Manual Antonio National Park

Villas Jacquelina is a great hostel to chill out! This is the view while eating breakfast! Just like it says on it's website 'Spend less, have more fun!' /http://villasjacquelina.com/

  The hostel is set in beautiful surroundings and is only a stones throw away from the Quepos coast, Puntarenus. Villas Jacqueline is first class and so cheap for what it's got to offer. The owners are very friendly and the folks, mostly from the states, staying at the hostel are just up my street! Although you have to get used to their lingo. This is how they say morning to you 'What's up dude?' Nothing, I don't think. Why is he asking me what's a matter with me? My reply would be simple 'Hi!' The young yank, Jason, would come back with and at same time, pat me hard on my back 'How are yeah doing man?' 'Oh, I think I'm getting a bit of cold and my back is starting to hurt a little' And it was only a matter of time until he said that one word that you knew was coming 'That's so cool bro' It is? COOL! And that word kept on cropping up in almost every sentence that he said. Did he listen to a single word I said? 'So where yeah digging out today man?' 'Oh, I don't know. It all depends on how I feel, you know, cold' and it all depends if I can stand the pain in my back Again he didn't listen to me 'Ah dude, that's so damn cool man' It is? Perhaps he thought I was saying cool instead of cold? What does cool mean? Who is cool? If you go on google you'll find so many different definitions of, what does cool mean? Here's another example I heard later on. A man asks for a cigarette from his friend 'Hey dude! I could dig a smoke' His friend says 'Ah man, I've ran out!' The guy who needs that cigarette so bad and is starting to loose his mind if he don't get one in the next few seconds comes back with 'Hey, that's cool man! He feels like killing him and he says that's cool! While I was at this cool hostel, this guy arrives and after chatting for 10 minutes he introduces himself. 'Hey! I'm Tom. I'm pretty cool!' You are?
  I guess it's subjective. Anyway, Jason was a great dude and had a great taste in music. So does make him cool?

  When I first arrived at the hostel, I entered the reception, which is joined up with the kitchen. This guy, who I thought was the owner, passed by. Me acting so cool asked him 'Have yeah got any spaces? He stopped in his tracks and changed his direction towards the kitchen and in his US twang 'Yes we have. Let me have a look' He seemed to be searching for something on the wall that was out of sight from where I was standing. It came across as an odd place to have all your bookings on a wall tight in the corner next to the cooker! He continued. 'Ok, do you what something hot?' Hot!?  What on earth was he on about? 'The cheapest you've got please' He laughed 'Now that's a joke? How can I go by the cheapest? It's got to do with something your going to do now or later tonight?' A!? Now or later tonight? I just want a room. How simple can that be? Somethin weren't right here and I repeated what I first asked him 'Have you got any spaces?' He immediately shot up from bending over staring at that wall. 'Spaces? I thought you said spices!' We both laughed at the whole situation and then he carried on 'Spaces? ah man, who says spaces? If you said rooms, vacancies, some where to stay,digs, accommodation or availability, then I would of understood what you were talking about. But spaces? Who says spaces? That's a new one on me! I've never come across anyone who has said spaces' Ok, your going on a little too long now mate on the same subject.
    Despite the little funny mix up, anyone who visits the Quepos area, then I recommend that you come and stay at Villas Jacuelina. It's a cool place to chill out.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

View from the bedroom and the path where a female Iguana hangs out!

                 
  Manual Antonio National Park is a few miles away just up road from the hostel and was always on the cards to visit there. After heavy overnight rain, it was surprisingly pretty dry. It was so busy inside the park full of people, that there was a 25 minute wait exposed to the burning heat of the sun! While waiting in line, there's tour leaders from the US asking you to join them? If you say no, then they ask you, 'Why? Don't you want to see the birds and animals?' Well, yes I do, but I'll be fine thanks. And it turned out, after speaking to a couple that went on one of the tours, I managed to see a lot more than they did. If you want to visit Costa Rica, then I recommend that you go with very experienced observers of many many years of visiting the country 'Zoothera Gloobal Birding Tours'  http://www.zootherabirding.com/page_2092820.htm
  It was only when you got into the park, that 99% of the people were going to the beach that links onto the park, and are not really interested in the rain forest. I was part of that 1% and soon found out that my $10 to get in was well worth every cent!  The pics below are in the order of how I observed the life in the forest, however, most pics were taken in the shadows of the trees.

Violet Darter Dragonfly was observed in the car park

Once in the park, I immediately spotted this Sloth. For a Sloth he was a bit of a mover!

Altogether there were 3 Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth

Halloween Moon Crab 

Lizard?

Common Basilick Lizard

And I guess this is what the lizards are feeding on. Golden carpenter Ant

Pale-billed Woodpecker

To see the White-headed Capuchin Monkey, I had to make my way down to the beach where there were 100's of people. I took one shot, (above) and then I was out of there and returned to the peace of the forest

Pair of Black-hooded Antshrike

Central American Squirrel Monkey

Mantled Howler Monkey

 The park was shutting at 16.00 and 30 minutes before time, I started making tracks. In all the time I was there, I saw about 10 species of bird and none of them showed well. While returning, the forest came alive with birds and in good numbers. The highlights included Blue Dacnis, Green Honeycreeper, Tennessee, Black and White, Chestnut-sided Warbler with less numbers of Kentucky Warbler, Golden-naped and Red-crowned Woodpecker and Riverside Wren. Also 2 Double-toothed Kite and 2 more species of monkey, Mantled Howler and Central American squirrel Monkey.


