(Dave from So-Cal @ Feb. 11 2008,13:36)

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OUCH!

Just swooned into some re-bar . . . .

That "Pig" is AWESOME . . . . .

Dave, when I spotted that "piggy" I walked right into a hanging tree branch!  I was so focused on trying to get closer and I wasn't paying attention!

(Kim @ Feb. 11 2008,13:55)

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Puerto Viejo looks very appealing.

Kim, It is a very cool, laid back kind of place.  Definitely worth a visit!

What a nifty looking place, so laid back and undeveloped.  What an amazing palm that Socratea is, those stilts were almost as tall

as you are.

Tim

Hi Tim,

For scale, I'm about 6'1" (185.4 cm).  That shows you how big those stilt roots are.  What beautiful palms they are too!  I have a few Socratea seeds germinating right now, so seeing them in person was a real treat.

Jeff, great photos from the other side of Costa Rica. That piggy sure looks like a Metroxylon to me.

I've never been to that side, but a long time resident of C.R. tells me English is still widely spoken on that side of the divide.

Thanks for the photos! I've been over there to surf once back in the early 90's.  What an awesome place!

(JakeK @ Feb. 11 2008,20:07)

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Jeff, great photos from the other side of Costa Rica. That piggy sure looks like a Metroxylon to me.

I've never been to that side, but a long time resident of C.R. tells me English is still widely spoken on that side of the divide.

Hi Jake,

They do speak patois which is English (kind of).  It sounded just like the way they speak in Jamaica only here they mix the patois with spanish and keep switching back and forth.  There is a lot more diversity on the Caribbean side of the country.  There are local indiginous tribes and many Jamaican/Caribbean descendents that settled there generations ago, a real melting pot - which is very different from the rest of the country.  Reggae music blasts from every bar and some spicier food can be found there too.  It was a great trip and I hope to go back again!

(Central Floridave @ Feb. 11 2008,20:15)

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Thanks for the photos! I've been over there to surf once back in the early 90's.  What an awesome place!

Dave, did you surf the Salsa Brava?

wonderful pix,jeff! we are lucky to have your input!

(Jeff in Costa Rica @ Feb. 11 2008,10:32)

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This next palm stopped me in my tracks!  I thought at first, Metroxylon?  But it was labeled as Pigafetta filaris.  I didn't see any spines though, is it a Piggy?  This palm was huge and the guy told me it was planted two years ago from a one gallon pot.  I knew Piggy's were fast, but is that possible?  

Awesome palm!

Thanks Paul, I appreciate that!

Here's a couple more pics that I uploaded on photobucket but forgot to post.  Seeing Luis Diego's pic of the seeds in the "Fruit Pictures" post made me remember them.  I had never even heard of this palm until I saw them at the Botanical Garden.

Yes, Salsa Brava.  What an awesome break.  I like how after you catch the wave  the river takes you right back to the lineup.   It had some size when I was there and buckled my board, then paddled back out with another one and broke a leash.   Pretty intimidating wave, but pretty fun.  

It was a long time ago, but you describe it very well.  RastaMon lives there.  Jah is alive and well in those jungles!  

Thanks again for the photos and sparking my memory banks!

Jeff,

    It looks like a nice Asterogyne martiana in #13. One of my favorite palms down there. Your pictures are great, and I'm starting to get excited about the biennial coming up everytime I see your pictures.Thanks,

Jeff

Very awesome pics,as usual Jeff.That Piggy is unbelievable.I could definitely spend some quality time in a place like that.

(Central Floridave @ Feb. 12 2008,20:18)

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Jah is alive and well in those jungles!  

You are so right!!

(Jeff Searle @ Feb. 12 2008,23:02)

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Jeff,

    It looks like a nice Asterogyne martiana in #13. One of my favorite palms down there. Your pictures are great, and I'm starting to get excited about the biennial coming up everytime I see your pictures.Thanks,

Jeff

Thanks Jeff!

Do you mean post #11?  Post 13 is a brom.  I always get Asterogyne martiana and Calyptrogyne ghiesbreghtiana mixed up, although I think am starting to see the differences.

(Chuck B @ Feb. 12 2008,23:29)

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Very awesome pics,as usual Jeff.That Piggy is unbelievable.I could definitely spend some quality time in a place like that.

Thanks Chuck!  I'm still not convinced that palm is a Pigafetta.  Aren't Piggies covered in spines?  But, since I don't think I have ever seen one in person before, I really don't know for sure.

(Jeff in Costa Rica @ Feb. 13 2008,10:47)

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(Jeff Searle @ Feb. 12 2008,23:02)

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Jeff,

    It looks like a nice Asterogyne martiana in #13. One of my favorite palms down there. Your pictures are great, and I'm starting to get excited about the biennial coming up everytime I see your pictures.Thanks,

Jeff

Thanks Jeff!

