The Traveling Widower

Category: wildlife

Includes posts about whales, hummingbirds, or anything specific to viewing wildlife

  • Hot and Humid in Costa Rica

    A smiling male photographer stands in a lush green jungle, wearing a t-shirt and carrying a backpack. He holds a camera in his hand and is surrounded by tropical foliage.
    Not me, my Avitar, AI generated

    March 25th, 2026

    It’s hard to believe that the trip is almost over – time really does fly sometimes. And I am so looking forward to waiting in line for hours at the Houston airport next Sunday.

    On Tuesday night, we sailed over the border from Panama to Costa Rica, and were given instructions by the trip lead to change the clocks on our phones and computers to stay on Panama time, rather than setting back an hour. Since the ship goes back and forth between time zones each trip they stick with the Panamanian zone to avoid messing up the crew shift schedules. We docked in Golfito in the morning, and let passengers wander into the (very) little town. Nothing was open. Of course, it was only 8AM on Costa Rica time.

    The town of Golfito is in the Golfo Dulce (Gulf of Golfito/Golfito Bay), the deepest gulf in the world. If you are interested in geographic trivia, now you know. The plan for the day was to do either kayaking or Panga rides along the Mangrove trees at the edge of the rainforest. I chose the lazy route – a Panga ride. I was hoping for a lot of wildlife, and carrying a heavy expensive camera in an open kayak did not seem like a particularly smart idea. The second outing for the day was a visit to private rainforest property, which was great for bird watching and photography. Woo Hoo.

    One interesting feature of this part of Costa Rica is that this gulf sort of blocks the wind, so you get a lot of rain, and the humidity and heat can be unbearable. Not Woo Hoo. You can tell immediately when you wake up that it is going to be humid – all the windows are fogged up.

    Two round portholes on a ship, one displaying a warm sunset glow and the other showing a foggy exterior view.

    For some reason, this area is a haven for the ultra wealthy. Jeff Bezos had his yacht here the other week. When we pulled in today, Mark Zuckerberg’s super-yacht was docked across the way. And then this huge, weird looking ship with a helipad midship, pulled in. This also belonged to Zuck. It carried all his toys – like a helicopter, a small sailing yacht, and a small submarine. There were probably a few cars as well. I guess if you have it, you flaunt it. 

    The first outing on Wednesday was nice and relaxing – it was hot and humid, but the panga’s have tops over the seated area,  and it was pretty nice when we were moving around at high speed. We cruised along the mangrove shores for an hour, hoping to replicate the experience we had with the Monkey Islands in the Panama Canal. Not even close unfortunately. We did see a few birds and a snake, but that was about it. It was still a nice ride – the jungle is beautiful, and it was really nice being out on the water. And I did get some very nice shots of a white egret and three-colored heron.

    Lush green tropical forest with palm trees among dense foliage.
    A white heron perched on a branch above calm green water, surrounded by lush greenery.
    A blue-gray heron standing on a branch among lush green leaves, near still water.
    A white bird standing on a branch over calm green water, poised as if about to catch fish, surrounded by lush green foliage.

    The next outing required sailing across the bay, which we did over lunch. By then, it was getting really hot and humid. Miserable is the word that comes to my mind. The landing was on a rocky beach, and it was a wet landing meaning you have to get your feet wet walking from the boat in the surf to dry land. I brought the wrong water shoes, and had to do a step-ouch-step dance up to the sand. The place we landed in had a bunch of Macaws overhead in the trees, but I was too busy changing shoes to get the camera out, so I missed the photo op. When we were all set, a bunch of us were assigned to one of the local guides, and off we went on our hike through the gardens. 

    It’s kind of hard trying to describe this place – it is a huge (500 acres) family owned property, which borders a national park. It’s a jumble of hiking and walking trails, with chicken coops, ponds (with a resident Cayman), native plants, and areas where pineapples, coffee, cocoa and other fruits are grown. The jungle surrounds everything’s, so you don’t feel like it’s a plantation – the family maintains it as sort of a eco-tourism business. And there are all kinds of birds flying and screeching. It was an interesting experience – not too great for photography, so lugging my heavy camera and lens around was an effort. But I did get a few good photos….but not of the Macaws or Toucans. Darn.

    A colorful bird perched on a branch, featuring a green head, red chest, and black tail, surrounded by lush tropical foliage.
    A vibrant heliconia plant with bright red and yellow flowers, surrounded by lush green foliage.
    A group of chickens in a makeshift coop made of corrugated metal, surrounded by lush greenery and trees.
    A toucan perched on a mossy tree branch surrounded by lush green foliage.
    A close-up view of a crocodile's head partially submerged in water, with textured skin and a visible eye, surrounded by lush greenery.
    A brightly colored bird perched on a branch, featuring green, red, and gray plumage against a blurred green background.
    Two red macaws flying against a clear blue sky.

