Costa Rica 2003

The following is my journal from this trip, edited recently.

1/3/03 – Checked in for Flight TACA 561, 12:15 a.m. at SFO
There was a long line, and I had to give up my insect repellent and small container of alcohol. I set off the metal detector and had to step to the side, remove my hiking boots, and get scanned.
Passengers were mostly Latino; an older woman in front of me said prayers in Spanish as we took off. “Snack” was a ham and cheese sandwich, plantain chips and a cookie.

Stop at San Salvador 7:55 a.m.—it was sunny
Coffee is expensive at the airport. Police with German Shepherds walked around. On the second leg, “snack” was another (warm this time) ham and cheese sandwich.

Arrived at La Casa que Canta at 10:30 a.m.
Brian, the host, and his laid-back pit bull, greeted me. There were lots of butterflies, and a parakeet in a cage. I wanted to walk around, but I soon crashed. At 2:00 p.m. Murrelet, Bob and Alberto stopped by. It felt like 5:00 but was really 12:00.
At dusk it rained.

We had the first in a series of great meals after Terry arrived.

La Casa dining room

1/4/03 – We picked up the rest of the group at the airport, then on to La Ensenada Lodge.
On the way, we stopped to pick up some drinks at a roadside shop (and learned that “servicio” is the word for bathroom there, and also learned what we were supposed to do with the toilet paper instead of flushing it).

A large iguana walked around the grounds at La Ensenada. Great Kiskadees called their names frequently. Geckos chirped in the cabana and waited by the light for bugs to come by. Staff found a small venomous snake (Fer-de-lance).
A gecko in the room (or just outside) chirped during the night; coyotes, three owl species, and Howler Monkeys called.

Iguana strolling the grounds

1/5/03 – 5:30 a.m. walk before breakfast
We saw a Turquoise-browed Motmot. White-throated Magpie-jays joined us at breakfast. After lunch we went to the salinas. It was hot and humid, strange to be by the ocean and warm. At the salinas, cracker butterflies made noise with their wings. A pensive howler monkey relaxed in a tree.
A late walk resulted in finding the Three-wattled Bell Bird, whose call resonates for a long distance.

Howler Monkey through the scope

1/6/03 – a.m. walk
A Ferruginous Pygmy-owl reminded me of [The Trouble With] Tribbles, a tiny puffball with big eyes. Later, we took a boat ride on Gulfo de Nicoya–a pleasant escape from the heat. Many fish jumped out of the water. The tide was so low that we couldn’t return to the dock. The guys pulled the boat onto the beach farther down. Mangroves lined the beach, and tide pools with hermit crabs and little fish were fascinating. Walking back, we had to watch our step for the many little hermit crabs moving around the beach. There were also lots of little interesting stones.

After lunch, at which an iguana strolled by, we went to the laguna, where a very secretive Boat-billed Heron was found. A crocodile displayed his open mouth near the birds on the far shore. The sunset reflection was beautiful on the water.
Later, listing the birds, Kiki, the all-purpose naturalist, appeared surprised that I wanted to try guaro, the local firewater [actually, I think this has been the reaction on at least my second trip, too!].

1/7/03 – To Hotel Punta Leona
In the restaurant while waiting for our rooms, we noticed bats hanging at the top of the inside walls. The rooms were air conditioned, and had regular hot water (water heater somewhere else). A Brown Jay was the first bird I discovered there. Another iguana strolled through our back yard, and quickly escaped my attempts to take a picture by running up a tree. Chestnut-mandibled Toucans were a striking sight.

1/8/03 – After watching for macaws and crocodiles at the bridge, to Carara Biological Reserve
There was yet more ham and cheese, cookies, fruit drink and an apple for breakfast. Along the trail we heard something munching—it turned out to be an agouti. Blue Morphos bounded along in the air, flashing blue when their wings opened.

