Mangrove Birding Tour, Tarcoles, Costa Rica

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Although there are several tour operators for these Tarcoles River cruises, only one caters to birders.  It’s called Mangrove Birding Tour but the hotels such as Villa Lapas will know it better if you tell them you want Luis Campos.  He is a specialist in birding cruises and knows all the local species quite well.  His boat is smaller than the main ones that cater to tourist groups so he can get into smaller inlets and closer to shore.  You will see the difference in the photos below.  If you don’t have a car, he will send someone to pick you up.  The driver took us down to the beach beforehand to see Scarlet Macaws and fishing boats (what fishing boats, LOL).  You will be picked up around 7am-ish and it’s about a 2 hour cruise.

I’ll let the photos tell the rest of the story!

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Full Speed Ahead With Amex Shop Small – Australia

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The details on how to register and use this promo are in my first post.  This is an update as to how it has been working.  It’s not too late, you still have until 30 Nov to shop at one of the designated shops.  The Aussie promo is a bit different from the USA one as they only get one $10 credit per Amex card but they don’t have to spend $20 at the store.  We get up to $50 per card but we have to spend $100 to get it so it’s basically getting stuff half price.  Buy stuff you normally use at small shops that are listed on the site.

Warning, the map tool is out of date and I went to several shops that don’t take Amex or have changed name or ownership.

The best thing is you get a confirmation email each time you use a registered Amex card, makes it very easy to keep track!

LOOK FORWARD TO A LITTLE SOMETHING

IN YOUR ACCOUNT.

Thanks for using your Registered Card ending in xxxxx to Shop Small.

You can still get 2 more $10 statement credits by continuing to Shop Small in November. You have received $30 so far and can get another $20.

But hurry! Shop Small is only running until the end of November. So support your local businesses now – and add another credit back into your account.

Statement credits may take up to 8 weeks to issue but generally, it should be credited within 5 business days.

You can find out which businesses in your area are participating via our Shop Small map.
Where to Shop Small in your neighbourhood.
To view the full offer details, and terms and conditions, please visit www.shopsmallaustralia.com

Thanks.
American Express

 

Remember you can use each Amex card you registered at 5 different designated shops.  You can also use different Amex cards at the same shop.  I have been having trouble finding grocery stores to stock up on non-perishable food.  Pharmacies are good if you want to stock up on meds & toiletries.  Also try small hardware stores if you have any home renovations to do.

MTTW Parrot Calendar Contest Results

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Thank you to all who entered.  I will now make a list of everyone who entered a bird species and give one extra entry to those who included the scientific name together with the common name.

  1. Martine Jakobsen
  2. Lacey Seymour
  3. Lacey Seymour
  4. Janina Mees
  5. Ellen Selden
  6. Ellen Selden
  7. Axel Keim
  8. Axel Keim
  9. Rebekah
  10. Rebekah
  11. Hiro Sim
  12. Bluecat
  13. Bluecat
  14. Mary Ann
  15. Mary Ann
  16. Dondi Visser
  17. Dondi Visser
  18. Brown-throated Conure
  19. Janet
  20. Ruth
  21. Ruth
  22. Isis Nicole

And using the Random.org generator, we have a winner!

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Entry #2 – Lacey Seymour, who chose the beautiful Major Mitchell Cockatoo, Cacatua leadbeateri

Congrats Lacey!  I will email you for your address and order the calendar to be shipped directly to you from World Parrot Trust’s shop.

Thank you again to all who entered, I really enjoyed seeing your favourite birds!  Stay tuned for my next contest which will probably happen in mid-December.

 

Other Sights & Shopping In Tarcoles, Costa Rica

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Carara may be the major draw for eco-tourists to Tarcoles but there are other places to see as well.  See my post on how to get there if you haven’t already.

TARCOLES VILLAGE

Has restaurants, shops & tour operators.  You can book a Tarcoles River cruise here.

