In one guidebook we read (possibly Lonely Planet) Peter and Lizbeth, the owners, are described as conservationists and conversationalists. What a perfect description! We happened to be the only guests during our week here. We were treated like family, as though we were long-lost cousins. They regaled us with stories of their childhoods, getting the lodge up and running (things were very rustic in the beginning), and discussed their plans for the lodge in the future.
I really cannot recommend this place highly enough for anyone that likes nature. We will definitely be making a return trip!
When we arrived, we were greeted by a friend of the family who is one of the biologists working on the macaw project. She offered us a snack and we chatted about the macaw release program. Although we weren't allowed to watch the macaws being released, the releases were taking place during the week we were there, so we got to hear all about them.
The view of the ocean from just outside the lodge:
Here's Brian walking in the lodge. This is where we ate our meals:
She showed us to our cabin. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect since the lodge is located in a very remote area in Costa Rica. It's very close to Panama. We were very impressed with the cabin! All of the cabins are numbered and named after an animal that can be found in the area. We were in number 17:
I should have taken pictures of our cabin before unpacking, but didn't think of it. Here was the main part:
There was also another bed, off to the side. The bathroom was very modern:
The cabin had a large porch with a hammock.
The view from our porch was simply incredible:
It's hard to see from this picture, but we could see the ocean from the porch:
We showered, feeling grimy and tired after our plane and taxi rides from the morning. Then we put on our swim suits and headed down to the beach.
At the entrance to the property from the beach, a bird was perching on the roof of the gate. I knew we'd see a lot of different birds and animals here, but pretty much everywhere we looked we got to see something new!
The location is just so beautiful. Pretty much every view could have been on a postcard!
She showed us to our cabin. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect since the lodge is located in a very remote area in Costa Rica. It's very close to Panama. We were very impressed with the cabin! All of the cabins are numbered and named after an animal that can be found in the area. We were in number 17:I should have taken pictures of our cabin before unpacking, but didn't think of it. Here was the main part: There was also another bed, off to the side. The bathroom was very modern: The cabin had a large porch with a hammock. The view from our porch was simply incredible: It's hard to see from this picture, but we could see the ocean from the porch: We showered, feeling grimy and tired after our plane and taxi rides from the morning. Then we put on our swim suits and headed down to the beach.At the entrance to the property from the beach, a bird was perching on the roof of the gate. I knew we'd see a lot of different birds and animals here, but pretty much everywhere we looked we got to see something new!The location is just so beautiful. Pretty much every view could have been on a postcard!While walking on the beach, we had to be very careful not to step on any of the many, many crabs that were milling about. Here is one resting on a leaf:
While walking near the beach, we often heard the unmistakable sounds of aratinga conures. They flew quite high and, even with the use of binoculars, we were never able to tell exactly what kind of conure they were. This is the best picture we were able to get. You can see two; one hanging off each side of this tree:
Brian at the beach:
...when we realized that Brian had acquired a friend:
We thought she was a stray, but later found out she belongs to a family that lives about a mile away. She was extremely friendly and followed us around for a few hours, running back and forth between us.
Brian went into the ocean while I stayed on the beach. 
We thought the dog might be leaving us, but she followed us back to our cabin! We didn't encourage her as we didn't want to bring her back to the lodge's property where she might prey on wild animals. 
She finally left us, probably to return to the beach and pick up other unsuspecting tourists. In addition to human and dog footprints in the sand, we noticed quite a few bird footprints. It took us a day to catch the birds in action, walking across the beach:
Meals are served family-style at Tiskita at set times. I believe they can accommodate around 40 guests. All of our meals were delicious. We'd told them we were vegetarian, and they replied that there would be no problem to prepare vegetarian meals for us.
This was the only picture we took of a meal, but you can kind of see the dining room.
We did a fair amount of hiking around the property. We went on one walk each with Peter and Lizbeth, the owners. Peter concentrated on showing us the fruit orchards while Lizbeth focused on showing us birds and other animals.
Meals are served family-style at Tiskita at set times. I believe they can accommodate around 40 guests. All of our meals were delicious. We'd told them we were vegetarian, and they replied that there would be no problem to prepare vegetarian meals for us.This was the only picture we took of a meal, but you can kind of see the dining room.
We did a fair amount of hiking around the property. We went on one walk each with Peter and Lizbeth, the owners. Peter concentrated on showing us the fruit orchards while Lizbeth focused on showing us birds and other animals.Brian accidentally erased all of the pictures we took on Peter's tour. Peter carried a knife with him and offered us tastes of several of the fruits that were ripe in the orchard, including what was most likely the best tasting pineapple I have ever had in my life.
While out with Peter, we also got to see a tyra on the path, which is pretty rare to see! He moved out of our view before we could get a picture, but that's OK since the pictures were erased anyway! We also saw a coati that had apparently gotten into a fight and was missing fur on the bottom half of his body.
Here is a starfruit tree:
Here is a starfruit tree:
Investigating some more fruit; I think this may have been some kind of chocolate:
Although they could harvest their fruit, they said they'd have to figure out a way to keep the monkeys, parrots, and other animals from eating it in order to do so, which they don't want to do. In fact, they have been specifically planting trees in order to attract different animals, like sloths, monkeys, and parrots. This is a tree they planted specifically for sloths. Success!