Alberto refreshed us with much-needed cool pineapple and watermelon when we returned to the van. We stopped at a place where leaf-cutter ants crossed the trail, and peeped at the show that male Orange-collared Manakins put on at this lek, making popping sounds with their wings as they popped into the air like live popcorn.

After lunch, we went to the estuary, the mouth of Rio Tarcoles. On the way, we observed a caiman catching and eating a fish.

1/9/03 –A flock of chacalacas entertained us on the morning walk before the trip to San Gerardo de Dota, Cabinas el Quetzal.
Fiery-billed Aracari looked like they had bright yellow sweaters on. On the way we stopped at a park in the middle of a town, a surprise stop to view a pair of Black and White Owls. A highlight was a Two-toed Sloth, also in the park (and more than one sleeping dog).

It rained on the way over the mountain. Rodolfo and Marivel were our hosts. Five of us stayed in a two-bedroom cabina, with a scary-looking shower. We had our first experience with on-demand “hot” water…and falling bed slats in the middle of the night!

1/10/03 – After birding the area around the lodge, and breakfast, we birded along the road to San Gerardo, top down.
Smoke wafted from Junco Soda. The sky was clear, and the temperatures were pleasant during the day.

After a siesta, we walked to the Savegre Mountain lodge down the road (and browsed the gift shop). On the way down, Terri slipped. I managed to grab her walking stick, fearing she would go flying over the edge. Instead, she slid, seemingly in slow motion, against the barbed-wire fence. Along the road was a walking bit of lichen/moss with many legs, and it virtually blended into the background when placed on top of a moss-covered rock.

The fried cheese at dinner was yummy.

1/11/03 – The day of the Resplendent Quetzals
Led by Walter, we walked briskly to the area where they had been seen. Even partly hidden in the trees, the quetzals were breathtaking (but odd-looking). As we watched, spellbound, the male flew over to the avocado tree by Murrelet and plucked a fruit on the fly, before we realized what had happened!

Quetzal through the scope

On the way to breakfast, Walter explained that the long grass that I inquired about was in fact Equisetum (Horsetail). After breakfast, Walter led us through some land that his friend had bought to retire on. We birded our way through the meadow, and made our way toward the forest. We stopped to say hello to Walter’s “Little White”, the horse whose leg had been injured and that he was letting live its remaining life in peace in the meadow. We hiked through the forest on a narrow trail, ending by a stream.

1/12/03 – To Cartago and Orosi
We stopped for helado (ice cream–coconut, of course, for me) at a mall . There were fast food places here, as in the US malls. A Chinese fast food place advertised its menu in Spanish. There was a “Shuz” store, as well as a “Buuts” store, selling what their names sound like.

After helado, we stopped at a pond. There was a large spider in a web, which Bruce unknowingly walked into. [Looking back, it was probably a Golden Orb Spider (Nephila)]

The shopping mall

On to Orosi
We passed by coffee plantations and Murrelet explained how “shade grown” worked. There were a few abandoned lodges along the way. It was misty when we arrived at Kiri Lodge. This was the place in Costa Rica with the most rainfall, and it did indeed rain.

1/13/03 – To Parque Nacional Tapanti
We breakfasted outside the gate. After the park opened, we stopped at the visitors’ center then walked up the road. High in the air and among the wet plants sang a Black-Faced Solitaire, sounding hesitant and melancholy. Its song drifted through the air, and its beauty brought tears to my eyes.

I was struck by the diversity—tiny creatures and plants, to gigantic plants (we didn’t see any gigantic creatures).
The lodge was out of plantain, so I settled for a homemade coconut confection, which I enjoyed on the way to La Quinta Sarapiqui Country Inn. We drove through Parque Nacional Braulio Carillo to get to our next destination, and stopped at a pharmacia in rainy Puerto Viejo.

We sat in a meeting room to list the birds for the day. Noel’s chair suddenly broke, and we found that he was unhurt and laughing, on his back on the floor! It turned out to be rather humorous.

