Brahmin Cattle at the Hacienda Solimar in Guanacaste Costa Rica

As part of my birdwatching tour in Costa Rica we headed for the hot and dry Guanacaste region in the north-west of the country where we had a two-night stay at Hacienda Solimar or Solimar Lodge. Guanacaste, in the northwest of Costa Rica, is bounded on the east by a group of green-swathed volcanoes forming the Cordillera de Guanacaste and the Cordillera de Tilarán. The rivers that tumble out of these steep mountains flow down to rolling flatlands, drained by the Rio Tempisque, which empties through swampy wetlands into de Gulf of Nicoya. Guanacaste’s climate and culture are unique among Costa Rican provinces. The province experiences little rain and consistent heat from November to April, resulting in tropical dry forests as a natural adaption to the dry season conditions. Tourists seek out this dry heat during the North American winter to enjoy the beaches and Guanacaste is home to a large colony of American expatriates. The Solimar Lodge is just east of Palo Verde National Park, which is part of the Tempisque Conservation Area, that contains much of the area of the valley of the Tempisque River and covers an area of 45,492 acres in Guanacaste Province. The surrounding region is mostly tropical dry forests, and the Park concentrates on conserving vital floodplain, marshes, limestone ridges, and seasonal pools from the encroachment of civilization which was putting the ecology of the area at risk. The Solimar Lodge is just one part of the large Solimar ranch (Hacienda Solimar), one of the largest cattle ranches in Costa Rica. They specialize in Brahmin cattle which have been bred for arid terrain such as Guanacaste where cattle is raised mainly for beef.
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