Shorewoods Photography-Boarding Group 2 Travel Blog

This morning we climbed into the vehicles for a day of photo making. We stopped at the port and captured some serene views of the waking waters. Dennis prepared us for today; we will be traveling through the rainforest and jungle looking for wildlife. We set up our gear to be prepared to jump out of the vehicles when something was spotted, and be ready to capture images!

We soon left the paved roads and embarked on gravel and dirt roads through the countryside. We crossed through some streams, as the overpasses were more narrow.

As they drove, Dennis and Jose scanned the trees out their windows. In a moment, the vehicles would pull over and we would all evacuate….follow Dennis as he would whisper what was spotted. “Here! Here! Here! “ and, Jose scouting where the monkeys or birds were heading so we could follow them. Soon we were making photos of a variety of birds, hawks and monkeys.

Our first find of the day was a roadside hawk and a white throated kingbird. It took some practice to train our eyes to see the birds and animals in the trees, but once the camera lens was focused on them, we took lots of and lots of photos as we were not sure when they fly or jump away from us. Once they flew off or retreated deeper into the canopy, we would climb back into the vehicles and continue on our way.

We made a mid morning stop at Martina’s for a refreshing coconut smoothie and coconut ice cream!

We had our first spotting of squirrel monkeys in a group of trees alongside the road. They moved so quickly in and among the trees, it was a challenge to keep a focus on them.

We found a spider monkey family group resting together, and were able to capture a few images. Some of the group were not interested in resting, apparently, and we imagined the others were the restless teenagers.

One of our destinations today was Matapalo Beach on the Pacific Ocean. As we were driving towards the beach, Dennis and Jose spotted a chestnut mandibled toucan feeding in the papaya trees: we watched as the toucan pulled out the pulp, and then tossed it in the air to swallow.

And here we are, the Jungle Paparazzi, having just taken a few hundred photos each of the toucan.

At Matapalo Beach we were greeted by a refreshing breeze, and we enjoyed a few moments taking in the coastline.

Small hermit crabs and lizards scurried about the sand, making quick appearances. We spent a good amount of time capturing scarlet macaws flying along the coast, feeding in tropical almond (terminalia catappa) trees. These trees are also called country almond, sea almond and beach almond.

Lunch was a treat at Rancho Piro! Home cooked deliciousness of fried plantains, coconut chicken, and fresh fish (for those pesky pescatarians).

After lunch, we continued our drive in search of wildlife, and came across more monkeys and captured their expressions and antics.

Some of you may know that I am quite fond of trees, especially ones that have been on growing on this earth for a long time. While we were out making photos, Dennis points out a very old tree off the road, up a small hill. Immediately its size was striking, the root system a testament to its time growing above ground. We made our way up the slope, and captured some photos with this majestic giant. Use your imagination as to the height, reaching well up into the canopy.

As we continued on our travels, we stopped at an airstrip, where more scarlet macaws were feeding in the catappa trees.

As the sun began to set towards the horizon, we headed back towards Botanica. Along one stretch of road Dennis spotted a yellow headed caracara, and we captured its take off and flight across the fields as sunlight melted from the trees and grasses.

Art and I reflected on how to best describe the flavor and fun of today: and that is why we chose “Jungle Paparazzi”. The definition of paparazzi is “A free-lance photographer that specializes in following and photographing celebrities such as movie stars, especially to obtain candid photographs.”

Our celebrities today were the stars of the jungle and rainforests; the wonderful people who welcomed us with cold drinks and yummy food, and the wildlife we captured in candid images of their lives, to which we had the privilege to share a few photo making moments.