1/14/03 - It poured during the night, but let up later in the morning.
The nights were alive with sound—cicadas wailed like banshees, their chorus punctuated with the metallic calls of tink frogs.
We birded along the road into Organization for Tropical Studies at La Selva.
Walking around La Quinta later, I wondered what that weird, crazy sound was (it turned out to be Montezuma Oropendola).

1/15/03 – To La Selva Biological Station again, with Yehudi as our inside leader
Along the outside road, an agouti foraged. At the beginning of the suspension bridge, two large iguanas were close by in the trees. The higher one climbed down slowly, chasing the other away. He seemed to pose, magnificently, as Terri and I photographed him.

The secondary rainforest came first, then a siesta on the cool floor in front of the cafeteria, before hiking the primary rainforest.
We learned about Bullet Ants, so named because of their sting. I watched the Costa Rican equivalent of a pill bug scurry out of the path of some army ants. We crossed the path of a peccary, and those of us not in the front of the group missed the view but not the characteristic odor, pointed out by Yehudi. Other creatures along the trails were a Spider Monkey, Two-toed Sloth, Howler Monkeys, and Leaf Cutter Ants (which drop their leaves in their tracks, if it rains, making a green mosaic in the soil). Some of us also observed a transparent butterfly perched in a patch of sunlight on a leaf. Yehudi also enlightened us about Kapok trees, and Turkeytail trees (very rare, only two plus one young one in La Selva).
Only about a 2.5 Km hike, but exhausting nevertheless.

Leaf Cutter Ants

1/16/03 – I decided to sleep in, and later discovered Murrelet hurrying to tell us that the Sunbittern had been spotted (apparently by “Eagle Eyes” Terry).

Later, we found ourselves awaiting a boat trip on Rio Sarapiqui. Once aboard, we were treated to fresh passion fruit—an unusual fruit, with a brittle exterior and a thick, cottony lining that revealed a heart of what looked like frogs’ eggs, which one was supposed to slurp up. It was refreshing, slimy and crunchy, surprisingly good considering the way it looked. We passed Brahma cattle by the side of the river, bats resting on trees, more monkeys including a White-faced Capuchin, another caiman, along with various birds before we had to turn back because of the water level.

Terri and I decide to ask if the gate to the forest beyond our cabina could be left unlocked for a longer time. As night fell, we explored the area and ended up on the little island where we sat in the dark, listening to all the little voices, and watching the eyeshine along the shore. We discovered most of them were frogs, when a pair of eyes hopped. The moon was full, and reflected on the still water.

After joining back up with the group, some of us went to try to find the paraque, which turned out to be ridiculously easy.

1/17/03 – Back to La Casa que Canta, via La Virgen de Socorro, El Mirador in Cinchona (which has tragically been destroyed as a result of the earthquake in 01/09), and Cascada de Paz
Before leaving, I tried to take a picture of “Pops”, the white dog that stayed with us as we birded the grounds. I tried to get him to “sit”, and wasn’t getting anywhere, when I realized he didn’t understand English! “Mom” and “poopy” also wandered the grounds while we were there.

El Mirador was a rustic (as most were) shop, on the side of a mountain overlooking some falls. A Rhinoceros Beetle and some tarantulas were upon a table. The hummingbird feeders hung outside, with open bars instead of glass windows. Occasionally a hummingbird would fly through the bars, and back out. The feeders were so close that it was possible to feel the breeze from the birds’ wings when I put my hand outside. A parrot also had an outside perch, and said “Hola”. We ate our packed lunches (guess what, ham and cheese), and a chubby dog that smiled for food kept us company (until the owners decided that he didn’t need any more food). The Violet Sabrewings were large, and intensely colored, with curved bills. They were very fast in flight. An Emerald Toucanet commandeered the fruit on the table below the feeders. A Green Thorntail male, tiny compared to the sabrewings, did an enchanting air dance around and close to the perched female.

