Black vultures eating a dead caiman. Along this river we also saw Great Kisskadee, Broadbilled Flycatcher, Limpkin, Spotted Sandpiper, Nothern Waterthrush, Tri-color Heron, Orange-chinned Parakeet, Amazon Kingfisher, Ringed Kingfisher, Groove-billed Ani, Cattle Egret, Jacana, Anhinga, Scarlet Tananger, Turkey Vulture, Yellow Warbler, Green Heron, Olivaceous Cormorant, Wood Stork, Great Egret and Mangrove Swallow.

View of both primary and secondary rain forest, along with an algae covered lake on the flanks of an active volcano. Much of this trip was spent hiking around, to, and on top of volcanos which are found throughout Costa Rica. On this hike we also saw Crested Juan, Grey Chacalacas, Black-cheeked Woodpeckers and Common Parakeets.

Arenal Volcano at night. Photo by Marietta Nagtzaam, a fellow traveller from the Netherlands.

Arenal Volcano which is still active, seen at dusk. After sunsets you can see lava rolling down the sides of this volcano. Seeing this while drinking a cold rum drink after hiking to this viewing spot was fantastic. Before this volcano started erupting in the 1960's, streams in the local area began to run very warm and there are still many hot springs nearby.

Very early morning in th main plaza in La Fortuna Costa Rica. Beautifully maintained and packed with people later in the day. In the background, behind the clouds is Arenal a large volcano that was thought to be a mountain until it erupted in 1968. Even now you can hear it rumble from La Fortuna.

Enjoyed a coffee tour of Don Juan Coffee Plantation. This is a detail from a painted mule cart - a traditional status symbol for coffee plantation owners. Many new plantations are being built in the cloud forest regions where the elevation is higher, and climate cooler and damper. We learned all about the growing, harvesting, fermenting, and roasting process. Coffee is now Costa Rica's only significant export, the majority of the economy depends on tourism.

Coffee in Costa Rica is picked mainly by laborers from Nicaragua and Panama who are willing to pick one basket (shown in picture) for 92 cents - it takes an experienced picker 1 1/2 hours to fill a basket. Most Costa Ricans get paid far more per hour working in the tourism industry.