Our Eighth Trip to Costa Rica
May 10 to 17th. 2005
First Day (Tuesday 05/10/05)
Up early, had a bite to eat, did a little last minute packing, went over my check off list. Everything seemed in order Then it’s time to haul my heavy suitcase downstairs and into the car. Couple of minutes later I was heading for my son’s house in Miami, so he could drop me at the airport. Our flight would leave MIA at 11:50 AM and arrive in San Jose, Costa Rica at 12.36 PM. Even with the time difference it’s still a two hour and twenty minute flight. After getting my boarding pass I headed to the gate and saw Greg and Diana waving to me. I’ve known these guys for over ten years now and I’m excited that they’re joining me on
the trip. While I was shaking hands with Greg and hugging Diana, Mike appeared and introduced himself. Mike, I’ve never met in person before, so we chit-chatted a little. Soon, Ian and Kevin from Gainsville showed up and were introduced all around. Next Dave showed his smiling face. The seven of us would be flying out of Miami today. Tomorrow we would meet up with the last member of our group. Pete who left a few days early and was already in Costa Rica. —- We arrived in Costa Rica right on time and proceeded to Immigrations then Baggage Claims. We all had our bags, but Greg and Diana were still missing a small bag. Finally someone found it over in the area for odd shaped baggage, like surf boards, etc. Later Greg told me the bag had been raffled and his batteries were missing. Batteries are easy to replace in Costa Rica, but it’s still a pain. Once outside we boarded a GreyLines Bus to the Hotel Irazu. After checking in, I asked everyone to meet at the entrance in a half hour, if they want to go to the Serpentarium. It was a seven dollar cab ride to “Mundo Salvaje” (Jungle World), We took two cabs. Once we got there, the cabbies said they would wait for us. On prior trips we always arrived after dark and couldn’t make it to places like this. The facility was nice and clean; they had a lobby and gift shop. The animals were kept outdoors in good cage setups with live plants, water and hide areas. They didn’t have all the species in Costa Rica, but a fair amount, especially the venomous species. They had a beautiful butterfly garden with outstanding variety of butterflies. To me the showpiece was the Blue Morpho; they had several in there just flying by. After a few tee shirt purchases, we went back to the hotel. We met a while later at Happy Hour from 5 to 6PM, all National brands free for the hour. Since I know my Costa Rican beers, most everyone followed my lead and ordered Imperial. The beers in Costa Rica have lots more horse power then beers stateside. After happy hour we walked to a close by shopping center and had dinner in a nice Italian restaurant. Greg and Diana said they had enough and would see us in the morning. The rest of us grabbed a cab for the Key Largo Bar to see a little of the local color. Of course I went along to protect the guys from the local color.
Second Day (Wednesday 05/11/05)
I wanted to get an early start, but I had learned a very long time ago that things happen in Costa Rica on Tico Time. The most liberal translation of “Tico Time” that I can think of is more or less not necessarily minutes but just as likely hours. Anyway the night before I had asked the person at the Alamo Car Rental desk what time could we do the rental contracts in the morning. He said “no problamo senor” I’ll be at my desk at six tomorrow morning. I arrived a seven o’clock to find no one there. Next I went to breakfast and came back a little before eight, still empty. Finally a little after eight he appears and we start the contracts. In addition to the two cars I usually get, we were getting a third car for this trip. It seemed Ian and Kevin have been road cruising together so long that they thought they may do better by themselves and would have to come in early to accommodate other sleepy herpers. This arrangement made everyone happy and increased our chances of finding more snakes on the road by 33%. We had all the cars packed with our gear and were ready to take off by a little after 10 AM. I don’t think we’ve ever left before 10 AM. I told the drivers to just follow me on to the Highway; in about ten minutes we would have to pay a toll. A little after we would exit to the right and go over the highway and head to the coastal area. Simple huh? It is except for the traffic getting on to the highway. I got an opening and went knowing they wouldn’t have a chance to follow. They would have to get out when they could and catch up. Problem is I could have gone straight or veered to the right. I just hoped they went straight, but I knew they were cussing me by now. Well, pretty soon I saw both cars in my mirror. An hour and a half later after making it over the mountains, we came to the Rio Tarcoles and stopped to take pictures of the Crocodiles. From there we left for a ten minute ride to the Hotel Villa Lapas. ——- We arrived at the Villa Lapas simultaneously with the first big storm of the new rainy season. In the lobby, bar and restaurant, water was coming in from the roof. During the dry season leaves and debris built up on the barrel tile roof, which has no deck of any kind under it. So within hours after the rain stopped, the workers were on the roof cleaning and replacing broken tiles. After that there were no more problems water came through. While it was raining we had our lunch. After while the rain stopped we went to our rooms and unpacked. We all got together and I gave a short demonstration on how to bag a venomous snake with out physically touching him. On the first day in the field I always start with a walk across the river from the hotel. The paths are easy to fellow and you can’t get lost, maybe a little confused but not lost. The ground is level for the most part with a few small hills. We generally see a few Dart Frogs and may an Ameiva. But up to now we have never found a single snake on this “get acquainted with the Rain Forest walk.” Well, there’s a first time for everything. After an hour and a half on hunting around we were about to cross the bridge back to the hotel. Kevin spotted an Ameiva and was trying to catch it, but he missed. But just down the path he spotted another one, same story, then a third. Well, this got us all back in the game. Everyone wanted to be the one to catch one. Next thing I heard was Dave shouting out “Eyelash Viper.” We all converged on Dave in about thirty seconds.
