Author: wanderessence1025

Call me Cathy. I am a nomad, a pilgrim, a vagabond, a wanderer. I am crazy for books (mostly fiction) and I delight in writing and photography. I am addicted to textiles – the more exotic the better – as well as home decor, architecture, art, and unique clothing. I love sampling cuisines from every culture. I love the feel of the wind in my hair, cool crisp air, and mountains. I love urban hiking and nature hiking. I love riding a motorbike or a bicycle, taking a slow cruise down a river, riding a decrepit taxi or a tuk-tuk through chaotic cities. I love being transported to another time, another world. And I hope to inspire travelers to linger, to observe, to create. :-)

san josé, costa rica & homeward bound

wanderessence1025 May 31, 2023

Sunday, January 15, 2023: On our way into San José, the capital and largest city in Costa Rica, we stopped at Alamo Car Rental, quite a distance from Juan Santamaría International Airport, where we returned our rental car and took an Uber to our hotel, Hotel Santo Tomas. We checked into the well-located hotel and promptly went out to explore San José.

We stopped briefly in a park where I tried on my angel wings. We wandered down a crowded pedestrian shopping street, Avenida Central, where Mike checked out bathing suits and I checked out some sandals. We didn’t however make any purchases – yet.

Hotel Santo Tomas Historical Property

me trying on angel wings 🙂

Pre-Columbian Gold Museum (Museo del Oro Precolombino)

We visited the Pre-Columbian Gold Museum (Museo del Oro Precolombino), housed in a subterranean building underneath the Plaza de la Cultura. Built between 1977-1982, it is owned and curated by the Banco Central de Costa Rica.

The impressive modern museum has an archeological collection of almost 4,000 Pre-Columbian artifacts, made up of thousands of gold objects and ceramic pieces, 46 stone objects, 4 jade and 9 glass or bead objects. The gold collection dates from 300-400 BC to 1550 AD.

From 2000-300 BC, early farmers and agriculture emerged and the first ceramic objects were produced. In 800 AD in southeast Costa Rica, complex societies developed, carrying out diverse productive activities and establishing politico-religious centers. These societies lived in large settlements arrayed along mountain ridges, alluvial plains and coastal areas, taking advantage of the fertile soil of the alluvial plains and the mineral, vegetable and animal wealth of the forests, rivers and coasts.

In Costa Rican history, gold was considered a symbol of authority and the items testify to the craftsmanship of the Pre-Columbian period. Gold objects were means to communicate specific ideas, especially in shamanistic rituals. Masculine figures with animal masks symbolize shamans whose superhuman qualities were depicted in animal form and whose abilities and behavior were considered powerful and dangerous.

Over 2.5 million years ago, several species of animals known as megafauna inhabited the American continent. These species became extinct at the end of the Ice Age 11,700 years ago. Costa Rica was home to species from both North and South America that used these lands as transit areas.

The museum’s collection celebrates the rich array of wildlife found in the country with animal figurines (frogs, eagles, jaguars and other felines, alligators, birds, aquatic animals, deer, and other mammals), amulets, and earrings. I loved the different animal shapes that inspired both gold pieces and ceramics. We found a turkey-shaped pot and an armadillo-shaped pot. Human figures were among the most commonly depicted in gold objects.

Mythology depicts felines as man-hunters and warriors, always linked to natural elements, such as water, stone and fire. Most common representations include jaguars, tigers, margays, pumas, ocelots, and jaguarundis.

Frogs and toads are known in indigenous mythology as assistant undertakers, protectors of the remains of the dead, and chanters that predict tempests and weather changes. They are also associated with rituals of shamanic transformation and fertility.

Birds are one of the most commonly represented animals in pre-Columbian metalwork. Generally associated with the journey of the souls of the deceased to the underworld. Shamans were said to transform into birds to perform the “shamanic flight.”

Alligators are a clan symbol for power and protection and served as guides for souls to reach the underworld; they are also presented as enemies to humans and associated with water, oceans and rivers.

Musicians, chanters and dancers played an important role in the preservation of pre-Columbian culture. Among pieces found as funerary objects are stylized musicians and chanters which are portrayed playing instruments and dancing. Sometimes they’re depicted holding two different instruments, attesting to their skill and musical ability.