Some beautiful flowers we saw:
A jungle path:
The view of the ocean from just outside the lodge:
We'd often relax outside the lodge. There are no TVs or radios here, which really allows the sounds of nature to be heard. Of course there are bug and bird sounds, as you'd expect. Then there are the howler monkeys! I was a bit frightened the first time I heard them but grew to enjoy the sound.
I couldn't believe how many different types of lizards we saw! There is a pond near the bottom of the property that is covered in lily pads. When we'd walk down there to try to see the crocodile, all sorts of tiny lizards would rise up on their back feet and run around:
This iguana was the first animal we saw upon arrival:
Another kind of lizard:
We watched them for about a half hour until they left the area. They were eating the fruit. This guy has his left hand resting against a giant piece of fruit.
Some beautiful flowers we saw: A jungle path: The view of the ocean from just outside the lodge:We'd often relax outside the lodge. There are no TVs or radios here, which really allows the sounds of nature to be heard. Of course there are bug and bird sounds, as you'd expect. Then there are the howler monkeys! I was a bit frightened the first time I heard them but grew to enjoy the sound.I couldn't believe how many different types of lizards we saw! There is a pond near the bottom of the property that is covered in lily pads. When we'd walk down there to try to see the crocodile, all sorts of tiny lizards would rise up on their back feet and run around:This iguana was the first animal we saw upon arrival: Another kind of lizard:And still another:
We noticed this green iguana on a leaf near our porch. He was so close we could have touched him had we wanted to (we didn't -- he's a wild animal and we wanted him to keep a healthy fear of humans):
The next morning, he was still there. I thought it was interesting to see the difference between taking a picture with the flash (above) and with natural light (below). He was really camouflaged!
There were several agouti who must have lived near our cabin since we'd run into them every time we walked by. They like to eat fruit, so they're very happy at Tiskita!
The next morning, he was still there. I thought it was interesting to see the difference between taking a picture with the flash (above) and with natural light (below). He was really camouflaged!There were several agouti who must have lived near our cabin since we'd run into them every time we walked by. They like to eat fruit, so they're very happy at Tiskita!We saw agouti of three different sizes: adult, juvenile, and baby. Here is the baby, eating:
He'd usually run to the side of the trail when he saw us coming and would hide in the brush.
Apparently the rainy season technically begins in May, which is when we were at Tiskita. We had a remarkable run of good weather. The sky started looking ominous one day shortly after lunch. We had planned on resting in the cabin and reading, so this was perfect timing by the weather.
It got dark rather early at Tiskita. Dinner was at 6:30, and by the time we were done eating, we needed a flashlight in order to find our way back to our cabin!
I read a magazine article a few years ago about how there are very few dark places left on Earth due to light pollution. I think this might have been one of the darkest places I have been. It was incredible.
We headed out along the road, towards the nearby town of Punta Banco.
Beautiful scenery as we walked:
Along the way, we noticed a large number of interesting-looking chickens grazing. Brian joked about starting a chicken blog, but ultimately decided to just put them here:
The road was treacherous in some parts, as there had recently been some rain. It was also incredibly hot. I had to take my shirt off (I had my swimsuit top on so I wasn't indecent!) and still a big sweat mark can be seen starting at my waist.
The closest we had been to seeing the macaws was hearing their loud calls and seeing them fly high above our heads:
We did come across a squirrel monkey while out looking for macaws.
We ran into the biologist. He was gathering beach almonds in order to feed the macaws that were waiting to be released. Before they can be released, they have to be sure that the macaws know how to eat the food they will find.
As we were walking and discussing the macaws, he noticed a lot of debris falling from a nearby tree. Macaws! Can you see one in this picture? If they hadn't been messily eating, we would have walked right past this pair!
Even with their bright primary colors, they become almost invisible in the trees.
You can see two of them in this picture:
We watched them forage for almost an hour. Then, the male gave a large squawk and flew to a nearby tree. We expected that the female would follow him, as they had been in the same tree, but she must have been happy where she was! They foraged in separate trees for another 15 minutes or so, eventually taking flight together, accompanied by loud squawks.
The macaws had been eradicated from the area last century due to slash and burn and habitat destruction. About 6 or so years ago, Tiskita teamed with another organization to release formerly captive (and newly bred) macaws into the wild. Now, a flock of around 60 birds flies free. Last year, for the first time, four baby macaws were hatched, and three of them survived a year, which is one indication that they are thriving. There were several macaws in nests while we were there.
The biologist is able to identify every one of the macaws based on their feather patterns and facial features. She regaled us with many stories and joked about starting a blog to chronicle the soap-opera of their lives! I hope she does this.
It is important that the macaws not get too used to people as that might put them in danger of being captured for the pet trade, so this was as close as we got.
