Quetzal Part Deux

Monday, February 20
This was not a red letter day! G and BIL were forced to sleep in the living room, one on a short couch and the other in a lawn chair, because we could not unlock their bedroom door, which also contained all their clothes, medicines, etc. Needless to say, they got very little sleep. Jo and I were hot and sticky because our AC not only did not work properly, but the air it did blow out went over the bed and we did not feel it. We both woke up very early, around 5:30, and only dozed after that. I was tempted by the many bird sounds outside but resisted getting up to because my camera was in the living room. I did note that the bird sounds at 5:30 - 6:00 were quite different from the bird sounds later in the unearthly morning hours. So, not all birds get up at the same time. We still had a problem with a water leak in the kitchen and the handyman, Jou, showed up after 10:30. By then we had mopped up the floor with all the towels we could find three times. Any time we used the tap and it seemed, even when showers were done, we had a lake in the kitchen. Jou acknowledged that the AC in our bedroom was broken, and a portable unit had been installed. However, it seemed someone, presumably the cleaning staff, had disconnected it and put it away. He promised to have it installed before bedtime. He opened the bedroom door quite quickly, using an knife. He did some work on the plumbing, went away to complete a few other tasks and get some supplies, including finally giving us some toilet paper, we had one roll for three bathrooms, and returned later in the early afternoon. Meanwhile, we could not wash any dishes or use the water anywhere just in case. We hung around the pool, took photos went for a short walk and had happy hour. He finally said he had fixed a clogged pipe and left. BIL and I proceeded to wash a few dishes and soon we had another flood. Now I was very upset, and sent an email to the owner, Dave, explaining our dilemma and stated we wanted this addressed ASAP as not being able to use the kitchen or shower was unacceptable. Soon Jou was back and worked the rest of the afternoon on the plumbing. Supposedly, there was a major clog somewhere in the system out of reach of his plumber's snake. He said he would arrange for a plumber to come tomorrow or find another solution if the plumber was not available. So, we basically lost the use of our kitchen (small bathroom sinks are not conducive to dish washing) but the showers, toilets, etc. were OK. We had to go out for dinner so we drove to Uvita, a town about 12 km. away, and settled on an Italian restaurant. Here's hoping tomorrow is a better day and our plumbing problems get fixed. It's a good thing we have an extended stay here, so are not as concerned with losing a day. Pura Vida, as they say here.

Tuesday, February 21
Surprise, surprise, another beautiful, sunny day. In fact, while it is quite hot, our patio, where we live all day long, has a nice breeze that keeps it quite comfortable. Our portable AC helped Jo and I get a good sleep, although it created a huge pool of water in our room. The plumber arrived in the morning and worked for several hours with a snake before drain leak was fixed, we hope. I got up early, at 7AM and wondered around with my camera, as I am want to do here. It produced quite a harvest. Besides some of the little birds I saw, we had  number of toucans come for a visit. I spotted four in one tree across from our driveway. That was really special. It is always a thrill to see toucans. Then I saw two large birds, known as guans, who swooped down in front of our house. A neighbour three houses down saw me and called me over. He asked if I knew about the sloth. He showed me a three-toed sloth in a tree beside his property. It would have been hard to spot if you did not know he was there. Apparently he lives in the tree and comes down occasionally. (No Wade, Jo has 10 toes.) I then saw a caracara, a type of eagle-like bird, land in a tree by our property. All before 8AM! We spent another day lazing by our pool, which was warmer than on our last trip. Still no questral though. We decided that next week we would try to hire a guide and take a bird watching trip in Carara park. The bad side of this was that the park is 1hr and 47 min. away per Google, and birding generally start at 7 or 7:30AM. We would have to leave home at about 5AM! Insanity! We shall see.

