After a final look at the bird and bromeliads at the Las Cruces Botanical station (see previous blog) and we packed our bags and we were on our way to Talari Mountain Lodge.
Bird Guide outside the dining hall
Though we enjoyed the gardens and jungle, were looking forward to a bit better food, drier weather, and better internet.
Scenes along the way and our lunch stop
In the morning we drove past the more agriculturally developed parts of Costa Rica. Lots of pineapple and sugar cane fields.
Pineapple fields
Sugarcane in bloom
Sugarcane fields at various stages
San Isidro De el General
Before lunch we stopped at the town of San Isidro De el General and had some time to explore a bit.
This must the church honored in the town's name
Inside was nice but a bit austere
I forge why the statue in the main square was of a woman plowing
Nice mature Bismarkia palms in the town square
Lunch Stop
Our lunch stop, with lots of colorful birds.
The restaurant was at the bottom of a steep hill
They had a fruit just outside the open air dining area where we were able to get a closeup view of the many colorful birds.
A river ran below the our lunch spot
We spent most of the day on the bus crossing the highest point on the Pan American Highway at 12,000 feet. Earlier in October, I was in Peru and we frequently were on the Pan American Highway. We also crossed the Andes several times with summits over 15,000 feet. However, the highway in Peru mostly follows the coastline, so the highest elevations of the highway are much further north in Costa Rica.
Photo of iPhone screen near the summit of the Pan American Highway
During the construction of the Pan-American Highway during the 50s, many workers relocated into this area and stayed. Today small villages in the highlands are populated by descendants of the workers.. The region has a special importance for conservation as well as Eco-tourism.
Restaurant near the summit of the Pan American Highway
Some sort of giant thistle
Closeup of thistle
Both white and pink flowered Dahlia imperialis along with many other flowers grew along the highway. Unfortunately, being on a bus on a curvy mountain road, we weren't able to stop and take a closer look.
Very excited to see all the tree dahlias growing along the highway
Talari Mountain Lodge
Turning off the Pan American highway we headed down a very narrow and windy road to Talari Mountain Lodge in San Isidro del General. The lodge and reserve protects a small patch of subtropical forest in an otherwise heavy agricultural area of south central Costa Rica. Cerro de la Muerte is considered a birdwatcher's paradise with the iconic resplendent Emerald toucanetand hummingbirds being fairly common sightings. We stayed in somewhat rustic cabin-like rooms that due to the elevation were quite chilly at night but set in a beautiful garden setting with a running stream. Here we say many wonderful and colorful birds.
Not exactly what we expecting, but a garden with many succulents was in front of the concierge desk
Some very happy echeverias
To get to our cabin we had go walk through several gardens planted with exotic plants that wound past other cabins and crossed a small stream several times.
There were several very large Abyssinian Banana, Ensete ventricosum
We saw this plant in many places throughout Costa Rica
Unfortunately, we were traveling with plant people, so didn't learn the names of most of the birds
Even so, I know this is a hummingbird. There were several different species that frequented the feeders.
More Echeverias. Echeverias are succulents native mostly to central and southern America
There were several Gunneras growing in the garden
Hike in the old grown forest above the lodge
We rode 4-wheel drive open air vehicles to the high up in the forest and then walked back down through the dense forest to the lodge.
The old growth trees at the top of the trail were impressively large and tall
In areas the tree canopy blocked out all of the direct sunlight
Life on life. Anything that held still was covered with plant life
Areas of palms were in the undergrowth mostly near the mountain stream
Bromelias and mosses covered the branches of many trees
A few tree ferns grew in the jungle
Scott and friend admiring the size of one of the tree trunks
The upper part of the trail mostly followed and crossed this stream several times
A few wildflowers appeared in brighter areas
Many species of fungi were everywhere decaying all of the debris and dead plants
An unknown large leafed plant
An epiphytic blueberry in bloom. How cool is that?
More Bromeliads
One of the wider and flatter parts of the trail
A colorful moss
Not sure what this epiphyte is. Maybe a small fern?
A bit suspicious that this isn't a native plant
A colorful bromeliad
More moss and bromeliads
Non-native Melastoma. These are invasive plants in many tropical areas around the world.
An armed leaf growing from an even spiker stem
More moss
Recognizable as a Castilleja, but I don't know the species. These are often semi-parasitic plants
Moss in bloom
A turkey fungus
Another likely introduced plant
Hike along the River below the lodge
On our last day at the lodge, Scott and I ventured out and walked along the road and then a trail below the property to explore the running river and waterfalls. It also goes through part of the Parque Nacional Los Quetzales. We were also looking for the resplendent quetzal and Emerald toucanet, known to be in the area, but didn't spot any.
We hike along this river into the dense jungle around it
There were homes along the road and most had planted gardens
Streptosolen jamesonii (Marmalade Bush) - Native to South America
Just before entering the National Park, was a large private garden with ponds and lovely plantings
Non-native Melastoma
A trout fish hatchery along side the river
Countless small waterfall along the river
We were losing daylight, so taking photos wasn't always possible, but here is one of the large old growth trees
The next morning we packed up to head back to San Jose, but before that we would spend the day touring two of the most beautiful private gardens we visited on the tour.
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