Central Costa Rica Trip 2011(Monteverde Cloud Forest)
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I tried to learn a little bit of Spanish before the trip and it certainly came in handy on this day! When we passed this little school along the dirt road, I said to the driver, "¡Para, para, por favor!" (Stop, stop please!). I snapped a couple of photos and the children waved at me. I said to them, "Soy una maestra en America" (I am a teacher in America). They ran in and got their teacher, so once again I had to explain why I was taking photos of the kids and the school! I wish I had had more time to try to talk to her.
Kohleria spicata Rio Chiquito, Costa Rica Feb. 25, 2011 This is a common roadside wildflower along the mountain roads.
I posed with the orchids when we made a stop at a small store. Photo by Ken Light
We enjoyed watching this girl making string bracelets in Monteverde.
Passiflora costaricensisFeb. 24, 2011 This flower was growing in the Butterfly Farm at Selvatura. It is a food source for some caterpillars.
José, the guide at the Selvatura Butterfly Farm, with a butterfly that he found hanging from its chrysalis. He showed me larvae, eggs and chrysalises from different butterflies. This butterfly enclosure is one of the largest in the world.
"Pizote" Nasua narica Monteverde, Costa Rica Feb. 26, 2011 These animals are related to the raccoon and have many of their same habits. This guy had raided a garbage can at Selvatura and was later seen scavenging for crumbs near the hummingbird feeders.
Solanum sp.
Hoffmannia congesta Monteverde, Costa Rica Feb. 26, 2011
Blakea grandiflora / Melastomataceae Monteverde, Costa Rica Feb. 26, 2011 This was a strikingly beautiful flower growing on an epiphytic shrub, I took this photo from one of the hangng bridges at Selvatura.
bloom Monteverde, Costa Rica Feb. 26, 2011
Myrtis communis / Myrtaceae Monteverde, Costa Rica Feb. 26, 2011 This epiphytic shrub was seen from one of the hanging bridges at Selvatura.
We took a boat trip across the Lago Arenal to avoid taking a 2-hour around the lake. Jason drove the bus on up to Monteverde in the meantime. When we got to Rio Chiquito on the opposite shore, we were met by 2 drivers with SUVs. This was a shot of the dirt road that we took up to Monteverde, fortunately it had been recently graded to level out the potholes! The locals don't want the roads paved to help cut down on the numbers of people going up to that area. In my severely broken Spanish, I asked our driver, Eduardo, if there were a lot of accidents on this road. He smiled and said, "Not locals, only American tourists!" We were amazed to see trucks barreling down this narrow dirt road.
We shot this spectacular landscape on the drive up to Monteverde.
"Momoto Común"Momotus momotaMonteverde, Costa RicaFeb. 26, 2011 This stunning bird sat a posed on a branch at the El Sapo Dorado for a long time. We were able to get some great photos of him!
Columnea scandens / Gesneriaceae Rio Chiquito, Costa Rica Feb. 25, 2011 This epiphyte was growing on a tree trunk above Rio Chiquito.
Heliconius charitoniusMonteverde, Costa RicaFeb. 26, 2011
This is a Blue Morpho Butterfly caterpillar.
"Ala de Sable Violáceo" Campylopterus hemileucurus Monteverde, Costa Rica Feb. 26, 2011 These were the largest and easiest hummingbirds to photograph at the garden. They would hover for much longer than the other birds. See more birds on the Birds of Costa Rica gallery.
Elaphoglossum peltatum is an interesting little epiphytic fern that grows in the cloud forest. They look a bit like skinny, little green butterflies.
Nearly every inch of the trees in the Cloud forest have something growing on them - ferns, bromeliads, orchids, philodendrons, mosses, lichens and more.
Bromeliads often hold water in the leaves. One of the Poison Dart Frogs deposits her tadpoles in these tiny pools of water.
Sphaeradenia praetermissa Monteverde, Costa Rica Feb. 27, 2011 The red spikes on this epiphyte are the fruits.
Satyris warzewiczii Monteverde, Costa Rica Feb. 26, 2011 This is an epiphytic vine that grows high in the canopy.
We also saw these men with a load of sugar cane along the road to Monteverde.