Wednesday,, February 22
Update alert for Tuesday night. We thought we were done with leaks. Wrong! After running the dishwasher with no problems, G turned on the tap later and soon found water everywhere again. The drain pipes were sitting on the sink down pipe and held for a short time, but then with added water, slipped off the sleeve because it was not securely attached, so that the sink pipe was open and water just ran directly out. I contacted the owner again, and told him the beer I owed him for being $5 short on my money transfer was no longer owing. He agreed and said he would arrange some compensation when he returns back from Colorado. Jou, the maintenance guy came by again this morning and secured the pipes with glue and tape. He felt very bad about all the problems.
We got up early, for a 7AM drive to a local road leading up the river above the town of Dominical. This was supposed to be a great stretch for seeing wildlife early in the morning. We did see some toucans and other less exotic birds, but then also found a pair of fiery-billed aracaris, a type of toucan I had not seen before and was happy to finally see this trip. No questrals though. Apart from that, the walk was uneventful. We returned home for breakfast and coffee time before heading to Dominical for a walk around and swim at the beach. Dominical is a surfing town. Its few streets are dirt with potholes and ruts. Many of its building would fit perfectly in a Mumbai shantytown. The beach is large with dark grey sand and the palm lined edge was interspersed with little pup tents and vehicles. The dirt "front street" was lined with makeshift tables displaying wood work, shot glasses, homemade jewelry etc., and clothes lines covered with t-shits, beach towels, etc. The vendors were not overly aggressive as in many other places. Perhaps those funny cigarettes made them more mellow. We went to a restaurant/bar called Tortilla Flats, across from the beach. We were fortunate to get in. It looked like there was a strict appearance policy: dreadlocks and funny clothes like knitted wool pants, (who wouldn't want to wear those on a hot 35 degree day), and bare feet. We saw one young guy with a table of dreadlocked friends. He wore ordinary trunks and a t-shirt and a regular haircut, so to save face, he wore a nice long scarf around his neck. We felt a little out of place but what the heck, Pura Vida. Everyone here is very nice, always greeting you. The best part of this restaurant was having my first mango smoothie. They are my favourite and I have never been able to reproduce a Costa Rican mango smoothie at home! After eating and browsing, we spent the afternoon on the beach playing in the surf. The waves were very high. Rip tides are a major concern in Costa Rica, and over 250 people drown each year from them, mostly due to panicking. We were careful and once we felt the waves were beginning to push us sideways along the beach, we decided it was time to get out.
I was unable to connect with the guide I wanted for a trip to Carara, I found one which started at 5:30AM, which would mean leaving here before 3:30 to get there on time. After some thought, I decided I just couldn't do that. Tonight I found a guide offering walks starting at 8AM, a more doable time. We will see.

Thursday, February 23
I think I may need to rename this blog Water Stories from Costa Rica. After a relaxing morning, we drove down our steep, pot-holed gravel driveway, (4x4's are required for the last stretch), and across the street to Playa Dominicalito, the beach we overlook and marvel at each day. It may be my favourite beach for scenic effect. There the long, sand beach that defines the cove, lined with palm trees that offer shade, little fishing boats moored out in the water, rocky lava outcrops along the northern and southern borders of the cove and very few people. The waves are high, making it a good surfing beach, but there are danger signs posted about rip tides. We waded along the edge of the water for an hour and a half, walking the length of the beach and enjoying the waves crashing over rocks. We then drove to Uvita, 12 km. down the coast to scout out where we need to report tomorrow morning for a day excursion by boat to Corcovado National Park. This park is incredible, with a huge diversity of wildlife not found elsewhere, including many cats, pumas, jaguarondi, ocelot, and others, plus exotic animals like tapirs, two varieties of anteaters, and much more. However, after our experience in Monteverde, we are not coming with high expectations, especially since we are just doing a 4 or 5 hour hike, while it is recommended you camp over night at least one night to see wildlife early in the morning near sunset. We went shopping for some groceries and then settled into our pool with Imperial beers to cool off. Afterwards, as I toweled off and took the towel away, I felt something at the back of my neck. I grabbed it and threw it down. It was a lizard 6 or 7 inches long that must have crawled into the towel.
Which brings me back to water stories. When they finally installed the portable AC in our bedroom, the unit went in the middle of our sliding doors to the outside, and pieces of cardboard were duct taped to the doors to cover up the open space between the sliding doors. The tape let go several times and I had to find ways to keep the cardboard in place as best I could with no tools. Jo was partially through her shower when we lost all our water. Fortunately we stocked up on wine so we were not concerned about dehydration. Water did come back on shortly thereafter.
The neighbour we met from Toronto, who had been coming here for 9 years said there were lots of aracaris, an unusually coloured type of toucan, around, and he put out papaya rinds to attract them. We tried it but so far, the best we got was a quick sighting as one did a fast fly by. On our last trip we saw a similar glimpse, but never saw them long enough to get a photo. We shall be patient and see. Perhaps we could attract a resplendent quetzal.

