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Birdwatching Tour, Puntarenas, Costa Rica. In Search of the Scarlet Macaws – Birdwatching in Costa Rica. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Birdwatching in Costa Rica – In Search of the Scarlet Macaws

Birdwatching in Costa Rica is a must-do experience, even if you’re not a twitcher or birder. There’s such an abundance of beautiful birds and with good guides they’re not hard to see. And that’s how we found ourselves on a birdwatching adventure in search of the Scarlet Macaws.

Birdwatching in Costa Rica – In Search of the Scarlet Macaws

We’ve left Manuel Antonio and Quepos behind us and we’re driving along the dead straight newly sealed road, the Costanera Sur, Costa Rica’s southern coastal highway. We periodically pass tiny hamlets of colourful low-rise cottages and stilted houses lined up neatly around football fields.

Roger, our guide for our birdwatching in Costa Rica experience, is at the wheel of the vehicle.

“These settlements were built by the United Fruit Company in 1940,” he tells us, pointing out some rather quaint old housing along the way. “They were built for people hired to work the banana plantations, and, when they weren’t successful, cocao, then recently, palm plantations to produce palm oil.” Oh.

Birdwatching Tour, Puntarenas, Costa Rica. In Search of the Scarlet Macaws – Birdwatching in Costa Rica. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

“I love this road,” Roger says, “Every town along here has a history.”

And as we cruise by each tiny village, Roger explains what the name of the village means. Roncador was named after a snoring fish, like a sea bass. Girona is named after a little girl who lost her baby. La Mona is named after the ‘mona’ (or ‘mono’), the monkeys who play on the town soccer field. And Maritima is named after the sea and the nearby beach, Playa de Rey.

Roger tells us that he started his tour company ten years ago, on the advice of his professors, after completing a degree in business. While a birdwatching company might not seem the logical outcome of a business degree, Roger loves it. Based in Quepos, his company offers everything from mangrove cruises to canopy tours, and today he is taking us out for a spot of birding.

We cross the bridge over the wide, muddy Savegre River (it’s the colour of chocolate milk) and turn onto a gravel, dirt road. We’re headed for El Silencio, a nature reserve 28 kilometres from Quepos, created by a farming cooperative on land that once belonged to the United Fruit Company 27 years ago.

We’ve barely left the highway when Roger points out a Crested Caracara on top of a tree (and imitates their call that sounds similar to their name), a splendid Great Kiskadee with a bright yellow chest perched on a bald palm tree, a Grey-necked Wood-rail, and a Green Heron, which he says is from the Caribbean.

Birdwatching Tour, Puntarenas, Costa Rica. In Search of the Scarlet Macaws – Birdwatching in Costa Rica. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

“Jurassic Park was filmed here,” Roger tells us proudly. But we’re much more interested in the small present day beauties we’re already seeing before our eyes than those prehistoric beasts from the big screen.

As we drive through the plantation we see groups of workers in dirty denim jeans, rubber boots and wide-brimmed hats, enjoying their breakfast beneath the shady palm trees. It’s just 7am yet they look like they’ve already worked a few hours.

After the United Fruit Company shut down its operations, 42 families and squatters established Co-op El Silencio. Now, in addition to their palm plantations, they farm papayas, plantains and corn, keep chickens to sell their eggs, and own the community store on the main street.

Up at Albergue El Silencio, there is a simple, open, thatched-roofed restaurant serving home-cooked food and 10 rustic wooden cabins built to house volunteers and hikers.

Volunteers come for a structured program of work ranging from clearing and toiling the land to working at the wildlife refuge established to rehabilitate wild animals that had been kept as pets and then return them to their natural habitat.

The Co-op also offers its land up for eco-friendly nature-based activities, such as birdwatching.

After a coffee at the restaurant overlooking a verdant valley of palms, Roger asks the manager what birds he’s seen this morning. It turns out he spotted some Scarlet Macaws and Toucans, perhaps two of Central America’s most exotic and quintessential birds, and the ones that many travel to Costa Rica to see. We saw Toucans at Manuel Antonio National Park when we first arrived, so we’re keen to see some Scarlet Macaws in the wild.

