Read day 10 here.

Ok, this is getting ridiculous - I’m awake at 4:10! I actually turn on the television to see if I could find an English speaking channel to catch up with what’s going on in the rest of the world. I find an ESPN channel in English and find out that my Florida Gators beat one of their rivals Tennessee in a football game yesterday! Oh happy day! I walk around the hotel grounds for a bit before breakfast and this time I bring my camera – I’m hoping to catch the local band of spider monkeys we saw yesterday, but no luck there. After a leisurely breakfast we’re on our way.

At around 9:45 we stop at Hacienda Barú National Wildlife Preserve. Hacienda Barú is an eight hundred and fifteen acre preserve that is home to over 360 species of birds, as well as spider monkeys, squirrel monkeys, scarlet macaws and even a pair of young pumas. As soon as we arrive we take a short walk along a trail on the grounds of property. I finally get to see some toucans – close enough that I can see them without the binoculars that I forgot.

After our nature walk we are given a lecture by Jack Ewing who has been an integral part of helping to reestablish the biological corridor on Hacienda Barú. During his lecture Jack gives the history of the property beginning as a cattle ranch and the gradual change into wildlife preserve. It’s amazing that in only about 40 years many species that had virtually disappeared in the area are now making the reserve home. After our lecture it’s back on the bus to continue on our way.

At a little after 1:00 we stop for lunch at a cute little open air restaurant located on the side of the road that overlooks a valley below.

After a nice lunch with choices that ranged from the local version of pizza to fresh fish kept in a pond in the restaurant we get back on the bus. As we travel along the increasingly winding road it begins to drizzle. Our next hotel, Savegre Mountain Lodge, is located in the Talamanca Mountain Range and before too long I notice that we are actually driving through low lying clouds. Our journey today started at the coast and we have been steadily gaining altitude as we drive along. The closer we get to the lodge the curvier the road gets and our bus driver Didier does an excellent job of steering our bus along the steep mountainside road.

As we arrive at the lodge it is still drizzling a bit and since the lodge is at 7,200 feet, the temperature is much cooler than it has been on any previous day. Once we get to our rooms those of us not wearing long sleeved shirts and long pants quickly change into something warmer.

We are scheduled for lecture by Marino Chacon, the son of the man that built the lodge, before dinner. There is plenty of time though to enjoy a quick adult beverage in the lodge’s bar area that has a wonderful fire going. We soon find out that Marino will be giving our lecture in that same area so we settle in for a warm interesting lecture on the family history of the Chacons and how Savegre Mountain Lodge came to be. Marino’s father homesteaded the property way back in 1954 with two cows and a bull. In 1985 the area around the lodge was declared a 140,000 acre national preserve, the Parque de las Quetzales. The park is located in the cloud forest, and is one of the few places in Costa Rica where the Resplendent Quetzal can be found.

After our lecture we move to the large dining room where we enjoy a large buffet dinner that includes, fresh trout, chicken, and many delicious side dishes.

After dinner it’s back to my room where I take a closer look around. My room has a double bed, phone, alarm clock, and a small space heater. When I go into the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth before bed I get a bit of a shock – the water coming out of the tap on the sink is really cold! I quickly wash up and I hope that the water in the shower comes out hot tomorrow morning. I also explore the closet and find a nice woolen blanket. The blanket goes on the bed and I settle in snug as a bug. At lunch earlier in the day I realized that I don’t have any space left on my memory card. I already had over 600 photos saved! One of my new friends had an extra memory card with some space left on it and she so kindly gave it to me (thanks Pat!!!) I take some time and delete some photos because I want to make sure that I have plenty of space. I still need photos of the lodge and I’m hoping tomorrow when we go to the national park I will get a chance to take a photo of the Resplendent Quetzal.

Day 12 >