Volcano Activity!

Costa Rica's Turrialba volcano released a column of gas and ash into the sky on Thursday (Friday NZT) in the latest of a series of eruptions.

According to officials, the eruption occurred at 8.37am local time and was a little bigger than recent activity at the site.
Geologist Floribet Vega said that dozens of eruptions have been registered at Turrialba in recent days.

Significant emissions have been reported at the volcano in recent years, but magma has rarely been observed at Turrialba's crater.

There is a video from the Costa Rican agency that keeps an eye on volcanic activity that you can watch here: watch-costa-rica-volcano-erupts

Our tour will be going to see Arenal Volcano, which is further north than Turralba.  You can read about Arenal in a number of places.   Arenal Volcano

For an overview of Costa Rican Volcanos, you can look here  Costa Rican Volcanos, map, and read about the volcanos and see them placed on a map.

La Paz Waterfall Gardens

One of the places we will go on our two week trip to Costa Rica is the La Paz Waterfall Gardens.

Here is their description of what we will see there:

Our Attractions

Five waterfalls, cloud forest and rain forest, safe hiking trails, aviary with 40 species of birds, toucan feeding, marmoset monkeys,  insect exhibit, butterfly observatory and butterfly gardens, butterfly laboratory, two-toed sloths, Capuchin (white-faced) monkeys, black-handed spider monkeys, hummingbird garden with 26 documented species, hummingbird hand feeding in the mornings and afternoons, serpentarium (snake exhibit), Jaguar, pumas, ocelots, jaguarundi, margays, casita de la paz with petting zoo and ox cart, ranarium (frog exhibit), orchid exhibit, heliconia exhibit, bromeliad exhibit.  All of these offered at one place makes us the best eco park in Costa Rica.  

If you want to look directly at their web site, you will find it here:  

http://www.waterfallgardens.com/la_paz_waterfall_gardens.phpLa Paz Waterfall Gardenrs

Looking forward to 57+ species of Hummingbirds!

Facts about Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds are the smallest birds in the world

For their size, hummingbirds have the largest heart & brain of all animals

Hummingbirds have no sense of smell

Hummingbird wings beat around 60 times per second

Hummingbird hearts beat from 500 to 1,200 times per minute

Hummingbirds are only found in North, Central and South America

Hummingbirds visit 2,000 to 5,000 flowers a day

Hummingbirds can consume twice their weight daily

Their color is produced by refraction of light, not by pigment

Their average speed is 45 miles per hour

Their tongues are twice the length of their bills

In addition to nectar, hummingbirds eat insects for protein

Hummingbirds cannot walk, only perch

Hummingbirds fly only 20% of the time

Watching monkeys in the forest: doesn't get much better than that!

Hi!  This little guy is one of the birds I'm hoping to see in Costa Rica next January and February, 2016.  It is an Emerald Toucanet,  and if you go to this link  http://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/portal/species/overview?p_p_spp=298776 

you can listen to what its call is like.  Funny little squawker!

We have a fabulous two week trip planned, taking us from the capitol city in the center of the country out to the east coast, to explore the sights of flora and fauna and the delights of a marvelous hotel and the ocean, back inland to the cloud forest and the hot springs related to volcanic activity (yes, we will enjoy ,hot springs in Costa Rica!), then out to the gorgeous coastal beaches of the west coast.  We may see monkeys and other fascinating critters in their natural habitat, we will definitely see all kinds of birds, from tiny jewelled hummingbirds to much larger sea birds.  We will learn about the culture and traditions of this nation, and some of what it is to call Central America home.  And we will have an opportunity to be immersed in all the wonders of creation that Costa Rica holds, as a unique and amazing part of the world we live in.  

Take a look at the tour itinerary here:

http://www.rostad.com/view-tour_Holmes1601_Costa-Rica-Discovery.html

As we prepare to travel, this blog will be an introduction and exploration of the possibilities for this trip!