IMG_5553 IMG_5552 IMG_5551 IMG_5554CROCODILE BRIDGE

Contrived & touristy but since it’s on the way to all the other attractions you might as well take a look.  If you do a Crocodile Man tour, you will see them jump for food.  I didn’t bother with this, not my cup of tea.  There are a couple small shops nearby.

IMG_5559 IMG_5557 IMG_5561 IMG_5562MOLAS & CAFE

Large souvenir shop with an attached cafe.  Molas actually come from Panama but you can get them here at reasonable prices (but more expensive than Panama) and the shop takes credit cards.  If you come with a guide, they will get a commission but if you are on a cruise ship stop, you won’t have time to avoid this.

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El Manantial Sanctuary, Puntarenas, Costa Rica

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El Manantial is a project dedicated to the conservation of macaws native to Costa Rica. The main focus of the project is the Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao) and the Great Green Macaw (Ara Ambigua), who once flew freely in many areas of Costa Rica. In 1994, individuals concerned with the status of these endangered species decided to create a project for their conservation; with the sole purpose of the project being the reintroducing of Macaws back into the wild, striving to increase their population numbers.

It’s very easy to organize a visit here whether you are on a cruise ship or land based.  Information on how to get to Puntarenas/Tarcoles is covered in my post on Carara National Park.

A guide will take you around the sanctuary.  You will see birds in aviaries and some wild birds who were either former aviary residents who were set free and decided to stick around or local wild birds who know a great place to find free food!

PHOTOS

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Carara National Park, Costa Rica

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Carara National Park in Costa Rica is one of the best places in the world to see Scarlet Macaws.  They flock to the palm trees to eat the nuts and their bright red feathers make them stand out.

GETTING THERE

First see how to get to Costa Rica using a Central America award.  Then you can either rent a car or take the bus or tourist shuttle bound for Jaco and get off at the park entrance.  You can also get a bus from Puntarenas which is a popular cruise ship port.  On a previous visit, we were on a Panama Canal cruise that stopped in Puntarenas and booked a private tour with Odyssey Tours which I highly recommend. Our guide, Alvaro from Odyssey Tours  showed up before 7am and handed us to his birding guide-Nestor who studies biology and knows birds very well. We headed off to Carara National Park to see the scarlet macaws, this is one of the rare places in the world where they are common and can be easily found. The trails were muddy because the first rain of the season had been the previous night and we were struggling to stay on our feet. My husband was the first to fall flat on his back-not hurt but got all muddy. I later fell on my side because I was protecting my camera.

Location of Carara National Park

If you are on a land based trip, I recommend you stay at Villa Lapas.  Yes, it is older and could use some renovations but if you are there for the birds, you can’t beat the location on the south side of Carara National Park and chance to see the macaws and other birds on the grounds.   You can walk to the main part of Carara from here as well if you don’t mind the heat.

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In the map above which I found on Go Visit Costa Rica, I have highlighted the path you need to follow to see the macaws.  You will need a ticket first which costs $10 at the ticket office.  Then walk or drive to where I indicated “Path to palm trees”.  Go as early in the morning as possible to see the macaws fly in and enjoy a breakfast of palm nuts.  We spent about an hour here watching a family of Scarlet Macaws fly back and forth bringing nuts to another apparently more comfortable tree to eat them.  Then we went back to the main office area and took the trail to the right (yellow highlights).  By this time it was getting closer to noon when birds tend to take a siesta so we didn’t see much, just some leaf cutter ants and a cool looking frog.

When we did the tour with Odyssey, they took us to a local Costa Rican diner for lunch, then in the afternoon we saw more birds including a Violaceous Trogon and Turquoise-browed Motmot (the one with the long racquet-tail).  A complete bird list can be found here.

PHOTOS

There’s a lot here as I just couldn’t get enough of the Scarlet Macaws!  Lighting was poor but I did my best!

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MTTW 1 Year Old Today!

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I can’t believe I actually got here!  A year ago, I had no idea of how to use WordPress, now here I am with around 450 blog posts all based around my mission of bringing eco-tourism within the grasp of normal people who thought they could never afford to go to all those exotic countries to see their favourite bird species.  And then there are the people who are well-versed in the use of miles and points who I hopefully may have coaxed out of their Park Hyatts and SQ first class cabins into the tranquility of eco-lodges where they can get away from it all, commune with nature and contribute to some deserving local communities who have learned to appreciate their natural resources.