Undertakers were important in Pre-Columbian society. Death was considered part of the cycle of life and rituals and beliefs revolved around it. There were two types of burials. In the primary type, the body was deposited directly into a tomb. In the secondary type, bones were de-fleshed and bundled before being buried. The museum contains a replica of a Pre-Columbian grave containing 88 gold objects; this was unearthed on a banana plantation in southeastern Costa Rica in the 1950s.

Undertakers

Warriors were said to have supernatural powers and could acquire powers from those they killed. They hung discs or patens on their chests which were used to intimidate the opposing side in moments of conflict. One diorama showcases El Guerrero, a life-sized gold warrior figure adorned with gold ornaments in a glass case.

Warrior

Warriors

Healers were specialists in charge of healing rituals: chanting sessions using various objects and medicinal plants.

Shamans were very important and acted as political, economic and spiritual leaders. Antonio Saldaña, the last shaman performing political duties among the Bribri, was murdered in 1910. He belonged to the SaLwak clan, from which the highest ranking chiefs could emerge.

The traditional Talamanca house (wood structures covered in palm tree leaves) symbolized the Bribri and Cabécar world view: They saw the universe as cone-shaped houses divided in strata, home to beings of different kinds.

cone-shaped houses

roofing materials

representation of the world

Museo del Oro Precolombino

The Matrilineal Clan System, a line of descent transmitted by females, is still used among Bribri and Cabécar indigenous groups of Costa Rica. Both women and men played important roles in life and in ritual practices. From 16th century sources, women were described as caciques (local political bosses), healers and warriors.

It was enlightening to study the detailed scale model of a Pre-Columbian village.

Museo del Oro Precolombino

metalworkers

Museo del Oro Precolombino

Healers at Museo del Oro Precolombino

Museo del Oro Precolombino

women in Pre-Columbian society

turkey image

Museo del Oro Precolombino

frog figures

alligator figure

Museo del Oro Precolombino

turtle figures

Museo del Oro Precolombino

A few modern pieces topped off the historical exhibits in the museum.

Digital Archive, A Memorial of the Human Condition by Priscilla Romero

close-up of Digital Archive, A Memorial of the Human Condition by Priscilla Romero

Pre-Columbian Gold Museum

The Dark Side of the Moon by Asessandra Sequeira

Pre-Columbian Gold Museum

After the Rain

Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica

After visiting the Gold Museum, we walked down Avenida Central to the National Theatre and looked around inside the lobby.

The 1,140-seat Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica is the nation’s national theater, located in the central section of San José. Construction began in 1891, and it opened to the public on 21 October 1897 with a performance of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Faust. The National Theatre stood as a cultural asset of the country during a time when coffee exports were a source of its success. Artistic criteria for performances are very high.

The building is considered the finest historic building in the capital, and it is known for its exquisite interior and its lavish furnishings.

Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica

Avenida Central

Catedral Metropolitana

We then walked by the Metropolitan Cathedral, which sits overlooking Parque Central. We tried to go inside, but since it was Sunday, one of their seven masses was in session and tourists weren’t allowed inside.

Catedral Metropolitana was originally built in 1802 but was destroyed by an earthquake. The Cathedral was rebuilt in the 1870s after the earthquake destroyed the smaller church on the site. It was designed by a Spanish architect in a style considered “neo-classical.” The front of the building features a façade with three towers, a clock tower in the center and two bell towers.

Catedral Metropolitana

Café Rojo

Returning to the hotel, we enjoyed a drink outside on palm-covered cushions and then we moseyed down the street to Café Rojo. What an adorable cafe with a Vietnamese twist. We were serenaded by “No Dejes Que…” by Caifanes while eating a broccoli soup, spring rolls with smoked trout, and a Vietnamese bowl with rice noodles, lettuce, carrot, cucumber, radishes, green onion, spearmint, cilantro, and peanuts, and topped with smoked trout. We tried several sauce options, all delicious.

sculpture at Plaza de la Cultura

Mike enjoying our hotel

Café Rojo

broccoli soup at Café Rojo

spring rolls & me at Café Rojo

spring rolls with smoked trout at Café Rojo

A walkabout in San José

Monday, January 16: We started our day by having breakfast in the poolside dining area, and then we were off to explore San José on our last day in Costa Rica.

We walked past the cute green Alliance Française building where French classes are held. We saw El Edificio Metálico (The Metallic Building), which houses a school and is located next to Parque Morazon. The metallic pieces were forged in Belgium in 1892; they were transported to and assembled in San José in 1896. A unique building for Costa Rica, it is said to have been inspired by the Eiffel Tower. It is a neoclassical style designed by French architect Charles Thiro. Nowadays, it is a primary school called Buenaventura Corrales and Julia Lang School.

