A nice walk and a fun surprise

Today was less busy than the past several days, and it's a good thing.  All of our crazy adventures have left us exhilarated but also a little wiped out.

So this morning we explored the extensive grounds and wilderness trails of our hotel in Arenal, where we saw more beautiful vistas and exotic plants and insects.  Now we just need to find out what these things are and why they look the way they do.  After all we have seen and heard on this trip we have a lot of studying and learning to do when we get home.  What is this plant, which was right outside our door?

How about this beautiful, 4-inch-wide moth, which was on the ground outside the lobby?

After our walk we packed up our stuff and boarded a shuttle back to the capital city, San Jose, for our final night.  We are staying at the same place as we did when we arrived two weeks ago, the Gran Hotel, but this time we are in the Presidential Suite!!  Apparently the hotel was overbooked so they upgraded us to the most luxurious room in the whole place at no charge.  I think this "suite" is bigger than my house and it has 2 bathrooms and 2 huge flat screen TVs!  Here is Miss O'B living the high life.

Even better is the room's history -- it is called the Presidential Suite because JFK stayed in this room and used some of the furniture in it when he was in Costa Rica in 1963.  That's a picture of him Miss O'B is holding.  Check out this sign from the desk in the bedroom.  Neat, huh?

My dream field trip...if only I could bring my classes here! Slightly better than the Franklin Park Zoo :)

"What do you want to see?" our guide Julio asked us.  

Without hesitation, I answered a sloth.  Hard to find was his reply.  Most people wanted to see monkeys.  I did too, but have seen many monkeys in the wild before, or so I thought.  As you can see, we saw monkeys!  

What I didn't realize was how close to the monkeys, in the wild, we were going to get!  Seeing the howler monkeys in a tree, literally a few feet away, calmly feeding on some leaves was amazing.  One of the best wildlife experiences ever.  And that was after we watched one of the coolest species of birds, the northern jacana, gracefully walk on top of lily pads looking for food.  You might have to zoom in to see them, but they are really cool looking.  

So you see, the Jacana are featured in a PBS evolution video that I show every year about the evolution of sexual reproduction.  Jacanas are unique because the female has taken on the male role, and the male has taken on the female role (he stays home and takes care of the kids.)  I love these birds.  We also saw another one of my favorite animals, bats.  But not any bats, these were long nosed bats, and they were sleeping all together in a tree, and they were super small, and they eat mosquitoes!  

We continued to see many other amazing species of birds, from the anhinga, that has to hold up its wings to dry (a neverending source of entertainment for me when I am in Florida for Christmas,)  

to the elusive but beautiful kingfisher, even an owl, called a pootoo, which was camouflaged so well, I will never know how our guides spotted it.  Even adorable, fluffy, baby anhingas, which was quite a sight, and something even our guide had never found.

So what am I looking at with the binoculars?  Oh yes, that would be a sloth.  I am fascinated by these creatures.  They are unique, amazing looking, very mellow, and have been on this planet for a really, really long time.  This one was just chilling in the tree, as they do for the majority of their lives, but when I got a closer look, I saw something truly extraordinary.  Turns out this sloth was not only a female, but was relaxing with her baby!  I could see the baby's claws holding tight to mom when I looked through the binocs. 

Amazing.  A beautiful day, a great boat ride, and an unbelievable show of nature. 

WIldlife wonders galore...plus more newlywed friends

            Today we went on a  boat tour of the Cano Negro Wildlife Refuge in far northern CR and saw an astounding collection of creatures in the wild, including two species of monkeys (more on them below!).  Here's a picture of the refuge and the Rio Frio River from our boat.

            On the tour we met more awesome people -- two newlywed couples from New York and our Costa Rican guides, Julio, Diego, and Ezra.  Below is a picture of our group -- Corey and Shanna (Couple #1 -- from Buffalo), Michelle and Ariel (couple #2 -- from Queens, NYC), Julio (our lead guide, with two thumbs up) and Miss O'B and I.  We had lots to talk about, as our careers all connected to some combination of science, education, and/or children's mental health.

So, back to the monkeys -- we saw multiple groups of howler monkeys climbing around in trees.  Julio told us a lot about them, how they live in packs with a rigid social structure where each pack is headed by an alpha male, and that they eat insects and some kinds of fruit, but not bananas as the cartoons would have you believe.

Julio induced the monkeys to howl by howling himself.  Here's a picture of him howling from our boat.  After he howled the alpha male would howl, and then some of the other monkeys in the group would follow suit.  It was crazy!

