Just Keep Swimming
10th January
Today is the day to leave Tirimbina, our bags packed with the damp clothes amassed from the past couple of days and soaked walking boots everywhere in sight. Unfortunately the weather didn’t hold out for us here but we still had some cracking finds, such as this little guy – the granular glass frog.
Next stop is Monetverde cloud forest, the location that we will be beginning our own research projects. All aboard a set of 3 busses we departed set for a long day of travel.
After stocking up with snacks for the journey in La Fortuna we got ready for another few hour slog in the coach but were extremely surprised at our next destination, Los Lagos hotel and spa resort!
Armed with our swimsuits we rushed in, excited for a few hours of relaxation with water that wasn’t rain! Andy McG however was the most eager zipping off on a water slide while we were all still queuing for the changing rooms! This was the perfect place to break up a day of traveling with warm pools due to the nearby volcano, a variety of waterslides and even a bar.
It didn’t seem like the day could get any better but it was followed by a slap up lunch and dessert, so we ate until we were stuffed. Tanagers were seen outside the restaurant, with a few budding Dr Doolittles feeding them by hand! We found yet another green iguana male, this time scuttling off and going for a swim in the lake, albeit he wasn’t the best of swimmers, but obviously didn’t want to miss out on the fun! Comparably an Anhinga was also spotted here, similar to a Cormorant, swimming through the water with ease even managing to catch a fish.
And so we commenced the last of the traveling for the day. Heading across lake Arenal by boat with the sun shining for us and then by coach up to the cloud forest, glimpses of coati and armadillo seen on route.
Settled into our new home we proceeded with our next discussion session, climate and range shifts. Our last part of the evening focused on camera traps, with a few of us setting out into the cloud forest to rig 10 traps that will fingers crossed catch some fabulous wildlife footage over the next couple of days. With last year’s group spotting an ocelot we definitely have high hopes!!
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sf343 January 19th, 2017 Costa Rica, Costa Rica archive anhinga, armadillo, coati, Costa Rica, Field Course, granular glass frog, green iguana, La Fortuna, lake Arenal, Los Lagos hotel and spa, Monteverde, ocelot, rain, research, tanagers, Tirimbina, volcano, water slides