Do you mean post #11?  Post 13 is a brom.  I always get Asterogyne martiana and Calyptrogyne ghiesbreghtiana mixed up, although I think am starting to see the differences.

Jeff,

   Excuse me, yes #11. Well, when their in flower, Calyptrogyne will have a single flower spike and will usually stick up high over the leaves. The leaves are a little different shape and when you look at both of them many times, you will start to get a feel which one is which.

Jeff

Jeff, thanks so much for the tip!  I'll remember that one.  

It's taking me a long time to be able to identify many of these rainforest palms.

Jeff, Thank you for the awesome post. How would you charaterize the difference between the Pacific and Carribean sides of CR.Specifically, the water, the climate ,the people and the palms?

Hi Bubba,

I would be glad to offer my observations.

Water/Beaches -  The pacific side of Costa Rica is more rocky and rugged.  There are areas where sheer cliffs rise up right out of the ocean.  The rocks and cliffs are interspersed with some nice coves and bays with beautiful beaches.  The water is usually around 85 degrees

The Caribbean side has a large flat plain that runs from the beach way back to base of the mountains.  This area is mostly agriculture (bananas and pineapples are what I saw the most of).  The entire Caribbean coastline is pretty much undeveloped except for a few cities/towns.  The beaches there ranged from golden sand, to dark grey sand, to black sand.  The water there was not much different from the Pacific (both areas have a lot of waves), and felt about the same temperature.  Both coasts of Costa Rica are popular surfing spots.  

Climate - This is the biggest difference.  Most of Costa Rica (including where I live) has a distinct dry season that runs from Dec/Jan through April/May.  

On the Caribbean side, all bets are off and it can rain any time of the year (although I hear they have one mostly dry month which is in Sept).  It seems that most of the rains come at night or in the morning and then it clears up.  It rained one night while I was there but it was beautiful and hot the rest of the time.  One thing I did notice is that I needed 2 blankets at night to sleep.  And the resort did not have air conditioning!  The air was very chilly at night near the beach.  I asked someone who goes to Puerto Viejo all the time and she said that it was unusual for it to be chilly at night, it is usually very warm.  This time of year both sides of the coasts are hot as hell during the day!  Even though we are officially in the northern hemisphere, they call this time of year "Summer".  Kids are on Summer break from just before Christmas until Feb, in fact they just went back to school last week.

People - Where I live it's mostly Ticos (Costa Ricans) and expats.  On the caribbean coast there are many people of Jamaican/Caribbean heritage which is seen in the food and music there.  It's definitely more of a melting pot of people on that coast.  Unfortunately because of this, the Caribbean coast was pretty much ignored by the rest of Costa Rica in the past but things are changing.  It's funny how everyone in San Jose and here in Quepos will say "don't go over to the Caribbean side, it's dangerous over there" which I found to be completely false.  It's no more dangerous over there than where I live.  I felt totally safe walking around Puerto Viejo at night.

Palms - Coconuts are still the most widely seen palm on both coasts.  I did see some Iriarteas and Socrateas on the drive from San Jose over to the Caribbean side.  But other than at the Botanical garden in Puerto Viejo, I didn't see much of anything out of the ordinary over there.  Lots of coconuts, Dypsis lutescens, Cyrtostachys renda, the usual palms that you see all over Costa Rica planted in yards and around businesses.

I really like both coasts of this country and they are both worth visiting!

I finally got the rest of my pictures from this trip uploaded onto photobucket.  Here they are in no particular order.

At Finca La Isla Botanical Garden (FLIBG)

Beach in front of the hotel

Bromeliads at the hotel

These broms are planted around the large Ravenala madagascariensis shown in earlier pictures.

Iriartea deltoidea

At FLIBG

A couple more shots of those fantastic Astrocaryum alatum fronds

And a few more pics of that incredible Pigafetta filaris.  On closer inspection, there are spines on this palm, they were just not as prominant as I thought.  

Nice reddish color bark on this tree

Biz

Licuala grandis in the sunlight

Tall Bactris

and with the zoom lens

Tree Fern

Heliconia bloom

The croton was the size of a small tree!  I love the way the sunlight lights up the spots of red in the leaves.

Another big travelers tree.  This one at FLIBG

More broms at FLIBG

Phytelephas aequatorialis

Beach shots in Puerto Viejo

Streets of Puerto Viejo

Wow...Nice Costa Rica...

Sweet Banana azul, Jeff...The Socrateas and Coccothrinax crinitas are fantastic...

That`s interesting the way the Pigafetta looks, with such long petioles and leaves...maybe in partial shade they tend to look less compact?