Fort Lauderdale, USA

Well, the vacation is almost over. I spent the weekend in Fort Lauderdale exploring parts of the city in the evenings and relaxing in the pool or hotel room during the day cause the heat is just unbearable. I have taken a few pictures at the beach, but be warned: they display not as much wildlife as usual. ;)

It seems I was quite lucky to not have experienced any really intense consequences of Irene as here it's all quiet and peaceful. Still wallowing in thoughts of the beautiful days I spent on the Bahamas. A great bunch of people and lots of great experiences...good memories!!

I hope you are all good, cheers,

Stefan

P.S.: I added a few more pictures to the Bimini album, too

Leaving Bimini

Here we are at the Bimini airport, almost an hour of waiting for the customs officers to come in now. Don't know whether they were hiding from the storm, but it really wasn't that bad at all. Dany's flight already got cancelled yesterday but we seem to be the lucky ones to fly out soon, depending on the mood the customs guys are in. If things go as planned I will spend the weekend in Fort Lauderdale diving, maybe kite-surfing and definitely shopping. No trip to the Keys or the Everglades, I am in chill mode right now.

Cheers,

Stefan

Bimini, Bahamas

So here we are. The Bahamas. On a boat called Indigo and the name suits it perfectly. A liveaboard boat, 18m long and made of steel with a deep blue skin. Since Sunday we are on board, a crew of three and 4 guests. 2 from Canada, 3 from the US, 2 from Switzerland and myself. Had to skip the first day cause we waited for a honeymoon couple who was too late for the morning flight and finally decided to cancel everything due to the hurricane warning we received. By now we got news that it will only be a tropical storm (60-70mph) and we came back into dock just minutes ago.

Three beautiful days we spent out on the crystal clear, light blue sea. Went snorkeling and got towed behind the boat on our first dolphin tour. 29 spotted dolphins upon first contact. Unbelievable. The came so close that they almost touched me. Extremely curious and playful. And the best thing is: its all their choice. They can leave anytime but they "decided" to spend time with us. Even when we let go off the rope to swim with them. Incredible. Another 13 individuals on our trip yesterday which I took pictures and videos of. I still don't know what to say, out of the many, many encounters I had with animals this clearly was one of the most amazing.

Today we went to a reef nearby and spent 90 minutes snorkeling, saw lemon sharks, lobsters, parrot fish and I swam with two huge adult eagle rays, then had another 2 hours with the "local" stingrays. They like to rub onto you and when the do they almost cuddle. Like a cat they like to be caressed on their wings and "noses" and they hung out with us the whole time we were in the water. Another wow out of the many I had on this trip.

So tonite, since the tropical storm is coming up, we will spend in the harbour to have some delicious seafood in the local restaurant and then try to sleep on the ship. Which will be very interesting. No need to worry though, the hurricane won't hit us, there will just be strong winds and rain.

So take a look at the pictures if you like and feel free to leave your comments.

Cheers,

Stefan

August 21st: Bimini, Bahamas

Took off from FLL Executive Airport this morning, got to sit in the co-pilot's seat which was quite cool. Now we're on a 16m boat called Indigo and it looks like it's gonna be a dream.

The 2nd charger for my netbook definitely died, too, so no more pictures at the moment, sorry. Tiger sharks, rays, turtles and dolphins coming up, fingers crossed. And yeah, a hurricane, too, but that's gonna be by the end of the week, so no worries. ;)

Cheers,

Stefan

August 20th: Stopover in Fort Lauderdale

Not really much to say about the Holiday Inn, my place to stay Ft. Lauderdale until my flight to Bimini takes off tomorrow morning. A simple business hotel. Nothing going on anywhere in the area as downtown is 10 miles away. Did my laundry, since most clothes smelt funny from the last few days travelling in Costa Rican humidity. I have to admit though that it's not much better here. Maybe even worse. :) Thank god I only stay one night at this otherwise boring place. Had my fill of sushi tonite and will hopefully go to bed soon. :)

I added a few more pictures of waver crabs, bats and an iguana as well as the goodbye pictures Kata, Peter and I took on the balcony of the Alajuela Backpackers last night.