Here's a picture of a tree with two howler monkeys in it.  If you double click on the picture to make it bigger and look at the top left you will see them.

Near the end of trip we got incredibly lucky, as our driver spotted a group of endangered spider monkeys swinging in the trees.  The spider monkeys are smaller and leaner than the howlers.  They have long limbs and long curly tails and they move very fast from tree to tree by swinging.  It was beautiful to watch.  Here's a picture of a spider monkey swinging from a tree limb.  If you look in the center you will see him hanging down.

In addition to monkeys we saw tons of other creatures great and small, and Miss O'B the biologist and veteran wildlife watcher will fill you in on them!

So where was I in Dr. C's last post?  I wasn't there!  I didn't even think to be nervous about the horseback riding trip when we signed up, but one look at the guide's face when I told him I had never ridden a horse made me question if the trip was for me.   When he began warning me about how difficult the ride would be, I realized that getting thrown off a horse on volcanic hills did not need to be a part of this experience for me.  As it turns out, I was right!!  I opted instead for a walking tour of local flora and fauna and a visit to a local body of water.  Very relaxing, and all with a backdrop of the stunning volcano.  After lunch, we took a trip to the huge Fortuna Waterfall, a beautiful sight that entails a steep hike down, a cool swim in the refreshing pool at the base of the falls and a pretty  tough climb to get back out.  I represented Eastie on this trip, as you will see later..

 There were a lot of wasps at the entrance, but I did not feel out of my comfort zone at all today!  Ah, safe and sound here in lovely Costa Rica.  My biggest challenge of the day was making sure we would be able to have coffee in the morning, obviously a running theme here....but for now, problem solved.  We found some CBS evening news to see what was happening, if anything, back home.  It looks like the biggest news is the impending end of the NFL lockout.  Sweet!  That, and the fact that the weather down here is significantly more pleasant than it has been back home, rain and all!  Our day ended with dinner at the hotel restaurant, which was empty, making us both a little nervous, but after a small mishap with Dr. C's meal being served over bread, the food was fine, and we returned to room to prepare for  our Cano Negro wildlife reserve trip tomorrow, our last major adventure!

A WILD adventure...for real!

Are you ready for a crazy story?  If so, then read on. 

Today I rode a horse through a river and up a rocky mountain, then hacked through an uncut tropical rainforest with a machete-wielding tour guide where I was nearly attacked by an extremely dangerous jumping viper in order to see the summit of a smoking active volcano.  Oh, and along the way, I snacked on edible tree roots ripped from the soil by my guide Alex, who is Latin version of Bear Grylls  --the extreme survivalist guy from the TV show "Man vs. Wild".  Don't believe me?  I have the pictures to prove it.

It was an exciting terrifying edifying overwhelming experience.  It was truly one of the most amazing things I have ever done.  I still can't believe it all really happened!

 Here I am at the beginning, on my horse, Canela.  Little did I know what lay ahead....

A real live jumping viper...I nearly stepped on it!

Here's me with the viper, but not too close!

         

This is Alex hacking us a trail with his machete.

OMG...I made it!!  What a gorgeous view.

 I hope this thing doesn't erupt while I am standing here taking this picture.

Alex showed me all kinds of edible plants, including this palm tree root he hacked out of the ground and peeled with his machete!

Mmmm.  Tasty!

Back at the stables safe and sound.

Are you wondering what happened to Ms. O'B?  Why isn't she in any of these pictures?  Did the snake get her? Check out her update to find out...

27 dogs, 2 cats, 1 donkey and 1000 cows

That's what I thought was going to be the focus of this story: the entertainment on today's drive.  It is not.  It only captures what I saw the first half of the ride.  I should point out that this entire post will be me complaining, hopefully in a humorous way, but just giving you a heads up.  When planning the details of this trip, we found what seemed to be the easiest and most pleasant way to get from Monteverde to Arenal, a taxi-boat-taxi combo.  Well that is how we got here, but frankly, at least twice during the journey, we didn't think we would make it!  And I get to say we this time.  The issue was not with the driving actually, or the ever present winding, narrow and steep roads (I know I've mentioned them before, but this is important.)  The drive was in fact so beautiful that I forgot to get nervous!  Being nervous apparently is actually my lucky charm.  After about an hour of driving through green pastures and mountains, we got a clear view of the astounding Arenal Volcano.  