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As I look back on my first ever post, I am proud that I have stayed true to myself.  I discovered that a small niche blog such as this one is never going to get credit card links and even if I did get them, I wouldn’t keep them for long.  I would never be comfortable pushing affiliate links in every post and have kept just very basic credit card information in the Miles & Points section.  I managed to get banned from Ad(non)sense but have a few affiliate links in the sidebar that most people probably don’t see because everyone uses an ad-blocker nowadays.  I do occasionally highlight books and products that are of use to eco-tourists which can be found by searching the “gear” or “guides” tags.  This isn’t a credit card blog and I think the best deals are to be found on FlyerTalk as they are crowd-sourced and discussed on a daily basis.

Monetization would have been more the icing on the cake though, what I really want is to help save wild birds from being captured and sold as more eco-tourists head into communities and create more sustainable jobs.  That mission will never change!

So as I head into my second year of blogging, I hope to continue to bring more beautiful birds to your attention, introduce you to some of the world’s top eco-lodges, keep you informed of miles & points opportunities and hopefully get more people out in the field traveling and appreciating this beautiful natural world we live in!

Lodge Review: Villa Lapas, Carara, Costa Rica

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Villa Lapas is adjacent to the Carara National Park.  From their website:

We are a rainforest-resort, located in the pacific coast of Costa Rica. We have become one of the Costa Rica’s top tourist choices, becoming a favorite of birdwatchers and nature lovers.

Our Hotel features 58 rooms surrounded by lush tropical gardens sitting in the midst of a private 500 acre rainforest reserve, with a beautiful river flowing alongside the resort complex.

A replica Of Costa Rica’s historical past, the Santa Lucia Town in Villa Lapas adds a quaint, charming touch to it’s natural surroundings. Santa Lucía includes a church, a local cantina, a lake, restaurant, two souvenir shops and other points of interest, perfect for weddings and private events too. And the Villa Lapas Canopy tour, where your adrenaline flows while you zip through the jungle.

 

We arrived in the early afternoon from Monteverde after being dropped off by the bus.  The grounds are beautiful as one would expect from being next to Carara.

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The reception, bar & restaurant are in a breezy open air area with views of the garden.

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The rooms are on the small side which was fine as we spent most of our time outdoors watching the birds.  The buildings have a Spanish colonial style.

IMG_0780 IMG_0784 IMG_0781 IMG_0782 IMG_0783You won’t have to go far to start birding.  You will find the same species here as you do in Carara but they can be easier to see with the wide open spaces.  We watched Scarlet Macaws flying to and from Carara & their roosting grounds.

IMG_0785 IMG_0786 IMG_0805 IMG_0807 IMG_0808 IMG_0811 IMG_0813 IMG_0815 IMG_0816The swimming pool was small and full of leaves so we didn’t go swimming though we did dangle our feet in the water to cool off.  We were amused by the iguanas running around, sometimes upright!

IMG_0795 IMG_0788 IMG_0787We walked across the bridge to the Santa Lucia Village just in time for an afternoon shower.  It’s a beautiful scenic walk past a small stream.

IMG_0790 IMG_0791 IMG_0793 IMG_0794 IMG_0796 IMG_0801On the opposite end of the property were some buildings that looked like staff quarters and an unused massage hut that would actually be better used as a bird hide.

IMG_0802 IMG_0803Dinner & breakfast are served as buffets and there was a decent variety of dishes-meat pasta, some local dishes that I found a bit spicy, soup & salad.  I forgot to bring my camera to dinner so no pics, sorry!  It started raining as we walked back so had to borrow an umbrella.

Although some hotel booking sites will show a link to Villa Lapas, they never seem to have availability so it could be the property isn’t using them anymore so no airline miles or Ultimate Rewards points.  They have an onsite secure booking form which gets the job done.