Alliance Française building

El Edificio Metálico

We strolled by La Casa Amarilla (The Yellow House), a fine example of Spanish colonial architecture: a neo-colonial architectural style with neo-Baroque decor. It was declared a national monument in 1976 and shows the historical and architectural heritage of Costa Rica.

The building, initially the Central American Court of Justice, was built with funds donated by Andrew Carnegie in 1910. A Ceiba tree in front was planted by John F. Kennedy during his 1963 visit to Costa Rica. On the property’s northeast corner garden is a graffiti-covered slab of the Berlin Wall.

Some well-dressed official-looking people were walking out. It currently houses the Foreign Affairs Ministry and is closed to the public.

La Casa Amarilla

We wandered through a pretty neighborhood with elegant gated homes and tropical trees.

San José neighborhood

We came upon a cute little hostel/café called Selina, where we stopped for a fruit juice smoothie. An old rusted Volkswagen served as the receptionist desk and a spiral staircase led upstairs to an outdoor yoga studio. An old gnarly and knotted tree stood outside in the road adjacent to the sidewalk.

Selina San José

reception at Selina San José

cafe at Selina San José

staircase to yoga studio at Selina San José

Selina San José

We strolled by the Plaza de La Libertad Electoral 1996. A block-like red sculpture punctuated the park adjacent to it. We admired the Biblioteca Nacional Miguel Obregon. We also stumbled across a statue that represents the victory of the Central American nations over the foreign invaders known as “filibusters of William Walker.”

Down a pedestrian walkway, we found Asamblea Legislativa, inaugurated in October 2020 for sessions of the legislative body. Construction started March 7, 2018 and it has 18 floors and a central atrium.

Plaza de La Libertad Electoral 1996

Filibusters of William Walker sculpture

sculpture in the park

Asamblea Legislativa

Biblioteca Nacional Miguel Obregon

Further along the walkway, El Castillo Azul (Blue Castle) is recognized as a national monument; its architectural structure combines styles as different as the neocolonial or the Mediterranean. Roles in history were the Presidential House of dictator Federico Alberto Tinoco and Headquarters of the American Embassy.

El Castillo Azul

grafitti near El Castillo Azul

near El Castillo Azul

We saw the Museo Nacional de Costa Rica housed in the former Bellavista army barracks, but sadly it was closed on Mondays. It apparently has 20,000 specimens in its natural history collection and more than 30,000 objects in anthropology and archeological collections. The Costa Rican historical exhibition has a 33,000+ piece furniture collection.

In front of the museum stands a statue of José Figueres Ferer (Don Pepe), 1906-1990. He served as president of Costa Rica on three occasions: 1948-1949; 1953-1958; and 1970-1974. During his first term in office, he abolished the country’s army, nationalized its banking sector and granted women and Afro-Costa Ricans the right to vote. He also granted access to Costa Rican nationality to people of African descent.

Museo Nacional de Costa Rica

José Figueres Ferer (Don Pepe)

view from Museo Nacional de Costa Rica

José Figueres Ferer (Don Pepe)

view from Museo Nacional de Costa Rica

Museo del Jade y de la Cultura Precolombina

At 11:00, we went to the Museo del Jade y de la Cultura Precolombina. The museum was originally founded in 1977 by Marco Fidel Castro Tristan. The new modern building, quite impressive, opened in 2014. The building is made to resemble a block of raw jade stone.

Museo del Jade y de la Cultura Precolombina

Jade refers to two different minerals, jadeite and nephrite. Three major cultures stand out for the production of jade in the Americas: the Olmec, the Maya and pre-Columbian Costa Rican groups. In Costa Rica, the main workshops that produced jade pieces were in Guanacaste (Nicoya and Bagaces) as well as on the Central Caribbean plains.

Over 7,000 items are on display here, most dated between 500 BC and 300 BC, the period during which jade trade was at its peak.

The Day Exhibit explored flora and fauna and the daily life of Pre-Columbian societies in Costa Rica.

Some designs in jade objects may represent clans or family groups. They could have been used by chiefs, usually elderly men and women, who were responsible for passing knowledge to new generations.