All was good.  Or  so we thought.  As we approached the Arenal Lake, however, our van got stuck in the mud.  Here's where the fun begins.  What do most people do when a car gets stuck in the mud?  Well, common sense tells me to recruit some strong, most likely, men, and push it out, right?  Especially because there were two young strong guys in the van, plus the driver, plus the other three drivers that came to check out the situation.  No big deal, right?  They pushed it out of the mud right?  Wrong.  One guy pulled out a skinny little rope and gave it to the other guy so everyone could stand around and watch this attempt (obviously) fail.  I mean, I only taught 9th grade Physics, but there was clearly something wrong with this situation. 

After waiting, waiting and waiting some more, Dr. C took matters into her own hands and rallied everyone to get our stuff from the van and bring it to the boat ourselves.  Again with NO help from the DESAFIO (that’s the tour company NOT to use if you come to Costa Rica) green shirted guys.  It's not like we are wimps, but seriously.  We lugged our bags through the mud and pricker bushes and got on the boat. 

What started off as a beautiful ride... turned into another trial.  In the middle of the lake, the motor on the boat died.  Yup.  Died.  It did not restart, despite multiple futile attempts.  And at this point, I really had to pee.  The boat driver thought this was very entertaining.  I did not.  Another boat was called to tow us to shore, and eventually we made it.  Without help one final time, we dragged out heavy packs up a very steep slope and then waited, hoping taxi round two would get us to our hotel.

Surprisingly, it did.  The hotel employees unfortunately suffered slightly due to our horrid experience getting here, (sorry, but Dr.C and I apparently respond the same to complete incompetency,) but after getting settled in and working out some exciting adventures for the last few days that we are here, we were able to enjoy the amazing view, some great food and a good night's sleep. 

A good morning exploring in Monteverde

We started with a beautiful walk from our hotel to a hummingbird gallery, where we saw an amazing number and variety of the little birds flitting around a series of feeders filled with a simple concentrated sugar solution.  The interesting thing about the feeders is that they were designed so that only hummingbirds can drink out of them, with their long slender beaks.  Other shorter-beaked birds can't get in there, thus ensuring a constant stream of hummingbirds looking for the ever-present food.   Brilliant!  My favorite was the purple one above.  

After watching in fascination I read about the birds and learned that their hearts beat incredibly fast (up to 1260 beats per minute), which is needed to support their super-high metabolism.

At the hummingbird gallery we met an adorable newlywed couple from Winnipeg.  We ended up talking hockey, as they are looking forward to their team (the Jets) returning to the city and I crowed about the Bruins.  It was a fun moment and just another example of why travelling is worthwhile -- you meet really interesting people you wouldn't otherwise.

We wrapped up the first half of the day with a walk to two interesting local businesses -- a cheese factory and an artists' cooperative.   Along the way we saw many more beautiful landscapes and tropical plants and other cool stuff.  Look at this bettle Miss O'B spotted in the road -- even the bugs are colorful! 

We left Monteverde after lunch to go to Fortuna and the famous Arenal Volcano, seen here from the taxi we took to get there.  It was a heck of a journey as Miss O'B will tell you next. 

You did what? That's not the Jamaica I know!

For those of you who don't know me that well, I am a bit of a nervous nellie.  A wasp and then a seemingly dangerous car ride both independently made me cry in Africa.   And no, I wasn't a kid, I was 32 years old.  So of course, I allowed Dr. C to drag me on the aforementioned canopy tour.  Before the first of 13 lines, I was beginning to question my sanity and my friendship with Dr. C, but thanks to her reassuring words and the expertise of the guides up there (way, way up there,) I actually did have an amazing time.  I also got a unique perspective of the treetop diversity of the rainforest.  I actually thanked Dr. C for getting me to do the tour but I did not accompany her on the "Tarzan Swing."  Apparently I am simply not into risking my life multiple times in one day.

Proof that we survived:

Our next rainforest adventure was significantly more relaxing, but still insanely high up.  Walking through the series of suspension bridges was strangely exhilarating.  I somehow decided to put my fears away for the rest of the day and enjoy the view.  I had a great time examining the super dense foliage, endless species of bromeliads climbing way up each and every tree trunk, thick moss cover, and other beautiful examples of the biodiversity that this biome is known for.