About 40 inches off the ground there’s a Golden Eyelash Viper hanging on the trunk of a small tree.
The cameras started flashing; everyone was delighted to find a quality snake so soon. Because it was so easy to get all the photos we wanted we decided not to disturb the snake. We checked this snake every day for the next four days. He seemed to move very little, one day he would be 6 or 7 inches higher; the next day he would move around the tree, etc. This snake was very easy to see on the tree once you knew where he was, but three of us including myself walked right by him before Dave found him. When you have the Rain Forest 360 degrees around you and from ground level to straight up, it’s just too much for your eye to take in. We headed back to the hotel for a quick dip in the pool and a little rest before dinner. After dinner we had to hold off on road crusing for a while because Ian and Kevin found a bunch of Red-Eyed Tree Frogs. They were out in force because of the big rain that afternoon. Finally we were in the cars and on our way to the roads we would hunt. That night we came across 2 Boas, 2 Fer de Lances, 1 Blunt Headed Tree Snake and 1 Rainbow Boa. DOR we found 2 Fer de Lances, 3 Blunt Headed Tree Snakes and 1 Stuarti Milk Snake. All totaled we found 13 snakes the first day in the field.
Third Day (Thursday 05/12/05)
At breakfast I told everyone to eat hearty because it was going to take a lots of energy to walk the mountain to the top of the Skywalk. We started a little after nine and I figured we would be back for lunch about one o’clock. We huffed and puffed our way higher and higher crossing the bridges as we came to them. The Bridges are quite intimidating the first time you see and cross them and a hell of an undertaking to put up in the jungle. You may be 50 to 100 feet about the ground; sometimes they shake and rock and roll when you have a bunch crossing at the same time. They have a sign limiting the number of people to 15 at a time. Were only eight of us and some of the guys had a hard time finding their sea legs after crossing. We had seen many birds, some dart frogs but no snakes. On good days you get lucky and find some; this looked like an unlucky day for us and it would be raining in a short time. We were 5 minutes from the top when Ian spotted and made a fine catch on a Brown Vine Snake.
Well, our luck changed both for the good and the bad. The good part was we caught a snake on our climb and we made it to the shelter at the top of the Skywalk before the rain started. The bad part was it didn’t look like the rain was going to stop anytime soon. We sat and rested and talked for a while with no let up in sight. I said there was lunch and a cold beer with my name on it at the bottom. I left and was completely wet in two minutes and the path was slippery all the way down. A half hour later we were at the bottom except for Mike and Dave. Later I found they made a wrong turn when the path crossed the road near the hotel. They found someone on the road and got directions. Next order of business was lunch and a siesta. I had lunch but switched the siesta for a solo walk in the jungle followed by a dip in the pool. —— After dinner we went road cruising in two cars. Mike, one of the drivers, was a little under the weather, and Diana decided not to hunt with us tonight. So, Pete went with Ian and Kevin; Greg, Dave and I in the other car. Nothing real exciting in our car. But Ian, Kevin and Pete got a nice 4 plus foot Fer-de-Lance and a couple of Boas. That night we came across 2 Boas, 1 Fer de Lance, 2 Blunt Headed Tree Snakes. DOR we found 2 Fer de Lances, 2 Blunt Headed Tree Snakes and 1 Green Vine Snake and 1 Parrot Snake. All totaled we found 12 snakes the second day in the field.
