I have a few batches now, so I’m complacent (never happy!). Today’s photos of Costa Rica come from reader Rachel Sperling. Her captions and IDs are indented, and you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them.
In January I took my first (of many, I hope) trip to Costa Rica. We spent about a week in Manuel Antonio, on the Pacific Ocean side. We took a couple of nature walks in and around Manuel Antonio National Park, and we saw plenty of wildlife. One of these days I’m going to treat myself to a really good camera, but these were all taken with either my mirrorless Olympus or my iPhone camera, which are light and easy to stash in a backpack. I did see a couple of sloths – both three-toed (Bradypus variegatus) and Hoffman’s two-toed (Choloepus hoffmanni), but they were high up in the trees, so I wasn’t able to get a good photo of them. These are the photos I was able to capture:
On the drive from San Jose to Manuel Antonio, we stopped at a creek to view some American crocodiles (Crocodylus acutus):
We saw a number of Central American Squirrel monkeys (Saimiri oerstedii), which were incredibly cute:
Then there were these little beasts: the Costa Rican mafia, aka the Panamanian/Central American White-faced capuchin (Cebus imitator). According to our guide, these monkeys can be pretty vicious with animals their own size, and they’ll just riffle through your backpack if you’re not watchful. Someone had to be on guard whenever we went to the beach.
We went on a nature walk in the rainforest at night (with a guide), which gave us the opportunity to see a lot of nocturnal animals. Among them was the Red-eyed tree frog (Agalychnis callidryas):
Masked tree frog/New Granada cross-banded tree frog (Smilisca phaeota) in Manuel Antonio National Park. I’m sorry I’m not better at identifying plants, to the disappointment of my botany-teacher father:
Black iguana (Ctenosaura similis), at the beach at Manuel Antonio:
We also saw a coati (Nasua narica), which Wikipedia tells me are diurnal, but it was definitely after sunset and that is definitely a coati. They’re relatives of the raccoon, and our guide told us that a mature one can hold its own against a jaguar. This one wasn’t afraid of us, anyhow:
Back at our b&b, this Black-hooded antshrike (Thamnophilus bridgesi) came to visit me as I read on the veranda a few times. I think it’s a female, though the sexual dimorphism of this species doesn’t seem terribly dramatic. I did see her building a nest:
On my last day in Costa Rica, I heard a tremendous ruckus in the trees outside my hotel in San Jose. I looked and discovered that the trees (American oil palms —Elaeis oleifera —I think) were full of Crimson-fronted parakeets (Psittacara finschi). They were LOUD and they were going to town on those trees. There were too many to count. Fortunately, they quieted down after sunset:
Manuel Antonio National Park from the water. These little islands are bird sanctuaries that tourists are not allowed to visit:
Sunset over the Pacific, near Manuel Antonio National Park:
Nauyaca Waterfalls, near Dominicalito, where we swam:
Finally, I thought you’d like these because they’re jaguar-inspired. We spent an afternoon at a village belonging to the Boruca, an indigenous tribe. They cooked us a delicious lunch, and showed us how they made dyes from local plants, and carved and painted balsa wood masks. The masks were first used to frighten the Conquistadores. Now you can buy them just about everywhere:
A very cool set! Your Olympus camera can take a variety of longer lenses, and with their small sensor you can get a lot of ‘reach’ on the small camera body. Such a lens can be rented. Or you can rent a whole camera with lenses of your choice. Its really easy. Renting is a good way to help decide what gear you want to commit to. And there is nothing wrong with buying used gear.
Thank you! I do have a telephoto lens, which I used to capture a few of these. It’s not the greatest, but since I mostly take my camera on hikes I went for size and weight. Someday I want to treat myself to something really fancy.
Others (not me) will be able to tell you specifically what mm of telephoto lens on a micro-4/3 body like an Olympus camera is equivalent to on a full-frame body. Something outlandish like a 100mm on your camera is the same as 1000mm on a full frame. I exaggerate, but it’s a lot.
The supposed down-side of the camera is that the smaller pixels in a micro-4/3 mean less light gathering power. That might matter if you are shooting in the shade, but this is a subject beyond me.
Beautiful photos, Rachel! I visited Manuel Antonio about 25 years ago and the beach at Quepos. Wonderful critters.
Thank you! We also visited Quepos and Dominical. It’s a beautiful country.
Great pictures Rachel, thank you.
Always wanted to go to Costa Rica – for many reasons.
D.A.
NYC
Thank you! And you should do it. Highly recommend a week or more of pura vida.
Great photos! The waterfall is like a painting, almost unreal.
Thank you! We smartly got to the waterfall ahead of the crowds, so we had a few minutes of undisturbed swim time.
Really cool stuff. Thanks!
Thank you!
“I have a few batches now, so I’m complacent (never happy!).” Is anhedonia a Jewish thing? When my wife asks me if I’m happy I say that I’m “happy enough,” never succumbing to happiness, which is too fleeting to recognize as a state of being.
On the positive side, I love these pictures. Imagine going for a nice walk alongside a creek, looking down and seeing a giant American Crocodile head emerging just three feet from your two feet. OMG!
Love the frogs. These may be my favorite creatures of all.
Thank you! I love the amphibians. With the croc, I’m zoomed in a lot, but I did come within three feet of a juvenile caiman, who took off before I could get a photo. (The guide was there so I wasn’t too worried about getting bitten.)
The masks look like devil masks from other traditions. I wonder if they were used in exorcism and devil dances before they were used to ‘frighten the Conquistadors’.
They kind of do. The masks originated as implements of resistance, but they’re celebrated as such in the Fiesta de los Diablitos. But you can buy them just about everywhere. I bought a couple of smaller ones (the larger ones will set you back a few hundred dollars) directly from the tribe.
These are marvelous! Thanks, Rachel.