Canopy + la playa de Ñeque, Costa Rica

On Saturday, July 11 we awoke in the El Ceibo Lodge. After breakfast we gave the students a quick lesson on the Costa Rican national anthem. We would later record them singing it in different places and with different people.

Lesson in Costa Rica

From there we took taxis to go zip-lining. It was a beautiful trip; that is Golfo Dulce in the background. At one point along the way we saw little faces peering at us. Do you see it?

View from car window in Costa RicaView of a monkey from car window in Costa Rica

We stopped the cars to check out the monkeys and even more came along. These are the littlest monkeys found in Costa Rica. They are monos ardillas or squirrel monkeys. They are also called monos titis because they are the smallest. In Spanish the youngest son is often called Titi.

View of monkeys from car window in Costa RicaView of monkeys from car window in Costa RicaView of monkeys from car window in Costa Rica

The view from the top of the mountain was even more beautiful.

View from mountain on the Osa Peninsula, Costa RicaView from mountain on the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica

I was drawn to the butterflies flitting around the flowers. They were hard to capture with the camera, but I got a few shots that were ok.

Butterfly in Costa RicaButterfly in Costa Rica

Soon enough we were flying through the air. It was fun. In Spanish it it called “hacer canopy” since you are flying through the canopy or tops of the trees.

Zip-lining in Costa RicaZip-lining in Costa RicaZip-lining in Costa Rica

The platforms were tall. The guys working there told us how they built them. They had to climb up in the trees and then bring the materials up log by log. The zip-line cables were then strung, starting with small strings and then running lines one after the other, each slightly thicker than the last until they were big enough to hold the weight of the zip-line.

Zip-lining in Costa RicaZip-lining in Costa RicaZip-lining in Costa Rica

While we were up there, we saw lots of birds, but I only got a picture of one. We also saw a sloth or at least a patch of fur in the tree that the guide assured us was a sloth. Can you spot him?

Bird in Costa RicaSloth in Costa Rica

There were seven zip-lines, but we were done all too soon.

Zip-lining in Costa RicaZip-lining in Costa RicaZip-lining in Costa Rica

At the end we took some time to look around and observe the rain forest around us. I was amazed by the roots of the trees. It is shocking how such tall trees can be held up by such shallow roots. The key is that they spread really far.

Zip-lining in Costa RicaTree roots in Costa RicaTree roots in Costa Rica

Other trees were covered in long thorns. I was not tempted to climb this one.

Thorny tree in Costa RicaThorny tree in Costa Rica

On the way back up the hill I found a little lizard.

Lizard in Costa RicaLizard in Costa Rica

Back at the lodge, we ate lunch, and the kids washed up their plates. Then, we gave them some time to reflect on the day and write in their journals.

Washing dishes in Costa RicaJournal writing in Costa RicaJournal writing in Costa Rica

I wrote in my journal was well, but I got distracted by the birds at the feeder. The one bird was jealously guarding the pineapple that I put in there and not allowing the other birds to get close.

Birds in Costa Rica

After lunch we started off on a walk to the mangrove. The Otto sign is a political statement.

Hiking in Costa RicaHiking in Costa RicaHiking in Costa RicaHere are some things that caught my attention on the walk. I took hundreds of pictures, but I will try to limit myself to the most interesting here.

 

Flower in Costa RicaFlower in Costa RicaMushrooms in Costa RicaHouse in Costa RicaHouse in Costa Rica

Can you tell that I am fascinated by trees?

Tree in Costa RicaTree in Costa RicaTree in Costa Rica

On the walk we started to hear howler monkeys in the trees. If you have never heard them, you should check out this YouTube video. They sound terrifying. Gustavo spotted them in the trees for us. They threw feces at us while we were under them. At least, I think that was what they were throwing.

Howler monkeys in Costa RicaHowler monkeys in Costa Rica

Jonathan picked more flowers for us. My favorite was the passion flower. Purple is my favorite color, and it smells good too.

Flower in Costa RicaPassion flower in Costa Rica

Is this not the most amazing flower you have ever seen? It is interesting from every angle.Passion flower in Costa RicaPassion flower in Costa RicaPassion flower in Costa Rica

Svia used my flower to make a habitat in a Frisbee for the lizard that she found.

Lizard in Costa RicaLizard in a Frisbee in Costa Rica

Jonathan also explained how the Guaymí used these gourds that grew on trees as canteens. I should have brought one home.

Canteen gourds in Costa RicaCanteen gourds in Costa RicaCanteen gourds in Costa Rica

We entered the mangrove under this fence.

Fence by mangroveFence by mangrove

A mangrove is the point where the land and sea meet. These trees have to be hardy because they are submerged under water at least half of the time. You can see where the water line is.

Mangrove in Costa RicaMangrove in Costa Rica

Jonathan and Gustavo gave us botany lessons about the four different kinds of trees in the mangrove and how they reproduce. The last seeds produces a liquid that can be ingested. It did not taste like anything really.

