DAY 9 - PUNTARENAS, COSTA RICA - FEBRUARY 4, 2010

THERE JUST ISN’T MUCH YOU CAN SAY ABOUT THIS STOP AND THE TOUR, EXCEPT, SPECTACULAR. PUTNARENAS ITSELF IS NOT MUCH, VERY POOR, BUT THE COUNTY SIDE IS RICH WITH GREEN VEGETATION, BEAUTIFUL MOUNTAINS AND WILDLIFE BEYOND OUR WILDEST DREAMS.

WE BEGAN OUR TRIP TRAVELING ABOUT AN HOUR ALONG THE COAST SOUTHWARD TOWARD THE CON RIVER AND DELTA. OUR GUIDE, MARIA, GAVE US A COSTA RICO HISTORY LESSON AS WE DROVE. TURNING OFF THE MAIN ROAD WE TRAVELED THE DUSTY DIRT ROAD FOR ABOUT A MILE UNTIL WE REACHED THE JUNGLE CROCODILE SAFARI SITE. IT SURE DIDN’T LOOK LIKE MUCH BUT WHAT A SURPRISE WE HAD IN STORE.

IN AS MUCH AS THE RIVER CRUISE WAS TO LAST 2 HOURS, A MANDATORY NECESSITY STOP WAS REQUIRED BEFORE HEADING TO THE WATER CRAFT. SOON AFTER BOARDING WE PUSHED AWAY FROM THE LUANCH AREA AND MANEUVERED EVERY SO SLOWLY ALONG THE BANKS OF THE RIVER. OUR FIRST SIGN OF WILDLIFE WAS A VERY WELL CAMOUFLAGED RED FACED IGUANA. IT TOOK SEVERAL MINUTES FOR OUR GROUP TO SPOT HIM AS HE STOOD MOTIONLESS ATOP THE HILLSIDE. A BLUE EGRET WAS NEXT, BUT AGAIN THIS CREATURE BLENDED INTO HIS SURROUNDINGS.

THE WATER LEVEL WAS QUITE LOW AS WE PASSED BETWEEN TWO MOUNDS OF A SANDBAR. SEVERAL SANDPIPERS, WHITE EGRETS AND A SLEW OF MULTICOLORED BIRDS PARADED AROUND ON THE MUDDY FLATS. EACH CREATURE KEEPING HIS DISTANCE FROM THE THREE LARGE CROCODILES SUNNING NEARBY.

OUR BOAT CAPTAIN SOON TURNED OUR CRAFT IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION, PASSING THROUGH THE SANDBARS ONCE AGAIN AS WE HEADED DOWNSTREAM IN SEARCH OF MORE NATURE AT ITS BEST. AS I, ALONG WITH EVERYONE ELSE, SNAPPED PICTURES IT WAS CHALLENGING TRYING TO DETERMINE WHERE TO POINT THE LENS. THE BEAUTIFUL BACKDROP OF THE RIVER AND MOUNTAINS OR THE WATER AND LUSH GREEN HILLS ON EITHER SIDE OF THE RIVER, OR THE BIRDS FLYING OVERHEAD...CHOICES, CHOICES, CHOICES.

LOOK TO THE RIGHT BANK, LOOK TO THE LEFT BANK, LOOK UP, LOOK DOWNSTREAM, IT WAS MORE THAN ANY DVD RECORDER COULD HANDLE LET ALONE A SINGLE REFLEX CANNON SS1 DIGITAL CAMERA. EVEN THOUGH MOST OF THE WILDLIFE SEEMED SO FAR AWAY GEORGIA AND I QUICKLY ZOOMED IN ON OUR SUBJECT HOPING FOR THE BEST POSSIBLE RESULT IN CAPTURING NATURE IN THE WILD. THERE WERE TIMES WHEN I CAN HONESTLY SAY I JUST POINTED MY CAMERA IN THE GENERAL DIRECTION OF WHERE THE SUBJECT WAS SEEN, HOPING TO GET SOME SORT OF FAVORABLE RESULT.

WE CONTINUED TO MOVE SLOWLY DOWNSTREAM PHOTOGRAPHING EVERYTHING WE POSSIBLY COULD PHOTOGRAPH. THE RIVER NARROWED AS IT MADE A WIDE LEFT TURN EXPOSING EVEN MORE WILDLIFE. WE REACH A POINT WHERE WE COULD SEE THE ENTRANCE, OR IN THIS CASE, THE EXITING OF THE RIVER INTO THE PACIFIC OCEAN.