Jade pieces were often placed as a funeral offering, indicating the position or rank of the deceased within their social group. Most of the jade pieces are images of animals and depictions of societal organization. Jade artwork and jewelry were used for ornamentation and often emphasized religious or shamanic rituals.

Large stone spheres in the museum are characterized by a perfection in their roundness. They’re made with different types of rock of various sizes. They were symbolic power objects within the social groups that carved them and used them from 500 A.C. to 1500 D.C. We also found some of these large spheres in front of the Asamblea Legislativa.

Large stone spheres in the museum

Large stone spheres in front of Asamblea Legislativa

The Jade Museum had a huge exhibit focused on Shamanic Rituals. Jade objects display birds, jaguars, and other animals, as well as individuals whose ritually positioned hands depict the shaman during his transformation and “magical journey,” people in need of healing or the deceased awaiting purification.

The rituals in which shamans participated might include long fasts and diets, baths, the use of spatulas to induce vomiting, sharp tips for bloodletting or self-sacrifice, and jade containers to carry special ointments.

Shamans performed fire-based rituals using leaves from certain plants and tobacco smoke, which they blew over the patient’s body to heal him or her. Shamans communicated with the spirit through the magical stones they wore and others that they placed on the sick person’s body.

The Shaman received his or her great power from the spirits that populated the space in the form of animals, evoking them by means of a “magical journey” enabled through a state of trance, chanting and sometimes by using hallucinogenic substances.

Polished stones such as jade had magical qualities and were used by Shamans to communicate in a secret language with the spirit of the sick person during healing practices, in shamanic initiation rituals and purification ceremonies, and to predict important events for members of the community.

Museo del Jade y de la Cultura Precolombina

Day Exhibit at Museo del Jade y de la Cultura Precolombina

Museo del Jade y de la Cultura Precolombina

Day Exhibit at Museo del Jade y de la Cultura Precolombina

Museo del Jade y de la Cultura Precolombina

The Night Exhibit covered the underworld, war and burial ceremonies. Another section of the museum focused on music, ancestors and sex.

Night Exhibit at Museo del Jade y de la Cultura Precolombina

bundle of defleshed bones

Night Exhibit at Museo del Jade y de la Cultura Precolombina

Museo del Jade y de la Cultura Precolombina

a view over San José from the Museo del Jade

In the museum, we also found the colorful magic realism of Isidro Con Wong, a Costa Rican of Chinese origin who has been inspired by the landscapes of his beloved Puntarenas and the Nicoya Peninsula.

work of Isidro Con Wong

I found myself utterly entranced by the work of Ana Wien.

work of Ana Wien

Another walkabout in San José

We stopped for a delicious lunch at Café Otoya Bistro. I had a Pink Delicious: a pan ciabatta, smoked salmon, lettuce, pepper cheese, radishes and a delicious sauce accompanied by roasted potatoes. Mike had a Nuestro Cubano. I had Limonada pink and Mike Limonada con hierba buena.

Café Otoya Bistro

drinks at Café Otoya Bistro

lunch at Café Otoya Bistro

Café Otoya Bistro

We returned to our hotel after lunch and had a drink and soaked in the hotel’s hot tub in the courtyard.

afternoon relaxation in the hotel pool & hot tub

Later, we walked down Avenida Central, the pedestrian zone lined with clothing and department stores. We found “La Matrona” (The Matron), a sculpture by Manuel Vargas. His women are gigantic, a tribute to women, especially the mothers, of Costa Rica.

In front of the Central Bank of Costa Rica, we encountered the sculpture “Monument Los Presentes” (Monument to Those Present) dating from 1989; it honors the traditional farmers of the Central Valley. They are nine life-size bronze figures by Costa Rican sculptor Fernando Calvo representing the Costa Rican peasant. The work personifies those in danger of disappearing due to modernization. Paradoxically, they’re represented as firm, immutable, and in silent rebellion against change.

Avenida Central

“La Matrona”

Monument Los Presentes

Monument Los Presentes & interloper

Monument Los Presentes

mural on Avenida Central

We then wandered through El Mercado Central with its indoor vendors and narrow walkways. It is a food and craft market selling everything imaginable: coffee beans, fresh meat and fish, sugary treats, flowers, textiles, and medicinal plants. Souvenir stalls sell wood items, pottery, jewelry and trinkets.