Quick side bar: we are not the only ones here. In fact, this may be one of the more touristy places either of us has chosen to visit.  I don't, however mind the flocks of tourists because they are coming to a place to learn about the importance of protecting it.  Not just Costa Rica overall, but in my experience, the individuals and organizations here are doing their part.  One example:  many places we have been or stayed, including today's cloud forest tour company, have eco-friendly plumbing and you can't flush your toilet paper.   Our lovely lodge both recycles and composts!  Sustainability is an ongoing theme here so the more people that learn about it and take some part home to practice themselves, as I will be doing, the better.

Finally, Dr. C was right.  During the amphibian and reptile tour, my textbook did actually come to life in the form of a lesson on mimicry.  There was both a highly venomous coral snake, and the other king snake that has copied its coloring patterns to fool predators, but is not in fact venomous at all!  I was reminded again about the never ending wonders of evolution.

After a quick stop at a supermarket for some of our favorite things, we were back to our lovely lodge, where it is....wait for it...raining!!

A biology textbook comes to life in the cloud rainforest

Yesterday was a day of transition as we left our Earthwatch group and struck out on our own for the town of Monteverde, which is high in the mountains in the center of an incredible rainforest.  After a very bumpy three-hour ride from San Jose we arrived at our hotel in time to settle in and prepare for today's adventures.

And what adventures they were!  We began with a zipline tour through the rainforest, which was breathtaking and exciting.  Ziplining involves flying through the air at high speed through the forest while harnessed to cables over your head.   Miss OB was pretty nervous at the beginning but she pushed ahead and ended up having a great time.  I am fearless when it comes to heights and thrills and I loved every minute of it.  I even did the Tarzan swing at the end, which is a heart-stopping drop straight down while harnessed to a rope. 

After ziplining and catching our breath we went on a long walk through the forest on a series of hanging bridges high in the sky.  

 We saw beautiful plants of all sorts.  I was struck by the interdependence of the plants and other living things -- how they grow on each other, with vines climbing up trees, and moss growing on dead stumps.  

 

We saw many plants that are clearly food for insects and birds, like these chewed on leaves.  The rainforest is obviously a very complex system, and that is one reason why it is so important that humans not disrupt the delicate balance of species that exists.

 After lunch we went to the Reptiles and Amphibians exhibit, where our knowledgeable tour guide, Elvis, showed us many species of snakes, lizards, frogs and toads that are native to Costa Rica.  He explained how their coloring and other features serve specific functions, like protecting them from predators and allowing them to sneak up on prey.  I learned a lot and was bowled over by the amazing sights of tiny red frogs and the enormous shedded snake skins from a boa constrictor.

Tomorrow promises even more amazing sights and opportunities to learn as we plan to visit a hummingbird gallery as well as a local cheese factory.

Se Vende Queso Aqui

That was a roadside sign.  I'll explain that later. 

Today we left our home away from home, said goodbye to Cecilia, who took extremely good care of us during our time with Earthwatch in her beautiful cabinas:

Said goodbye to my new little dog friends (many dachshunds running around all the time, walking us to town and just being entertaining overall)

Said goodbye to coffee plants (not coffee,) and to our super cool group of volunteers.  

Also, we said goodbye to Sebastian's safe driving.  Driving through the rain on the ever present narrow, winding and steep roads, trying to ignore my sense of impending death, I reflect on my first week here in this beautiful country.  Of course, given the circumstances, my thoughts are a little disconnected, but here they are.  The last night of Earthwatch was really something that has stuck with me.  Being so warmly welcomed into someone's home (Alba actually told me "Me casa es tu casa,") just made me happy.  I assume that people are partly so nice because we are attached to this fantastic coffee research, but truly, I just think that many the people here have a warmth about them that does not exist in Boston.  We waited for Interbus at a charming cafe near the airport which turned out to have more nice people and great food, a delicious salad with salsa, hearts of palm and balsamic vinegar.  Yummy and healthy.  Then got on the bus, which I must add is 100% carbon neutral.  Even the taxis here are eco-friendly!  I have to figure out how...

On our drive, I saw tons of happy cows.  Did you know some of them don't like the rain?  I saw a huge bunch huddled under trees waiting for it to stop.  Super cute.  Don't they know its the rainy season?  They live here!  It may never stop!  I can't wait to have my farm.  I learned that I can probably grow most of my own food sustainably if I do it right (biointensive farming.)  Also, I think I will have some cows too, but not for meat.  Pets!  To make cheese, like the goats.  And then I can sell it!  And that was the sign...we sell cheese here.  Finally made it to the next destination safely, I am learning to trust these drivers, and here in Monteverde, we have lots to look forward to.