In Search of the Scarlet Macaws. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

We leave the car at the restaurant and walk back along the narrow road that runs through the heart of the village with its squat gelato-coloured houses, scrawny chickens and roosters, and myriad dogs, to a massive clump of trees on the outskirts of town.

A young girl in a school uniform hikes up the hill towards us. Roger asks if she’s seen any Scarlet Macaws today. She points up to the trees on the hill above us. There’s no sign of them now so we make our way down the hill. A mother and daughter approach us and Roger asks them the same question.

“They’re normally in these trees,” they respond, pointing to the trees above us.

They’re not, so we head down the hill and along a muddy path that disappears beneath a clump of trees. A trickle of water has turned into a small torrent, but as Roger considers what we should do, he hears loud screeching bird sounds.

“Toucans!” he reveals with a grin, and moments later we’re removing our shoes, rolling our trousers up, and wading across the creek in search of Toucans.

We trudge along a muddy track, stopping every now and again when we hear a bird sound so Roger can identify it and decide whether it’s worth pursuing.

In Search of the Scarlet Macaws – in Costa Rica. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

The irony of El Silencio is that it’s not. While the fresh country area is restorative and the atmosphere is tranquil, it’s a noisy neck of the woods. We hear dog’s barking, a rooster crowing, 1950s American rock’n’roll blaring from the village, and a string trimmer.

Roger takes us to visit the Wildlife Refuge, hidden beneath a large shady clump of trees. There we discover a Spider Monkey hanging upside down from a tree holding three bananas, one of which he’s eating.

“The Costa Ricans used to love to eat them”, Roger tells us – and he’s means the spider monkeys, not the bananas – “Which is why they’re rescuing them, rehabilitating them and releasing them into the wild,” he says.

We approach the man with the string trimmer, trimming back tall grass. Roger asks if he’s seen the Scarlet Macaws today. He hasn’t, but he points us in the direction we’re heading where he says he saw some Toucans a short time ago.

Just as we make a move, Roger hears the sound of the Scarlet Macaws coming from the direction we just came. We’re off!

We charge beneath the trees and beyond the Wildlife Refuge into the thick vegetation. We see faint flashes of red high above us, but just as we walk deeper into the growth, the dazzling red birds fly off again into the opposite direction.

Our guide charges through the tall grass, beckoning us to quickly follow. Our feet sink deeply into the slushy mud, but we’re lucky that’s the most of our problems. Because as Roger strides through the thick, high, grass he suddenly curses, causing me to stop dead in my tracks.

He’s been stung by something – a centipede, he thinks. Whatever it is, I don’t want any part of it. I’ve recently been stung by bees twice, and I’m allergic. I’m reluctant to move forward. As he winces, Roger guides Terence and I through a safer route.

Back on the muddy path, we trudge through the boggy ground to the creek. Shoes and socks off again, trouser legs rolled up, and once again we’re wading knee-deep in water to the other side. Socks on, shoes on, laces tied, and we’re back onto the road from whence we first came.

Roger hears some birds, points in the direction of the sound, and at last we see them clearly! Six, maybe eight of the vivid scarlet birds!

But no sooner has Roger got his telescope into position and they’re flying even further up the hill to the very first clump of trees we looked for them in…

We hurry up the hill, set up the scope and fix our lenses for some shots. But once again they fly even higher. We turn the hill and take some moss-covered stairs up behind an abandoned, tumbledown brick building.

There they are! And there we stay for a while, watching these spectacular birds chat, clean, feed, and even kiss and canoodle. They are dazzling.

Satisfied that we have at last discovered the birds we didn’t even realise we were going to be setting out to look for when we started our day, we head back through town and up the hill to the restaurant for a tasty local breakfast of gallo pinto, scrambled eggs, and fresh tamarind juice.

