Fruit Snacks

The area we visit in Costa Rica is full of iguanas. We often see them sunbathing on the lawn behind the condo where we stay. There were plenty around the estuary when we took our ride.

The boatmen always have a quartered pineapple in a cooler. During the trip they slice it into bite-sized pieces, providing the passengers with a tasty snack. Our pilot threw the rinds to the iguanas. They were pretty interested.           

STL DPB On The Road - Bite Me

There is an estuary on the west side of Tamarindo that runs a mile or two inland. You can take a ride with a local boatman who points out the many form of wildlife. There are lots of species of birds and sneaky predators like this crocodile. 

No running your hand through the water from the boat. However, I have seen boys swimming around the area where the boats are moored. Perhaps as a result, the sign was recently installed.

Other Locals

Any readers out there, at least Americans, remember Marlin Perkins' Wild Kingdom television show ages ago? Perkins was director of the St. Louis Zoo way back when and had this show about amazing animals around the world. You sort of walk into that when you get out of town in Costa Rica.

While boating on the estuary we came across a group of five iguanas along the shore. I had never seen more than one at a time. Do they have packs or family groups? What with movement of the boat and the underbrush this was the best shot I could get.

The second one was technically difficult with the back lighting. If you look carefully, though, you can see at least three monkeys, all napping in the afternoon heat. (Mad dogs and American tourists go out in the midday sun.) Easy to see the one main face but just to the right of the mouth there is an ear, the head facing left and face concealed. There is a baby all stretched out vertically on the lower right whose fur is a lighter brown.

The bottom two photos are of an identical boat to ours on the estuary and the entrance to the boatmen's cooperative.

I've been really bad about getting back to my colleagues' blogs. It's a week from hell at work to punish me for going away and I have to get pictures of Chef Jujo edited. He's the most interesting person we met down there and I promised him I'd do it.                                

Tropical Water Birds

There is a large estuary between Playa Tamarindo and sparsely developed Playa Grande, the next one north, where a species of sea turtle comes to lay their eggs. We took a boat ride on the inlet. I am no nature photographer but I'll pop the shutter button at anything that passes in front of the lens. Here we have snowy egrets, tri-color herons and a couple of tweeters whose names I don't remember. The guide's English skills and my Spanish were equivalent. He explained about all of them but not all the info stuck. For all I knew the frumious Bandersnatch was around the next bend.  

There was yet more to see.                 

Bite Me

They got crocodiles in the river here!

Actually, not quite a river. There is an estuary between Tamarindo and Playa Grande that goes a couple of miles inland. Playa Grande is a national wildlife preserve. This is the beach where leatherback turtles come to lay their eggs. You can take a boat tour, which we did yesterday. The lower reaches are salt water, a perfect hangout for crocodiles. 

There is lots of other wildlife, particularly birds. I think that's a snowy egret in the second photo. Beneath that, the cute iguana is a much less menacing cousin of the croc. We don't know the birds in the bottom photo. Any insights?