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Feb 04, 2020 - National Geographic Quest
We find ourselves within one of the calmest bays of Costa Rica. Not only for exploration, today was also a great opportunity to meet and mingle with locals and learn about their culture and day-to-day of Costa Rican living.
We visit plantations for sugar cane, chocolate and heart of palm. Each of these contain a great bit of history while the families managing them share insight into their newfound life in sustainable production and conservation of their rainforests. We feel pride for them and, in addition, enjoy the surrounding wildlife as these families work together to further improve their local habitat.
Later we are treated to folkloric dance performances by children; you can tell how passionate they are about their customs. It was a great day, humid but diverse in culture and wildlife.
Nicknamed “Indio” (Indian) because of his powers of observation and quiet nature, José has almost two decades of experience working as a naturalist and photography guide; as well as being recognized as an expert birder and nature photographer in Costa Rica. Costa Rica is rich in biodiversity — over 893 bird species have been recorded in the country. Since very young José spent all of his free time in the outdoors in the forest, where he soon fell in love with the birds. He particularly enjoys listening to their calls, and watching their behavior. Oddly enough, another one of Jose’s passions is science and technology, and because of this, he was among the first in Costa Rica to experiment with digital photography. As the technology quickly improved so did his love for it. He truly believes that nature photography is the perfect combination of both of his passions.
David Pickar is a native of Portland, Oregon. He studied anthropology at the University of Oregon, then spent several years working as a field archaeologist. Participating in excavations in countries like Jordan, Belize and Italy and in every corner of the US, allowed him to witness culture and the environment from an unusual perspective.