Arriving at Casa que Canta, I asked Brian if the pit bull could have my sandwich (I just couldn’t take another ham and cheese on Bimbo bread). He said I could try, and it disappeared in two gulps! Fortunately for me, I didn’t have my fingers in the way. Even though I know that pit bulls are strong dogs, with strong jaws, it still was surprising to feel.

Some of us took a walk around the property, and met Bill, the capuchin monkey who lived in the big treehouse. We continued down the trail to the river’s edge, and admired the stands of huge bamboo.

Giant bamboo stand

Instead of dinner at Luna de Valencia (the owner was in Spain), we were treated to dinner on the covered deck. Dinner was prepared by Alberto’s relatives, accompanied by live marimba music and wine, beer, and since I wanted to try it, “contrabando” (moonshine, prepared by a secret recipe, arrived in a small Welch’s grape juice bottle–and as I recall now, was almost like cough syrup).
This resulted in Terry telling us a joke about horses, which brought him almost to tears from laughing so hard!

Jupiter was large and bright, rising over the mountains, as the party went on.

1/18/03 – Shopping at Moravia, shopping for lunch at the supermarket, shopping, shopping, shopping…
I wish I’d bought more guanabana and cas pulp (and coffee, and coconut cocaditas, and cookies, and…)
On the way to the airport, there was some sort of street party with people dressed in costumes, causing the driver to worry. We somehow managed to communicate that my departure time wasn’t for three hours (Flight Taca 560, 5:00 p.m.). In the check-in line, many people had multiples of huge luggage. Security hand-checked both my bags. I took off my hiking boots this time, but I set off the metal detector anyway, forgetting that I had local coins in my hidden wallet.
Fortunately, the “snack” was a hot chicken and cheese sandwich.
…
I managed to keep “tranquilo” for a month or so after the trip, but I seem to have lost my cold tolerance!

3/28/2003
Other photos are here.

Costa Rica 2009

This was my third trip to Costa Rica, this time with Merritt College in Oakland. Previous trips were birding trips, though the local guide in 2007 also knew a lot about herps, plants and mammals.

I went down early, leaving on 7/17 on AA1994 from SFO, stopping in DFW. The flight I took in 2007 wasn’t offered any longer, unfortunately (OAK, US Air). I arrived at the airport around 7:30 a.m. and tried the self-service check-in. The security line wasn’t bad.
We passed over Mono Lake and could see Half Dome.

The connecting flight, AA2167, was full, and was delayed a bit due to a front lavatory problem, leaving at 4:50 instead of 4:15.
The clouds looked like Mono Lake tufa, and we passed over the Gulf of Mexico and could see lightning flashes. We arrived at 7:50.

EH, NL and I shared a cab to Hotel Bougainvillea. We had a Mountain View room (street side) on the second floor.

On Saturday, we checked out the gardens at the hotel. There were many butterflies on a bush near the rock garden. BH pointed us to some glasswings he’d seen.
For dinner, I had the Plato Vegetariano.

After dinner, Hank took the group on a frog walk. The hotel has frogs, the declining Blue-sided Tree Frog/”coffee frog”, Agalychnis annae, and Forrer’s Grass Frog, Rana forreri.

Sunday 7/19 took us to InBIO, The Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad. We heard some presentations, walked the grounds, and had lunch there. We felt like we could have spent a lot more time exploring. There was a beautiful butterfly that, upon closer inspection, was actually facing downwards–the tail end looked like the head, and the wings were oriented such that it looked like it was facing upwards.

Some decided to try a local restaurant for dinner in Santo Domingo, so we walked to town to meet the other half of the group, which had taken a taxi. Most of the open restaurants were chicken restaurants. After some walking around, we ran into the others, and the taxi driver had recommended a place so we went there. I tried the Chicharrónes, which is pork meat (unlike the Mexican dish which is the skin). The silverware came, as it did in other places, in a plastic cover. After dinner, we had a couple of extra lime slices, so EH and I each wrapped a piece in the plastic to take back to the hotel for the rest of our papaya. The owner saw me, and brought out a whole lime!

