Costa Rica: day 3 - Monteverde & El Sapo Dorado

Hotel El Sapo Dorado was pretty nice, but "best of the best" as the travel guide said? Okay, it really wasn't that bad, but I think the high praise it got in the guide gave us bigger expectations. Or maybe compared to other places in Monteverde, it is "best of the best." It was cozy and woodsy inside but just not as peaceful or nice as the previous places, but that's probably just due to location - Monteverde is very touristy.

We stayed in #14, one of the sunset terrace suites. It had a nice view. We had a minifridge. The bathroom was unnecessarily large and hard to use. [I think what I meant by that was that it was laid out all wrong; the space wasn't used wisely.]

We had lunch at La Guarida, one of the hotel's two restaurants. It took a long time and the food was not great. I didn't like my entrée - I didn't care for the sambuca sauce, and the red snapper just didn't look right. (Also, to me, fish and cream or fish and cheese just don't go together.)

El Sapo Dorado - would recommend but would try something different next time
$249.07 for 2 nights, including taxes and breakfast ($124.54/night)
Other notes: in-room safe, 2 restaurants, phone in room.

next post > day 3 - Monteverde Night Walk
previous post > day 3 - Arenal & Around the Lake
first post > day 1 - Adventure, Exploration and Relaxation

Comments

Eyeshine in Nocturnal Animals

Peters' Epauletted Fruit Bat (Epomophorus crypturus), Kruger National Park - photo by Peet van Schalkwyk Have you ever noticed how under certain lighting conditions some animal's eyes seem to glow? Animals that are nocturnal hunters - and a few of them that are not - have something called eyeshine . Eyeshine is the light that we see reflected back from the animal's tapetum lucidum (a membrane behind the animal's retina). Light enters the eye, passes through the retina, strikes the reflective membrane, and is reflected back through the eye toward the light source. This phenomenon makes the most of what little light there is at night for these nocturnal creatures. a moth with pink eyeshine Humans can display the red-eye effect in flash photography, but we do not have a tapetum lucidum , and thus, do not have eyeshine. Eyeshine is best observed by wearing a head lamp or holding a flashlight at eye level against your temple because the light is reflected right back into ...

Chiropterophily: Bat Pollination

I see you! Geoffroy's tailless bat (Anoura Geoffroyi) - photo by Nathan Muchhala Ever since coming across this word, I can't stop saying it: chiropterophily. Chiropterophily, or pollination of plants by bats, is very common in the tropics. Hundreds of tropical plant species are exclusively or at least partly pollinated by nectar-feeding bats. Many tropical flowers are night-blooming, specializing in attracting bats. Bat-flowers are typically white, cream, or pale green in color, making them easier to see in the dark. They usually have a musky, fermented odor - like that of the bat - or sometimes a fruity odor. They have a large, sturdy, open shape with long, bushy anthers so that the bat's head and chest get coated in pollen when it visits. In return for the bat pollinating the flower, the flower provides the nectar that these high-energy flying mammals need.* Tube-lipped nectar bat (Anoura fistulata) - photo by Nathan Muchhala Nectivorous bats have both good eyesight an...

Leaving Bosque del Cabo

January 4, 2010 We woke right before dawn. The howler monkeys were especially vocal this morning (or perhaps we just slept through the loud parts the previous mornings). We got ready then had a super quick breakfast of granola and fruit. The staff packed us some sandwiches for later. I selected avocado; Nick selected the pb&j deluxe. Eric drove us to the small, regional airport in Puerto Jiménez. It was a quiet ride; we were sad to go. We were fortunate to be able to stay 6 days; but even in this amount of time, we didn't do everything we wished to, like hike down to the beaches, hike to the waterfalls and the take the zipline tour. As we continued down the road, we passed the signpost to Lapa Rios, the lodge we had stayed at the previous year. Which was better? I hate to make such comparisons, as each of these places holds a special place in our hearts. Lapa Rios was the climactic end to our very first trip to Costa Rica. It was during the rainy seaso...

hey little bat!

Search This Blog