Friday, February 24
We were up early, at 5:30AM, to catch our trip to Corcovado National Park. This huge park is world renown and has an amazing variety of wildlife, enhanced by the fact that it is difficult to access, only by boat or a very long hike, or by airplane. The best way to see it is to spend several days hiking or at the least, camp overnight at one of the ranger stations and do a late afternoon and early hike. Not wanting to camp, we chose instead to do a boat trip from nearby Uvita, a 90 minute trip, and then do a morning and after lunch walk. We arrived at the meeting office at 7AM as instructed, but it was not until after 8AM before we left. Not a good omen for seeing birds, that are generally only active until it gets hot in mid morning. While we were not wanting to get our hopes up based on past experience, I was hoping for a chance to see a tapir or anteater. During our boat trip, we spotted a pod of spotted dolphins and took a few pictures. Our morning walk began at about 9:30, and it was already very hot and humid, even in the forest. We heard a troupe of howler monkeys and spider monkeys making a lot of noise. Nearby we came across a puma, as they call it here. It was very close by and even the guides were very excited. One had guided in the park for over 10 years and this was only his second sighting. The cat seemed very calm at our presence and made no effort to run away. It was difficult to get good pictures but we did manage, with the help of a guide. I doubt we will ever see one again in our lives, so this alone made the trip worthwhile. After that however, there wasn't much from a wildlife point of view. We saw no exotic birds until near the end of the day when we saw a currasow, a large, odd looking ground bird that stood in the middle of our path. As expected, it was too late to see much bird activity other than a few shore birds like blue herons, pelicans and a tiger heron. I was sad to hear on the trip back that one of the two guides, who had led the other half of our boat, saw a tapir crossing a stream we had been at not 5 minutes earlier. He also showed me a photo sent by a friend on his cell phone of a boa constrictor strangling what looked like a chicken in the middle of the road near Uvita. In the afternoon, we walked to a waterfall and then to a small pond downstream, where we could take a cool dip if we wanted. We had an older Swedish couple and an old German couple with us. Before you could say "Get me outta here" the one lady stripped down to her panties and bra. The other couple got fully changed right there. One minute I am looking for white rumped tapirs and the next I am staring at a white rumped German. Later the Swede woman in the panties decided to change into dry panties right beside me. Not what I bargained for. All in all it was a good day, although if we had not seen the puma, I would have found it disappointing. We got home at 3:30PM to find the tree by our house full of howler monkeys. We went for dinner at a local restaurant we visited last trip, where they have live music on Friday nights. The band was the same as three years ago. Apparently, sometimes famous musicians who travel through the area come for dinner and get on stage for a few numbers. Not this time. Music was mostly 70's rock. A good evening but some people were fading due to the early morning and active day.

Saturday, February 25
An uneventful day. we relaxed by the pool and waited for toucans and aracaris to show up. They never did. In the evening we played cards because we had all day to play ipad games and update blogs, etc. I even did my monthly banking online. Nothing interesting to say today except that our portable AC was fixed again and hopefully will hold together this time.
PS> I wrote too soon. During our card game on our deck, at about 10:00PM, we saw the electrical transformer at the end of our driveway blow with a loud bang. Suddenly there was total darkness. Power outages are common here and some people never adjust their clocks on the microwave, oven, etc. because they are constantly going our, often for just a few seconds but enough to reset the clock. This seemed more severe. Of course, for some this might mean a perfect time to go to bed, but for us that is just foolish talk. Bed was still hours and a few wines away. We did find some candles and matches and on the good side, our neighbour came over to borrow some matches, and invited us over. They were from Toronto, and the couple visiting them, who own a unit in the complex as well, were from Kelowna. We had a nice visit for a while until our wine glasses were empty. The aracaris I had wanted to see and what Ron said were often around here eating fruit off of their deck were actually seen more frequently in January. Of course, not while we are here. Surprisingly, power was restored in about 90 minutes because we were contemplating a very hot night with no AC. Evening temperatures only drop to about 22 degrees. It is a surprise every morning to get up in a comfortably cool room and then step into a hot bathroom.