El Mercado Central

We then walked to Iglesia de la Merced, a Catholic temple with neo-Gothic architecture dedicated to the Virgen de las Mercedes. The main tower has a German Gothic style. It was built in 1894 by engineer Lesmes Jiménez Bonnefil and architect Jaime Carrariza and declared part of the historical and architectural heritage of Costa Rica in 1996.

Iglesia de la Merced

Finally we stopped again at Catedral Metropolitana; this time we were allowed to enter as no masses were in session as they were on Sunday. It was re-erected in 1871, decades after its initial construction and following an earthquake. The stone white box cathedral resembles a courthouse, with a wide concrete staircase and eight tall columns. Inside are dark wood pews, gold candelabras, decorative floor tiles and stained glass windows.

In front of the cathedral is Parque Central, more of a plaza than a park. A life-size bronze statue of a street sweeper (El Barrendero) cleans up bronze litter. Armonía (Harmony) is a sculpture of three street musicians who silently serenade the milling crowds. In the center of the one-square-block park is an unsightly spider-like gazebo donated by one-time Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza.

Catedral Metropolitana

interior of Catedral Metropolitana

Catedral Metropolitana

Armonía at Parque Central

El Barrendero at Parque Central

sculpture at Parque Central

Gazebo in Parque Central

Parque Central

As we walked back to our hotel on Avenida Central, we dipped into one of the shops we’d stopped in during our first afternoon. Mike bought some swim trunks and I bought a pair of sandals. In another shop I found some knit pants for summer that were quite a bargain.

Avenida Central

Finally, we ate dinner, returning to our neighborhood Café Rojo. I enjoyed smoked trout with coconut milk and lime on “Bun” – Vietnamese bowl with rice noodles, lettuce, carrot, cucumber, radishes, green onion, spearmint, cilantro and peanuts. All accompanied by a glass of white wine.

Mike ate Eggplant on “Casado” – rice, lentils and green salad with coconut and sweet tamarind dressing. It was as delicious and pleasant as it was on our first night in town.

part of our last dinner at Café Rojo

Here’s a screen shot of my Polarsteps at the end of our trip through Nicaragua & Costa Rica.

Polarsteps view of our trip through Nicaragua & Costa Rica

Tuesday, January 17: We woke up at 3:00 a.m., rolled out of bed, threw on our clothes and met the Uber driver outside the hotel in the dark at 3:20 a.m. It only took us about 20 minutes to get to Juan Santamaría International Airport where we checked our bags, went through security and ate our leftover sandwiches from lunch at Café Otoya yesterday. Our flight to Dallas, TX was 4 hours and 20 minutes. Luckily they had a good system at the airport for going through immigration and customs and rechecking our bags for our 12:23 flight to Dulles International in Washington. Luckily that flight was only 2 hours and 38 minutes, which was bearable, but it took forever to get our luggage at the baggage claim. Poor Alex, who was picking us up, had to wait outside the airport in the cell phone lot for some time.

We were exhausted from our three weeks of travel but we heated up some frozen kale and bean soup and watched a Ted Lasso episode with Alex before zonking out. 🙂

monteverde: a cloud forest immersion

wanderessence1025 May 24, 2023

Thursday, January 12, 2023: After leaving our friends in Tilarán, we drove well over an hour on Route 14S and 606 (33km) on bumpy potholed and gravelly roads through the mountains to reach Monteverde. It was a brain-rattling journey, and we were relieved to finally check into the comfortable and welcoming Hotel Claro de Luna. We walked into the small and touristy town of Santa Elena to dip into shops.

After wandering a bit, we had dinner at the rather overpriced Tree House, which is built around a huge ancient ficus tree. We shared a hamburger and some leek and potato soup. The food was excellent and since we shared, it turned out to be not overly costly.

On the road back to our hotel in the dark, we saw a mural that said “Stop Animal Selfies.”

Hotel Claro de Luna

our room at Hotel Claro de Luna

bathroom with hot tub at our hotel

The Tree House

Hamburger & leek & potato soup

The Tree House

Stop Animal Selfies

our room at Hotel Claro de Luna

Friday, January 13: The breakfast room at Hotel Claro de Luna was very cute with tables set for each room with the proper number of place settings. It was a good breakfast with scrambled eggs, pancakes, fruit juice and coffee.

