July 1, 2015, Wednesday, Puntarenas, Costa Rica

In the morning I got to finish my toucan art project using the colored pencils, and hear the talk about the French efforts to build the Panama Canal.  The French spent a fortune and got nothing really for the many years of effort, and left thousands in graves due to yellow fever, malaria, and chagra fever, all transmitted by mosquitos.  The French kept this information quiet because people still kept coming for the job opportunities by the thousands.  There are still cases of yellow fever and still no cure.  85% die of this horrible disease.  We were required to get a Yellow Fever shot before this trip.

This toucan is a combination of zen doodle and having fun with blending colors.  We got to trace the bird to save time and have more fun with coloring.  

Our ship docked in Corinto, this small industrial harbor outside of Puntarenas, after lunch.  We met the bus to the MacCaw Sanctuary at 2:30pm for our 1 hr drive through the country on the Pan American highway.  This highway, which we drove on in Nicaragua yesterday, is just a normal paved road in this part of the world.  We turned off to reach the sanctuary onto a gravel road.  They did have nice clean restrooms available.  There was even a restroom on the bus.  But it was so hot and humid, I don't know how I had anything to give I hadn't already gotten rid of in sweat.

Farm along the drive

Farm house

The birds were screeching as they gave us the talk about how they rescue the birds, keep them until they can be more on their own, and then finally release them into the jungle.  They also started to care for other wild animals as people brought them, as there was no where else in the area.  

Our guide

Some Mackaws housed in a large fly cage

I love the plumage on this one

There were only 2 blue mackaws in a smaller cage.  What a beautiful color

This pair of parrots mate for life

A sleepy tapir

Half way through the tour they served cold water bottles and fresh delicious fruit.  At the end, we bought some Costa Rican coffee, of course, and a macaw decorated napkin holder.  The bus drove through the charming little sea town before returning to the dock.  There is a nice promenade along the shore and local people and families were enjoying it.

Our fruit break

One of the identification  signs.  Everything was in Spanish

Orange and green

The grounds were beautiful and lush.  Lots of rain here.  We are here in the rainy season which is the slow season for tourists

This one was very curious and very hungry for his leaves

These werea the strangest little creatures, about the size of a cat

Another signage

This scene was on the way out of the sanctuary

Today is Canada Day.  The ship celebrated this with red and white colors and flags.

This area was discovered by Ponce de Leon in 1519.  I hate to say discovered by anyone.  This seems bizarre.  I would use the words intruded upon.  This area was a big coffee producing region and the main port for coffee exported to England.  The coffee was brought to port in oxcarts via a trail through the mountains.  Eventually a railroad was built all the way to San Jose in 1910.  We just saw a small part of Costa Rica.  It is an eco-friendly and eco-tourism country.  Aaron and Tricia spent two weeks in a cabin on the shore for their honeymoon in Costa Rica.  I would love to go back to see more.