Crocodile Spotting and Bird Watching on the Tarcoles River and Reaching Manoel Antonio National Park in Puntarenas

Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Crocodile Spotting and Bird Watching on the Tarcoles River and Reaching Manoel Antonio National Park in Puntarenas

Ola from Costa Rica!

We were sorry to leave the JW Marriott Hotel as it is a truly gorgeous property and with all tourists leaving and rushing off home in fear of the coronavirus, we had the place to ourselves. We woke up, packed our bags and left them outside our rooms for pick up as we went down to Mansita Restaurant for our last meal in this luxurious place. Today, it was on a far less sumptuous scale than it was yesterday. I had half a waffle with whipped cream, chocolate sauce and mixed nuts, and a small portion of an omelette that Rick shared with me as it was too much for him with one sausage (as the bacon was swiped by the time I got to it). I had decaf coffee and did not feel too stuffed.

Not too long after, we got into our bus for our long drive south to the Tarcoles River in the Puntarenas region where the topography is undulating and the vegetation is more tropical. I sat right in front with Kaye but honestly, there wasn’t much of interest to see and when the bus stopped at a wayside eatery for a restroom break, we got ice-cream and I switched seats and went back to Llew. We used the stop, however, to borrow Bernal’s phone and make a call to American Airlines on the local Costa Rica number that they placed on their website and, as luck would have it, we did manage to change our booking and bring our flight one day forward. This makes perfect sense because although Caravan was willing to pay for us for one extra day at the Inter-Continental Hotel, the idea of giving ourselves the extra day was to see the capital city of San Jose. But with everything having shut down, we didn’t really have access to the museums or the National Theatre which we had wanted to tour. Hence, we decided to get home one day earlier. So, with that done, all Llew had to manage was our rental car booking from JFK to Southport, Connecticut, through Budget. He decided to do that as soon as we reached our next hotel.

Spotting Scarlet Macaws Near the Tarcoles River:

We drove on and just before we arrived on the banks of the Tarcoles River, Bernal spotted a whole flock of multi-colored macaws in the trees. They were feasting on the ripe fruit and were flitting about from one branch to the next. I did try to get a few pictures but as they were shielded by the foliage and were moving about so much, it was hard to get really good ones. Anyway, that was another of the stars of Costa Rica’s Wildlife World covered and we were quite thrilled about the sighting.

Lunch at a Small Eatery:

It was time to stop for lunch at a small eatery where tables were laid out for us and servers were ready to pile our plates. It was also a stop for restrooms. Lunch was very good actually—it was romaine lettuce shredded with fresh tomatoes and cucumbers, boiled mixed vegetables (Costa Ricans do not do much with vegetables and basically just boil them), roasted small potato wedges, a tortilla and a serving of either grilled chicken or steak. Having asked for medium rare at the other places and finding it almost raw, I asked for well-done this time and it was perfect—so tasty as it was served with a piquant chimichuri sauce. For dessert, they served small bits of coconut toffee but as it was made with molasses, I did not find it tasty at all.

Tarcoles River Cruise to Spot Crocodiles and Bird Watch:

People come to the Tarcoles River to spot crocodiles which are very different (in size, form and shape) from the caimans that we saw on the River Frio. We boarded a vessel and had a steerer called Juan Carlos but no guide as Bernal acted as our guide this time. The river was very calm—in fact, the entire region was quiet and undisturbed. It was also really hot which explains why the wild life would prefer to wallow in the water. The river banks were very high on both sides and we saw a lot of cows—what Bernal called Brahmin Bulls (and they looked exactly like the cows in India). 

We started off by seeing a number of birds including a large osprey, plus storks and other smaller birds. There were many iguanas and lizards on the river banks and we saw them slithering around all over. We caught sight of a big crocodile with its mouth open on the bank and we were able to get close and take some good pictures.  Finally, Bernal took us to a part of the river that was way beyond the usual route and we spotted a giant crocodile who has been nicknamed Mike Tyson! He really was very big indeed and we were able to get within about six feet of him! His head stuck out of the water and the rest of his body was in the water but since it was so clear, we could actually see several feet of his body beneath. We spent quite a long while at this spot to allow people to take all the pictures they wanted. When we were all done, we made our way back to the pier—all the time we spotted birds on the river bank.

A Long Drive to Puntarenas:

This was probably one of the longest drives we did—we had another long drive going southwards towards the region called Puntarenas which is a very popular tourist area. For a while, we were inland, but then we began a drive along the coast and we could see the Pacific Ocean quite clearly past beaches known as Jaco (pronounced Haco) until we arrived in the area of the famed Manoel Antonio National Park. From this point on, the place reminded me so much of Goa (it was very hot and very humid, to begin with)-the little bars and shops had the look of tropical paradises in many different parts of the world. 

Settling Down in Hotel San Bada:

The beauty of the Hotel San Bada is that it is right outside Manoel Antonio Park which is what tourists come to see when they get to this part of the country. We had the afternoon to ourselves and Bernal gave us the happy surprise that from 4.00 till 6.00 pm the hotel offered Happy Hours with drinks on the house. We merely picked up our room keys, waited for our bags to be delivered and then made our way to the 6th floor where we found a bunch of our fellow-travelers had already begun on their first drinks. My friend Delilah had WhatsApp Ed me and told me that the pina colada she had there was the best she had ever drunk—and so, of course, Llew and I ordered those. They were really good, I have to say, and as we sat on the roof garden realizing that the sun was soon going to set, it was a great place to truly unwind with new friends.

For my second cocktail, I got a mai tai (which was the first time I was having it after years (we used to have them regularly in Hawai’i). Llew had the mango daiquiri. This too was very refreshing and when we saw that the sun was going to set really quickly, we made our way to the Beach using the short cut tunnel entrance that led directly from the hotel.

Watching the Sunset on the Beach:

As at Guanacaste, the sunset was spectacular. The sky was a lovely orange color and with the clouds having disappeared completely, we had the most perfect sinking of a golden orb into the water. Nightfall came swiftly from that point although I was lucky to get some good pictures. We found the Hinkleys (Sam and Mary) and the Garrets (Jim and Mary) also making their way back to the hotel having just watched the sun go down too. We had a very nice chat with them on the way back where we also saw a white-tailed deer (the kind we find in our back yards).

Back in our rooms, we had showers, got changed and went off for a film that was screened at 6.15 pm in the Conference Room.

Watching a Film on Manoel Antonio National Park:

The Film was a really good introduction to the  history of the region and the manner in which the place became a national park. It told us about the animals and birds that are native to this region and I got really excited as this is a place supposed to be stacked with a variety of creatures. Bernal answered many of our questions. We would need to eat breakfast by 6.00 am and leave for the nature walk by 7.00 pm. For the moment, we were thinking of dinner—and that was where we were headed next.

Dinner in the Congo Restaurant:

The restaurant had our buffet dinner all laid out for us when we entered. Llew and I joined the Gerrets and the Hinkleys at a table for six. As usual, there were salads to start with and then the main course which was chicken in pomodoro sauce (I chose not to have it) and mahi-mahi served with a thick sauce that was very good. We also enjoyed our conversation with our table mates, but we were also ready, at the end of the meal, to go to bed.

It had been another interesting day in Costa Rica and we were sorry that the next day would be our last one.

Hasta Manana!