All the Americans at the hostel are celebrating Martin Luther King day this evening. This live performance by Kris Kristofferson ''They Killed Him' at Live Aid is a tribute to the great man and others. Bob Dylan covered the song and also played it in his concerts with the Greatful Dead. Dylan also set up Farm Aid with Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Melencamp on September 22nd '85 to raise money for family farmers in the USA and it's still going strong today. Also playing with Kristofferson was BB King, Billy Joel, Roy Orbison and many others and raised over 9 million for family farmers!

Swimming with pelicans!

Brown Pelicans passing by at very close range. While others were swimming with me in the sea! 

  After all those stops yesterday looking at monkeys, vultures, lizards, birds and going kayaking, I finally made it to the Pacific coast and stayed in the La Flamingo area. This morning I went swimming and a few meters above my head, Franklin's and Laughing Gull, Double-crested Cormorant and 100's and 100's of Brown Pelicans! There was a constant flow of pelicans streaming past me in lines of 10-60 birds . Slightly higher up were the Magnificent Frigatebirds patrolling the skies waiting for the 100's of Elegant terns fishing way out at sea.

Can't get enough of these Franklin's and Laughing Gulls

Magnificent Frigatebird

Brown Pelicans were all over the shop

  I went for a short drive up road and while on the road, I spotted not so high up, a King Vulture with Black Vultures. I turned off on to a dirt track towards where they were. All the vultures came lower and lower until the king dropped it's undercarriage and came down gracefully behind some trees and out of view. It took me a good 20 minutes to find where the carcass was. In this case a horse! But I was too late, the damn thing had gone and I was left with over 100 Black Vultures scrapping among each other. As I left, I observed over 40 Fork-tailed Flycatcher.

Dwarfing the Black Vulture

King Vulture showing a lot better than the one a few days ago at Volcano Arenal

2 Black Vultures getting stuck into the backside of the dead horse

Black Vultures also have a beautiful side

This Iguana was causing a few problems as I watched a young lady sitting on the wall run for her life when she saw this moving at some pace directly towards her! Costa Rica has a successful captive breeding and release program and the numbers have shot up

Like this track a lot! Matthew Ryan is an American alternative country singer-songwriter. Ryan has also collaborated with Neilson Hubbard to form the band Strays Don't Sleep. Ryan's voice has been described as a "hushed rasp, with words catching like vows destined to be broken - one of modern music's most potent whispers." Like the Jayhawks, Son Volt and other artists from the late 1990s alternative country scene, Ryan has a dedicated following but only limited commercial success. Isn't this the case with so many talented singer-songwriters?

Stay on the road my son!

Ringed Kingfisher at Lake Arenal

  And you will be rewarded! This I was and not once did I venture too far from the car. After a two night stay in La Fortuna, at very good digs, Chill Out Backpackers Hostel, I thought that I would go and try some of that cloths-lining thing that those yanks went on about yesterday. I dona know how it works, but I think you wrap your grannies undies over the line that goes through the canopy of the forest, and then hold on tight to the two leg holes of the undies and kiss your ass goodbye! To get moving someone has the joy of pushing you in your back with their hands as hard as they can. Can't wait! But it didn't go to plan. So instead, kayaking in Lake Arenal for over an hour. A bit of a let down, kayaking that is, from holding and feeling your grannies undies as you go zipping through the tree tops. Never mind, somethin to dream about tonight.
  Before all of this, I stopped in a hotel car park and while I was busy taking pics of a Lesser Scaup, there was a  large green lizard, a Green Basilisk Lizard, basking in the sun next to the car.

Green Basilisk Lizard in the hotel car park.

On the small hotel pool were singles of Great-blue Heron, Least Grebe, female Lesser Scaup and this Spotted Sandpiper

Just across the road from the hotel garden there were a male  Viocoloured Trogan, 2 and this Thick-billed Seed-finch

Lake Arenel with the island 20 mile away that I kayaked to

Little Blue Heron

Amazon Kingfisher

The monster Ringed Kingfisher pushing off the Amazon Kingfisher

When we finally made it to the island, as expected there were lots of herons including Little Blue, Green-backed Heron, Snowy and Great Egret . Also in good numbers were Anhinga, Osprey and kingfishers

Banded Peacock Butterfly

   I had only just left Lake Arenal when I came to holt. In the middle of the road there was this 4x4 wagon and begging for food, over 10 Coati of all ages. The 4x4 was attracting them by dripping their fizzy pop onto the tarmac! More cars stopped when they saw what was going on and I thought it would be a good idea to move on before there is a pile up! Another half an hour I stopped again. This time Howler Monkeys were swinging from the telephone wires just above the road! Out of the car and I discovered there were a family of at least 15 in the trees nearby. Within a few minutes, there were cars starting to form a line at the side of the verge when they could see what all the fuss was about.

The males were always busy singing. This one was trying 'Hey Hey were the Monkeys'

This one was getting stuck into Aerosmith's 'Monkey on my Back' 

While this male thought he would be different and was singing The Goodies song 'Funky Gibbon'  He came across as a Bill Oddie look-like!

'Don't listen to that racket son that's going on down below. Uncle Dick never knows when to stop singing The Goodies songs and it would help if he knew the bloody words!'

'At least that's one down that I don't have to listen to singing any of those Goodies songs anymore. He didn't know the words anyway!'

  Another half an hour on the road after seeing the monkeys and some 30 Black Vultures stopped me from continuing onwards to the next destination. They were feeding on a recent road kill and guess what it was? A Howler Monkey! 

This Chestnut-sided Warbler was also next to the road

As the theme was about roads, I was going to play Willie Nelsons 'On the Road Again' But it's also about monkeys and Aerosmith's 'Monkey on My Back' was a winner. Steven Tyler did get that monkey off his back and then he went and recorded a song with Willie Nelson that Tyler wrote 'Once was Enough' He was more than likely offered a joint by the stoned Nelson.  Warning, there is bad language in this clip.