Monday 12 August 2013

Costa Rica photos part 1

Only money shot I will ever get.


Too many photos and too many neat little stories. We shot about 1500 nice useable photos on this trip and I can only throw on a few handfuls. I will try to keep it mostly the standout ones. My internet is so slow it took way over an hour to put these up here. I can sum it up a bit and say this; Costa Rica has some really beautiful places full of wildlife and nice people who really care about their environment. The bugs were big, the jungle was thick, the water was insanely warm. We did really well on this trip and made sure to sleep in nice places and be as adventurous as possible throughout the trip and stayed off the beaten path for the most part. We had to emergency land in Florida on the way there because one of our engines was losing oil. That was pretty stressful. That plane ride was only more interesting because actor Terrence Howard was on the flight with his family. We then landed in city of San Jose, then off to Tortuguero on the west coast with ocean,, canals and rain forrest, then off to the mountainous area of La Fortuna with the volcano and hanging bridges, then off to Guanacaste the beach town on the east coast that was significantly dryer in terms of heat, then back to San Jose for the long haul home. What a wicked trip. We got to see a fair amount of Costa Rica given the time we were there. Thanks Gap Adventures! All the following shots are from the Canon T31 with Tamron 18-270 lens. They are either shot by Brenna, myself, or on a timer sitting on something random. Thanks for looking. More to come for sure.



a Caiman we were feeding off the docks late at night. Bonk a frog on the head and dinner is served

mr gecko gets his fill

vampire bats spotted from a canal tour

big arse beetles

monekys were definitely a highlight. Here a spider monkey takes a leap

a cool silouette of a spider monkey. We were fortunate enough to encounter the 3 main species of monkeys in Costa Rica though out the trip. Spider, howler, and white faced

a poisonous frog holds on for life while I chase him with the go pro around the tree

we took a canoe ride through the canals in the jungle and came across lots of great views like this turtle with what appears to be propeller gash in his shell

we were in heaven

so photogenic

I believe this is an Anhinga

the ocean was seriously like 96 degrees. It was insane

chasing a a lizard forcing him to cross the canal, I blew the focus on this shot though. These are often referred to as "jesus" lizards

Pretty sure this was a non poisonous "frog eater".

the white faced monkeys were not afraid to get close

more oversized greenery

this is the real deal. The crocodile appears so much more menacing than the American Alligators we saw in Florida. The ones we saw weren't much bigger (9-10ft or so) but check out the teeth alignment. Much scarier

Hot springs fed by the volcano hidden in the clouds

view from the hot springs

timer attempt!

a little bit of swindling with cab drivers and we made it to the hanging bridges and did a self guided tour

and they had this waterfall 
and this eyelash pit viper (yes, poisonous) was seriously 2ft away on the embankment wall of the trail at about shoulder height. It would have been so easy to lose balance there and put your hand on this guy

Brenna is over a majorly tall canon/stream

just a cool shot

more waterfalls!

Brenna gets ready. It was frigid and she went first haha

that area fed a really awesome stream

that fed this other awesome pool of water with fish that fed another stream. It just kept going!

an attempt to capture the volcano

there was lots of this on the trip

we came across some really big iguanas too

and got some great screen savers. There were so many of them and I was just as excited every time. Some 1ft long, some over 3ft long

Brenna looks for creepy crawlies

the sand here was black from the volcanic ash. Soft and loamy, like nothing you have felt before

while exploring we found a couple of puffed up and dead porcupine fish, but noticed this was was still breathing

I had to use a stick as to not get pricked. He wasn't strong enough to get out past the riptide and was sure to die likes his buddies

so I launched him waaaaaay out past the riptide for his own safety

we later found out they are terrible swimmers and this happens often. Out desperation and fear they often puff out when they are about to die

then they become food for these vultures


not bad Guanacaste, not bad

down in Tamarindo


nice shot Brenna, reminds me of her Florida shots

coast guard we think

shot from a tree branch

these two macaws landed just in time for a photo

a howler monkey takes a bite of some fruit

random jungle shot

another croc lurks. I was really excited to see the crocs because while there are many species of crocs/alligators, I had now seen the 3 main species in the wild. Not something everyone can say

the canals are prime for wildlife viewing

jurassic park?

well hello mr pinch

I secretly snapped a photo of this coast guard

in town (very small) of Tortuguero

graffitti is worldwide. I don't even know where they got paint here. This was way off the map and only accessible by 45 minute boat ride

now it's getting artsy. I could sell this shot in Toronto for $5000.

maybe get a few grand for this engine shot

cop on a beach bike

kids exchange catch of the day

we arrive at one of our amazing destinations

another timed photo





1 comment:

  1. Hello
    I just wanted to say you have posted beautiful pictures of my country, Costa Rica. I can tell you both had a great time down here. I'm sure you'll always remember this green and natural experience. Thank you for having uploaded and shared these nice sets of pictures. You are more than welcome to come back!
    Carlos Quesada

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