Aerial view of Tempisque RIver headwaters

This is a photo of the Tempisque River as our airliner was about to land at the international airport in Liberia, about an hour northeast of Tamarindo. The airport is in a plain near the Pacific Ocean on the west side of Liberia. This makes the airport especially convenient to the resort area along the Pacific beaches, such as Tamarindo.

Although the Tempisque River at this point is only about 5 km (3 miles) from the ocean, it does not flow into the nearby ocean. There are coastal hills that separate this plain from the ocean. Instead, the Tempisque River flows south about 60 km (40 miles) to form a delta as it flows into the Gulf of Nicoya, which farther south opens up into the Pacific.

The river is small at this point, but it becomes about four times this wide as it nears its mouth. The wildlife photos I have shown in the past from Palo Verde National Park, including crocodiles, monkeys and water fowl, are located in this same Tempisque River.

We are showing photos from the Amazon Jungle and the Nazca Lines in Peru on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.