Hanging Bridges Tour & Aerial Tram at Monteverde Sky Adventures Park

The first thing we did in Monteverde was to take a guided Hanging Bridges tour at Monteverde Sky Adventures Park. Our guide Danny led us through the cloud forest for two hours. We crossed over five hanging bridges and hiked on trails above the tree line of the forest. We saw a tarantula in its home cave, a millipede and a Highland Tinamou. Sadly we didn’t see any special birds other than that but Danny introduced us to the Merlin app which identifies nearby birds by their song. Danny identified a gray-breasted wood-wren using the app.

We didn’t see many other creatures but we did learn about the primary and secondary forest and the different plants and trees that sustain wildlife in the cloud forest. While a tree can host several hundred other species in the secondary forest (at lower elevation), it can host as many as a thousand other species in the primary forest, which is at a higher elevation.

It was a very windy day at the park, and Danny was concerned we might not be able to cross some of the higher elevation bridges because the wind might make them too dangerous.

We started at Puente 5 (Bridge 5), which was 774 feet (236m) long and 164 feet (50m) high. This was the longest of the hanging bridges. From this bridge we could see the Zapote tree. Its sap was used as bubble gum a long time ago.

Hanging Bridges Tour at Monteverde Sky Adventures Park

Hanging Bridges Trail map

Puente 5 (Bridge 5)

Hanging Bridges Tour at Monteverde Sky Adventures Park

view from Puente 5

Puente 5 (Bridge 5)

view from Puente 5

Puente 5 (Bridge 5)

view from Puente 5

Next we crossed the second longest bridge, Puente 4, which was 413 feet (126m) long and 118 feet (36m) high. From here we were introduced to the Inga, or ice cream beans. New leaves are brown in color, mimicking a dead tree to fool predators.

view from Puente 4 – Inga (Ice Cream beans)

view from Puente 4

Our guide Danny

a tarantula in his cave-like home

tarantula claw

Monteverde Sky Adventures Park

Puente 3 was 374 feet (114m) long and 56 feet (17m) high. Danny showed us the Maria (conostegia xalapensis), which has an edible fruit that is olive-shaped and purple in color. We saw a millipede, a Highland Tinamou, and turkey tails, popular mushrooms mostly known for their “medicinal” benefits. They help to decompose logs and stumps of deciduous trees, and on the rare occasion, coniferous trees. They’re widely used as a medicinal in things like mushroom tinctures.

view from Puente 3

Monteverde Sky Adventures Park

the Merlin App

Highland Tinamou

Monteverde Sky Adventures Park

tree rings in the cloud forest

millipede

turkey tails

Puente 2 was the third longest bridge at 400 feet (122m) long and 160 feet (49m) high. From here we saw the Cecropia, or Trumpet tree. It has medicinal uses for asthma, cardio-respiratory diseases, and as a diuretic.

view from Puente 2

Cecropia, or Trumpet tree

Mike on Puente 2

me on Puente 2

view from Puente 2

The shortest bridge was Puente 1 at 216 feet (66m) long and 49 feet (15m) high. The Espavel, or Anacardium excelsum, was used for tree houses, furniture and horse saddles.

We never made it over Bridge 6.

Mike on Puente 1

tropical abundance

Puente 1

pretty in purple

The safe zone

tropical canopy

After our tour and before we took the aerial tram, we ate a delicious tomato soup with avocado along with a ham and cheese sandwich with various toppings and a delicious sauce, one of the best meals I’ve eaten at a venue like that.

tomato soup with avocado

a ham and cheese sandwich

We took the aerial tram which I thought would be a whole circuit around the park, but which was only a 12-minute blustery ride up to a high elevation at the continental divide. There, the wind and rain battered us on a short circuit hike at the top. We drank a fancy hot coffee to attempt to keep warm at the little cafe at the top.

at the continental divide

Mike on the blustery path

at the continental divide

me with my friends the tropical leaves

at the continental divide

hot drinks to warm us up

at the continental divide

After taking the tram back down after a 30 minute wait, Mike found a coati (or pizote in Costa Rica) in the parking lot.

