Three Brothers Rediscover Each Other

On May 9th, Ken and I finally got to travel together with his other two brothers and their wives. We had been working on putting a trip together for a few years.  Now that everyone is retired except Joan, we were able to make it happen, after setting it up almost one year ago.  We all had our concerns and expectations - James, would it keep his interest, Mark, how he would interact with the whole group, Ken, would the rest of the family enjoy themselves after promoting OAT for over ten years.  Well...expectations met!

 

The clay-colored thrush is a common Middle American bird of the thrush family. It is the national bird of Costa Rica, where it is well known as the yigüirro. Other common names include clay-colored robin.  It is not a very prepossessing bird, being mainly dull brown over the upper parts, becoming paler brown below, with a whitish throat streaked darker, and pinkish legs, and a slightly yellow bill.

• It will follow army ants to feed on small prey disturbed by the ant columns.
• With their springtime songs, Clay-colored Thrush are said to call in the rains at the start of Costa Rica's rainy season which begins in May.ttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay-colored_thrush
  

So, the three ladies also had a great time rediscovering each other.  On the chocolate tour, we found that we all had quite a fondness for chocolate (among other things) and learned how to make a very nice hot chocolate drink for breakfast.  Thank you Cheri!  How lucky am I to have such great sisters-in-law. 

The slatey-tailed trogon is a resident of the canopy and higher levels of damp tropical forests, but comes lower in adjacent semi-open areas. It nests 3 to 15 m (9.8 to 49.2 ft) high in an occupied termite nest or decaying tree trunk, with a typical clutch of three white or bluish-white eggs laid in a chamber reached by an ascending tunnel. Both sexes excavate the nesting chamber.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slaty-tailed_trogon

 Here we are at the beginning of our travels getting to know the real people of San Jose, Costa Rica.  This lady is a prostitute who was kind enough to share her experiences of daily life routines and struggles to make ends meet.  Prostitution is legal is Costa Rica so they do not have to worry about pimps and they get medical checkups.  However, this woman does seem to have a drug addiction. I have to say I never saw the brothers "checking out" the lady. 😵😍We learned a little about the history of the city and the country.  There is no military force, and San Jose has a beautiful National Theater built in the 1800's resembling buildings in Europe.

The boat-billed heron, colloquially known as the boatbill, is an atypical member of the heron family. 
Boat-billed herons feed on shrimp and small fish such as Dormitator latifrons, a species of sleeper goby.^[5][7] They tend to forage in vegetative streams, shallow water, and lagoons. When foraging in streams they will use low hanging branches and mangrove roots to stand over the water. In ponds they will walk slowly through the water up to 10 cm deep or will forage near the water’s edge.^[5] In order to capture prey they will lunge at fish or scoop the surface of the water with their bills which are uniquely shaped for this method of capture.^[5] Additionally, they have been observed using two different feeding techniques; standing and slowly stalking prey, or disturbing the water and chasing prey.^[7] Boat-billed herons will forage nocturnally, and have been seen leaving the roost 30 minutes after sundown to feed. It has been observed that they do not feed when a light source is present such as daylight, moonlight, or artificial light.^[6][5] One study hypothesized that in order to forage for food in the dark and in shallow, muddy water, their bills are sensitive to touch which helps them feel for their prey.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

We next visited a coffee farm and flower farm.  We were treated to the produce which was all organically grown.  Ken and I celebrated our 45th anniversary while we learned about pineapple, how to grow them, and how to to select one at the grocery store.  The fellows loved sampling all of the various ways pineapple is used in food and all three have a healthy appetite.  After the farms, we got more active rafting down the Sarapiqui almost running into a spider web and working hard to stay in the boat.  

The groove-billed ani is an odd-looking tropical bird in the cuckoo family with a long tail and a large, curved beak.  Like other anis, the Groove-billed Ani lives in small groups of one to five breeding pairs. They defend a single territory and lay their eggs in one communal nest. All group members incubate the eggs and care for the young.
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Groove-billed_Ani/overview

We visited families to learn what life is like for Costa Rican people and found that traveling together like we are doing is exactly what families in Costa Rica do.  Our trip leader told us a great story about what it is like to go to the beach with a Costa Rican family.  They often live together in extended families and are very considerate and helpful to each other.  Family first!  Ken, James, and Mark are a good example of how family support each other. I never hear them say a negative thing about each other or even other people.  They always offered to help anyone in our group who needed it.  It's the same at home, they always step up to support their nieces and nephews.  I feel very fortunate to be apart of this family.

The black vulture, also known as the American black vulture, is a bird in the New World vulture family whose range extends from the southeastern United States to Central Chile and Uruguay in South America.  Wikipedia
Black Vultures are large raptors. In flight, they hold their broad, rounded wings flat and angled slightly forward. The tail is very short and rounded. They have small, bare heads and narrow but strongly hooked bills.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black_Vulture

We got to hang out together participating in fun activities like rafting, swimming, picnicking, horseback riding, and hiking to waterfalls.  We got to talk, share viewpoints, ideas, and dreams.  We broke bread together, looked after each other's needs, and reveled in our discoveries.  What more can three brothers (and their wives) ask for.