On Jungle Time (Jenny)

Days start early in Costa Rica. Around 4:45am, the birds start calling to one another. These are not the earliest noises; in fact, insects buzz loudly once the sun sets, and throughout the night. But the bird calls are the alarm clock. Shortly after the birds start, the howler monkeys begin to howl. They can be over three miles away, and still audible. The sky brightens around 5am, the sun is fully up shortly after that, and so are we. We spend the first hour or so of our day just watching the jungle. Describing what we’ve seen each morning will sound made up; we couldn’t possibly have seen all that I’m about to describe! But that is the magic of Costa Rica, of her abundant rainforests and conservation efforts. This is truly paradise!

Today, we saw several toucans. They are fun to watch, usually showing up in pairs. They seem to like one tree. The aracaris pair (cousins of the toucan) show up and fight for a spot on the tree. This usually leads to one or more flying away. When we snap out of our hypnosis to get the binoculars or camera, the birds all seem to hop behind a conviently-placed leaf, just out of our sight, only to return to plain view when we put our devices away. I think the jungle is teaching us a lesson in these moments.

As if the toucans aren’t magical enough, a blue morpho butterfly floats into the scene. Yesterday, there were two chasing each other in magical figure-eight patterns. Blue morphos are large, vibrant blue, with brown underneath their wings. So when the wings are closed together, they look like leaves. But when they are open, a beautiful blue appears.

Then the hummingbirds show up. They love this bright orange flower near our porch. There is a large brown hummingbird- the largest I’ve ever seen. And one that has beautiful orange tail feathers and buzzes close to our heads. But my favorite is the blue hummingbird. He rests on the flower stem and appears to smile at us, picture perfect. We don’t dare move, lest we break the spell of the moment.

Today, a large group of white-faced capuchin monkeys showed up. They were deeper in the jungle, but we saw them in the background of our bird show. They always make me smile, especially when they lay with arms and legs dangling from a branch, as if in exhaustion.

It is late afternoon as I type this. The howler monkeys are howling again, signaling the beginning of dusk. The sun will be down in about 80 minutes, and the bats will be out.  Nature’s daily cycle signals the end of another day filled with Pura Vida.

Welcome to the Jungle (Eric)

We left Manuel Antonio yesterday and headed out to our next location in Uvita which I will get to a little later, but first I wanted to mention a side trip to Alturas Wildlife Sanctuary. This was well worth the trip up a rather sketchy mountain road. The sanctuary specializes in rehabilitating local wildlife that have either been injured or kept as pets (this is illegal in Costa Rica). I had a profound respect for their mission to not only attempt to return all of their animals to the wild but also educate people about what we can do to protect the Costa Rican wildlife. Unfortunately some of the animals are unable to make it in the wild due to a variety of reasons, but this allowed us to have some closer interactions with some of the animals we have been seeing in the wild. I highly recommend the experience. 

After the drive down the sketchy mountain road we continued to Uvita and drove up another sketchy mountain road to arrive at Oxygen Jungle Villa - our home for the next few days. This place was the one I was the most excited about before coming here. I am literally typing this on a couch in the middle of the jungle (see photo below). Our room is a glass hut surrounded on all sides by lush rain forest. Our “television” is the jungle flora and fauna. It is surreal. We have seen toucans, parrots, hummingbirds, blue morpho butterflies, various lizards and other birds. The numerous jungle sounds create an absolute cacophony - including howler monkeys and toucan calls (which we have learned to recognize). We spent all day sitting on our couch watching “television” with a brief break to swim in the infinity pool overlooking the ocean. It’s a rough life. 

Final Morning in Manuel Antonio (Eric)

We were awoken this morning on our final day at the Arenas Del Mar resort to the sounds of howler monkeys - I know kind of a bizarre alarm clock. Both us got up to enjoy our amazing view and before long a male and a female howler came to a tree right near our balcony (see pictures below). This was quite a treat on our last morning. But it didn’t end there. Jenny and I were commenting on the fact that we had not seen a toucan yet and maybe five minutes later two fiery-billed aracari (we had to look this up - it is a toucan-like bird) landed on the same trees. It was transcendental. We could not get a good picture so I found one online to show you. And finally on our way back from breakfast we spotted two green parrots near our room (another online picture). I go back to my earlier comment about how staying in this place is like staying in a zoo.