We took a tourist bus back to our hotel where we enjoyed a nice snack in our hot tub accompanied by one of Mike’s drink concoctions. We then strolled all around the hotel property enjoying the lush tropical gardens. It was nice to have time to relax before our night walk at 6:00. After seeing a rainbow, a colorful bird, and the sunset at our hotel, we left by bus for our night walk at the El Refugio Night Tour (El Bosque Monteverde).

coati (or pizote in Costa Rica)

Hotel Claro de Luna

the grounds of Hotel Claro de Luna

Hotel Claro de Luna

the grounds of Hotel Claro de Luna

hygrangea

huge hydrangea

the kitchen room at Hotel Claro de Luna

our room at Hotel Claro de Luna

Mike rocks on the porch

rainbow from Hotel Claro de Luna

sunset from our hotel

Night Walk at El Refugio

El Refugio is a 55-acre conservation area in Monteverde at the heart of a biological corridor, an area of habitat connecting wildlife populations separated by human activities or structures, where dozens of animals live. I had read about these wildlife corridors in Monkeys Are Made of Chocolate: Exotic and Unseen Costa Rica by Jack Ewing.

The night tour is a light 2-hour walk in search of creatures of the night. It is possible to see sloths, armadillos, porcupines, possums, coatis, olingos, monkeys and kinkajous, as well as frogs, snakes, sleeping birds and a wide variety of insects. It is also a great location to see bird species such as quetzals, mot-mots, and toucans. Animals in Monteverde are more active and prominent during the nighttime when they come out in search of food and shelter.

On our 2-hour night walk at El Refugio with Mauricio as our guide, our small group of six saw a sleeping hummingbird, a couple of toucans, a howler monkey, a green viper, a strangler fig that had killed its host, wild avocados, a couple of colorful birds and a katydid.

sleeping hummingbird

toucan

howler monkey

green viper snake

toucan

strangler fig that has killed its host

katydid

wild avocado

We weren’t too hungry when we returned to our hotel, so we just ate cheese and crackers in our room. 🙂

Sloth Sanctuary at Selvatura Park

Saturday, January 14: At 8:30 this morning, we drove to Selvatura Park and by surprise met with Mauricio from our night walk tour at El Refugio last night. He was our guide for the Sloth Sanctuary at the park. Most of the sloths were being their lazy selves but we saw one moving in slow motion on a quest for food. The others were all sleeping. One or two poked their heads up momentarily but I wasn’t fast enough with with my iPhone camera. We saw all three-toed sloths which thrive at the altitudes of the cloud forest in Monteverde.

We learned much about sloths from Mauricio and from the fact signs spread throughout the sanctuary.

Rather than being lazy, sloths are cautious, silent, discreet and respectful. They are basically pacifists. Their metabolism is very slow; they need to eat less than a large leaf a day and can take up to one week to digest it. Their evolutionary origin is in the neotropics and they come from one of the most antique animal lineages.

Algae easily adheres to sloth fur and provides sloths with good camouflage. The algae also provides sloths with nitrogen, a nutrient deficient in sloths due to their leaf-based diet. They absorb it in various ways: by licking their fur, through their hairs, or through their skin.

Some species of moths have adapted to live on sloth bodies and feed off the algae that grows on their fur during the rainy season. The sloths’ fur, as well as anteaters’ fur, offer thermic insulation. They transform into “spheres” to conserve heat and they don’t handle high temperatures very well.

Of six species of sloth, four are three-toed species and two are two-toed.

The three-toed sloth is called Bradypus Variegatus. Its weight varies between 3.9-12.3 pounds (1.8-5.5kg). The fur is long, dense and wavy. Its back color is marbled gray with prominent whitish spots that concentrate in its lower back and hind legs. Its head is small and rounded and its ears are not visible. Front paws are longer than legs, featuring three long and curved digits or claws on all limbs.

This species is more vulnerable to extinction, which has contributed to their disappearance from many of their original distribution areas. Their movements are very slow and their curved claws allow them to hang passively from tree branches, where they spend most of their lives feeding on the forest canopy leaves.

Females, who reach reproductive maturity at 3 years of age, give birth to a single offspring once a year after a 5-8 month gestation. Males can reproduce between 3-5 years of age, but they do not participate in the rearing of the young.

The average life span in nature or in captivity is 30-40 years. Their habitats include both Caribbean and Pacific slopes from sea level to 9,850 feet (3,000m).

The two-toed sloth, known as Choloepus hoffmanni, weighs from 4.5-8 kg. These are solitary with herbivore-omnivore diets. The 2-toed sloth prefers trees with lots of vines and canopy exposed to direct sunlight. The two-toed sloth prefers to remain hidden between vines and leaves during the day, which makes it difficult for predators to find them and attack. They go to the ground to defecate every 6-8 days, at which time they are in the greatest danger. They can climb down from trees on their heads.

