We meet
Andres and Anthony, our guide and driver for the day, in the lobby after
breakfast. It’s just a short drive to Mistico,
a privately held rainforest sanctuary catering to the ecotourism trade and
famous for its hanging bridges. We only make
it half way when Anthony pulls the little van over on the side of the
road. Andres sets up his powerful
spotting scope on a tripod and points across the street up in a tree. “White hawk, very rare to see here” he
explains in an excited whisper. We take
turns with the other couple in the van looking through the compact telescope. Before I can get my camera out of the case,
Andres shows us his first trick of the day.
He asks Mandy for her phone, holds it up to the scope and takes fantastic
pictures of the hawk. Game on.
We drive
across the top of the huge dam that creates the northeastern edge of Arenal Lake
and arrive at the park. Waiting just
past the gate we see some new species of hummingbirds, green and blue body with
a crimson tail. I’m getting better with
the lens and can stop image the speedy bird from 100 yards. At 200 yards, Andres spots a Yellow Throated Tucan,
our first of the trip, black with a golden chest, green eye and bright yellow
beak. This is already a better day then
we hoped for.
More great
spotting as we walk deeper into the park.
Flowers that look like birds.
Birds that look like cartoons.
Wild colors, and our guide tells us the wild stories of adaptation and
survival that match. About 30 minutes in
we are delighted to see our first monkey, the creatively named White Faced Monkey
(also referred to as Capuchins). We’re
able to catch a few pictures and we are thrilled. Animal sighting, like fishing, is still very
random – some days you strike out even in the best spots. We know what a fortunate day we are having,
seeing pretty much everything we had hoped for.
That’s when our luck changed, for the even better.
We start
walking again but don’t get far. Another
monkey. And another, and more. A troop of white faced swing in, attending to
their monkey business, eating, playing, talking and general monkeying. Not far behind, a group of Spider Monkeys
enter the scene. Andreas explains that
that these groups being together is highly unusual and probably a territory
dispute. It’s nothing shy of a monkey
party right over our heads and it goes on for 20 minutes. We’re able to get great pictures, amazing
videos and just stand and appreciate the spectacle.
Party over,
we continue on, seeing owls and bats, rare and common birds of all colors. The bridge crossings are beautiful, swinging
bridges suspended by steel cables, bouncy as you walk, with great panoramic
views of valleys created by the river below.
Andreas stops once more. Looking
up we see the big brown Howler monkey. Horse
racing has the trifecta. Hockey has the
hat trick. We’ve just scored the Triple
Lindy of Costa Rican hikes, seeing all three types of monkeys in a single
outing. We see more leaf cutter ants and
each time we hear more about them, the more fascinated we are. Andres picks up one of the tiny ants to give
us a demonstration of their strength. He
holds a thick leaf the size of my head in front of the ant and the ant instinctively
grabs on, holding the object many hundreds of times its body weight. It’s no wonder so many scientists devote
their entire careers to these little buggers.
The tour
ends and we head for lunch at Restaurante Tiquicia, a local favorite. We are greeted by Jose, the owner, who
welcomes us warmly to the open-air space.
We go “dealers-choice” for drinks, letting him bring whatever he
chooses. I get a colorful drink with rum
and fresh squeezed fruit. Mandy is
served a Costa Rican Margarita, replete with an entire Imperial, the national
beer. It’s bigger then her, but she’s
inspired by the ants and muscles through.
Jose suggests the steak, gesturing to the pasture out back, and we add
the ceviche, local seafood chopped onto small bites, cooked only by marinating
in lime juice and finished with local spices.
Both dishes are expertly prepared and served beautifully and simply. Jose is another warm and genuine soul, taking
time to tell us about his restaurant, community and country.
Headed back
to the hotel, we stop for a roadside massage.
Spa Arestetio seems to exist in a converted house part enclosed, part open
air and all informal. It’s empty when we
walk in and we’re asked to wait a few minutes.
The owner calls two masseuses who apparently drive from home and arrive
quickly. For a mere $35 per person, our
sore muscles are expertly attended to for an entire hour including a mud
facial. (Spoiler Alert: the images below contain no images of me a towel and mudface,
so you’re just going to have to imagine that part.) The leave with that happy-buzzy-stoney
feeling one has after a good massage.
Back at the
ranch, we are greeted with the Happy Birthday treatment by housekeeping (I
musta checked the “special occasion” box when booking. I pretty much always do…) On the floor of our room, a big mock birthday
cake made of towel origami and roses, a line of rose pedals and river rock and Feliz Cumpleanos! They were the most delicious towels we ever
ate. Dinner on property at Amor Loco,
the stylish gourmet restaurant featuring purple velvet sofas and a small
stage. Tonight’s act features a guitar player
with a looper and a violinist doing great renditions of classic rock favorites. Craziest interpretation of Pink Floyd we have
ever heard. We fall asleep happily to
the thoughts of the countless gifts Costa Rica has given us today.
(click on the pictures to view full screen)
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