticos (locals) are not overly friendly (guides and front desk managers being the exception) and the food is exactly the same everywhere. The bananas, papaya and pineapple are excellent but after that it is pinto (black beans & rice) plantain, eggs and chicken and carrots, lots of carrots.
One expects to eat what is locally grown and fresh but there is no imagination at all in the cuisine
and not much enthusiasm in serving it either.
But our next location will be different we say.
Sometimes the journey to a destination can be more interesting than the final stop and the ride to Tortuguero National Park was like that. The bus journey in through vast pineapple and banana plantations was revealing, particularly the airstrip and the crop dusting planes, I hope they don't put the bio label on these bananas.
Hanging metal tracks stretch deep into the patches where the green bananas are covered in blue plastic, hooked on and pulled by hand, 25 bunches at a time back to the sorting/shipping area.
The transportation has been well organised and the transfer from coach to boat was efficient, no empty seats and little waiting time. From the dock it is almost 90 minutes along the lagoons and canals to the lodge and this was a beautiful ride, calm water, a wonderful variety of trees in every shade of green shone in the sunlight and the cooling breeze was most welcome.
In the afternoon we went in a smaller boat into some of the narrow canals again seeing a number of individual birds, most of which we have seen before. Parrots are proving to be elusive, they stay well overhead.
By now we have come to realise that our trusty little camera which has recorded everything on this blog to date, is not up to the task. We are seriously outclassed by the equipment on display by fellow travellers. One Japanese chap had a lens so big I would bet he could put his head inside it!
But even then it's not easy, many birds seem to have a way of getting a branch in front of their head or turning their tail feathers in your direction just when you think you've got them.
So most of what we saw will stay in our heads to save any embarrassment!
The lodge has a sustainability plan and all the places we stayed in urged us to: conserve water, recycle, help mother earth by turning off the lights etc. So we were pretty shocked to take the excursion across the river to Tortuguero town where we were conveniently left at the souvenir shop.
Most of these residents work in the Eco Lodges so you would think they would be somewhat 'on message' with the conservation ideal. Sadly not, the town is filthy and the people disinterested. The beach on the Caribbean side is just 100 metres from town, this is the largest nesting area for green turtles in the world. Why the turtles always return here even after many years is still a mystery but the theory is that the volcanic dust which comes out in the rivers is washed back onto the beach thereby creating a magnetic field which acts as a kind of GPS.
We have now completed the same journey in reverse, spent a night in San Jose (lots of green parrots here) and this morning we will fly south to the Osa Peninsula and the Lapa Rios rain forest reserve.
A typical Tortuguero bungalow
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