I’ve just returned from a reunion photography trip for 4 guests who were on my 2019 tour of Namibia. It was supposed to take place a couple of years ago but Covid hit the world and the trip was postponed a couple of times. It finally happened with the addition of two lovely guests, and a good time was had by all with many hundreds of photos taken. Here’s a selection of mine.
Costa Rica is a very lush and verdant country and all plants and flowers grow prolifically. Below is one of my ‘intentional camera movement’ (ICM) photos which I often think makes for a more interesting image.
Our first location was in Monteverde and our first trip was up into the cloud forest. One area had feeders for hummingbirds and I managed to capture some of them. It’s not easy as they move at the speed of light! Often by the time I’ve focussed my camera they’ve gone 🙁
Looking upwards I noticed these leaves with tiny holes in them and thought they’d make a nice B&W image. I gave some other leaf images the same treatment.
Our next stop was Arenal and whilst waiting for the boat to transfer us across the lake I snapped these canoes on the riverbank.
The scenery along the way.
Arenal volcano which usually has a ‘hat’ of clouds on top.
Some of the stunning plants around our hotel.
Below – on another hike and looking up at the tree which is locally known as the ‘broccoli’ tree.
It was really overcast and therefore quite dark along the way but I was determined to capture this pretty little bird.
More ICM shots.
Gorgeous orchid in the hotel grounds with a white wall in the background providing me with a ‘clean’ image.
Our first sloth sighting. Very high up and a challenge to photograph but at least we saw it which let me off the hook as one guest kept joking that I’d ‘promised’ we’d see sloths! Not much pressure then !! Little did we know that we’d see several later on – phew!
Bamboo grows very well in a hot and rainy climate.
The guys below are actually green iguanas, but they turn orange in breeding season as apparently it makes them more attractive to the females 🙂
And here’s a female very well camouflaged.
We did a guided walk around the hotel grounds and despite the rain I’m glad we did as we wouldn’t have seen these cute little bats otherwise. I went back twice to photograph them and was successful on the second attempt as I had an ‘assistant’ holding an umbrella which was silver inside and acted as a great reflector.
There were a lot of Oropendola in the area – it’s a bird I’d never heard of before but they are easily spotted when flying around thanks to their yellow tail.
And of course the iconic Toucan. I saw this one in a tree near the hotel room and followed it from tree to tree until I had a clear shot of it.
Huge fan palms shot from underneath make a gorgeously bright image.
At our next hotel we were lucky enough to see two pairs of slots with babies and another one on its own.
The one below was found on a pathway by a member of hotel staff and taken to a tree for refuge. The marking on its back is quite normal and all male three-fingered sloths develop this feature called a ‘speculum’ at sexual maturity.
On another jungle hike our guide spotted the smaller wildlife. Below is the eyelash viper and a tiny red frog less than 2cm long.
We were right on the coast by this time.
The beach opposite the hotel was not very safe for swimming, but great for surfers.
Howler monkeys could often be heard and their call echoes all around. They look permanently grumpy!
A Caiman.
And the brightly coloured macaw.
Another ICM on a rainbow eucalyptus tree.
And finally another toucan who posed beautifully.
I really like Costa Rica. Travelling between areas takes a time as the roads aren’t great and there are many mountains and lakes to cross but it’s very beautiful, very environmentally conscious, with friendly people. The tap water is safe to drink so we ate an abundance of salads and fruits and didn’t need to buy any bottled water. I thoroughly recommend it as a holiday destination and if you’re after some excitement there’s walking over hanging bridges, ziplining, and white water rafting to name but a few.
Yes, I’m in there !
Wow – Costa Rica is the last on my go-to list. At one point I thought to retire there if I could get a decent remote business up and running. But with the dogs, I’m stuck for a few more years here.