After dinner, we had another frog walk at the hotel.

On Monday 7/20, we headed to Reserva Biológica Tirimbina. We drove on the road through Parque Nacional Braulio Carrillo, and there was stopped traffic due to a landslide. It gave us the opportunity to check out the vegetation next to the bus. I spotted what was probably a Long-billed Hermit, and something large, black and red crawling on a plant up the hillside. It turned out to be a caterpillar! After we were stopped a while, we decided to get out, and found quite a few of these, some down low next to the road. They looked like small “scotty dogs”.
We also passed the Rio Sucio (“dirty river”).

After a rainy arrival at Tirimbina, we ended up not at the main location, but at the field station accommodations. Some took a hike in the afternoon. There were some porcupine remains (quills and a skull) along the trailside. We ran into other people from our group, and one of them had dislocated her finger. They later took her for treatment, 45 minutes or so away, and she returned late at night. She told us it cost her $100 total to see the doctor and get x-rays! (Don’t get me started…)

The field station is closer to the frog pond/swamp, where we had another night walk, with Wendy. It was a tight fit in some of the areas, but still very interesting (we saw 20 species of herps, not to mention various invertebrates).

The 21st took us to Tortuguero by boat. We left from the same dock as I’ve been on a prior trip. On the way, we saw Spectacled Caiman, roosting bats, Caña Brava (used for thatching and which is edible), plus other things. There were also distant views of passing Great Green Macaws. We stopped on the Nicaraguan shore for a necessary passport check, and also stopped for a bathroom break at a place that sold beer and snack foods. A Harlequin Frog was spotted, and I found a mantid that looked just like a dried vine tendril!

We arrived at a dock and had a walk to Ilan Ilan Lodge. The door to the cafeteria held a sphinx moth that was brown with green, appearing as though it had algae on it. The rooms were all in a row, near to the other dock, and there were quite a few Black Witch around (huge, dark moths). An Owl Butterfly also perched above our door.

We had the privilege of watching a Green Sea Turtle lay eggs. This was tightly controlled; photos were not allowed at all, and once on the beach (it was about a 2-2.5 mile hike in), the only light was from the guide’s red flashlight and the low ambient light (new moon). We rotated with other groups to view this particular turtle, returning to observe the progress. The guide only lit up the turtle’s back end, as light by its head would disturb it and bring it out of its “trance”.
Watching the eggs come out of the turtle was akin to visiting the Spotted Owl in southeast Arizona. My feeling when being with the owl was like visiting the wise old man on the mountain. My roommate said watching the turtle was like being in church.
When the turtle was done laying, the guide brought us back to see how she covered the eggs. We got hit with sand from the turtle’s flippers, demonstrating the energy she has to expend to do this.

The next day, 7/22, we returned to the CCC , having been told that they were going to radio-tag and release a turtle (named Aurora). We had to wait until the glue was dry enough, and there were many onlookers. We did get to look at the turtle close up, in her small enclosure, as the glue dried.

Turtle release (click for larger view)

We headed to Caño Blanco by boat (been there too). We pulled up to a Pterocarpus sp. tree, so that Humberto could show us the red sap. Dipteryx panamensis was also pointed out; this species has a relationship with the Great Green Macaw.

Once off the boat, we found someone selling fresh pipas (young coconut) with the top cut off, and a straw–just what I’d been wanting. The young man with the woman had a Rhinoceros Beetle, which of course had to have its photo taken on various arms.

After the break, we got back on the bus and continued to Cahuita, on the Caribbean coast. The ambience is what you might expect for the Caribbean. We stayed at Sia Tami Lodge, in nice bungalows. This was the only place that had mosquito netting, but it really wasn’t needed.

We attempted to go to the nearby beach in the Parque Nacional Cahuita, but they closed the beach at 5:00 to prevent crime, so we went down to a public area. I found a few interesting shell and coral pieces, while others enjoyed the water.