It was a strangely satisfying morning. The thing about birdwatching in Costa Rica, and anywhere for that matter, is that you can never predict how the birding experience will turn out. But in Costa Rica there is so much birdlife that with a good guide you’re in for something more than a long walk and strained neck!

In addition to birdwatching in Costa Rica, Roger’s company offers mangrove tours, canopy tours, white water rafting, and kayaking among other activities.

Support our Cambodia Cookbook & Culinary History Book with a donation or monthly pledge on Patreon.

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About Lara Dunston

A travel and food writer who has experienced over 70 countries and written for The Guardian, Australian Gourmet Traveller, Feast, Delicious, National Geographic Traveller, Conde Nast Traveller, Travel+Leisure Southeast Asia, DestinAsian, TIME, CNN, The Independent, The Telegraph, Sunday Times Travel Magazine, AFAR, Wanderlust, International Traveller, Get Lost, Four Seasons Magazine, Fah Thai, Sawasdee, and more, as well as authored more than 40 guidebooks for Lonely Planet, DK, Footprint, Rough Guides, Fodors, Thomas Cook, and AA Guides.

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Comments

  1. Jen Laceda says

    October 5, 2010 at 7:28 pm

    I see a Costa Rica trip in our future…My daughter and I thank you for shooting all the lovely bird photos. She immediately recognized the Scarlet Macaw (once again, from Dora and Diego cartoons)! She thinks you guys are like Dora and Diego. In the cartoon series, they have talking characters such as, Click the Camera, The Field Journal, The Map, Backpack, and Rescue Pack. My daughter says, “Hey. Mommy, they [you and Terry] are like Dora the Explorer and Diego because they have all those stuff [camera, backpack, etc], and they know the Scarlet Macaw?!?” :)

  2. Terence Carter says

    October 5, 2010 at 8:01 pm

    Jen, that’s incredibly cute! Did you show her the monkey video in the other post?

  3. Lisa (@MsBoice) says

    June 16, 2013 at 12:45 pm

    Lovely photos! My husband and I are global birders and I really enjoyed this post. Macaws and parrots and parakeets have always been difficult for me to photograph, as I always see them high above and the sun is always in the way making for a lousy photo. We’ll definitely go back to Costa Rica for some birding. (Believe it or not we went not on a birding adventure when we went there.)

  4. Terence Carter says

    June 16, 2013 at 6:46 pm

    Thanks Lisa. The birding is amazing there and it’s so lush and green and alive. I’d love to go back too as there’s meant to be incredible birding in other parts of the country.
    Cheers,
    T

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Lara and Terence are an Australian-born, Southeast Asia-based travel and food writers and photographers who have authored scores of guidebooks, produced countless travel and food stories, are currently developing cookbooks and guidebooks, and host culinary tours and writing and photography retreats in Southeast Asia.
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Still looking for Christmas cooking inspo? Check o Still looking for Christmas cooking inspo? Check out our seafood recipe collection, especially if you celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve with a fish focused meal in the Southern Italian tradition, transformed by Italian-Americans into the Feast of the Seven Fishes, or like Australians, who celebrate Christmas in the sweltering summer, feast on seafood for Christmas Day lunch, we’ve got lots of easy seafood recipes for you.

Our recipes include a classic prawn cocktail, blini with smoked salmon, a ceviche-style appetiser, and devilled eggs with caviar. We’ve also got recipes for fish soup, seafood pies and pastas, salmon tray bake, and crispy salmon with creamy mashed potatoes.

You’ll find the recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/seafood-recipes-for-christmas-eve-and-christmas-day-menus/
(Link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Merry Christmas if you’re celebrating!! 

#christmas #christmasfood #seafood #fish #recipes #christmasrecipes #foodstagram #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood #picoftheday #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #grantourismo #grantourismotravels #xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas
If you’re still looking for food inspo for Chris If you’re still looking for food inspo for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day meals, my smoked salmon ‘carpaccio’ recipe is one of dozens of recipes in this compilation of our best Christmas recipes (link below). 