Yet Another Day in Paradise (Eric)

We had so much fun in Manuel Antonio National Park that we decided to go back again today. We are so glad we did. We had several more encounters with the three kinds of monkeys found in the park as well as seeing the two types of sloths. We did a hike around Punta Cathedral and finished with another swim on the beach - yet another absolutely wonderful day in paradise. I wanted to keep this one short and sweet so we can go enjoy some lunch on the beach followed by some more swim time. We hope everyone is doing well.

Photos from the Night Walk (Eric)

Here are some of the photos from the night walk around the gardens. The highlight was the red-eyed tree frog, but there was a number of interesting critters.

Another Day in Paradise (Eric)

As I sit on our balcony drinking coffee and enjoying the view of both the ocean and the jungle (including monkeys), I have decided to post a few reflections about yesterday’s visit to Manuel Antonio National Park and night walk through the hotel garden. I will start by simply saying the park exceeded my expectations. While I expected to see some animals, the wildlife in the park is so abundant we saw something practically around every corner. On a side note, we randomly ran into another Academic Decathlon coach who also teaches in Katy at the entrance to the park; it’s a small world. This was an amazing start to an amazing day. Immediately after entering the park, we spotted bats hanging under a leaf and a two-toed sloth. We would then spot one animal after another: a three-toed sloth, a hummingbird, several species of lizards, an anteater (this was the most unexpected), poison-dart frogs, squirrel monkeys, white-faced capuchin monkeys, howler monkeys, leaf-cutter ants. Seeing the biodiversity of Costa Rica first hand is an experience I will never forget. In addition to the wildlife adventures, the park has an incredible beach where we enjoyed a refreshing swim after a hike through the jungle. The only downside to the day was the walk back along the beach to our hotel in the heat of the day. Not because it wasn’t beautiful, but it was brutally hot with very little shade. I know - sucks to be us.

After enjoying an amazing lunch (ceviche, followed by mahi-mahi) on the beach, we continued our adventures by signing up for a night walk through the hotel gardens. This is an experience I highly recommend. Our guide was amazing and was able to spot some of the more elusive critters that only come out at night. We ended our day with an amazing dinner at the hotel restaurant.

And now pictures...

Manuel Antonio (Eric)

We just arrived in Manuel Antonio on the southern Pacific coast of Costa Rica. We are staying at Arenas Del Mar within walking distance of the Manuel Antonio National Park. We had to drive for three hours from San Jose, and it was a little treacherous during the final leg of the journey driving on some of the mountain roads, but the journey has been worth it. This place has surpassed my expectations. In just a few short hours since we arrived, we have spotted an agouti, an iguana, a sloth, and several different types of monkeys. Staying in this place is like staying in a zoo. It is transcendental. We also had an amazing dinner overlooking the ocean and then went for a walk on the beach.  Once again, it sucks to be us. My wife finds some of the coolest places to visit on this planet. I am a lucky man to have her in my life. Here are some pictures... (which won’t do this place justice)

Embracing Pura Vida (Jenny)

Buenos Tardes from San Jose, Costa Rica! We’ve had a remarkable time exploring the capital city, with the help of our guide, Alejandro. Taking walking tours has become our favorite way to get to know a new place, and today was no exception! Alejandro is a 24 year-old artist, pastry chef, and all-around great person. It was wonderful getting to know him (he spent 3 months interning in London, and loved exploring London so much that when he returned home, he wanted to explore his own city with the same enthusiasm) and learning about Costa Rican culture, architecture, and cuisine. By the end of the tour, I felt like we had made a life-long friend, and I had a deeper appreciation for this vibrant city and its friendly people. More importantly, I experienced firsthand “Pura Vida”, which is the Costa Rican attitude of taking time to enjoy life and its experiences. For example, we spent a long time (I don’t know how long, because I never looked at a clock), learning about one cup of coffee. But there was such an artistic process to how it was made, and we thoroughly enjoyed talking with the barista about coffee in Costa Rica. And it was the best cup of coffee I’ve ever had! It was so good that I drank it black! Another example of Pura vida, is that our tour was only supposed to last 2 hours, but we were having so much fun with Alejandro (and I’d like to think that he had fun with us), that we spent 3 hours together! There was just such a pure joy in our whole experience with everyone we met. I think it’s because we were focused on the moment, not worried about time, or how much else there was to do, or what needed to be done. We were experiencing the present. I wish life could always be paced like this; I think everyone would be happier and healthier, too! Pictures below are of the art and architecture of the city, the parks, and the Central Market. As a funny bonus to the day, we were interviewed for a commercial for the Central Market. I guess we were exuding that Pura Vida!