We are going tonight! Today we did a morning hike with a local guide who is amazing and we hired him for the night walk today as well.
This morning all the guides were going crazy because we got to see a quetzal which is quite rare. The guides said that they take people out every day and see a quetzal only once a week.
Thatâs awesome.
You know its a cool bird when the name is âResplendent Quetzalâ. Iâm going to start calling myself The Resplendent Actuary.
Quetzal feathers were one of the most prized items in the Maya world. Only royalty were allowed to wear them. Copanâs first king of their big dynasty was named Great Sun, Quetzal Macaw the First. Quetzal is up there with jaguar as animal that comes up the most.
/Cliff Claven
Yes, and Montezumaâs quetzal headdress is sitting in a museum in Austria and they wonât give it back.
How legit is the whole âquetzals are so rare to seeâ thing? Because I and everyone I know who has been to CR has seen it lol.
Their population has been in decline which I think is a factor. They may be more unusual now than in the past. Costa Rica is kind of getting wrecked by climate change, a lot of things that have been in balance for a long time are getting unbalanced.
There are a bunch of different kinds of quetzals. Some are rarer than others. Resplendent has the longest tail feathers.
Iâm in China lol
Apparently the policy changed this morning from 7 day hotel quarantine +3 day at home quarantine to 5 +3. Hotel person in the wechat group is claiming they havenât heard anything and demanding the 7 day payment 
At immigration the woman asked me a bunch of questions about when and where I got married, what I was doing in Wuhan then, my wifeâs birthday etc and then had me call my wife and asked her similar questions and who are my siblings etc⊠Its adorable they think someone from America might use a sham marriage to get into China in 2022. I entered China a few times on a family visa in pre-covid days and no one ever asked any questions.
My (Mexican) girlfriend with said headdress. Not pleased, but at least Mexican nationals get free entry to the museum.
Thatâs a lot of restrictions.
Iâve also never heard of Frontier before. I assume those 65 days where the membership doesnât apply are likely July + August and around Christmas.
I might have to get this
Unlimited Frontier is like getting a yearâs supply of McDonaldâs.
But besides that, the bigger problem is fares on Frontier can be nearly free anyways. My fiancĂ© and I are going to the Bahamas over Christmas for $0 fare + $200 fees per person. I think Frontier is more aggressive than most at itemizing carrier-imposed fees, but Iâm in rural Mexico rn so my internet really isnât good enough to go into detail on it.
Theyâve also got wicked carry on and baggage fees. The whole airline is basically a front to charge those.
Feels like all airlines. Iâm just complaining itâs not like I have a solution but this model of charging for everything from seat assignments to cookies to carry on baggage just sucks.
Frontier decided to include international flights in their pass, with booking ten days in advance.
I donât mind it. I got absurdly cheap airfares all over Europe just using RyanAir and Wizz Air. I just took a school sized backpack and that was it. I traveled for over a month and didnât really feel like I was missing anything and itâs kinda refreshing having very little to lug around to and from airports, on trains, buses, etc. We never paid for a single upgrade.
Seems like they have a decent offering of international destinations, all the way to Costa Rica. Iâd probably use it if I were based in the America, if thereâs decent connectivity between the international cities.
