The morning view from the balcony of our hotel room.
There was a bird walk at 0615 the next morning that Jonathan and I decided to sleep through, as we had taken the two previous pre-breakfast walks. We caught the shuttle down to the restaurant and passed our early-rising compadres with binoculars in hand. We waved, but their attention was on something in the distance, undoubtedly a bird or two. When we got off the shuttle we started to walk back up the hill to join them, but decided it was a little too far. So we headed into the restaurant in search of breakfast.
We bussed to the Selvatura Park, where we were to start our next walk.
Being a tropical rain forest, it rain…
…oh, wait, it was actually sunny, clear, and the Pacific and the Gulf of Nicoya was visible in the distance. We got to the park and first visited the hummingbird garden, which was a riot of the flitting birds of a variety of species. From there we went on the walk through the forest and it’s canopy by seven suspension bridges. These bridges were sturdy, but the decking was steel grating with chain link sides – plenty enough to make me nervous, but strong enough for me to navigate without major anxiety.
Unlike my previous and uninformed conception, these bridges did not go between platforms high in the trees. Instead, the bridges went from one side of a canyon to the other, with the span of the bridge taking us through the canopy of the trees at the bottom of the canyon. The bridges did not move much, but enough to make photography from them a bit of a challenge.
In addition to the bridges, there were a few zip lines visible through the canopy. On one of the bridges, we saw a few adventuresome folks fly by. I was leery of the whole zip line concept – there seemed to be nothing on the receiving platforms to absorb impact.
We left the park driving down the mountainside to lower elevations. On the way up, I had spotted red and yellow flowers clinging to the hillsides along the road that Leo identified as roadside orchids. I had hoped to see some up close during the walk in the park, but none were forthcoming. So I asked Leo and Sergio if we could stop and let me get a snapshot while hanging out the window of the bus. Sergio spotted a goodly clump and brought the bus close to the near vertical embankment for a good shot. While I was taking the picture, Judy (who was sitting a row or two behind me) calls out – “there’s a tarantula!” Sure enough, about two feet to the right of my clump of orchids, is a black and brown tarantula working her way along the slope. She was an orange-kneed tarantula, and she stopped while we gazed at her. After a certain amount of speculation about her jumping abilities, we continued down the hill on to our next destination.
The morning view from the balcony of our hotel room.
The only time I could get a…
…so-so shot of a hummingbird was when they were…
…perched around the feeders on the patio.
The walkers looking at the hummingbirds.
One of the suspension bridges through the canopy.
A profusion of broad-leafed epiphytes.
Sergio and Jonathan on the bridge.
Neal shared my feelings about these bridges.
A liverwort.
Razisea spicata.
Taking shots from the bridge.
This limb had a bromeliad at the end like a hand.
Judy on the path ahead.
Looking over the edge.
An African violet relative.
Hot lips plant (Psychotria poeppigiana).
"Walking through the woods.
A wild avocado - quetzal food.
A palm in flower in the palm of my hand - it was the only way I could get a decent focus.
The longest bridge.
Angling for a snap.
Some zip liners flying by.
The pulleys against the cable made a noise, so…
…you could hear them before they came into view.
Flowering of a Schefflera relative.
Even 'tho it was sunny, the clouds were in evidence.
Lin and Sean on a bridge.
Cut-leaf philodendron.
Path through the forest.
Heading out on the next bridge.
A new leaf of a Cecropia.
Hidalgoa, a sunflower relative.
Stenostephanus blepharorachis.
No idea - no title.
No idea - no title.
Cecropia leaf.
I liked the pattern of the fan-shaped plant.
Lotsa ephiphytes.
Even more epiphytic growth.
Diamond seed tree - the seeds in the pictured pods are hard enough to scratch glass.
Chusquea, a genus of bamboo found in Central and South American.
Looks like a blechnum fern - similar to the one I took a snap of in New Zealand.
Unidentified bloom.
A tree covered in epiphytes.
A bird's nest - it wasn't occupied.
A tomato relative.
Road side orchid (Epidendrum radicans).
Red or orange-kneed tarantula (Brachypelma smithi).
The weather was still sunny as we left the cloud forest.