Butterfly Tour

Me removing tree frog from the shower

Last night, Victor had the night off. So Kayla and I slept in the hatchery to ward off the dogs, while Hernaldo took 3 of the volunteers on a patrol. Being in the hatchery isn't too bad since the internet reaches most days and Netflix is full of new movies and shows, but having 2 people sharing a hammock makes it very hard to sleep.  Every time one of us would just about fall asleep, the other would re-position causing the hammock to swing. The lack of sleep is made up by the beautiful view of crashing waves and brilliant stars.

Tree frog that make its
 home in the shower

He looks so happy in his new home.

Sunset in Costa de Oro

At 5 in the morning, we moved inside and got another hour and a half  of sleep before needing to get up and get ready to go on Mike's butterfly tour.

Mike telling us about the tour.

At 8:30 the Pretoma truck pulled into the drive and we all loaded in to take the 20 minute drive to Pueblo Nuevo where Butterfly Jungle is located. When we got there Mike greeted us with cold water and promise of fresh honey.

We all gathered in the newly refurbished rancho, where Mike gave us a little synopsis of how he came to Costa Rica to become the owner of his own butterfly farm. After his brief history, we walked out to the sunny gardens to see some fast flying butterflies and bees. He taught us about mimicry that is present in some butterfly species, which makes species only distinguishable by counting veins in their wings.

Mike's butterfly collection.

Once we had seen all sorts of sun loving insects , we moved down to the river walk to find shade loving species. It was interesting because the insects moved much differently and actually floated instead of flying quickly. We were lucky enough to see and owl eye butterfly and 2 butterflies mating.

Mating butterflies

Rancho

20 minutes later, we returned to the rancho to try honey and bee pollen. I always knew I liked honey, but this honey was something else. Don't worry mom and dad, I bought enough to bring home and if anyone else wants pure Costa Rican honey email me!

Fungi, I think.

More cool plants

Michelina, one of our volunteers,
enjoying a tree swing in the shade

A butterfly posed on Mikes shoulder.

Long nosed bats

Once we had all had samples of honey, we went to see some bats who had made home a beautiful tree with very exposed roots. The long- nosed bats didn't even seem phased by out paparazzi like photo taking.

We returned once again to the rancho for some more honey and with lots of questions about bees and honey. Mike knows a ton about bees and wasps and it was great to have all our questions answered. Since we all loved the honey so much, we each bought a jar or two before thanking Mike and loading back into the Pretoma truck.

Gift shop!

Kayla and I opted to pass the house and go straight to the town of Coyote for an amazing lunch of shrimp and steak at Loma Clara. Right as we were getting ready walk the 6 k back in the heat, Henner, the owner of Cristal Azul, pulls up and offered us a ride. So we hoped in his car and we were returned to our doorstep hot and ready to hop in the ocean for an afternoon swim.

The Horizon Has Been Defeated

The turtle first coming out if the water.

Last night, right as the sun was setting, one of the local girls came up to the house to tell us that there was a sea turtle on the beach. Since it was still light out and there had been a lot of shrimp trawler lately, I assumed it was a dead turtle. So we headed out to the beach to take data on the turtle before it washed away with the tide. However, we were surprised to see the town was beginning to gather at a safe distance as a turtle made her way onto the shore. She seemed to be moving at a very slow pace and there began talks that the turtle was missing a flipper. We waited as normal before we approached her, only to find that she did have all four flippers. The group of onlookers grew as the turtle began digging.

However, it became apparent that even though she had all her flippers something was wrong with the rear ones. As she dug one flipper tried to scoop the sand backwards and while the other was digging completely to the side. So even if she was able to make a deep enough nest the eggs would just be laid on the sand. The poor turtle made two failed attempts before I tried to help her out. By this point, our audience had dwindled due to being eaten alive by bugs and only Santos, Kayla, Molly, Rachel, the dogs and I were left on the beach.

Me trying to help the turtle dig her nest.

Unfortunately, this turtle was not happy with my helping her nest and she aborted another 2 nests. It became clear that she was not going to succeed at nesting this night and there were a ton of dogs sniffing around, so Molly and Rachel quickly picked up the turtle and returned her to sea.

Molly and Rachel helping the turtle back to sea.