The next day we had our walk with Lizbeth, who was an amazing guide. She knew where the various birds liked to hang out and was able to help us spot three kinds of manakins, several woodpeckers, and many other birds. Here she's explaining something to Brian:
Here are two pictures of smaller birds that Lizbeth helped us to spot:
As we were walking through the fruit orchard on our approach to the lodge, someone noticed a white-faced monkey:
When you see one monkey, there are usually more around if you look closely enough since they tend to stay in groups. We sat down and soon we were able to se around 20 monkeys. Some had babies attached to them.
We watched them for about a half hour until they left the area. They were eating the fruit. This guy has his left hand resting against a giant piece of fruit.
Lizbeth said that this was a juvenile who was trying to scare us away by showing us how scary he was. Two different monkeys tried to scare us away in such a manner. We stayed where we were and they apparently weren't too upset by our presence since they quickly went back to eating.
Most of the pictures were blurry since we had to use the zoom on the camera. Even though half of his head is cut off, there's something about this monkey's eyes that spoke to me.
The fruit they were eating was sticky, so they'd occasionally have to lick their fingers clean:
The monkeys would usually hold on to the tree with their tail, even when they were just staying in one place.
This monkey was putting his hand in this giant piece of fruit and eating the pulp:
Later in the week, we ran into another group of monkeys and watched them for about 10 minutes.
Both Brian and Lizbeth were very interested in the various mushrooms we came across. Some were quite beautiful! 
Lizbeth also knew where we could see a ghost bat! All of the bats we saw flying around were dark. Could this guy be any more adorable?
After our walk with Lizbeth was finished, Brian and I sat down outside the lodge, watching and listening to the wildlife and the ocean. We were suddenly told to come over as a boa constrictor had just been spotted. Here she is on a tree branch. What camoflague! It's entirely possible we walked by many snakes but they blended in so well we didn't see them as this was the only snake we saw on our trip and it needed to be pointed out to us:
On our last morning at Tiskita, we decided to take one more walk down by the pond to see if we could spot the crocodile. Our last dozen or so attempts were unsuccessful, but we had time until the taxi picked us up, so we decided to go for a walk.
Could that be the crocodile peering out at us?
It sure was! And he rewarded our patience with an even better look! After a few minutes, he appeared to get bored with us and sunk back under the pond. What luck we had!
Before we knew it, we returned to the lodge for an early lunch and then the taxi met us to take us to the airport. Tiskita was an amazing experience and we will be back!
Lizbeth also knew where we could see a ghost bat! All of the bats we saw flying around were dark. Could this guy be any more adorable?After our walk with Lizbeth was finished, Brian and I sat down outside the lodge, watching and listening to the wildlife and the ocean. We were suddenly told to come over as a boa constrictor had just been spotted. Here she is on a tree branch. What camoflague! It's entirely possible we walked by many snakes but they blended in so well we didn't see them as this was the only snake we saw on our trip and it needed to be pointed out to us:One afternoon, we decided to walk to Pavones, a nearby town that is world-famous among surfers for its long left wave. It was very hot, but we took off anyway. The scenery, as always was breathtaking. Here were a couple of pelicans that we encountered (the road to Pavones followed the ocean).
We're not sure how long the trip was; we were told estimates of 6-10 kilometers. Which doesn't sound like a lot, but it was incredibly hot. Here I am, trying to get a bit of a breeze:
As we were despairing of ever reaching Pavones, a man with a pick-up truck stopped. He didn't speak English, and we don't speak much Spanish, but we managed to understand that he was offering us a ride to Pavones. We gladly accepted and went the rest of the way in the back of his truck. The ride was quite bumpy but we survived! At the end, Brian was getting his wallet out, but the driver pulled away -- he was just being a nice guy.
It took us a while to actually find the beach as you have to walk down a path that's rather hidden. We had been dropped off directly in front of the path, but we didn't realize it, adding about 40 minutes of walking. We stopped at a store to buy some Gatorade. We were just about to give up and walk back to Tiskita when we saw some surfers heading down the path and we decided to follow them.
We made it down to the beach and watched the surfers for a while. It didn't appear that they knew each other beforehand, but they would have occasional surf conferences:
We needed to get back for dinner, so we started the long walk back, wishing there was a cab service. We were still a mile or so away from our destination, when a couple of kids got off of this school bus and asked if we were going to Punta Banco. We told them that we were at Tiskita. They motioned for us to get on the school bus, and we rode with 6 or so elementary kids. How extraordinary! This would never happen in America! We were so grateful and happy. Every single person we met was very friendly.
On our last morning at Tiskita, we decided to take one more walk down by the pond to see if we could spot the crocodile. Our last dozen or so attempts were unsuccessful, but we had time until the taxi picked us up, so we decided to go for a walk.Just as on the other days, the wildlife we saw did not disappoint. We saw this beautiful bird land on this tree; then make what sounded like an alarm call. It looked to be a bird of prey of some sort, but we have no idea what kind!
To our left we saw the above gorgeous white bird, and then to our right we saw the below gorgeous black bird:
Could that be the crocodile peering out at us?It sure was! And he rewarded our patience with an even better look! After a few minutes, he appeared to get bored with us and sunk back under the pond. What luck we had!Before we knew it, we returned to the lodge for an early lunch and then the taxi met us to take us to the airport. Tiskita was an amazing experience and we will be back!
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