18
Jun

A Remote Float – Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica

Posted on June 18th, 2013 :: Posted in bird watching, birds, Boat, Central America, Costa Rica, Guided Tours, Lake, National Park, River

To say Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge is remote is an understatement. Located in Northern Costa Rica less than 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the border with Nicaragua, travelers usually get here as part of group tours. Because we’re on a road trip (and we hate group tours, just sayin’) we drove ourselves to Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge from Rincon de la Vieja National Park, but that doesn’t mean it was easy.

Though the area is reached via a numbered highway (#4 to be exact) it was well into the process of crumbling apart leaving gaping potholes in the beleaguered pavement which required radical swerving and slow speeds to avoid the most cavernous of them. Welcome to Costa Rica where even the numbered highways will kill your car.

Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre Caño Negro

The humble entrance to Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge in northern Costa Rica.

After such a jarring overland journey it was a relief to get into a boat. There are no trails in the Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge because it’s made up of 12 lagoons connected by waterways and Lake Caño Negro which is fed by the Rio Frio. Volcanoes loom in the distance (including Tenorio, Maravillas and Arenal). Animals surround you. And there’s not a pothole in sight.

Boat tour Cano Negro National Wildlife Reserve, Costa Rica

There are no trails in Costa Rica’s Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge so boats are the only way to go.

On a clear day a whole string of volcanoes can be seen from Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge in Costa Rica, including Tenorio (seen here), Maravillas, Rincon de la Vieja and Arenal.

The animals of Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge

Volcanoes are cool and all, but the real highlight of any tour of Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge (US$35 per person including a guide/boatman, roughly 1.5 hours) is the wildlife. We saw caimans, a whole host of birds, huge fish, frogs, trees full of monkeys, cool lizards and more (though the area’s pumas and jaguars took the day off).

Here are some Caño Negro wildlife highlights.

Birdwatching Jicana Cano Negro, Costa Rica

A jicana hunts for lunch in Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge in Costa Rica.

Caiman crocodile Cano Negro National Wildlife Reserve, Costa Rica

This was one of the smaller caimans we saw in Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge.

Birding juvenile Tiger Heron Cano Negro Costa Rica

We saw or first juvenile tiger heron in Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge and its stripy coloration (which they lose in adulthood) made their name make sense.

Basilisk Cano Negro National Wildlife Reserve, Costa Rica

Can a lizard be sexy? We think this basking baselisk in Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge comes close.

An egret glides through Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge in Costa Rica.

Purple Gallinule birds of Cano Negro Costa Rica

This bird’s name, purple gallinule, is as impressive as its look.

Bird watching juvenile Jicana Cano Negro Costa Rica

A juvenile jicana tries its wings on for size in Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge in Costa Rica.

Mantled Howler Monkey Cano Negro Costa Rica

This male mantled howler monkey was just hanging out on a branch over the water in Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge.

Touring waterways of Cano Negro Costa Rica

The shores of the waterways in Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge are a haven for all kinds of critters.

Birding boat tour in Cano Negro National Wildlife Reserve Costa Rica

The trail left behind by our boat as we toured Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge in Costa Rica.

Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge Travel Tips

We stayed at Caño Negro Natural Lodge (US$120 double including continental breakfast) which is located just a short stroll from where the tour boats depart from. The lodge has its own wildlife-filled grounds and a pool along with 42 motel-style rooms. Some have been recently renovated so be sure you get one of those.

During the dry season (November to March) the wetlands of the Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge dry up considerably, shrinking the boatable area. For maximum access visit in the wet season. Skies are clearest in October, affording the best views of Arenal Volcano, Tenorio Volcano, Maravillas Volcano and Rincon de la Vieja Volcano in the distance.

Ocean to Ocean in One Day – Panama Canal, Panama

Posted on February 14th, 2013 :: Posted in Boat, Central America, Ocean, Panama, video

There’s only one place in the world where can you travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean (or vice versa) in one day and that’s Panama and you can thank the Panama Canal for that. This engineering wonder enables more than 14,000 vessels a year to cut 8,000 miles and millions of dollars off their transport costs by short-cutting through the isthmus of Panama. The 48 mile long canal is also open to day trippers for half day or full day transits through the canal’s famous locks. Only the full day tour takes you from ocean to ocean so, of course, that’s the one we chose and thanks to Adventure Life, we found ourselves on board the Pacific Queen for a full day transit of the Panama Canal.

We’ll be publishing a factoid-filled post about the mind-boggling Panama Canal as part of our comprehensive coverage of travel in Panama (coming soon). In the meantime, here’s the ocean to ocean time-lapse video we shot as we, along with massive cargo ships and beautiful sail boats, rose 85 feet from the Pacific Ocean through the first three locks, then floated across Lake Gatun before going down 85 feet through the last three locks to reach the Atlantic Ocean and sea level once again.

Rum Runnin’ New Year’s Eve 2013 – Panama City, Panama

Posted on January 1st, 2013 :: Posted in Boat, Central America, Festivals/Celebrations, Fireworks, Panama

In the last hours of the year we boarded the Isla Morada (Purple Island), a wooden ship built in the United States in 1912 as a luxury yacht, for a New Year’s Eve 2013 celebration in the Panama Bay off Panama City. At one point or another Steve McQueen, John Wayne, Errol Flynn and James Garner have all been aboard the storied Isla Morada and now we have too.

Originally christened the Santana, the ship has been owned by millionaires, the US Navy and some dude in Florida (who re-named it the Isla Morada). Most (in) famously, the gangster Al Capone used the Isla Morada to smuggle rum and whiskey from Cuba and the Dominican Republic to the Florida Keys during prohibition.

After Capone went to jail the Isla Morada was confiscated and used by the US Navy, which is how it ended up in Panama where it was used as a floating hotel, a fishing vessel and now a tourist boat. The Isla Morada, which turned 100 in 2012, is said to have made more crossings of the Panama Canal than any other vessel still in use.

New Years Eve Fireworks over Casco Viejo in Panama City.

New Year’s Eve 2013 fireworks over the fast-gentrifying Casco Viejo neighborhood of Panama City, Panama.

Rum and whiskey (and vodka and beer and wine) were back on board the Isla Morada during her 4th annual New Year’s Eve sailing last night. The annual party cruise is put on by Kevin O’Brien, a Massachusetts native and experienced tour guide who now lives in Panama where he started and runs a full-service and notably sustainable tour company called Barefoot Panama.

New Years Eve Fireworks at the Trump Ocean Club Hotel in Panama City.

New Year’s Eve 2013 fireworks amidst the mini-Miami skyline of downtown Panama City, Panama.

We had a great time enjoying the breeze, views of the skyscraper-filled Panama City skyline and more than an hour and a half of fireworks going off all over the city. It was all a bit haphazard (not at all like the tightly choreographed fireworks displays in the US) and nearly impossible to photograph from the gently rocking boat, but the rum flowed and the times were good.