Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica. Excursion: Pura Vida Gardens

Although it was an overcast day and rain was expected, guests still looked forward to getting off the ship after a day at sea.

The tour I was assigned went to the Pura Vida Gardens and then a stop, on the way back, at the Tarcoles river to see some crocodiles.

As we drove along the road towards Pura Vida Gardens Christian, our driver, was on the lookout for things to show us.  He stopped the bus so we could see howler monkeys in the trees beside the road, iguanas, macaws; and he even found a cashew fruit to show us.  Each cashew fruit holds only one nut so processing cashew nuts can be very expensive, and are expensive to buy.

Pura Vida Gardens was a guided tour which was split in 2 parts so that guests who felt they were too hot or couldn’t walk the second, more strenuous part of the garden walk, could sit and take a rest or wander around the flatter part of the gardens.  It was a good idea because some of the paths were steep, and the heat was oppressive.

Both parts of the tour were nice and Ana, our guide for the day, surprised us with her knowledge of the different plants.  We saw a few orchids, there were a variety of birds too; we saw a waterfall from a distance but it wasn't spectacular because of the lack of rain.  During the height of the rainy season the waterfall would look really nice.  Butterflies are commonly seen in the gardens but today we didn't see any because of the lack of flowers at this moment in time due to changes in the season.  If we had had enough time, we would have been able to go around the entire gardens but were limited due to time constraints.

After our walk we were given liquid refreshments and a variety of fruit such as mangoes, papaya (also known as pawpaw), pineapple, bananas, etc.  Very refreshing and tasty on a hot day. 

It started to rain as we headed back towards the ship via the Tarcoles River and both Ana and Christian were unsure if we would be able to stop to see the crocodiles.  Fortunately the rain stopped for a bit and we got out of the bus on a zipline's property.  We were warned not to walk along the road to the bridge because the bridge was dangerous due to traffic, hence getting permission from the zipline company for us to park on their property that runs alongside the river.  That part of the river was fenced off so that visitors couldn't approach the crocs nor could the crocs approach them!

Just before we got back on the bus there was a great clap of thunder and nature showed her 'metal' with a fantastic display of lightning in the distance.  It started to rain too so we didn't stay outside for very long.

All in all it was a nice day.

Tomorrow is a sea day for the Maasdam, heading towards the Panama Canal.

 PHOTOGRAPHS

Crossing the bridge over the Tarcoles river - there were plenty of crocodiles
to be seen as we passed by.  Best not to go for a swim while drunk!

 

An ant carrying more than its body weight - how does he doe it??

 

This restaurant has a view almost 'to die for' - with gorgeous views

The waterfall is down there somewhere but it is small due to very little
rain recently.

 

At the Tarcoles river on the way back to the ship. There are crocodiles on
the river bank.  See the rain in the distance coming towards us...
Shortly after this picture was taken there was a clap of thunder and a lot
of lightning. 

Iguana - hope he didn't become crocodile food!

I'm not sure if this was a squirrel or something related to the rodent/
squirrel family.  It handed the thunder!

 

Unfortunately I got its rear view picture!