We’re back from Rescate Wildlife Rescue Center. What an experience and adventure! It was fabulous! I took sooo many pictures and so did Lisa. Jon got some, too. Here are some of the best ones I took, followed by links to some videos of some of the critters:
Kris and Jon in Front of Eagle/Hawk Sculpture at Entrance
Photo by Lisa Twining
Albino Python
Massive Python 
Sloth and Monkey Sculptures
White Hawk
Black Bird on Head Dinosaur Sculpture
Toucan
Anteater Sculpture
Tapir Sculpture
Wild peccary sound asleep
Sloth Sculpture
White Faced Monkey
Non-native capybaras
Miniature Horse
Lisa with Goat (of course!)
Jon with goat
Lisa with Miniature Horse
Selfies with Ocelot Sculpture
Some of Costa Rica’s Butterfly Species
Restaurant Sculpture
Serval Photo on Menu (a non-native species)
Lisa in front of my gate
Another Shot Me and Jon at Entrance
Photo by Lisa
Lisa and Jon at Entrance
Photo by me
Blue and Gold Macaws
(Lapas in Spanish)
Green and Hybrid Macaws
Macaws/Lapas Sculpture
Lisa Filming Sculpture
Iguanas on Pathways
Black Turtles
Macaws/Lapas
Peacock
Magnificent Peacock
Green Iguana Sculpture
Crocodiles
Pre Columbian Artifacts
Various animal skulls and beaks
Photo by Jon
Happy Camper!!!
VIDEO LINKS:
The Goat Whisperer
https://www.facebook.com/674337914/videos/pcb.10164734663042915/1243710814362386
White Faced Monkey
https://www.facebook.com/674337914/videos/pcb.10164734663042915/719757864408289
Peccaries
https://www.facebook.com/674337914/videos/pcb.10164734663042915/889524893694681
Toucan
https://www.facebook.com/674337914/videos/pcb.10164734663042915/1285860313605994
https://www.facebook.com/674337914/videos/pcb.10164734663042915/1447457503766497
Jon and Iguana
https://www.facebook.com/674337914/videos/pcb.10164734663042915/893458300062949
Guinea Hens
https://www.facebook.com/674337914/videos/pcb.10164734663042915/1159671882740426
Iguana
https://www.facebook.com/674337914/videos/pcb.10164734663042915/920786414104581
Peacock
https://www.facebook.com/674337914/videos/pcb.10164734663042915/2226674494741259
Black Turtles
https://www.facebook.com/674337914/videos/pcb.10164734663042915/1244781347293518
We had a blast!
Adilio picked us up at my gate at 8:10 to drive us into Grecia to meet up with Jon’s vehicle. We chatted on the way in and Lisa was able to get her first look at central Grecia and the magnificent world-famous metal church (Church of Our Lady of Mercy/Templo Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes). She’ll get more up close and personal with it and environs when we ride in on th bus next week to spend time in town.
After Jon picked us up, he took the freeway route to Rescate Wildlife Recue Center in Alajuela (aka the Zoo, although it isn’t a zoo anymore). While he did that, he and Lisa got to know each other better while I listened and smiled. They hit it off right away. It was wonderful to watch and hear.
When we got to the rescue center, we took our first pix in the parking lot in front of an eagle and hawk sculpture and then walked down the path into the place.
AS soon as you walk in, you know you’re in a true Costa Rican natural environment. Large trees, grasses and other foliage envelopes you and iguanas and other free-roaming wildlife cross your path.
We paid and went in, took a look at the layout of the place and Jon led the way. Cicadas, bird calls, coyote songs and peacock screams accompanied us along the route, and we had to watch where we walked because here and there large iguanas lay sunning themselves on the walkways at our feet. At one point, Lisa was filming something and I had to let her know a big iguana had joined her so she wouldn’t accidentally step sideways onto it when she moved again.
The path took probably two hours to get around because at every few steps we stopped to take pix. Lisa’s camera captured the best ones, and I will share those in the next blog post. The ones you see in this one came mostly from my smartphone camera.
At the petting zoo part, of course we had to go in and pet the goats and miniature horses, and Lisa got a precious photo of a rabbit that is to die for. (Next blog post, I promise!)
The coyotes in their exhibit serenaded us immediately upon our arrival, so Lisa was able to capture the soulful, high-pitched sounds on video. I tried but failed.
We decided to eat lunch at Rescate, and were glad we did. The meals were fantastic and large. Lisa and I got a pescado meal and Jon chose chicken. We all drank something refreshing and chatted more, probably for about another hour. Lisa and Jon shared nursing stories.
I went into the bathroom a couple times to douse my shoulders and hair in cold water, because I was feeling a little overly warm. Everybody else seemed fine. Lisa was a little red-faced at first in the restaurant, but there were fans in there and the sides of it were open for breezes, so it was super comfortable in there and I recovered nicely.
When we finished there, we headed back to Grecia and then to San Isidro, chatting all the way.
It couldn’t have been a more perfect day for this outing. We only saw one sloth (sadly) but it was cream-colored and tucked away near the canopy, so Lisa got some great shots of it. We saw white faced and howler monkeys, but didn’t spot any spider monkeys.
Thank you, Adilio, for driving us in to connect with Jon. Lisa loved getting to know you better today and I always enjoy your company and our mutual language lessons!
And thank you Jon for spending the morning with us and driving us to and from Rescate and then back home this afternoon. You’re a prince!