Nighty,

Stefan

August 17th until 19th, 2011: Corcovado National Park

Wake up time for the trip to Corcovado National Park was at 5am. Quick breakfast at 5:30 and off we went in a boat at 6. Well, exciting 60 minutes they were. Shortly after we took off we spotted a school of 150+ false killer whales, no idea what the german term is. Then we saw a humpback whale with a baby but we only got a glimpse of the peaceful two. When we arrived close to Sirena Ranger Station we prepared for a 3 hour hike through the jungle and along the beach. We saw toucans, a woodpecker, spider monkeys, lizards, termite mounds (they say termites taste like peanut butter but I tried them and cannot confirm that), a white-nosed coati feeding on turtle eggs, great curassows, a bare-throated tiger heron, black vultures, a crested caracara, a grey hawk, an ant eater and more monkeys. :)

After a short sandwich lunch at Sirena Ranger Station we continued our trip through the jungle. We got really close to a troop of squirrel monkeys which I could take great pictures of. Our guide tried to find the bush pigs which had apparently left their very "fresh" tracks, but the search was in vain. Which wasn't really a problem for me as they have a rather bad reputation when it comes to greeting people hiking in the jungle. I know that the african bush pigs have to be dealt with the greatest attention so that seems to be the ultimate rule for this species. No cats were seen on that trip but that was what I almost expected after I talked to a few guides. Honestly...most of the time the joke was on me when I mentioned that I would love to see a cat. History repeating cause on Borneo it was the same sad situation. Well, not really sad as anything else that comes along is just as good. And Corcovado literally throws the wildlife right at you. A crazy place which was mentioned to be one of the most biodiverse areas on earth by the National Geographic Society.

On the boat trip back "home" we got to see the humpback whale and her baby again. This time the little one was just full of beans. It jumped constantly and we saw the whole body during that display of playfulness. Another amazing sight, though it was really hard to take pictures from the moving boat, which is why only a few came out right/ok. So the rest of the day was just relaxing in our hammocks and getting eaten alive by the moskitos. Which really wasn't a hard goal to accomplish. :)

Yesterday we went hiking without a guide which was also quite nice. A short stop for a swim at a lonely beach completed the rather laid back first half of the day (we started at 7am and came back at 2pm). Besides lots of lizards a snake I couldn't identify, more toucans, a big boa constrictor, a few spider monkeys very close-up and a hummingbird were what we spotted on that trip. We went to Paul's seafood restaurant in the afternoon and had some amazing dorada, snook and wahoo caught by the local fishermen the night before. The terrace was a great place to watch a few huge iguanas in a tree nearby and some beautiful birds (blue-gray & Passerini's tanager) feeding on ripe bananas. I bet we could have stayed there all day to see more wildlife cause even the town is just full of it. Right after we went to the bay to take pictures of the sunset but we were surprised by -guess what- another heavy troipcal rain which lasted really long so we took shelter in a building which -as we found out later- is one of the local churches. After packing our bags a huge storm announced its arrival with a scary, rolling thunder. The night was a toss and tumble as lightning struck very close to the cabinas, at one point I almost felt like it hit my bathroom. I heard that noise so close in my life.

So this morning we took the early boat to Sierpe to have time for our tripup the pacific coast but unfortunately, as mentioned earlier, I left my key back in the room and now we have to wait for the afternoon boat to get here. Fortunately this place is really nice and Kata&Peter don't really mind. So another drive after dark it will be. :( Anyway...pura vida! :)

Before I forget: new pictures can be found here.

Cheers,

Stefan

August 16th, 2011: On the road to Drake Bay and Corcovado National Park

That day we took off at noon for the 1,5h trip to Sierpe where we switched from the car to a boat taxi to Drake Bay. Another heavy tropical rain shower while on the boat, we got soaking wet and I am happy I was able to "save" my camera", which I really could have avoided if I had taken some raincoat and plastic bag out of my backpack beforehand, but hey, you never really stop learning. Upon arrival 90 mins later we, however, quickly found accomodation at a place in Drake Bay, which is run by the very nice and friendly family Manolo. That's thanks to a belgian family we met on the boat and who were booked into that place so we even got a car ride to the cabinas which on foot would have been a pain with all the luggage we have. All we did that evening was to book a tour to Corcovado, have dinner at the restaurant and then relax in the hammocks they have put up for the guests. I fell asleep to the amazingly beautiful sounds of the nearby primary rainforest. 

August 11th until 15th, 2011: Tortuguero National Park

So finally I have the time to write a few lines as I forgot the car keys in Corcovado National Park and now we have to wait for the afternoon boat to bring them. I'll just try not to be too upset and stick to the "pura vida" feeling I got a glimpse of here in Costa Rica. :)

So the last couple of days in Tortuguero National Park were simply amazing. It all started off with a crazy taxi ride directly from San José airport to La Pavona, the little harbour where the river boats to Tortuguero take off from. Everybody had told me that if I'd arrive around noon I'd never make it up to the carribean coast on the same day since I had to catch the last boat at 4pm, but the taxi driver was quite confident he'd make it and we agreed on a really good fee, so that was that. I was, however, quite nervous about everything due to my lack of experience with Costa Rican means of transportation. We shared a local snack (yucca frita con carne and patatos fritas con queso) halfway through and then continued the race down to La Pavona. At some point he told me that he had never driven further than "that road" and well...it didn't exactly add to a more "tranquil" state of consciousness. To cut a long story short: we made it right on time and I only had a couple of minutes to buy the ticket before the boat took off. Following that were 90 minutes of pure magic as it was an amazing ride through the jungle. The forest was a little hazy and there were animals everywhere. Words really can't describe these breath-taking moments.