Back at the lodge, the power went out for a while, which apparently isn’t unusual. We had the option of going to a restaurant for lobster (partially paid), and the group decided on that. The lobster was ok, but the fresh limeade was great.

After waking to nearby Howler Monkeys on 7/23, we had breakfast and headed on to the BriBri indigenous reserve. We drove along a dirt road along the river, stopping to take photos of Panama on the other side. Bambú was the canoe put-in location. After bagging the luggage in plastic and donning life jackets, 7-8 people were distributed per canoe. Our canoe was the last to leave. We headed upriver and arrived in about 45 minutes. We had to hike in to the village. This required a bit of rocky uphill, then through forest and grassland.

We reached the main gathering building for this particular BriBri group, an open wooden structure with a thatched, conical roof. This housed the kitchen and dining tables. We were assigned our accommodations, which turned out to be private rooms with bathrooms for the couples, and the middle floor of one of the buildings for the rest of us (i.e. men and women). Screen tents were lined up around the room, each with a sleeping pad and blanket. The shared bathroom was downstairs. Hmm…

After we were settled and had lunch, some of us had a hiking tour of the plantation and public community buildings, arriving back at dusk. We had dinner, and found that the electricity was via generator. The only accessible outlets are in the main building, with one light in our sleeping area. Water comes from a stream, and there are toilets and shower (albeit not heated). There is no refrigeration, so the meat is smoked or dried.

Various domestic animals roamed around, namely a couple of small cats, several turkeys and young turkeys, and chickens and roosters. The tom turkey gobbled a lot, and made a short hissing sound coupled with a low rumbling. For some reason, it decided to gobble right under the sleeping area one time, and the rooster crowed there the next day, while it was still dark. Who needs Howler Monkeys to wake you up!

While we were there (two nights), we observed how they used to use bow and arrow, and we all got to try. We also had a chocolate-making demonstration, learned about the surrounding plants including Achiote and Water Apple, and observed jewelry-making and gourd-carving. We also heard about their customs, and had a music night.

The people were very warm and friendly, and the kids were cute. The food was interesting, to say the least. The huge banana pancakes were good, and there was usually fresh juice of some sort with meals (like there is in most places). Actually, the food was pretty good, except I could have done without the beef, which was a few dried chunks, kind of like eating chunk jerky. Costa Rica uses Brahma cattle for beef. I don’t know if they are tougher than others, but all the beef we had down there was very tough for some reason.

It was time to leave on 7/25, so the BriBri men and young men carried our luggage down to the canoes. We headed downstream this time, back to Bambú, through the town of BriBri, and on to Universidad Earth for a banana plantation tour. It turned out to be a holiday that day, so our guides showed us the plantation, but the banana paper-making area was not active. We also saw the medicinal plants garden.

We got back on the bus, to Tirimbina again. This time, we stayed in the main lodge. The rooms have air conditioning, but our room had no windows to open. (It would have been nice to have fresh air, even if it was humid air.) After dinner, we had a very steamy night hike over the 100′ suspension bridge, through the rainforest to look for herps and nocturnal creatures. It was so humid that my glasses steamed up. There are lots of big spiders, among other things, that hang out at night. We saw a net-casting spider, which was exciting even though we didn’t see it catch anything.
It was also–er–exciting to find a Giant Cockroach on the bathroom sink faucet when we returned. I must admit, even though I like bugs, it gave me the willies. It wasn’t too cooperative in getting it into my plastic tube to take it out, its antennae waving as it held onto the outside. I think that’s what did it…

On 7/26, it rained. It felt good when we were out on the trail, but my waist pack got soaked. We had a dendrology class in a covered area after lunch. After dinner, we had another night hike. That got cut short because of rain. At lunch I’d found out that the gift shop sold $3 ponchos, so I picked one up. That turned out to be the best thing to wear in the rain, as it protected my gear. I didn’t even wear the rain jacket I’d brought on the trip.

