Shorewoods Photography-Boarding Group 2 Travel Blog

We are on the road again this morning after a restful and relaxing day yesterday. The road takes us up through the mountains sprinkled with clouds.

Around one bend, Dennis and Jose pull to the side of the road where we capture some images of birds we have never seen before. It was initially a bit difficult to spot this Purple Cotinga, and these Masked Tityra, but once we got them in our sights, it was exciting to follow them and capture some images. Our 1.4 teleconverters really helped, although you can appreciate how far away they were, even with the extra zoom!

We arrive to the banks of the Sierpa River where we board Pontoon boats. We settle in with our long lenses and work on mastering our sea legs. We marvel at the amount of wildlife on the banks of the river, as our captain navigates us into position to capture images of the river residents.

There was a different resident at each turn of the river. The captain and our guides seem to be in sync with the animals, as they anticipate where they are, awaiting our discovery.

Twice we spotted Great Potoos! These are nocturnal birds who feed on insects, with large eyes and the ability to open their mouths from ear to ear. Their calls are like screams, thus their nickname of ghost birds. Check out this link about Potoos.

At one point in the river we turned into a shallow tributary, where we captured images of king fishers. They are magnificent little birds- a powerhouse packed into a small vessel of feathers.

We soon spotted crocodiles in the water and on the banks. They appeared very healthy, and impressed us with a show of their teeth.

We see birds common to us from the waters of Virginia and the shores of Delaware, but it is a treat to see them in their habitat in Costa Rica. Especially adorable were these recent heron hatchlings.

There was a plethora of wildlife without feathers, including this racoon resting in a tree.

We came across some Proboscis Bats, well camouflaged on the trunk of this palm tree.

We complete the tour of the river and its tributaries, and stop for a truly delicious lunch with fresh coconut juice- the first time I had ever had fresh coconut juice in the coconut! Art enjoyed his with a bit of rum, although the “bit” description was rather generous!

We make our way back to the vehicles, and begin our journey back towards the Sloth Gardens, where we visited the first day at La Perica. Today we captured some more photos of the sloths, at a different time of day, with different light, and it was just as fun photographing them the second. day. What we have learned about photographing sloths: they are soooooooooo slow, until they are not! Just when your arm gives out from holding up that big 600mm lens, or you take your eye away from the camera on the tripod, that pesky sloth will start moving and break trail! It is then a race to refocus and try to capture the sloth at a better angle.

Botanica served us another luscious dinner with fresh fruit, vegetables, fish and meat. Back in our room we set up our gear for our last day of adventure tomorrow, thinking about our short but precious time on the river today.

I choose to listen to the river for a while, thinking river thoughts, before joining the night and the stars.” – Edward Abbey

There is no better way to finish out a day than thinking river thoughts.