New Eco Reserve

[RainForestt Robert]

Jeff, a really nice property. Thanks for the photos. How much does 700 acres cost?

Robert

[Jeff in St Pete]

Wal, I've never seen any leeches and I've never heard about them being a problem here.

Mark, they are still in the beginning phases so I would rather not talk about their plans, but trust me, this place is going to be fantastic!

Thanks Kim. I still have more photos to post.

Randy, it's in the same general area as Rainmaker, but it's closer to Quepos.

Bill, you always have a standing invite here. The older thread was about Rainmaker which is a different property.

Robert, I couldn't even begin to guess how much 700 acres would be. More than I can afford!

[Jeff in St Pete]

Nice little palms that were growing under the shade of the Cacao trees

Bromeliads

[Jeff in St Pete]

Nice ornamental plant growing in a tree

The flowers

close-up

[Jeff in St Pete]

Our picnic near the waterfall

I think this is a Geonoma sp.

[Jeff in St Pete]

We got about half way finished eating lunch when it started to rain. We gathered everything up and headed back to the front porch of the lodge where we finished our picnic.

This plant was behind the lodge growing from the base of a large tree.

Undersides of the leaves

the lodge

[Jeff in St Pete]

The rain was over quickly, so while everyone was finishing lunch I wandered up the path past the lodge

Etlingera elatior

Elaeis guineensis

[Jeff in St Pete]

Up above the lodge on a hilltop was a clearing with great views of the coast.

Another Elaeis guineensis

[Jeff in St Pete]

[Jeff in St Pete]

African Tulip Tree

the flowers

walking back down to the lodge

Since it stopped raining, everyone decided to go back over to the waterfall. A couple friends decided they wanted to take a dip and cool off.

[Jeff in St Pete]

Ginger

Heliconia

Frog

Back down at the waterfall

[Jeff in St Pete]

Getting a free neck massage!

Swimming in the pool below the falls

Nice place to sit and enjoy the falls

Carludovica palmata

[Jeff in St Pete]

While the girls were swimming, I walked down the river a little further to explore some more.

[Jeff in St Pete]

I walked back and they were still in the water

[Jeff in St Pete]

getting ready to head back to the lodge

[Jeff in St Pete]

[Jeff in St Pete]

Plants around the lodge

[Jeff in St Pete]

Packing up to leave.

That's all the photos that I resized. I took over 700 that day!

[OldNed]

Wow Jeff!

That unusual looking flower in Post #6 is the appropriately named Hot Lips plant...Psychotria elata. It's a Coffee relative-in the same genus as the native "Wild Coffee"...Psychotria nervosa that grows here in Florida.

The Cool looking frog in Post #30 is also well-named: It's a Green and Black Poison Dart Frog...Dendrobates auratus.

¡Pura vida! indeed!

[junglegalfla]

You weren't kidding! What a magical looking place! Fantastic photos as always, thanks!

[Jeff Searle]

Yep....I'm just about ready to go back down to CR. What great memories! And what's up, you and 4 ladies? Awe, never mind.

And I see you found some of my little Zamia's. Nice....I couldn't really tell by your pictures, were they a smooth leaf( Z. fairchildiana)?

And 700 acres? Wow, that's a big spread. Maybe on a return trip down, I would love to visit.

That large leaf branch coming of a large tree you said, looks really interesting. Seeds? Come on, keep me in mind $

In ending, it looks like you and the ladies had a great day. Thanks for taking the time to share with all of us.

Jeff

[Jeff in St Pete]

Ned, thanks for the ID on Hot Lips. I remember that name from our guide during the last Biennial. Thanks for reminding me! Thanks for the ID on the poison dart frog too.

Thanks Bren! I have a lot of new places to show you when you visit next time.

LOL Jeff! Yes, me and 4 ladies... we call ourselves the unofficial "Pura Vida Garden Club" and we try to do an outing every couple of weeks. Our next trip may be to a bamboo grower down south near Dominical or we are going to check out some nurseries up near Jaco. You should definitely come back for a visit. I always have an extra apartment available, so come on down when you can. You and Andrea are always welcome here.

I guess you saw something in my photos that I didn't notice because I don't remember seeing any Zamia. I thought I saw one when I first arrived, but after feeling the leaf, I realized it wasn't a Zamia. Isn't there a Chamaedorea that looks like a Zamia?

[Al in Kona]

Jeff, Post #6 is a probably more wild form of Mussaenda. There are hybrids of this plant that are super beautiful that people plant in their gardens.

[LauraAnu]

Jeff,

These photos were awesome. I hope I will be able to come to Costa Rica some day and be able to see all this natural beauty for myself.

Laura

[Moose]

Jeff - great pictures! Thank you for taking the time to post the photos and sharing with us the beautiful scenery and unique plants inthe reserve!

Ron.

[The Palm Nut]

Great photos

Thanks

Mike

[Jeff in St Pete]

Thanks everyone for all the nice comments!

A few days ago I got an email from a Botanist who lives in Costa Rica and works for Missouri Botanical Garden. A colleague of his who is traveling through Southeast Asia happened to see my post and saw some unusual plants in my photos and she asked him to check out the posting. Anyway, he got in touch with me and said he would like to come to the Eco Reserve to collect some herbarium specimens. I will be taking him to the site next weekend and I will post some additional photos at that time. This should be a lot of fun!

[NCpalmqueen]

Wow. So many plants. Such beauty. I do hope everything will be preserved as is. Fantastic post! How long is an airplane ride from florida to CR?

[Jeff in St Pete]

Hi Cindy, they are planning to do everything with as little impact as possible. Accomodations will most likely be in tent cabins on top of wooden platforms. This will be a very eco-friendly place.

The plane ride from Miami or Ft Lauderdale is only about 2.5 hours. It's a very quick flight.

[palmislandRandy]

Nice pics Jeff! I'm drooling. We were planning Costa Rica in March, after wifey finishes school, but isn't it too dry? I was there in April & it was kinda dusty, We may wait till after the rain season.

[amazondk]

Thanks for the pictures Jeff. Nothing like a waterfall in the forest to make one feel good.

dk

[Jeff in St Pete]

Thanks for the pictures Jeff. Nothing like a waterfall in the forest to make one feel good.

dk

I agree Don!

I went back to the site today with a botanist and I took more photos but... it started raining and even though I covered my camera, it got wet or damp and now it won't work. This is my third camera in three years. I guess I'm not supposed to take any photos here. I give up!

[Jeff in St Pete]

Nice pics Jeff! I'm drooling. We were planning Costa Rica in March, after wifey finishes school, but isn't it too dry? I was there in April & it was kinda dusty, We may wait till after the rain season.

Hi Randy, March and April are traditionally the two driest months of the year.

My favorite time of year is June and July - the rainy season is well underway by then and everything is much more green and lush. The mornings and early afternoons are sunny, then it gets cloudy and rains in the late afternoon or usually only at night.

[Jeff in St Pete]

Well, the camera still isn't working but I removed the memory chip and stuck it in my computer and downloaded the photos without the camera. I was hoping it would dry out and magically start working again, but I think it's a goner.

Here are some of the photos I took today. These will probably be the last photos I post for a long time.

Near the entrance to the river trail

I posted a photo of this plant when I was here the first time but now it has a new flush of leaves.

New leaves

[Jeff in St Pete]

[Jeff in St Pete]

I think this is from the Cyclanthaceae family

the flower

An interesting plant that was collected today

[Jeff in St Pete]

[Jeff in St Pete]

[Jeff in St Pete]

Socratea exorrhiza

[Jeff in St Pete]