Cerro Lodge

I had a few days before joining my paragliding/nature group so I looked on the internet and ended up at Cerro (hill) Lodge. I didn't know much about it but it looked good to me - small, nature oriented, a decent looking restaurant.

I ended up with a cabin of my own (with three beds!). It has air conditioning but I barely use it. It's hot enough, but it seems wasteful to me. I can sleep even when it's warm. And it does cool off a bit at night.

There is a nice little pool. You can often tell how well a place is looked after by looking at the pool. It doesn't take long to get grungy if it's not constantly maintained. This one looked good.

There wasn't any bougainvillea, but lots of hibiscus.

I got there mid-afternoon so I didn't have time for much the first day. I was happy to see geckos on the ceiling of the restaurant.

The restaurant had a good view of the sunset.

Supper the first night was highlighted by insects that I assume were attracted to the light. They kept landing on the table beside me where they definitely weren't appreciated. The best one was a praying mantis that landed on the person beside me's back. I wasn't sure about the protocol for photographing insects on a stranger's back. I tried to tell him there was something on his back but it then ran up his back and neck and up to the top of his head and then flew away. Here are two that I did manage to photograph. (with my iPhone)

My cabin had an outdoor bathroom, which I think is cool, but some of the reviews complained about.

Just before going to bed, I went out to the bathroom. And found a yellow tree frog on the toilet seat. Very cool. I had to go and get my light and macro lens to photograph it.

Once I was finished with the photography I gently move it off the toilet seat. At which point I realized there was something else watching me. Can you spot it?

It was a Giant Toad, about the size of half a grapefruit. There was a dripping pipe beside this that kept the dirt damp and it has returned to this exact location each night. I imagine some guests might not appreciate it. Of course, they might not notice it either.

What most people seem to come here for are the Scarlet Macaws. They have feeders for them on the restaurant patio and they come every day. They seem quite adjusted to people in close proximity.

After feeding, sometimes they fly down to the pool to have a drink.

The Black Vultures also stopped by to drink from the pool, but they didn't get fed :-)

There were a variety of other birds around as well.

When the birds aren't around, I'm just as happy to photograph some of the many butterflies (when they sit still long enough).

While butterflies are pretty, I was happy with whatever insects I could find (other than mosquitoes!)

This large (3 inches) Katydid crawled around on the ceiling of the restaurant for most of one day. I like the yellow eyes. I'm sure most people didn't notice it. Luckily it didn't fall in anyone's soup :-)

This scorpion would have been more exciting if it wasn't dead, but it was still neat to see.

On the more charismatic side, there are also Variegated Squirrels around.

That's a sampling from my first day and a half. Lots more to come if I can keep up with editing and identifying.

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