King Vultures, Questionable Bridges and a Very Good Find

I’d heard about a new king vulture hide in Sarapiquí. My partner guide had heard about it too, but neither of us had been there, so naturally I wanted to check it out. So off I went. 

I’d already visited two other king vulture hides in Costa Rica, so this was my third. I’m pretty particular about scouting the locations for my photography experiences. I want to see them for myself before I decide whether they’re good enough to take other photographers to.

I was with my guide, Joseph, and we were chatting as we drove. Then, completely casually, he interrupted the conversation:

“Here’s Oh My God Bridge #1.”

“I’m sorry, what is “Oh My God Bridge #1”?

No sooner had I asked I saw a road sign.

ATTENTION. 

BRIDGE IN POOR CONDITION.

RISK OF CABLE DETACHMENT

Well, bloody excellent.

I’m scared of heights. I don’t like rope bridges, hanging bridges, driving across bridges, climbing ladders, etc. You name it, I don’t like it. 

Clearly, we were going across it. 

So I asked Joseph: “Should I do this slowly or quickly?”

“Quite quickly, but not too quickly.”

What does that even mean?

Onto the bridge we go. Every piece of that bridge is loose and bouncing around. And that’s just the mechanics of the bridge. It is also a hanging bridge, but there didn't seem to be much keeping it hanging. We were pretty much driving across a rope bridge, swaying back and forth and rocking from side to side. 

We made it, but I nearly shit myself before I even saw the king vultures. 

But wait…he said OMG bridge #1. #1!!! There’s more?

There were two more. Don’t worry that’s the worst one. It might have been the worst one but they each had their own slightly different dangers, and each of them had a danger sign. 

It’s essentially saying: these bridges could collapse at any minute!

Anyway, once we'd survived the bridges, there were some king vultures to photograph.

It was the best king vulture hide I’d been to. It was more of a log cabin. It was spacious and airy. There was a toilet. A table. Snacks and drinks had been supplied. 

And most importantly…we had 14 king vultures and clean backgrounds. 

Normally they see around five. 

Not only had I survived the bridges, I’d also had a lot of king vulture sightings and got to photograph howler monkeys. 

I was even being treated as a consultant, giving advice on how they could improve the hide for photographers.

On the drive back through the stunning countryside, I pulled over to take a picture of the river. Joseph said, “if you want a picture of the river, we can drive down to the river.”  

He knew the way. 

“This spot gets really busy at the weekend with the locals”. 

I’m not surprised. 

The spot was stunning. There were kingfishers and other birds around the place. 

There was another OMG bridge, but we didn’t need to cross this river by car, so we kept it on the safe side. Let’s not take any more unnecessary risks. 

So we went. Survived. 

We came back. Survived. 

And in between, got some awesome photographs and found a tranquil lunch spot by the river.

And so this has become part of my itinerary for a future experience. Not just this king vulture site, but the river site. 

Three king vulture hides, three OMG bridges, fourteen king vultures and a beautiful river later, I'd found exactly what I'd gone looking for, without even realising it.

And that's really the point of all the scouting I've been doing. I don't want to just take people to places where wildlife exists. I want to know that the places, the wildlife, the photography and the experience are all worth the journey. 

This one absolutely is!

If you join me in Costa Rica, I can’t promise all experiences will have an OMG bridge or two involved (although they're meant to be repaired soon), but I can promise you an unforgettable experience.

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