We visited La Selva (OTS) the next day, 7/27. We split into two groups, the birders and others. I went with the others. We didn’t get very far because everyone kept asking questions. But we did see Peccary and White-faced Capuchin, as well as a snake and a turtle.

Back at Tirimbina, after dinner we saw a bat presentation and got close-up views of a few of the bats they had mist-netted that night. One was pregnant, so it had to be released quickly. The last one was very vocal in letting the handler know it didn’t like being held. Apparently that species is like that. We did get to touch the wing skin, which was very soft and silky.
There are 115 species of bats in Costa Rica, 10% of the world’s species.

A few of us returned to the field station to look for frogs.

On the morning of 7/28, some took the chocolate making tour at Tirimbina. We hiked to the area where there were large trays of drying cacao beans, and winnowing and grindng were demonstrated. We got to sample hot chocolate, adding spices similar to what the Aztecs used (chili and  maize among them). We also had samples of molded chocolates, made fresh. What a difference!

After lunch, we traveled to El Castillo near Volcan Arenal, stopping at the “iguana bridge” next to a coffee/artisan shop. The many iguanas were used to being fed, and some people hand-fed cabbage to one. Before we reached the lodge, we stopped in La Fortuna while some business was taken care of. There were a few places that offered an hour massage for $25! The one I saw looked like any good place you’d see in the states. Unfortunately I didn’t get to take advantage of that.

We also stopped at an overlook to view Lake Arenal at sunset.

I liked the way the lodging was arranged at Cabinas El Castillo–pretty much everyone had the same thing, and all the cabins had views of the volcano. There were big windows on three walls, with small slat windows above those that opened. It was cooler here and not as humid, but nice to have fresh air.
I can’t say much for mixed drinks at the restaurant though. I ordered a Mojito, thinking it would be like the ones I had at Selva Verde last trip (fresh-picked local mint from the garden). I guess I expected too much, because when the drink finally came, it was green. Yep, Crème de menthe (yuck, I’m not sure which is worse, a Mojito made with Sprite–in CA–or this one).
The staff tried hard, but I had the impression they didn’t have large groups too often.

On 7/29 we walked up the hill to the Butterfly Conservatory. We had a tour through several butterfly gardens and a frog house.
Here is someone’s video I found, that shows the Morphos flying around in there.
After lunch, there was a boat ride around the lake and to La Fortuna. My roommate and I had planned to go, but when we got to the restaurant, the bus was gone. One of the staff said he’d call to hold the boat, and have someone pick us up, in ten minutes. After a while, he called and was told that they couldn’t come. He tried someone else, who called back after a minute and said their vehicle was broken down. On the third try, he asked if an ATV was ok. My roommate was excited to ride one of those, so what the heck. I’d never been on one either.

A few minutes later, a red ATV pulls up. We were somewhat surprised, and asked the staff if that was our ride. Where were we supposed to sit? Behind the driver, and on the rear rack, they said. The driver was a young girl. Just how young, we found out afterwards–nine! After a short ride on the bumpy road in showers, we got to the dock. On the way, we passed our bus, and our bus driver pointed toward the lake. We didn’t know what he was trying to say, but we found out when we discovered the boat was already gone. Well, ok. We rearranged ourselves and took a couple of photos, and noticed the labels on the ATVs, which basically said the driver should be over 16, and only one person should be on it. It was still raining, so we rode back to the lodge.
It turned out that there was almost mutiny on the boat due to the rain, so we were glad we didn’t go.

Since the weather was iffy, on 7/30 it was decided to go to the Serpentarium de Zoological, next to the Butterfly Conservatory. It was a lot larger than it appeared from the outside, and our tour guide was very informative. Besides the enclosed snakes, there was a frog habitat as well as a butterfly garden. We heard how antivenin is made of a mix of the venom of the three most poisonous snakes there–Bushmaster, Fer-de-lance, and Rattlesnake.

