We don't do an excursion here, and there isn't much to do or see in town. It would have been better for us to pre-arrange some inland tour of our liking. Instead, we just do a slow day.
We go for a walk and meet one of our dining table mates. Debby takes my picture with her.
We walk through a small park.
Beyond the park we come to the sea wall, where we have someone take our picture.
Then we walk along the wall and back through the town and Debby takes some pictures.
The sea wall and some houses adjacent
Another pretty petunia, my name for flowers whose names I don't know
Typical street corner
Debby returns to the pier for a couple of 'cures, and I revisit the park to hunt for birds. But it is too late in the afternoon, too many people in the park, and the birds that are left are too high in the canopy. I return and take Debby's picture.
Back on the boat with no critter pix for the day, I see a frigate bird soaring overhead and go for one last try.
Our brief impressions of Costa Rica are that the coastal ports offer little support and attraction for visitors. Yet I see that Costa Rica has a huge variety of birds and wildlife to observe. We will try to return, but next time to carefully selected destinations, perhaps where nature treks are offered.
In this small port town, we discover no attractions beyond the beach and its souvenir stalls. The town seems poor and hard-edged, although the people we encounter are nice.
Here we fortunately had scheduled our first eco-tour, which takes over half a day. After the tour, we return, go through the beach-side kiosks, and stop at an open-air bar where I sample the local beer, Imperial. It gets my vote of approval to the point that I buy a tee shirt on the way back advertising Imperial beer and also the ethos of Costa Rica, la pura vida. This saying can mean most anything, so I take it to mean the organic wholeness of man and his environment, recognition of which leads to a sustainable good life.
Debby takes a shot of our ship and the Puntarenas pier, from the beach walkway. The ship is hiding in the leaves of the center palm tree. The cause of the blurriness in the middle hasn't yet been diagnosed.
I snap a shot of Debby and a local 13 year old girl on a bench by the pier. We don't get her name, but she seems sweet and tells us she wants to become a nurse. She studies English in school, but confides she doesn't learn it because it seems too difficult. Debby uses her limited Spanish to communicate. Debby asks her how she could be there alone, and she replies she isn't alone, her Uncle is watching her. Then he comes over, shakes our hand and says hello, and escorts her away.
On to the tour. We board the bus on the pier and drive south to the mouth of the River Tárcoles, where two hour boat trips are available around the navigable parts. Our tour guide is excellent. This day is all about American crocodiles and water birds.
Note all critter pictures below are taken from a moving boat full of people. I have the misfortune to be sitting on the wrong side. Quality is not wonderful.
Black-necked stilt
Great blue heron
Tri-colored herons (It was a big disappointment not to get a decent picture of a tri-color; apparently my hope here is that two truly crummy images will somehow add up to one decent one. This is not hope we can believe in.)
Little blue heron, in upright and then more characteristic hunched pose
Yellow-crowned night heron
Yellow-headed caracara (juvenile and mature)
Wood stork
White ibis
Whistling ducks
Semipalmated plover
Roseate spoonbill (hiding the spoon)
Northern jacana
Crocodile sunning
Frigate bird
The sea wall and some houses adjacent
Another pretty petunia, my name for flowers whose names I don't know
Typical street corner