They have a more varied diet than the 3-toed sloth as they can eat fruits and flowers as well as leaves.

The general rule is there is one birth per gestation period, which usually occurs during the rainy season. The gestation period is close to 11.5 months. Females reach sexual maturity at 3-4 years, while males reach it between 4-5 years.

The average lifespan in the wild for the 2-toed sloth is 12 years. In captivity it increases to 31 years.

Sloths in general have 10 vertical vertebrae which provides them with an increased degree of head rotation (humans only have 7 cervical vertebrae). Sloths have few teeth, without enamel and with permanent growth.

During our tour, Mauricio showed us an owl butterfly which has eyes like an owl and plays dead when it senses vibrations nearby.

We stopped in the Selvatura Park Restaurant for coffee in hopes it would stop raining. It never did.

sloths in the Sloth Sanctuary

vegetation in the Sloth Sanctuary

ferns in the Sloth Sanctuary

owl butterfly

the backside of the owl butterfly

a hot drink to keep warm

Reserva Biologica Bosque Nuboso de Santa Elena

After visiting the sloth sanctuary, we went for a moderate-level 2-mile hike at the Reserva Biologica Bosque Nuboso de Santa Elena. This 766-acre reserve is smaller and higher in elevation than the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve.

We took the Sendero Encantado (Encantado Trail). It was a 3.5km loop, 2-3 hours, moderate). It was rainy and windy the entire time. We were of course in the cloud forest, but we were told some kind of front was moving across Costa Rica from the Caribbean side. We got rather soaked but it was well worth it to experience the primary cloud forest and see its lush, jungle-like greenery.

Reserva Biologica Bosque Nuboso de Santa Elena

me at Reserva Biologica Bosque Nuboso de Santa Elena

Reserva Biologica Bosque Nuboso de Santa Elena

moss-covered bench at Reserva Biologica Bosque Nuboso de Santa Elena

Reserva Biologica Bosque Nuboso de Santa Elena

Trail map at Reserva Biologica Bosque Nuboso de Santa Elena

Stella’s Monteverde

After our cloud forest walk, we stopped at Stella’s Monteverde for lunch. A British woman had told us after our Night Walk that we should have lunch there; they’re not open for dinner. It was one of the best meals we’ve had on this trip. I had a tasty limeade and quiche with hearts of palm and sweet corn. Mike had a Pork BBQ sandwich with Cole slaw. All of it was fabulous, plus we sat outside and watched colorful parakeets on the bird feeders. Besides that, they had an excellent gift shop on site that had locally-made arts and crafts. It was a nice relaxing experience after our rainy walk through the cloud forest.

At the gift shop, I bought a pair of silver dangly earrings that looked like tropical leaves. Mike planned to give them to me for Valentine’s Day. Also I bought a little silk scarf (what else is new?) and a journal.

Mike at Stella’s Monteverde

limeade at Stella’s Monteverde

delicious quiche at Stella’s Monteverde

me at Stella’s Monteverde

We relaxed in our hotel room with a hot tub soak and Mike’s special drinks. We were tired and cold from our long morning.

For dinner, we walked into Santa Elena and ate at a big sports bar called Bar Amigos. We shared a Sopa Azteca. I had a Hamburguesa Especial and Mike had nachos with beef. It was a lively place for our last night in Monteverde.

Sopa Azteca at Bar Amigos

Hamburguesa Especial at Bar Amigos

Nachos with beef at Bar Amigos

Here is a video of our time in Monteverde.

Sunday, January 15: We left Monteverde this morning for a long mountainous drive to San José, our final destination before we would fly home on Tuesday. The views leaving Monteverde were spectacular. We could see all the way to the Gulf of Nicoya and the mountains all the way to Liberia. Amazing views! Costa Rica is truly a gorgeous country. 🙂

views as we left Monteverde

Gulf of Nicoya in the distance

views as we left Monteverde

Pre-Columbian Gold Museum (Museo del Oro Precolombino)

Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica

Catedral Metropolitana

Café Rojo

A walkabout in San José

Museo del Jade y de la Cultura Precolombina

Another walkabout in San José

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Hanging Bridges Tour & Aerial Tram at Monteverde Sky Adventures Park

Night Walk at El Refugio

Sloth Sanctuary at Selvatura Park

Reserva Biologica Bosque Nuboso de Santa Elena

Stella’s Monteverde