The Macaw Sanctuary/ Costa Rica

11:40 PM Sat Jan 7, 2023

 We woke up this morning to a beautiful day, our ship the Volendam was docking at Puerto Limon, Costa Rica. After quickly dressing I headed out to the deck and grabbed a quick coffee at the Lido Restaurant. Once on deck I was greeted by a vision of palm trees and lush hillsides dotted with homes and small building. The shy about swirled with flocks of Magnificent Frigate Birds and numerous Petrals and other smaller seas birds. David showed up with his daily oatmeal while I chowed down on a small bowl of stewed prunes. I went back for some real food which has become my usual scrambled eggs, fruit, hash browns, bacon and a chocolate croissant. We ate on deck and I chatted with several semi professional birdies and we talked about the Frigate. It was beautiful morning and we were hurried to catch our eco-tour to see the spectacular endangered Green Macaws at the Ara Manzanillo Refuge. To get there we Set out with a small group of 25 privileged other passengers for a very personalized experience at the refuge. along the way we were given a brief history of the area and of Costa Rica. From the landing of Columbus to independence and the importance of tourism to keep the country going. Our knowledgeable guide espressos how the people here are a peaceful people with no military and 54% of the land area of this small country nature preserve. It is a hot, humid and rainy country that was sparsely settled and because of that the indigenous people were spared some of the brutal genocide the was pervasive in the rest of Central and South America, we learned how difficult the relation are with Nicaragua and how the USA had to come and intervene to protect Costa Rica from it more belligerent neighbor states. 

We made a stop to see a Two - Toed Sloth hanging from a tree beside the road. Everyone piled out of the bus to take picture of the animal that for all I know could have been a stuffed animal. It never moved. After we meandered along the coastline and through the small towns and tourist areas, past a sloth sanctuary, a Jaguar rescue sanctuary and people walking along the roads, many of which were tourists. Then we suddenly took a turn to the right along a very narrow n dirt throat and headed up a very steep drive up to the sanctuary. We piled out of the bus to Hibiscus lemonade, sliced watermelon,  miniature bananas and an outhouse. A you man from ‘Germany who had graduated from high school last year has been doing his Gap year working as a volunteer at the sanctuary as he had a passion for a]saving endangered birds. I was expecting a walk but suddenly a stunningly beautiful huge Green Macaw swooped over our head, then another and another! There were at least a dozen. We climbed up a steep hill to the observation are where we spent close to an hour just watching the birds feed, play and fly around. They were aloud and gorgeous.we were warned to avoid the HUGE Bullet Ants as if you get bite by one you will understand why they are call Bullet Ants as the pain inflicted is like being shot. 

From there we drive and othe 40 minutes through the rainforest to the Cahuita National Park and the Puerto Vargas Ranger Station alone with our guide we entered the jungle trek and we’re greeted by a small family of Howler Monkeys climbing about above our heads, as we ventured seeping into the Costa Rican jungle we say beautiful wild bananas, hummingbirds, snakes , spiders and a group of white face monkeys. It was getting hot by then and many of the other animals had sought shelter in a cooler place. From there we went to another area of the park that lined the black and white sand beaches where we say a Three-Toed Sloth and a group of Spider Monkeys and a troupe of ‘white ‘faced Monkeys with an adorable baby. 

From there it was off to a delicious lunch started with Tamarind Lemonade, beans and rice, salad and some kind of mild curried chicken. Then back to the ship with a stop at a souvenir mall.

We boarded our ship, saw a movie and visited with several of our new best friends from ‘England and ‘Scotland as we planned our next evening visiting Panama City. After a delicious meal at the Lido we ran into the leader of my writers group and her husband a retired ‘European history professor from the University of Toronto. We ended up chatting for hours about health, history, travel and the Panama Canal. Tomorrow we spend most of the day crossing the canal. It will be and adventure for sure!