In the afternoon, we went to Parque Nacional Volcán Arenal. The vegetation was interesting; the cane lining the trail in the beginning got taller and taller, then it changed to forest, and finally to rock. The active volcano belched a couple of times.
Then, most people wanted to go to the Tabacón Hot Springs. The free access was down a narrow path, then down some rocks to the edge of the spillway. People were just lying in the rushing water, which was bath-water warm.

After dinner, a few of us went frogging along the main road in El Castillo. In one spot, I saw a big pair of pinkish-purple eyes shining, which turned out to belong to a Smoky Jungle Frog (like a big bullfrog). Then there were more and more. I guess there’s no mistaking that once you know.

On our last travel day, Friday 7/31, we drove through San Ramon. We spotted a hummingbird and butterfly garden, so some of the group voted to stop. Bosque el Nubosa el Cocora was the name of the location. The group was delighted to watch the hummingbirds visit the feeders. We had a brief walk though the butterfly garden, which had different species from the others we’d seen. But then we had to leave for lunch.

We stopped at an unplanned spot, where they had different fruit drinks–besides Cas (one of my favorites), there was Linzana, Chan, and Mozote, among others. I had a small taste of the Mozote, which was brown, thick, and had cinnamon in it.

I was too tired, back at Hotel Bougainvillea, to walk the gardens, do dinner, or view photos, so I just hung out.

We left the next day, 8/1. My AA988 flight was scheduled to leave at 12:25 p.m. It had a female pilot, and oddly, there was again a problem with the forward lavatory with a resulting half-hour delay.

We flew over Cuba and Grand Caymans. Miami airport was very chaotic, with a lot of people standing around. The connecting flight was supposed to leave at 7:15.
First we had to go through passport check and show the customs form, then pass by another officer who made sure we had a customs form, then pick up the luggage, which was no easy feat. There were six baggage carousels, and I didn’t notice that you had to look at the one information screen to find out which one to go to for your flight. Of course, mine ended up to be the farthest away. After that, we had to find what to do with the luggage that had come off the plane. After customs, they said “walk that way”. I didn’t see any signs, but after some walking, there were roped-off baggage ramps, and I saw American’s. There were no signs as to which flights though; I had to wait for one of the attendants to come over.

It also wasn’t clear to me where the boarding gate was from the way the wording was on the signs–the gate letter was there, but they called it something different depending on what sign you were looking at. I asked if I was headed the right way, and the staff made a comment about not liking what they were doing–which I found out was making us go through another security check (as if we’d been anywhere that would afford an opportunity to put something the baggage). The line was long, and there were only a few minutes before our connecting flight was supposed to board. She ended up putting me in the middle instead of the beginning of the line, but it still would have taken a long time.
Fortunately, the express line was next to me, and the instructor’s family and one of the couples from the trip happened to be there. I tagged onto them and asked the security person to please hurry. She didn’t move very fast, and told me to run–with my gear bag–after she was done. Panting, I passed E7, and E6, but didn’t see E5. I turned back to see if I missed it and ran into the couple again, who saw that it was across from E6. This flight boarded late, which was just as well since others from our group on that flight weren’t there yet. One person didn’t get on because of the security check.

It felt like a long flight home, late as usual. The trip was fun, but I was glad to be dry.

You can find photos here:
Hotel Bougainvillea–insects, spiders, plants, frogs
InBIO and Braulio Carillo–insects, plants, spiders, locales +
Tirimbina field station–insects, herps, spiders, +
Tortuguero, Cano Blanco, Cahuitainsects, herps, mammals, +
BriBri–insects, culture, plants, +
Tirimbina–night, insects, spiders, herps, +
Tirimbina–insects, plants, fungi, locales, invertebrates
El Castillo–insects, locale, night, herps, spiders
Iguana bridge, La Fortuna, Serpentarium, Volcan Arenal, Tabacon hot springs, Bosque el Nuboso el Cocora