We got up at 4:30 am to drive to a nearby area that has a nest for a male and female Quetzal birds. This gorgeous photo was taken by our group leader Danial using a telescope connected to his cellular phone. This is a male Quetzal. They are very colorful and have large tails. I think this may be the most beautiful bird I have seen in my life! It was well worth dragging ourselves out of bed so early in order to see such a gorgeous bird!!Using my telephoto lens, I was able to take a grainy photo of the male when he flew back to this branch. From his back, it is easy to see that he has a huge tail!!This is the female Quetzal and she is eating some food. The female is not as colorful and has a shorter tail. It was absolutely phenomenal to see both of these Quetzal birds!!This is our motley crew that went on a hike after breakfast. It was taken using our group leader’s (Daniel) cellular phone. It is amazing how green everything is in Costa Rica!I thoroughly enjoy seeing all the wonderful colors in the flowers that grow in Costa Rica!!I have always loved Mexican Bird of Paradise! They grow very well in Costa Rica!!I thought the bright green ferns were beautiful!The shapes and vibrant fern colors were beautiful!This photo shows how the moss grows everywhere. In addition, there are vines and ground roots that grow along the trees up into the canopy of the trees.The moss was thick and held water from all the rain.This small waterfall was next to the trail from our hike. Our group leader drank straight from the water, but he suggested that we probably should not try it without filtering the water.Our guide told us that a jaguar has been seen walking along the trail where we were hiking!! Gulp!!I loved seeing the bright colors and rich greens as we walked along the trail!!There were beautiful colors everywhere we looked!!I liked looking up and seeing the sun and shadows on the leaves above us!!The vibrant colors of the flowers was amazing to me!!This friendly hummingbird was at our hotel. He was difficult to photograph because he kept zooming around to different locations!
We had a wonderful first day in Costa Rica! After checking out of our hotel, we drove to a place that grows coffee. It was interesting to learn all about the coffee plant and sampling of their products! We were in the Dota and Santa Maria in Costa Rica.This is the beginning of the coffee blossom that will eventually turn into coffee beans. We drove up into the mountains to reach this site with very fertile soil and it received lots of rain. Many beautiful flowers grow in this area of Costa Rica!!This was our excellent tour guide. He was very helpful explaining everything about growing coffee. We were able to sample three different blends of coffee. The boldest coffee was my favorite!!This is a photo of one of their coffee plants.This photo shows how well the coffee plants grow in this area of the country.We also saw banana plants growing in the area!!Dota is the name of this region in Costa Rica. I loved this colorful sign as we entered the town where they were growing coffee.This was my fantastic passion fruit drink I had at lunch!! It was wonderful!!Several people ordered cappuccino and they were served beautifully decorated!!Our group leader’s cappuccino was served with a swan!!
Another person received their drink with a flower. I took the photo after they had taken one sip.
Fiesta on Wheels 