When we arrived in Tortuguero it was almost dark and I was happy to receive news from Barbara, a german biologist I had contacted before I went to COsta Rica about available cabinas in an "ok" place. Besides 10$ a night weren't that bad. Let me put it this way: it had four walls, a roof, a bed and a bathroom. Good for 2 nights. After that I had to look for a different one since it was fully booked. Right after I went for a "turtle walk" with Barbara. Didn't know what to expect but right after we came to the beach there was this huge sea turtle lying down in a hole she had dug before in some kind of a trance state to lay her 200+ eggs. No one is allowed to take pictures as the research team wants them to be as undisturbed as possible. So after approx. 30 mins of laying her eggs she would wake up, cover them with sand and head back to the sea. I was told that at the time they are in that trance they are most vulnerable to predators, especially jaguars. Well, jaguars are one reason I came to Costa Rica for but of course I wouldn't want to see one eating a turtle. :(

The next morning I went to have breakfast at a local bakery and they served delicious fruit salad with banana bread and great Costa Rican coffee. I had an interesting conversation with a hungarian couple, Kata and Peter, who seem to be into wildlife as much as I am so we decided to take a jungle walk together on that same day. And oít was great, I can tell you that. It's just amazing to be accompanied by someone who walks as slow as you are and who is as interested in insects, reptiles, mammals and plants. We spent 7 hours in the jungle and I took the first lot of cool pictures. The next morning I went on a 3,5h canoe trip with Barbara which was one of the really rewarding experiences cause we just saw so much, you wouldn't believe. Snakes, monkeys, lizards, birds, spiders and caymans all over the place, Just "wow!". The rest of the day was just relaxing at the beach with Kata, Peter and Jordi, a guy from Spain I had met on the boat ride to Tortuguero and who also stayed at the new place I moved to that day, the Cabinas Balcon del Mar.

On the last day we went into the jungle again but this time it we took it really slow as the heat and humidity simply takes you out after a while. Crazy. Later in the afternoon I met a few girls from San José and took them to the jungle to find the spider monkeys we had spotted before but unfortunately they had disappeared. So much for trying to be the wanna-be guide, but hey, shit happens. :) Some more local food (rice, beans and chicken) in the evening and we called it a night. Which was horrible though. Full moon and no sleep at all (blood on the sheets though...just kidding). The worst preparation for a day of driving cause after we (Kata, Peter and myself) took the boat back to La Pavona and the bus to San José we got ourselves a rental car to drive down to Corcovado national park. Horrible ride down to our overnight stay in Dominical since all the ramps onto the highway were closed which is why it took us 7 hours instead of 3, plus driving after dark through heavy tropical rains. The stay at the surfer backpackers place was good though. Quite relaxed and cheap. And good to relax for the upcoming days in Corcovado.

So that's it for Tortuguero, cheers,

Stefan

Pictures can be found here.

Jungle Walk no. 2 and "Frog walk"

Hi everyone, still in Tortuguero, I (we?) will leave to some other place tomorrow, no idea, where to yet. :) I have made 2 new little trips to the jungle today, so the pics are updated. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Stefan

Tortuguero National Park

So I finally arrived in Costa Rica despite of all the trouble with the cancelled flight. Too tired to write a lot, the pictures were taken in the boat taxi to Tortuguero, during yesterday's jungle walk and today's canoe trip in the early morning. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Stefan

Preps

Thank god, the flights are booked. 10 days of Costa Rican jungle, one week with Dolphin Expeditions and a weekend in Fort Lauderdale ahead of me. Getting those plane tickets for a somewhat reasonable price was quite a pain, but now things are getting sorted. I still need a 4x4 for Costa Rica and accomodation in Corcovado National Park, but that should be possible soon as I have gotten a few quotes yesterday. Fingers crossed.

It looks like this time I won't be able to bring the whole plethora of my camera equipment since I don't wanna take a risk with the total of 6 flights I have ahead of me. But we'll see about that. Will try to keep you updated as soon as there's a wireless hotspot available. :)

Thanks for your interest and cheers,

Stefan