Plants in the mangrovePlants in the mangrovePlants in the mangrove

The only reason that we were even able to enter the mangrove was that we arrived at low tide, but even so it was extremely difficult to walk through the thick mud. Several people lost their shoes. Somehow we slogged through.

Hiking in the mangroveHiking in the mangrove

Yorens was looking for oysters, but he didn’t find any. Kira found one, and we ate it.

Looking for oysters in the mangrove

There were crabs everywhere; they had red claws. It took me many attempts to get a good picture because they were fast!

Crabs in the mangroveCrabs in the mangroveCrabs in the mangrove

On our walk, we ran into Luis, the owner of Hospedaje El Ceibo.

Boats in the mangroveBoats in the mangrove

Finally we made it to the beach at Ñeque. As I mentioned before it was low tide.

beach at Ñeque, Costa Ricabeach at Ñeque, Costa Ricabeach at Ñeque, Costa Rica

 

By the time we got to the beach I was covered in mud. My Tevas were also falling apart. I have had them for about 25 years, though, so I guess it was to be expected.

Covered in mud in Costa RicaCovered in mud in Costa RicaCovered in mud in Costa Rica

The kids went out to wade in the water and play soccer.

Playing soccer at the beach at Ñeque, Costa RicaPlaying soccer at the beach at Ñeque, Costa Rica

Meanwhile, Jonathan, Kira and I started scavenging for food. We found coconuts and these fruits.

Fruit in Costa RicaFruit in Costa RicaFruit in Costa Rica

Jonathan found a long stick and cut off most of the branches leaving only one that formed a crook at the end of the pole. He used that stick to pull the fruit down from the tree.

Fruit in Costa Rica

While Jonathan and Gustavo were opening their coconuts with machetes, Kira and I opened ours the old fashioned way. Our method was much more difficult, but I think that it made our coconut taste much sweeter.

Cracking coconuts in Costa RicaCracking coconuts in Costa RicaCracking coconuts in Costa Rica

First, we pounded the coconut against a stone wedged in the ground. Then we used every ounce of strength that we had to peel the husk off. It seemed to have a face. Finally we used stones to crack the coconut open. It was the sweetest one I have ever tasted.

Cracking coconuts in Costa RicaCracking coconuts in Costa RicaCracking coconuts in Costa Rica

We had to make sure to leave the beach before the tide started to come back in. Otherwise, I would have been happy to stay there a lot longer.

beach at Ñeque, Costa Ricabeach at Ñeque, Costa Ricabeach at Ñeque, Costa Rica

I was able to get some pictures of birds before leaving.

Bird in Costa RicaBird in Costa RicaBird in Costa Rica

The walk home was fairly uneventful. This dog threatened us for a while, but he backed off once I stopped and faced him.

Dog in Costa Rica

Our finally activity of the day was to share something from our journal entries. It was really special to hear what the students had to say about our trip. They were a mature and insightful group. They made me proud to have taught them anything.

Sharing from our journals in Costa Rica

If you have somehow missed the other posts from our trip, you can check them out here: day one, day two and day three. Check back next Monday for the post on Matapalos.

Happy Travels!

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About

I am a teacher, traveler, artist, writer, homemaker and a whole lot more. In January 2009, I bought the Cape of Dreams. It was the second house that I had ever owned, but it was the first that I bought by myself. I now live in the house with my husband Douglas, our dog Kahlua, and Crème de Menthe, the cat. Because, what life is complete without a little Kahlua and Cream? I love arts and crafts of all kinds, and I refinish furniture as well. We are slowly redoing our entire house. You can read about my projects on my blog www.CapeofDreams.com

8 Comments on “Canopy + la playa de Ñeque, Costa Rica

  1. I would love to go ziplining, except I don’t think I could climb that high! Yikes! Did you like it?
    The pic of the red flower with the green and brown leaves should be framed in your dining room. Beautiful shapes and colors! One of your best photos.

    • You don’t have to do any climbing. You start on a platform on top of the mountain and slide out to the platforms on the tree tops. it is difficult if you are afraid of highs, though!
      I love the idea of putting that picture in the dining room. I need to display some of my photographs.

  2. I think you should have your “impending storm” photos made poster size. They are truly striking – especially the one that looks like it’s in black and white. That purple flower is really fabulous. Jo @ Let’s Face the Music

    • I actually cannot take credit for that picture. Sara, my colleague took that one. She kindly let me use some of her photographs. Doesn’t that purple flower look fake?

  3. The purple flower is incredible! I will never forget zip-lining in Costa Rica! A definite highlight of my trip there in 2013. The storm pictures are awesome! That dog would have scared the daylights out of me – you are SO BRAVE to stare him down until he backed off. OMG!

    • Someone wise once said that we have nothing to fear but fear itself. I have found that to be true in my life. It doesn’t help to scream – you have to stay calm and deal with the situation.

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