Sitting comfortably in the balcony of the bungalow given to me at the Selva Verde lodge, a really cute one, I meditate among this 22 days trip around the best landscapes in Costa Rica that is just about to end, I feel that the ending of such a long trip, full of rich and intense experiences, leads our minds to the unbearable recapitulation of the events, feeling to which I let myself get deep into, while with a relaxing sensation I drink from my coffee cup, exactly like the Little Hermit Hummingbird, that’s licking the nectar from a flower that’s in front of me.

 The planning for this tour started several months ago, while the reservation process was done. Because the main topic in this tour was Birds, the first place I called to make reservations was this one, the one in which I’m right now; Selva Verde –Selva means something between jungle and forest in Spanish- a lodge highly specialized in fulfilling the Birders needs, besides an icon in sustainable ecotourism in Costa Rica, being also the end of the trip, is a detail interesting to observe, a kind of nice casualty.

The recapitulation:
Savegre Lodge at San Gerardo de Dota.

First thing that happened as soon as we arrived to the lodge is that we were amazed by easily spotting some resplendent Quetzals, these are gorgeous birds so wonderful, that they were the sacred bird for Mayas. In this same place we were invited by the owner don Efraín Chacón, who took us up hill into the magnificent oak forest of his property, while transferred, I was simultaneously translating to my guests, his words that spoke fluently and with humbleness, about the foundation of the place, the story about how once the president of Costa Rica don José Figueres Ferrer, asked him to try growing apples here and how this ended up being the first apple plantation in our country. –Apples are not naturally grown here; only highlands will yield crops of small sized fruit that are generally used for making juice-. The Montane Tropical Rain Forest here, with its huge amount of fungus and epiphytes, gave us one of the most spectacular sights, a very good start indeed.

Rancho Naturalista. Tuis de Turrialba.

Upon arrival to Rancho Naturalista at Tuis de Turrialba, Aracari toucans were right in front of us, eating some fruits from a native tree -it might have been Ardisia- what is remarkable about this place is the big amount of species of birds that you find here, species that are not abundant or not easy to see in other places, the highlight; the impressive reflection of color of the Snow Cap hummingbird. –These are quite rare- and here, still somehow easy to see.
The lodge is framed in a wonderful view of Turrialba Volcano. The food which was exceptionally good, true masterpieces of gastronomical art, made our staying a highly delightful time.
Katy Erb, owner of the place joined us during several meals with her charming presence, and shared with us, anecdotes and expectations of running a birding  paradise in a remote land.

Bosque de Paz. Bajos del Río Toro Amarillo.

A very pleasant transfer to Bajos del Río Toro, shocked us with impressive views of primary forests, following a zigzag road down the hill we arrived to Bosque de Paz Lodge, the nice and extremely fine attention of don Federico Gonzáles the owner, made us feel at home, the constant personalized but never overwhelming supervision, made us feel that to the actual point of the tour, our cohesion as a group of modern  naturalist explorers was yielding amazing results; some of us made comments on how because of been exposed to the landscapes and the inside forest images, some memories had returned form the darkness of the unconscious, to take over and show us the happiness of life.

Arenal Lodge, Fortuna de San Carlos.

While usually cloudy, this time the Arenal Area was clear and therefore easy to see the volcano from far, the lava flows at night was a remainder of our vulnerability as humans against the unlimited power of the volcano activity, the power of nature.
At the Arenal Lodge we enjoyed a great view, and the personnel, guided by Ariana made their best taking care of us, making this staying a relaxing experience. Peccaries (Pecari tajacu ) and Tayras (Eira barbara ) can be observed surrounding the property.

Hanging Bridges of Arenal.
Among many forests we had seen to that moment, this was the first true primary Tropical Wet Forest in which we walked. Here I was able to see many of the botanical species I hadn’t seen for long, Areaceae, Cyclanthaceae, Gesneracieae, Marcgravaceae, and so many other families and genus were there, an astonishing biodiversity can be observed in this place.

Laguna Lodge, Tortuguero.

A nice and smooth car and boat transfer lead us towards Tortuguero, traveling through canals and long lagoons surrounded by lowland wet forests, my guests were shocked by the overwhelming views. We were very pleased while at the lodge with the good personalized attentions from Both Mirna Rico and Jonathan Mendoza. It will be absolutely unfair not to mention the extraordinary skills from our boat guide assigned; my close friend Johnnie Gutierrez, who with his expertise and deep indigenous knowledge of the Fauna from this place, took us through canals, navigating through intricate passages, while discovering nests and feeding places of different species.

Selva Verde Lodge. Sarapiquí.

Towards the end of the trip, it was the turn for Selva Verde Lodge, to close it with a golden ribbon, a place specially designed for bird lovers, a paradise to be discovered, from this place went to raft in a pleasant bright and sunny morning at the waters of Sarapiquí River. Finally, here we were able to finally spot the Sunbittern, (Eurypyga helias ) a kind of difficult bird to observe. This trip was done by Aventuras Sarapiquí and our guide was Morice, with whom we felt we were safe.

La Selva Biological Station. Organization of Tropical Studies.
Our last activity was a visit to this fabulous place, a true icon in tropical research. It was here where we spotted the Great Curassow (Crax rubra)

Here at Selva Verde the owner Giovanna Holbrook was personally taking care of us, a great woman definitely, a pioneer on true sustainable eco tourism in Costa Rica and abroad, I was honored to be able to share some minutes of conversation with her and it was an unforgettable experience in itself, a woman with lots of strength, she also has a magnetic personality and exquisite manners, irradiating through out the whole jungle lodge her unique personality, including the staff, and thinking about the staff, I remember all process of reservations started here with Odalis Smith and it’s here where the trip ends, quite a symbolic detail.

I started to join both past and future, in perspective I could observe the flow of time, and I felt that life is nice and full of rich experiences. I beleive this trip confirms this statement, and even though I still want to keep on traveling, everything gets to its end, leaving us unforgettable memories from this trip.

Tomorrow I will be at my house, watching the parrots perching in the tree next to my window, and watering my plants that Elena carefully took care of, while I was traveling.

Acknowledgments

Savegre Lodge:

Rancho Naturalista:

Bosque de Paz:

Arenal Lodge:

Laguna Lodge:

Selva Verde Lodge:

Aventuras Sarapiquí:
Alexander Baker
Johana Arguello
Tatiana Rodríguez
Maurice Motte

Special Thanks to our driver Juan Carlos Soto from SOCAR, great friend and legendary personage of tourism in Costa Rica

Javier Martín
19 Octubre 2007
Sarapiquí.
Costa Rica.