{"id":1932,"date":"2014-08-31T16:29:22","date_gmt":"2014-08-31T22:29:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/panam.whensparksfly.org\/?p=1932"},"modified":"2014-08-31T16:29:22","modified_gmt":"2014-08-31T22:29:22","slug":"tree-houses-and-toucans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/panam.whensparksfly.org\/?p=1932","title":{"rendered":"Tree Houses and Toucans"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today we said a reluctant goodby to Michael and Marianne, Jennifer’s parents. They arrived a week ago and together we explored more of Costa Rica. By this time we’re starting to get familiar with with the roads and the innumerable fantastic tourist destinations on offer here.<\/p>\n

I started the week working while Jen and Quinn showed Mike and Marianne some of the local attractions, including a coffee plantation and a private nature reserve.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The nature reserve featured waterfalls, iguanas wandering around free, and lots of birds including this toucan.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Quinn<\/a>

Quinn had a great time rock climbing near the falls.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Polly<\/a>

Polly wanna cracker.<\/p><\/div>\n

On Wednesday afternoon we packed up one of our landlord’s rental cars and headed for the Lake Arenal area where we spent two nights in the Tree House Hotel.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The rooms weren’t actually built in trees, but their high perch made them great for bird watching.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"This<\/a>

This was one of the best birding areas we’ve visited. Each morning the staff would put half a plantain out to entice the birds.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"More<\/a>

More plaintains and a hummingbird feeder near where we ate breakfast ensured that the show continued.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"P1100765\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"We<\/a>

We went for a hike in a private reserve. It was similar to the “bridges” hike we did with Brian and Lisa in Monte Verde.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"P1100804\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The clouds finally cleared enough to give us a good view of the Arenal Volcano.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"A<\/a>

A 30 minute walk from our room brought us to a waterfall where we could have a swim and cool off.<\/p><\/div>\n

And of course more birds…<\/p>\n

\"This<\/a>

This one happens to be the national bird of Costa Rica, so anointed because it has long helped farmers predict changes in seasons and weather.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"P1100923\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"P1100895\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"P1100867\"<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today we said a reluctant goodby to Michael and Marianne, Jennifer’s parents. They arrived a week ago and together we explored more of Costa Rica. By this time we’re starting to get familiar with with the roads and the innumerable fantastic tourist destinations on offer here. I started the week working while Jen and Quinn […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"twitterCardType":"summary_large_image","cardImageID":0,"cardImage":"","cardTitle":"","cardDesc":"","cardImageAlt":"","cardPlayer":"","cardPlayerWidth":0,"cardPlayerHeight":0,"cardPlayerStream":"","cardPlayerCodec":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-costa-rica"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t