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We arrived in Puntarenas, Costa Rica, at 5am, so an early start to the day.
I usually get up around 7.30, but since the bus leaved at that time, I had to
be an early bird for the day.
We met in the Vista Lounge after getting our stickers, orange 18 today. The
buses were waiting on the pier after having reversed all the way out. Not
enough room to turn. Our bus had come from San Jose, the capital. Our guide,
Veronica, told us she left home at 4am to get to Puntarenas, a 2 hours drive.
After boarding the bus we set off for the Macaw Sanctuary 45 minutes away.
All the houses were small mostly single storey. Many had a small garden with
banana plants, some had mango trees, coconut trees, etc. The day we visited was
Sunday and they had a holiday on the Saturday, so not many people around at
this hour.
Coffee is a big export product for Costa Rica, but is grown higher up and we
did not see any. The tour I had originally booked was to the Coffee Plantation,
but was full so I got my 2nd choice. The roads seemed quite good, till we
turned in on the way to the Sanctuary. This is a dirt road, the speed limit is
40k/hr with some sections down to 25. A school house we passed had been
decorated by the students.
At the gate we were met by a flock of turkeys, Daddy Turkey with his Girls
and 4 or 5 chicks. There were also 5 cats roaming around. I took a photo of a
white one for Lisa. Apart from the 3 typesof macaws we also saw Ecclectic
parrots, sulfurcrested cockatoos, African parrots and others. We also saw a
Tapir mum and her calf, 3 weeks old. He was so cute! Mum loved carrots. She
came up to the fence and we fed her a carrot each.
Many of the birds here are being rehabilitated after
suffering various injuries and later released into their habitat. Some have
been rescued from the black marked and cannot be let out in the wild, they may
not be able to find the right type of food or nesting place, as the australian
cockatoo. The Tapir was found on the black marked already pregnant and tame. A
tame animal would find it very difficult in the wild.
We were also shown a Lipstick Fruit. It was used by the
local girls as lipstick or to paint their faces.
Fresh fruit grown in the area was served with a bottle of water, watermelon,
pineapple and pawpaw. The shop was open and what was bought there went to help
finance the Sanctuary as they have no help from the government. Our bus was
waiting so we hopped on board for the journey to the boat which would take us
through the protected mangrove area.
Herons and kingfishers, sandpipers and eagles were spotted, as were the
crocs. We saw 4 crocodiles, but no monkeys today. Small fish were jumping in a
few places, but it was too hard to tell what sort. So it was back to the ship
for our next section to Los Angeles.
Mother Tapir
Baby Tapir 3 weeks old
Lipstick fruit