COSTA RICA IV: Carara

Okay, just a couple more CR posts to go. Our next stop was in the Pacific lowlands near Carara and the Rio Tarcoles. Much hotter and drier here than anywhere we'd been so far. We actually stayed at this place called Punta Leona. Typical (very nice) resort with two beaches, lots of swimming pools, fancy restaurants, etc. Seemed like most of the folks there were either 70 year old American grandparents or 18 year old European supermodels. Felt a little out of place with our binoculars and hiking boots. But the air conditioning was nice :-)
Anyway, some pics for y'all...Crocodillos...And birding was good too. There was a pair of SCARLET MACAWS right outside our roomWe had one full day with a guide named Johan Fernandez. He was terrific! We had a crazy marathon birding day in Carara National Park and the general area. It was exhausting but totally awesome. Ended up with 112 species and over 40 life birds! Like this ROYAL FLYCATCHER...FERRUGINOUS PYGMY-OWLFERRUGINOUS PYGMY-OWL trying very hard to intimidate a TROPICAL GNATCATCHERYELLOW-HEADED CARACARATURQUOISE-BROWED MOTMOTNORTHERN JACANA... check out those toes!AMERICAN PYGMY KINGFISHER