2. The House of Macaws
DAY 78. I was up early, again but I don’t need to hurry. I have only 130 km ahead of me. I am sitting on the porch, having a breakfast. There is a volcano right in front of me and I am watching butterflies and hummingbirds having their breakfast on flowers 2 meters from me. How cool is that? I leave after 8 a.m. but it feels like way too late. It is very humid, 85%. Partly cloudy skies, it looks like a nice day. I know it won’t last
I picked a twisty mountain road again and that’s what I got. Very narrow, nothing straight. Just corners, one leading into the next one. Only difference is a radius of the corner. I don’t think I got out of 2nd gear for the first 100km. Nice morning ride through the jungle. There are very nice houses alongside. There is lots of money in Costa Rica. Everything is green. It feels different from the other countries. More tidy, lots of fields, some of them on double diamond slopes. It must be agave harvest, lots of fields are cut and trucks are hauling it away. Looks like a good year for tequila. And people are nicer as well. When I wave, everybody waves back with a smile. Happy people.
I rode through the first bigger town in CRC, San Ramon. You can see full stores, lots of fruits and veggie stands. Looks nice and fresh. I take a smaller road after the town which turns almost into a horse trail. Unbelievably steep, narrow, up and down. Down in the 1st gear and on the brakes. How they even build those roads? I keep climbing and I am only 50 km from the coast. I have to loose 1,500m. The road is sometimes on the top of the ridge and all in clouds. The temp went from 35˚ down to 21˚. It feels good, though. The road down was amazing, again. Twisty and steep and in good shape. I finally get onto a proper road and soon enough I am entering a toll freeway. And they want me to pay! I have to pay same money as for cars. Bastards. A few kilometres further is my destination. Sort of. It is a “Crocodile Bridge” over river Tarcoles. And there are crocks hanging at the banks of the river and you can watch them from the safety of the bridge. It is the end of the rainy season and the river is high, fast, brown and full of debris. There are usually dozens of crocs there but there were only 3 of them today. One really big one. Took obligatory pics and went to have a lunch in a Crock restaurant. It is hot and muggy and the rain is on the way. Well, it came sooner than expected. When it rains here it rains HARD. Nothing I can do so I buy an ice cream and watching the deluge. It is still 30˚ outside so it is like a warm shower. I take an advantage in the break of the rain and ride the last 6 km to my hotel. It’s call “House of Macaw”. I hope there any of them around. I check in and get my stuff in my room. Basic, but with everything I need. And decent iNet as well. And an AC. The ocean is 100m away.
There are not too many guests here. There is another guy here and when he talks to the receptionist I detect a familiar accent. I asked him and he confirms he is Czech. He is from town 25 km from my old crib. A small world. Michal is here on a photo safari. This is his 6th time here. He has a guide and does some serious hiking to get his pictures. Two cameras on his neck, he means business. We chatted for a bit and he is off for his tour and I am heading out alongside the beach to look for macaws. I don’t have to look long. They are everywhere. I love their bright colours. They usually fly in pairs in perfect formation. Bunch them get on a tree and chomp on nuts. It is actually very loud when you get close enough to hear them. And I am snapping pics left, right and centre. Then they get spooked and fly to another tree. And I follow them. Before you know it, I have over 700 pics in my camera. It is easy when I have my camera setup to take 20 fps … Anyway, it starts to rain harder so it is time to head inside.
Off to the restaurant on the premises and start downloading the pics. With a piña colada right beside my laptop, the life is good. Some pics are really good but lots of them goes to the trash can. I am getting picky and keep only ones I really like. But I want more and better pics so I’ve decided to stay one more day here. There should be also some hummingbirds around in the morning. I’ve already seen a few. I want to also organize a tour to see crocks from the close up. Not that easy as this is not a tourist season. One guys wants $150 so we told them to go and pound the sand. His brother is willing to do that for $50. Still expensive but I don’t see wild crocks every day. Lets see what transpires.
A decent dinner with a mediocre beer and it is time to retire to my chambers. Now it is the time to work on those pictures.
I also revised my revised plan, which is no plan. I actually need to start planning as I get close to Panama. I should be in Panama City on Sunday afternoon. Subject to change, of course.