The Christmas recipe compilation includes collections of our best Christmas breakfast recipes, best Christmas brunch recipes, best Christmas starter recipes, best Christmas cocktails, best Christmas dessert recipes, and homemade edible Christmas gifts and more.

My smoked salmon carpaccio recipe makes an easy elegant appetiser that’s made in minutes. If you’re having guests over, you can make the dish ahead by assembling the salmon, capers and pickled onions, and refrigerate it, then pour on the dressing just before serving. 

Provide toasted baguette slices and bowls of additional capers, pickles and dressing, so guests can customise their carpaccio. And open the bubbly!

You’ll find that recipe and many more Christmas recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/best-christmas-recipes/ (link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Merry Christmas!! X

#christmas #christmasfood #recipes #christmasrecipes #foodstagram #salmon #smokedsalmon #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood #picoftheday #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #writingacookbook #grantourismo #grantourismotravels 
#xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas
If you haven’t visited our site in a while, I sh If you haven’t visited our site in a while, I shared a collection of recipes for homemade edible Christmas gifts — for condiments, hot sauces, chilli oils, a whole array of pickles, spice blends, chilli salt, furakake seasoning, and spicy snacks, such as our Cambodian and Vietnamese roasted peanuts. 

I love giving homemade edibles as gifts as much as I love receiving them. Who wouldn’t appreciate jars filled with their favourite chilli oils, hot sauces, piquant pickles, and spicy peanuts that loved-ones have taken the time to make? 

Aside from the gesture and affordability of gifting homemade edibles, you’re minimising waste. You can use recycled jars or if buying new mason jars or clip-top Kilner jars, you know they’ll get repurposed.

No need for wrapping, just attach some Christmas baubles or tinsel to the lid. I used squares of Cambodian kramas (cotton scarves), which can be repurposed as napkins or drink coasters, and tied a ribbon or two around the lids, and attached last year’s Christmas tree decorations to some.

You’ll find the recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/homemade-edible-christmas-gifts/ (link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Yes, that’s Pepper... every time there’s a camera around... 

#christmasgiftideas #ediblegifts ##christmasfoodgifts #foodgifts #giftideas #homemadegifts #christmasfood #ediblegiftideas #hotsauce #chillisauce #sriracha #pickles #homemadepickles #recipes #foodstagram #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood 
#blackcat #blackcatsofinstagram #picoftheday 
#christmas #christmastree #xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas #cambodia #siemreap
This crab omelette is a decadent eggs dish that’ This crab omelette is a decadent eggs dish that’s perfect if you’re just back from the fish markets armed with luxurious fresh crab meat. It’s a little sweet, a little spicy, and very, very moreish.

Our crab omelette recipe was one of our 22 most popular egg recipes of 2022 on our website Grantourismo and it’s no surprise. It’s appeared more times than any other egg recipes on our annual round-ups of most popular recipes since Terence launched Weekend Eggs when we launched Grantourismo in 2010.

If you’re an eggs lover, do check out the recipe collection. It includes egg recipes from right around the world, from recipes for classic kopitiam eggs from Singapore and Malaysia and egg curries from India and Myanmar to all kinds of egg recipes from Thailand, Japan, Korea, China, Mexico, USA, Australia, UK, and Ireland.

And do browse our Weekend Eggs archives for further eggspiration (sorry). We have hundreds of egg recipes from the 13 year-old series of recipes for quintessential egg dishes from around the world, which we started on our 2010 year-long global grand tour focused on slow, local and experiential travel. 

We’re hoping 2023 will be the year we can finally publish the Weekend Eggs cookbook we’ve talked about for years based on that series. After we can find a publisher for the Cambodia cookbook of course... :( 

Recipe collection here (and proper link to Grantourismo in our bio):
https://grantourismotravels.com/22-most-popular-egg-recipes-of-2022-from-weekend-eggs/

If you cook the recipe and enjoy it please let us know — we love to hear from you — either in the comments at the end of the recipe or share a pic with us here.

