Just one of the BIG crocs we saw in the Tarcoles River.
Today we headed out of the city for another day trip. Decided to go to Playa Jaco and stop at Carara National Park on the way.
We did some research before we went and found out that we’d be crossing the Tarcoles bridge on the way to the park and that from there, you’re almost guaranteed to see crocodiles.
Happy to say it didn’t disappoint, we saw about 20 of them. Too bad they live in what is supposedly the most polluted river (the Tarcoles) in Costa Rica. And the reason they hang around there...people feed them. Didn’t see any of that happen while we were there but if you google the river on the internet, you can see all kinds of videos etc. This was the first time we’ve ever seen crocs so we were more than happy just to watch them laying there, catching some heat.
Just a short drive from the bridge was the Carara National Park where scarlet macaws are the big draw since it’s one of the few places in Costa Rica you can see them. Unfortunately, they were a no show for us, disappointing but we did see the following things as we walked for about 2 hours in the hot, sticky jungle.
- -leaf cutter ants (They were everywhere, lots of well worn paths made transporting leaves all over the jungle. Got a pic but it’s not easy to tell that’s what they are)
- -coati (caught a glimpse of one of these guys rooting around in the underbrush but I only got a picture of it’s butt!)
- -agouti (we saw a few of these little guys in the underbrush...too fast for my camera but I did manage to get one half decent shot of one)
- -Basilisk Lizards...AKA the Jesus Christ Lizard because it looks like it walks/runs on water. Lots of them around, got a good shot of a male and female. Hard to get a picture of them running but there’s a good video from Nat Geo that shows it perfectly!
- -other various lizards and birds.
After sweating our balls off, at least Dave felt like he did, we headed for Playa Jaco and lunch. Celebrated my birthday by consuming the best tuna burger ever and a few Imperials (beer) at a beach bar and grill...you’ll love the view.
We finally got in the water and it was NOT refreshing. It’s the warmest water I’ve ever been in, felt like a bath tub. Played in the waves for a while until some large fish brushed by Dave’s legs. After that we decided to exit quickly and try to dry off on the beach.
On the way home we checked out Playa Herradura, a smaller, less touristy version of Playa Jaco.
Both beaches are to be avoided the first weekend in May because May 1st is Labour Day here and all the locals leave the city and flock to the beaches. It’s probably crazy busy there this weekend. We thought coming back into San Jose was going to be a breeze but not so lucky when we got close to it. A truck roll over blocked all the lanes of Highway #1 (the main road in and out of San Jose) leaving San Jose so we got stuck in a major traffic jam. To let everyone leaving the city for the long weekend out, they restricted the traffic to one lane going into San Jose. What should have been a 10-15 minute drive took us over an hour. After driving the incredibly windy, hilly roads to the beach and back, this was not how we hoped to end our day. Dave did an excellent job getting us home in one piece.
Take a look at the ALBUM!