On November 10 we made a bus expedition to the La Marina Wildlife Rescue Center, located just northeast of Ciudad Quesada (also known as San Carlos) in central CR. We rose early and started our journey at 06:30. Four buses later, we got off right in front at 11:40.
We ate our packed lunch topped off with a Pepsi and a locally-made "Hamlet" chocolate bar - kind of cheap milk chocolate over rice crispies. At 26 cents, it was worth a try, but not in the same league as a Snickers bar... We also found a neat little travelling dominoes set, which we bought. In we went.
The rescue center is built on a former dairy farm, started in 1957 on 11 hectares (27 acres) of rolling pasture and forest, and narrowly subsisting on donations and volunteer effort (http://www.zoocostarica.com/). It has 300-400 animal species in enclosures and 100 more walking, crawling or flying around freely.
Being an overcast day in Nov, we appeared to be the only visitors on this huge reserve. A gravel, wood plank or cinder block trail winds through forests teeming with birds and ground animals. Scarlet macaws, free to fly off, perch ten feet away - complaining noisily about nothing in particular. A whole host of other birds abound, along with ground animals, chattering squirrels and silent deer roaming freely. Within clusters of cages interspersed here and there are many tropical exotic species recovering from injuries and, if possible, to be returned to protected wild areas.
Monkeys hang lazily on wire mesh, looking at you at eye level from 6 inches away, their brown wrinkled small child-like fingers draping through to stroke.
Two African lionesses were donated by the BBC for the good works of the center, which subsists on donations and volunteers. A range of CR cats (marguay, ocelot, leopard, puma) do not have it so good - they are caged in small concrete enclosures, waiting for donations for a larger enclosure. This area is one we will look into more closely in future. In a separate post are some images from our tour.
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