Sunday, January 17, 2010

The Wildlife, Beauty and Beaches of Costa Rica

Costa Rica has twice as many different species of birds than the USA and Canada combined. This white-throated magpie jay, with his distinctive black necklace, likes to hang around an open-air, pool side restaurant at a resort very close to our condo on the beach in the Playa Langosta area of Tamarindo, Costa Rica's most popular beach resort town.
Howler monkeys are amazing. They travel in packs of 10-15 and let out low, guttural hoots and howls that can be heard 1.8 miles (3 km) over land and 3 miles (5 km) over the water. They are so loud you would think that it is a freight train, not a small animal, that is capable of producing such a loud sound. Howler monkeys are very common to see in Costa Rica.
This is a green iguana, even though it is not green. Green iguanas are distinguished by their dewlap sac hanging from their throat, the large scale at their jaw, and the sickle shaped crest running the length of their spine. They spend almost all of their time in trees and move very slowly. They are very common throughout Costa Rica, as are black iguanas.
The walkways traversing the ravines in the Monteverde cloud forest provide an opportunity to walk amid the forest canopy. Costa Rica is the world's premier eco-tourism destination, with many visitor facilities oriented towards tourist activities to see the wildlife and nature. Costa Rica planted 7 million trees last year to reverse the deforestation.
This waterfall is in Rincon de la Vieja National Park, just northeast of Liberia in the Guanacaste province int he northwest of the country. Costa Rica has set aside 25% of its land for national parks and wildlife, more than any other country. Costa RIca is also on track to be the world's first carbon-neutral nation -- by 2021.
Tamarindo, on the Pacific ocean in northwest Costa Rica, has evolved from a fishing village to a surfing town, and now to an international resort. With reliable waves for surfing virtually any time, it is no wonder that it attracts residents and visitors from around the world.
This is a view of Tamarindo beach and bay, across to Cabo Velas at the north end of the bay. The beach is gently sloping, with multiple surf breaks, and the Pacific is warm enough for swimming all year around.
Colorful sunsets are commonplace in Tamarindo. This is the southern end of Tamarindo Bay. We enjoy our two condos in Tamarindo, and the natural beauty and wildlife of Costa Rica, as shown on Dave's Costa Rica Daily Photo website.

11 comments:

brattcat said...

What a wonderful series. You've chosen excellent photographs to convey a general sense of the wildlife and beauty of Costa Rica. Really gorgeous images.

glenda said...

You have captured the beauty and diversity of Costa Rica.

Lívis said...

wonderful!, Do you have msn?
visit my blog?
see you!,
I like your blog!

BlossomFlowerGirl said...

Beautiful photos - I'd love to walk on that bridge. I bet boys like to jump up and down on it!
Cheers.
Melbourne Daily Photo

Unknown said...

Costa Rica is amazing and your photos are fantastic! My favourite is the iguana.

Bhavesh Chhatbar said...

What a wonderful series of photographs. The most amazing one for me was the walkway in the forest canopy. It almost took my breath away!

Mexican Prickly Poppy [Argemone Mexicana, Satyanashi, सत्यानाशी]

Memphis MOJO said...

Lovely series -- I can't decide which I like best! Thank you for sharing.

Thérèse said...

It's of course beautiful! But I am wondering if "green iguanas" seem orange what do "black iguanas" look like? :)

Phivos Nicolaides said...

Stunning photos from a great and beautiful place full of unique natural beauties and landscape!

Wendy said...

Costa Rica is a country with an extremely sense of freedom. The landscapes are for many people the greenest in whole center America. The chances of investments are very high; the average of Americans, European and people of the entire planet who are buying here is up in the sky!!! Great investment opportunity in Costa Rica lots in costa rica

Usman said...

I really like tamarindo beach for summers vacations. tamarindo have natural beauty, adventure, and healthy atmosphere it's carm and quite

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