However, when Molly, Kayla and Rachel went out on their patrol the turtle was back on the beach and had walked almost 1/2 km parallel to shore and had aborted another 4 nests. They also tried their hand at helping her nest, but came up empty. My only hope is that this determined turtle is able to nest in the next couple nights.

Ballads

There is not much to say about today, except it was long. We spend the better part of the day driving from San Jose to Costa de Oro. Since my dad had already driven to and from San Jose many times in the past week and a half, we decided to take a different route. As with most drives in Costa Rica, the views were beautiful and well worth the extra 20 minutes to see a different part of the country.

Coffee plant

Boats in Puntarenas

Howler Monkey 

During the drive however, we ran into traffic due to road construction and a funeral procession which both completely stopped us. We finally made it back to the Laguna Mar hotel where Drew and Micheal had both a room and a drink ready for us. We hung out at the hotel and enjoyed the sunset before heading back to the beach for dinner and patrol. It feels so good to be back at the beach and I can't wait to see some turtles tonight.

Boats

This morning, our local friend, Alex, returned with a boat and moved us to a different hotel on Isla Canero. We wanted to check out as much as we could in our short time on the islands. About 20 minutes after we checked in, our tour boat arrived. My dad and I were surprised to see how full the locals fill the 20ft panga boat, but we got to met really great people during our adventure.

The first stop of the day was at dolphin  bay, where it is rumored that dolphins follow the boats. However, we were not that lucky because there were no dolphins this morning. So we were onto our next location which was lunch at a little restaurant in the middle of the Bocas. It was pretty yummy, but obviously a tourist trap because it was quite expensive and there was nothing else around.

Once everyone had grabbed lunch, we were given masks and snorkels and had the chance to snorkel for the next hour. It was amazing! There were so many brittle stars, sea cucumbers, tropical fish and tons of different corals. After we had all gotten sufficiently prune-y, we loaded back into the boat.

Sea Cucumber

Anemone

This fish kept biting my dad's camera.

Our final stop of the day was at Red Frog Beach on Isla Bastimentos. The white sand beach was beautiful and was named for the threatened red frogs found there. My dad and I spent a little time in the water before we decided to go search for the little red frogs. It was interesting because despite them being very bright red they were very difficult to see. However, once one was pointed out, it was easy to find more.

Dad and me at Red Frog beach

Red frog

Sloth in the tree.

As we all loaded back into the boat, we got lucky and saw a sloth right above the dock. It even moved for us which I think is kind of rare since they are such lazy animals.

We arrived back at our hotel just in time for happy hour. I got to try a passion fruit daiquiri while my dad had the local beer. While sitting at the bar we met a very interesting local who lived on the next island over and recommended a very local seafood place (which Alvaro had also mentioned). So with two great recommendations we figured we had to go.

We made it to the recommended restaurant, Alvin's, just as the sun was setting. We were treated like family by the local lady and her family, not to mention her food was amazing!!! After a great meal of shrimp and lobster, we wandered around the town's center where a group of locals were playing basketball while the kids were playing a competitive of tag.

The bocas are amazing!!! It is so beautiful and mellow here. Plus I think its really cool to hear Spanish spoken with a Rasta  accent.

Bars

Yesterday, when my dad and I got off the water taxi we were greeted by a local man who was eager to take us to a hotel and sell us a tour of the island.  Since we hadn't been there before and didn't know where to stay, we went ahead and followed him to the Las Brisas hotel which was located right on the water. The hotel was a great price and we got the best room in the whole place because it was connected to the dock.

After we settled in my dad and I decided to explore Isla Colon and grab some lunch at locally famous restaurant called The Reef. Looking at the menu, we realized we weren't in Costa Rica anymore; it was so cheap. My dad and I were each able to order great seafood and beer for less than a typical meal in Costa Rica. When the food arrived to the table it was amazing!!!

My dad getting ready to eat some great seafood.

Local catch off the restaurant's dock

 

Once we finished lunch, we wandered around checking out what the street venders were selling. Panama has some of the coolest local art, one of my favorites is all the mole. Mole is the handmade tapestries which often times have colorful fish and birds on them.

Just a few of the mole artwork.

Afterward we took a quick siesta at the hotel and around 8 we headed back out to town to enjoy local music and drink. I was able to find a passion fruit margarita and it was fabulous! As we were on our way back to the hotel we stopped by a meat cart and each got an incredible beef skewer for only $1. I could get used to this great food at an even better price.