#recipe #recipes #eggs #eggslover #breakfasteggs #WeekendEggs #egg #breakfast #brunch #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood  #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #lookingforapublisher #writingacookbook  #grantourismo #grantourismotravels
I’m late to share this, but a few days ago Angko I’m late to share this, but a few days ago Angkor Archaeological Park, home to stupendous Angkor Wat, pictured, celebrated 30 years of its UNESCO World Heritage listing. 

That’s as good an excuse as any to put this magnificent, sprawling archaeological site on your travel list this year.

While riverside Siem Reap, your base for exploring Angkor is bustling once more, there are still nowhere near the visitors of the last busy high season months of December-January 2018-2019 when there were 290,000 visitors. 

Last month there were just 55,000 visitors and December feels a little quieter. A tour guide friend said there were about 150 people at Angkor Wat for sunrise a few days ago.

If you’re looking for tips to visiting Angkor, Siem Reap and Cambodia, just ask us a question in the comments below or check Grantourismo as we’ve got loads of info on our site. Click through to the link in the bio and explore our Cambodia guide or search for ‘Angkor’. 

And please do let us know if you’re coming to Siem Reap. We’d love to see you here x

#siemreap #cambodia #asia #travel #instatravel #traveldeeper #slowtravel #localtravel #experientialtravel #exploremore #neverstopexploring #goexplore #igtravel #angkorwat #angkor #temple #temples #angkorwithoutcrowds #unesco #unescoworldheritagesite #unescoworldheritage #archaeology #archaeologicalsite #traveladdict #beautifuldestinations #beautifulplaces #travelgram #wanderlust #picoftheday📷 #grantourismotravels.
Our soy ginger chicken recipe will make you sticky Our soy ginger chicken recipe will make you sticky, flavourful and succulent chicken thighs that are fantastic with steamed rice, Chinese greens or a salad, such as a Southeast Asian slaw. 

The chicken can be marinated for up to 24 hours before cooking, which ensures it’s packed with flavour, then it can be cooked on a barbecue or in a pan.

Terence’s soy ginger chicken recipe is one of our favourite recipes for a quick and easy meal. I love the sound of the sizzling thighs in the pan, and the warming aromas wafting through the apartment. 

It’s amazing how such flavourful juicy chicken thighs come from such a quick and easy recipe.

Recipe here (and proper link to Grantourismo in our bio): https://grantourismotravels.com/soy-ginger-chicken-recipe/

If you cook it and enjoy it please let us know — we love to hear from you — either here or in the comments at the end of the recipe on the site or share a pic with us x 

#recipe #recipes #chicken #soygingerchicken #asianfood #southeastasianfood #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #cookingtime #recipe #recipes #comfortfood #foodblog #food #foodstagram #healthyfood #instafood #healthy #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #writingacookbook #grantourismo #grantourismotravels
Who can guess the ingredients and what we’re mak Who can guess the ingredients and what we’re making with my market haul from Psar Samaki in Siem Reap — all for a whopping 10,000 riel (US$2.50)?! 

Birds-eye chillies thrown in for free! They were on my list but the seller I spent most at (5,000 riel!) scooped up a handful and slipped them into my bag. She was my last stop and knew what I was making.

My Khmer is poor, even after all our years in Cambodia, as I don’t learn languages with the ease I did in my 20s, plus I’m mentally exhausted after researching and writing all day. I have a better vocabulary of Old and Middle Khmer than modern Khmer from studying the ancient inscriptions for the Cambodian culinary history component of our cookbook I’m writing.

So when one seller totalled my purchases I thought she said 5,000 riel but she handed back 4,500 riel! The sum total of two huge bunches of herbs and kaffir lime leaves was 500 riel.

Tip: if visiting Siem Reap, use Khmer riel for local shopping. We’ve mainly used riel since the pandemic started— rarely use US$ now as market sellers quote prices in riels, as do local shops and bakeries, and I tip tuk tuk drivers in riels. I find prices quoted in riels are lower.

