Winter
Expedition 2017
Panama – Trinidad – Costa
Rica – Baja Mexico
Our first stop was the
Darien Province in Panama, which is located at the far eastern frontier, near
the Columbian border. We stayed at the
Canopy Camp (http://www.canopytower.com/canopy-camp), which has very nice tented accommodations
with private bath. The camp is a five
hour drive on the Pan-American Highway, some of which is paved and some unpaved.
The schedule was
full from early morning to evening and more suited for birding than
photography. However, it did give us an
opportunity to visit a new area of Panama and discover new birds and animals to
photograph. Clicking the pictures below will
open an updated YouTube video of our Panama pictures.
 |
| Panama - Nature and People |
 |
| Panama Birds |
 |
| Renée and Dave’s YouTube Channel |
NOTE: Visit our YouTube Channel by clicking on the picture above (https://www.youtube.com/Puffinpics) to see other posted journeys.
Trinidad
The second destination
was the Island of Trinidad, off the coast of Venezuela. Why Trinidad? We visited Trinidad because it has many of the
same birds that are found in Venezuela, which we probably won’t visit. We coordinated our Trinidad trip with a very
well recognized Nature Photographer and bird guide, Roger Neckles. (http://www.rogernecklesphotography.com). It was a win-win for us. Roger knew where to go and what to see. Best of all, he showed us better methods of
using our cameras to capture quality photographs. We found Trinidad to be a very rewarding
experience, not only for photography, but to see that the island was well
maintained, progressive and contemporary. Clicking the picture below will direct you to our photographs from Trinidad.
 |
| Tufted Coquette |
Costa
Rica
During our time in Costa
Rica, we took advantage of visiting three different climate zones, each having
its own range of wildlife. First stop
was the Osa Peninsula, where the lowland rainforests merge with mountainous
terrain and isolated beaches on the Pacific coast. Second destination was Savegre and the high-altitude
cloud forest. Third, we traveled to the rain forest
located in the far north of the country.
Our journey to this location was resort oriented rather than a wildlife destination. It was nothing short of adventurous getting to the lodge. SANSA, the small airline that flies you out to the far reaches of Costa Rica, advised use a few days before our flight that the Drake Bay airfield was being shut down, so we would have to go to an alternative airport. What should have been a five minute ride from the airport to the lodge turned out to be a twenty minute taxi ride from the Palmar Sur airport to the Sierpe River. There we boarded a river taxi that was overloaded and short on life preservers for a two hour ride down the river to Drake Bay, where we encountered large, rolling ocean waves where the river met the ocean. Prior to arriving, we were told to take off our shoes and roll up our pants, because there was no dock at Drake Bay. We would have to wade from the boat to the shore. Luckily there was help with our large bags.
Our visit to Drake Bay included snorkeling, zip lining, a night walk in a
river to see frogs and a cruise on the Sierpe River among the mangroves to see
wildlife. The highlight of Drake Bay,
however was a deep-sea fishing adventure which involved catching a 44 inch cubero
snapper that fed the lodge, staff and probably the village for two nights.
San Gerardo de Dota - Trogon Lodge
After flying back to San Jose, we rented an SUV with 4-wheel drive. The roads we anticipated driving for the
remainder of our journey were not all paved, and we needed to make sure we had
a vehicle with a high profile clearance to manage the roads.
Using all
navigational aids available, we arrived at the Trogon Mountain Lodge located in
the Savegre cloud forest Region near the Las Quetzales National Park. The lodge was located in a beautiful setting, with comfortable accommodations
and the cool mountain air was a welcome change from the hot and humid Osa Peninsula. Although we did not see quetzals as close as
we would have liked, we did go out to see several new cloud forest birds.
As far as the lodge was concerned, we were a little disappointed. I would have given the lodge 4-4½ stars, but
due to some shortcomings, it only received 3. The facilities and grounds were beautiful. The tours and guides were average. But the small wood stove in the dining room was not lit
until minutes before breakfast opened (it is 33-35°F in the early mornings). Everything was cold: cups, plates, utensils and
food. And the wood stove was totally inadequate for the large size of the room.
Boca Tapada, Santa Rita, Alajuela - Laguna del Lagarto
Rainforest Lodge
After loading up the
SUV, we departed early for our next destination, the Laguna
del Lagarto Rainforest Lodge, approximately an eight hour drive. Laguna
del Lagarto is an eco-lodge located in northern Costa Rica, a few kilometers
south of the Nicaraguan border along the San Carlos River.
As purported - "Getting there is half the fun." The last 25 kilometers of the road to the lodge is listed as hard packed gravel, that is, if you call 6-12-inch protruding boulders
hard packed. Those last 25 kilometers
took us 2 hours to drive, and luckily, we had no kidney damage or vehicle mishaps.
The lodge is amidst the lagoon and had basic accommodations with a very friendly
staff. The bird photography opportunities were excellent,
mostly at the camouflaged feeders in the early mornings near the lodge’s dining
deck. One of the birds we were
able to see and photograph (from a distance) was the great green macaw, a beautiful and endangered species.
While trekking through the forest, one also needed to step very carefully
and look out for the fer-de-lance. This
is a species of pit viper, known to be one of the deadliest in the world and
common to this area.
Mexico:
Our final
destination was Baja California Sur, Mexico. This was our first visit to the Baja, and we had two exciting adventures planned.
In La Paz, we spent
two days swimming with Whale Sharks, the largest fish in the ocean. Although they
can reach 40 feet in length, we swam with juveniles that inhabit the bay off La Paz and were only about 25 feet
long. Our guide, Anna, with VIP Tours (http://wp.lapazviptours.com/wp/) had a bubbly personality and was also a certified
diving instructor. During her briefing, as
we prepared to go out and swim with the sharks, it was very obvious that she followed the rules and respected the sharks. It was an amazing adventure for us. The sharks are truly “Gentle Giants.” Click on the picture below to see the whale shark.
 |
Baja
California and the Sea of Cortez: Among the Great Whales
After swimming with the whale sharks, we boarded the National Geographic Ship, Sea Lion, for another great
adventure looking for whales that use the Sea of Cortez as wintering grounds and visiting the gray whales that have recently given birth to calves in Magdalena Bay.
We found blue and humpback
whales in the Sea of Cortez, as well as sea lions and sea turtles. The highlight of the trip was
being able to get up close to the nursing gray whales, where the frolicking young
calves came up to our DIB’s (Demaree Inflatable Boats – similar to Zodiacs) and allowed us to gently pat them while mothers patiently watched.
 |
| Whale of a Tail |
 |
| Birds and other Animals |
 |
| Scenic Baja and Beauty of the Desert |
Then it was back to Maine with temperatures around 3°F and a blizzard forecast.