The staff are very friendly and helpful.  Although it’s a beautiful property, it does need renovations.  If you are a dedicated birder, you won’t care because the birdlife is amazing but if you are used to Sheratons & Intercontinentals you will probably be disappointed.  The reviews on Trip Advisor are pretty mixed.  Birders love it, normal tourists didn’t.

 

Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao)

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IMG_0766 IMG_0763The Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao) is a large, red, yellow and blue South American parrot, a member of a large group of Neotropical parrots called macaws.

Two subspecies present differing widths in their yellow wing band:

  • A. macao macao South American Scarlet Macaw, the nominate subspecies
  • A. macao cyanoptera (Wiedenfeld 1995) North Central American Scarlet Macaw

The Central American scarlet macaw is larger and has blue on its wings instead of green.

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Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao)

Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao)

It is native to humid evergreen forests of tropical South America. Range extends from extreme south-eastern Mexico to Amazonian Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela and Brazil in lowlands up to 500 m (1,640 ft) (at least formerly) up to 1,000 m (3,281 ft). It has suffered from local extinction through habitat destruction and capture for the parrot trade, but locally it remains fairly common. Formerly it ranged north to southern Tamaulipas. It can still be found on the island of Coiba. It is the national bird of Honduras.

Red – Carara National Park, Costa Rica
Purple – Tambopata, Peru
Blue – Alta Floresta/Cristalino, Brazil

Because the Scarlet Macaw has such a large range, it makes it easier to plan a trip to see them in the wild.  I have personally seen them at Carara National Park in Costa Rica (use a Central American award), Tambopata in Peru (use a nothern South American award) and Alta Floresta & Cristalino in Brazil (use a southern South American award).  Carara can also be accessed by cruise ship passengers, a great way to get your feet wet if you are new to bird watching!  Book a Panama Canal cruise that stops in Puntarenas.

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LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS PARROT

Wikipedia

World Parrot Trust

Birdlife

The Ara Project

VIDEO

The Ara Project in Costa Rica releases some Scarlet Macaws who were bred to fly free and replenish the wild population.

 The filmer cut off the best part, where the Chicos of Tambopata raid the breakfast table!

Changes Coming To Air New Zealand’s Airpoints Program (A Frightening Glimpse Of A Revenue Based Program)

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Don’t get excited, from what I can see it’s still a revenue based program meaning you earn “Airpoints dollars” and redeem based on the cost of the ticket you are buying.  But if you are a member of this program you will have been emailed the following video.

Most of the changes seem to affect status credits which are usually not a concern of eco-tourists unless you happen to have a job that requires a lot of flying.  What we are concerned with is REDEEMABLE MILES or in this case “Airports dollars”, the currency of the program.

The changes are listed in detail here.   I have been trying to find some way to make use of this program since I live in Australia but the US programs such as United Mileage Plus, American AAdvantage and US Dividend Miles (soon to merge with AAdvantage) are so much better even with United’s recent devaluations.

The main thing I would like to see change is that Air New Zealand needs to start playing fair with its Star Alliance partners.  It’s virtually impossible to get a business class seat and on some routes such as those to Pacific Islands and between New Zealand and several major Australian cities such as Brisbane, Gold Coast & Perth are non-existant.

Members of Air New Zealand’s program are able to redeem on Star Alliance airlines so they should be giving up seats for their partners to redeem on as well!

Here is an example of what you would earn if you credited a United flight from Frankfurt to Loos Angeles to Air New Zealand’s program.

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This is how you use Airpoints Dollars.

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This is what you need for a Star Alliance award.

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This is what you would need to redeem one way from Auckland to Tahiti (PPT).  I just did a fare quote on a random date in low season to determine the price.

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Yes, that’s right.  You would earn a whopping 26 Airpoints Dollars on a discount economy ticket from Frankfurt to Los Angeles which would be 6611 miles via Houston.  But you need 481 Airpoints Dollars to redeem a one way ticket from Auckland to Tahiti, a distance of 2544 miles!

If this happened to US frequent flyer programs, it would be a disaster!