Psar Samaki is cheaper than Psar Leu, which is cheaper than Psar Chas, as it’s a wholesale market, which means the produce is fresher. I see veggies arriving, piled high in the back of vehicles, with dirt still on them — as I did on this trip. 

The scent of a mountain of incredibly aromatic pineapples offloaded from the back of a dusty ute was so heady they smelt like they’d just been cut. More exotic European style veggies arrive by big trucks in boxes labelled in Vietnamese (from Dalat) and Mandarin (from China), such as beautiful snow-white cauliflower I spotted.

Note: the freshest produce is sold on the dirt road at the back of the market.

#cambodia #siemreap #foodwriter #foodblogger #foodphotography #igfood #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #instadaily #picoftheday #market #siemreapmarket #psarsamaki #marketfresh #vegetables #healthyfood #marketshopping #traveltips #foodtravel #culinarytravel #localtravel #cooking #cookingtime #curry #homemade #currypaste #grantourismotravels
My Vietnamese-ish meatballs and rice noodles recip My Vietnamese-ish meatballs and rice noodles recipe makes tender meatballs doused in a delightfully tangy-sweet sauce, sprinkled with crispy fried shallots, with carrot-daikon, crunchy cucumber and fragrant herbs. 

The dish is inspired by bún chả, a Hanoi specialty, but it’s not bún chả. No matter what Google or food bloggers tell you. Names are important, especially when cooking and writing about cuisines not our own.

This is an authentic bún chả recipe:  https://grantourismotravels.com/vietnamese-bun-cha-recipe/ You’ll need to get the outdoor BBQ/grill going to do proper smoky bún chả meat patties (not meatballs).

My meatball noodle bowl is perhaps more closely related to dishes such as a Central Vietnam cousin bún thịt nướng (pork skewers on rice noodles in a bowl) and a Southern relation bún bò Nam Bộ (beef atop rice noodles, sprinkled with fried shallots (Nam Bộ=Southern Vietnam) though neither include meatballs. 

Xíu mại= meatballs although they’re different in flavour to mine, which taste more like bún chả patties. Xíu mại remind me of Southern Italian meatballs in tomato sauce.

In Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, home to millions of Khmer, there’s bánh tằm xíu mại. Bánh tằm=silk worm noodles. They’re topped with meatballs, cucumber, daikon, carrot, fresh herbs, crispy fried onions. Difference: cold noodles doused in a sauce of coconut cream and fish sauce. 

Remove the meatballs, add chopped fried spring rolls and it’s Cambodia’s banh sung, which is a rice noodle salad similar to Vietnam’s bún chả giò :) 

Recipe here: (link in bio) https://grantourismotravels.com/vietnamese-meatballs-and-rice-noodles-recipe/

For more on these culinary connections you’ll have to wait for our Cambodian cookbook and culinary history. In a hurry to know? Come support the project on Patreon. (link in bio)

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It is pure coincidence that Pepper’s eye colour It is pure coincidence that Pepper’s eye colour matches the furnishings of our rented apartment. So, no, I did not colour-coordinate the interiors to match our cat’s eyes. 

I keep getting DMs from pet clothing brands wanting to “partner” with Pepper and send her free cat clothes and cat accessories. Although she did wear a kerchief for a few years in her more adventurous fashion-forward teenage years, I cannot see this cat in clothes now, can you? 

#pepper #blackcat #blackcats #blackcatsofinstagram #blackcatsrule #blackcatsmatter #cat #cats #catsofinstagram #catstagram #catlover #catlovers #catlove #catoftheday #catphoto #catpic #catpics #cambodiancat #cambodiancatsofinstagram #catlife #catloversclub #catoftheday #catgram #catstagram #cats_of_instagram #catphotography #catsofig #catsoftheworld #catsofinsta #cats🐱 #siemreap #cambodia

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