One of the nice things about going on a photography tour was that we would stop often to take photos of landscapes, animals and birds, etc. This was a beautiful view of the Rio Chiquito valley below and the distant mountains.
I couldn't resist buying this interesting souvenir made from butterfly wings in a little shop in Monteverde. No butterflies were killed to get the wings, most of these insects live only a couple weeks, so these were collected from butterflies that died naturally.
was on the window sill in the restaurant of the Sapo Dorado. Our guide, Willy, is an ecologist and he shared many interesting facts about the plants and animals with us. He told us that male wasp's size depends on how big the tarantula was that his grandmother laid his father's egg on! The larger the food source for the larva, the larger the adult will be. The male wasps gather in a lek to attract a female, she will choose the largest one as her mate (thus carrying on the healtiest genes).
José placed this Tithorea tarricina Butterfly on a flower.
"Maracuya" Passiflora edulis Monteverde, Costa Rica Feb. 26, 2011 There are many different species of Passionflowers in Costa Rica. This one was growing in the butterfly garden at Selvatura.
Begonia convallariodora Monteverde, Costa Rica Feb. 26, 2011 It was amazing to see so many different species of Begonias growing wild in the cloud forests.
Centropogon ferrugineus Monteverde, Costa Rica Feb. 26, 2011
Epiphytic Yellow Asteraceae Monteverde, Costa Rica Feb. 26, 2011
Unknown purple canopy vine Monteverde, Costa Rica Feb. 26, 2011
Piper peltatum / Piperaceae Monteverde, Costa Rica Feb. 26, 2011
The Monteverde Cloud forest is well-named! These mountains top out at around 5000 feet, so the moisture from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans condenses in the cooler air of the higher elevations. It often rains here when it just a mile or so away it is dry. The weather changes rapidly, it can go from rain to sunshine to drizzle within minutes. All this moisture makes the lush vegetation possible.
Our driver, Eduardo, knew this "caballero" (cowboy) who we saw as we made out way up the road to Monteverde. I shot this photo quickly through the SUV window. Ticos, as Costa Ricans call themselves, are very happy and friendly people. Many of the locals in the larger towns speak English, but not so many of the people in the country do. My attempt to talk to the locals in my very limited Spanish made for some interesting moments! :) Our driver who took us to the airport teased me saying I sounded like, "Me Tarzan, you Jane!" Well, at least I tried! Trying to learn a new language made me better understand the difficulty that foreigners encounter when they come to the U.S.
Our SUV driver, Eduardo, quickly learned that I like wildflowers. When I asked him to stop so I could photograph some large white orchids through the window, he got out and picked 2 of them for me. I cringed at the thought of these beautiful wildflowers being picked, that goes against everything I teach!!! I appreciated the gesture though. :) All I could do is smile and tell him a big "¡Muchas gracias!" when he handed them to me!
I liked the way this boots, belts and hat were displayed at a shoe repair shop in Monteverde.
A Blue Morpho Butterfly looks very different with its wings closed. This one is eating liquids from an overripe banana.
We were thrilled to find this brilliant Blue Morpho Butterfly at the enclosure. It is difficult to photograph them because they usually close their wings when they land. This one had its wings open because it had just come from its chrysalis. Blue Morpho butterflies actually have black scales on the wings, they refract and reflect blue light.
Purple-throated Mountain-gem Hummingbird
male "Colibrí Montañés Gorgimorado" Lampornis calolaema Monteverde, Costa Rica Feb. 26, 2011 "Colibrí" means hummingbird in Spanish. This little bird is well-named, when the sunlight hits his head just the right way his feathers glow with brilliant hues of turquoise and amethyst.
We enjoyed spending over an hour in the Hummingbird garden at Selvatura.
Pilea pteropodon Monteverde, Costa Rica Feb. 27, 2011
Costus lima ? Monteverde, Costa Rica Feb. 26, 2011 This was photographed from the swinging bridge at La Selva.
Unknown yellow Solanaceae Monteverde, Costa Rica Feb. 26, 2011
Begonia
"Helechos arborescente" Sphaeropteris brunei I was excited to see these large tree ferns from the hanging bridge. The cloud forest canopy has an amazing variety of colors and patterns.