AT THIS POINT WE WOULD HAVE BEEN COMPLETELY SATISFIED IF THE RIVER CRUISE HAD ENDED AND RETURNED TO THE LUANCH POINT, HOWEVER THERE WAS MORE TO COME. A TRIBUTARY TO THE RIGHT OF THE RIVER DELTA WAS WAITING FOR THIS ADVENTURESS CREW. OUR BOAT CAPTAIN ONCE AGAIN MANEUVERED SLOWLY UP STREAM AND OUR GUIDE POINTED OUT VARIED POINTS OF INTEREST ALONG THIS AREA CALLED THE MANGROVE. AFTER ABOUT 20 MINUTES IN THE MANGROVE VEGETATION WE BEGAN OUR TRIP BACK TO OUR STARTING POINT.

AS WE ENTERED THE DELTA AREA AGAIN 4 MORE CROCODILES WERE SPOTTED ALONG THE SHORE AND WE MANEUVERED EVER SO CLOSE, TRYING NOT TO FRIGHTEN OR DISTURB THEIR SUNBATHING.

WE EVENTUALLY DID MAKE IT BACK TO THE LAUNCH SITE FOR SOME REFRESHMENTS AND A NECESSITY STOP BEFORE HEADING TO THE AREIL TRAM AND LUNCH.

IT TOOK APPROXIMATELY ANOTHER 30 MINUTES TO ARRIVE AT THE TRAM. WE HAD A SHORT BRIEFING AND WERE PLACED IN GROUPS OF 8 FOR THE TRAM RIDE TO THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN. EACH TRAM HELD 8 PLUS THE GUIDE.

WE WERE PLACED IN THE TRAM AS TO BALANCE THE WEIGHT AND OFF WE WENT SLOWLY CLIMBING THE MOUNTAINSIDE. THE GUIDE POINTED OUT VARIOUS SIGNS OF LIFE, VEGETATION AND THE EFFECTS OF THE GROWTH, REGROWTH AND GENERAL LIFE-CYCLE OF THE RAIN FORREST WE WERE EXPERIENCING UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL.

IN ORDER TO PREVENT THE DISRUPTION OF THE ECOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT OF THE RAIN FORREST DURING CONSTRUCTION OF THE AREIL TRAM, NO ROADS WERE CREATED TO HANDLE THE EQUIPMENT AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS USED IN THE BUILDING OF THE TRAM. THE ENTIRE PROCESS TOOK ALMOST 2 YEARS AND THE ASTONISHING THING IS THE USE OF HELICOPTERS IN MOVING ALL THE STEEL TOWERS, CONCRETE AND CABLE IN THE COMPLETION OF THIS MARVELOUS ATTRACTION.

AS WE CLIMBED THE MOUNTAIN OUR TRAM HOVERED SLIGHTLY BELOW THE TREES AND MANY TIMES WE WERE TRAVELING THOUGH THE THICK VEGETATION. OCCASIONALLY WE WOULD COME TO A CLEARING THAT WOULD OPEN VISTAS OF THE VALLEY BELOW AND MOUNTAIN RANGE AS IT STRETCHED NORTH AND SOUTH. AS WE APPROACHED THE TOP OUR TRAM ROUNDED THE LAST STEEL TOWER FOR THE DESCEND TO THE BOTTOM AGAIN.

HOWEVER THE TRAMS WIRES NOW WERE AT THE VERY HIGHEST POINT ON THE TOWER AND WE RODE ABOVE THE TREE LINE ALL THE WAY DOWN TO OUR STARTING POINT. AS WE HURRIED OFF THE TRAM WE WERE WISK INTO THE RESTAURANT FOR A SUMPTUOUS LUNCH. BY THE TIME WE WERE FINISHED EATING IT WAS CLOSE TO 2:00 PM.

THE HEAT WAS BRUTAL AND ALTHOUGH SEVERAL MEMBERS OF THE GROUP TOOK THE GUIDED NATURE WALK THROUGH THE CANYON FLOOR, WE OPTED TO STAY AT THE GIFT SHOP AND RELAX. WHEN EVERYONE RETURNED WE BOARDED OUR BUS FOR THE 90 MINUTE RIDE TO THE SHIP. WE DECIDED TO SKIP THE NORMAL DINNER TIME, AND AT AROUND 7:30 PM WE GOT A QUICK SNACK AND THEN HEADED TO THE THEATER FOR ANOTHER ROUND WITH MARTIN LEWIS, THE MAGICIAN.