    I captured one short video worth sharing, something I’ve seen in documentaries, but never live – leaf-cutter ants. Very strange, and they are all over the place.

    After our hikes were over, we sat around re-hydrating for a while, watching the Macaws fly overhead (but never quite in range of my camera). Most of us were ready for A/C and a shower – I was pretty much drained at that point, so I did my ouch-dance across the rocks, and boarded a Zodiac back to the ship. 

    Two more days to go. And one last photo – high humidity usually leads to nice sunsets. Here’s one.

    Mark Zuckerbergs private yacht

    Peace.

  • Not Again, More Monkeys, and TSA at Houston

    A scenic beach view with clear blue water, kayaks on the sand, and people enjoying various activities. Palm trees frame the foreground, with mountains in the distance.

    March 24th, 2026

    I’ve been really pleased with the way things have gone on this trip so far, in terms of my health. I’ve been monitoring my BPM, taking my blood pressure daily, and trying my best not to stress out about anything. I did fine on the one hike early on that went up a five or six story circular staircase, and going up and down the stairs on the ship. Well, today did not start out too well. I started out OK, but then read an article about the 4 hours wait time to get through TSA at IAH. I’ve only got 2 hours between flights, and need to go through customs and TSA security again. I sent e-mail to the Lindblad travel agency, asking about switching to a flight the next day, and will probably go ahead with that. This morning I was scheduled to head over to a tropical island to hang on a beach and go kayaking. I was looking forward to that. I was sort of ready when I heard the call to board the Zodiacs to head to shore. Crap – I had to throw everything together in a hurry. I wound up at the end of the line, out of breath. And then the heart issue hit – dizzy, racing heart, palpitations. Double crap. I leaned against the wall, tried to relax, but much like the last time, it was not stopping. I was right next to my cabin, so I ducked in and sat down. What to do. I called for the ships doctor. She got there in a few minutes, checked my pulse which was going down, told me I definitely should not be snorkeling, and stayed with me for a bit. She said I should just relax, and go to the beach anyway. My BPM had creeped down below 100, and since I had already greased up with sunscreen, I figured what else could go wrong? Don’t answer that please.

    I made the right choice. The beach was beautiful, just a 5 minute Zodiac ride, and with lots of chairs in the shade. If nothing else, I figured I could just take a snooze. But, after resting for 20 minutes, I wandered over to an empty kayak, and pushed off for a slow paddle around the bay. 

    A scenic view of a calm beach with palm trees and clear water, taken from a kayak. Several people are kayaking in the background with boats and a sandy shore visible.

    There was not really that much to see – the water was clear, but other than some really small fish, there was nothing worth sticking the GoPro underwater. I paddled across the bay where a bunch of other folks were hanging out – there were a couple of crocodiles sunning on a rock – none of us were interested in getting a closer look. They can swim much faster than any of us could paddle. And in my current condition, I would have been slowest kayak. Chomp.

    After 30 minutes or so, I had enough sun, and figured it would be best to just rest. Something I’m not very good at. 

    This island, Coiba used to be a notorious prison, especially during the Noriega days – anyone sentenced here basically disappeared. After things settled down in Panama years later, they made this into a protected national park, which is part of a very large marine ecological zone. These islands are linked with the Galapagos and other Pacific Islands, for quite a few fish and mammals – Hammerhead sharks, Whale Sharks and Humpback Whales migrate through here. So, this beach also had a small, somewhat primitive museum / visitor center, and access to the islands is very limited and controlled. Not that I was planning to do any hiking on jungle trails, wearing kayak shoes. There are lots of birds, and mammals on the islands including Howler and Capuchin monkeys. One Capuchin decided to check out the beach, and made for a good photo op – I wish I had brought one of the Sony’s, but the Pixel 10 worked fine.

    A white-faced capuchin monkey climbing a green palm leaf against a clear blue sky.
    A monkey walking on a wooden railing, looking upwards with a curious expression, surrounded by greenery.
    A monkey climbing a palm tree, with green palm fronds in the background.
    A white-faced monkey standing on a wooden surface, surrounded by green foliage.

    There was also a large monitor lizard hanging around the museum, just asking for a selfie or two, and a friendly vulture stood in line waiting for the shower. 

    Close-up of a textured lizard head resting among green grass.
    A black vulture standing on green grass, showcasing its distinctive dark feathers and gray head.

    Eventually, a Zodiac came to ferry us back to the ship, where I planned to just hang out and relax the rest of the day. The next few days will be all about hiking, and learning a bit about local culture. Hopefully, my heart will behave itself for the remainder of the trip.

    One more photo – a moth settle outside one of the dining room windows. Made for an interesting composition.

    A white moth resting on a glass surface, with a blurred view of blue water and green hills in the background under a clear blue sky.

    Peace