Fourth Day (Friday 05/13/05)
At breakfast I told everyone that today would be a free day from any planned activities. Pete and I went into Jaco to set up the boat trip to hunt for Sea Snakes and fish, in that order. I had to buy a pair of shorts, since I forgot a pair. We managed to kill a couple of hours. On the way back we almost managed to kill ourselves trying to get a baby green Iguana off the Highway. In fact he managed to get off the road by himself without our help. Ian and Kevin when to Jaco, but turned off on a dirt road and found 2 DOR Parrot Snakes. Then they came across a live one crossing the road; Kevin made a dive for it coming up short by an inch or two. Later in the afternoon Pete, Dave and I hunted around the back of the cabins. In the past we managed to find a few snakes, but today we had no luck. We all met at the bar for a few drinks before dinner. Tonight dinner was being served at the larger restaurant across the bridge. After dinner we were treated to a Floor Show. The dancers depicted the history of Costa Rica from the time of the Indians to modern times. It lasted around forty-five minutes and was well done. Tonight before road cruising I wanted to take everyone up to the top of the Skywalk and follow the path down to the third bridge. A couple of years ago one night I was on the second bridge and got a nice picture of a Kinkajou. I was talking to the hotel guide Mario, and he said he had been on the Skywalk one night a few weeks before and found Kinkajou on the second and third bridges at that time. So I thought it was worth a try. After parking the cars and unlocking the gate we made our way down to the second bridge and found nothing. As we approached the third bridge, we could hear their calls. Kevin is familiar with kinkajous and their calls. When we first got on the bridge, a few of us got an eye shine and a very brief glimpse of a couple of them. We turned off our light and waited to see if they would move in close to us, no luck. But the experience of being in the middle of the Rain Forest at night with no light or sounds from any of us; just the sounds of the jungle with a very light rain and the bright stars hanging low in the sky just above us, it was magical and inspiring. —— In the car I was in, nothing exciting happened; we came across a few snakes but no standouts. Kevin and Ian did well and came across a great find; A bi-colored Coral Snake (Micrurus mipartitus). This snake is not be supposed to found in this area. All references that I found have it only on the Eastern side of the country. The bands on this snake are either white, red, pink or orange and black always black with just one of the other colors. Kevin almost got a snake hook on it before it got off the road. Kevin is a well experienced herper and he identified it from pictures in books. So I feel comforable with his ID. I have already found a few species of herps that are way out the the range they are marked in. It’s a shame we didn’t bag him for photos and a possitive identification; maybe next time I know I’ll be looking. That night we came across 2 Boas, 1 Fer de Lance, 2 Cateye Snakes, 1 Coral Snake. DOR we found 1 Blunt Headed Tree Snake and 1 Cateye Snake and 2 Fer de Lances. All totaled we found 13 snakes the third day in the field.
Fifth Day (Saturday 05/14/05)
Today the day for Carara National Park, which is just a short ride from the Villa Lapas. Everyone is planning on going except me today; I’m near the bathroom. It seems that whatever had a hold of Mike a few days ago has jumped on me. Around 1 o’clock I climbed out of bed and slowly walked to the restaurant, figuring the troops would be back from the park for a lunch break. I sat at our table nursing a bowl of chicken soup; soon the guys started in for lunch. The park has two main trails, the trail where you buy your ticket is the easiest and the most traveled. The second trail is down the road a few kilometers and often has water standing on it or at least some big puddles. The guys saw ameivas, spiny tail iguanas, macaws, parrots and monkeys on the first trail. On the second trail visited by Ian and Kevin they saw more or less the same but they also found some crocodiles and caught a Mud Turtle.
The second trail has some ponds that sometimes hold crocs. The biggest they saw in the pond was 5 to 6 feet, plus some smaller ones. Kevin did manage to catch his first croc.
If you tried to catch anything in the Park, you had to look over your shoulder because all plants and animals are protected. It seemed that everyone was worn out from the hike in the Park and no one wanted to go back for an afternoon trip. That plus the sky was darkening little by little. Was it going to rain again? I made it back to the room, but I over exerted myself and felt very weak. I tried reading and fell asleep; soon I was awakened by loud thunder. The rain was really coming down hard. I dropped back off the sleep, awakened again; it was still raining hard. It must have rained hard and steady for five hours. Around eight o’clock Kevin knooked on my door; he had brought me a plate with some rice and veggies. I thanked him and ate some still, not feeling too hot. I found in the morning that no one did any road cruising last night The bad weather and the hiking in the Park made everyone feel they deserved a night off. So our production for the fourth day was a big fat 0.
Sixth Day (Sunday 05/15/05)
Today we planned to ride the zip line in the afternoon before the rain started. In the meantime everyone was getting their cameras for a photo shoot. This by nature seems to go on forever, but it took us around an hour. We had to watch out that the herps didn’t stay in the sun too long. After the photos Greg and Diana crossed over the bridges for a little nature walk in the jungle. On this walk Greg managed to get some shots of two Ameivas in the same picture, which is no easy thing to do. The ameivas move on the jungle floor and seem to be in constant motion. I’ve seen herpers try until they gave up trying just to get a decent shot of just one ameiva much less two. I have very few lizard pictures in the “Highlights”, but knowing how hard this picture was to come by I think Greg deserves a little congrads for his efforts. Well, we had to put off the zip line until tomorrow. Since it was Sunday, there not enough staff with experience on the Zip Line for us to be able to do it today. After dinner we started up the hill from the hotel to road cruise. Dave and Mike were in the car with me, and I driving was on the dirt road slowly to minimize the bumps. Suddenly I see big head sticking just about the weeds. Well, what I was seeing is the underside of a snake; I could see from the tip of the nose maybe 10 inches down before the weeded cover the rest. The neck looked to be over an inch wide; my first thought was a big Fer de Lance and I said so. I stopped the car and grabbed my snake hook. As I approched, the snake drew his head down, he knew he been spotted. Another step and I saw it’s a big Boa. I made a grab and pulled him out of the weeds. He made a strike and missed. Not so the second time, he nailed me on top of my hand but he only got a couple of teeth in. This make me happy; if he got the whole hand in his mouth I’d been sore for a week. This guy was an inch or two over six feet; the biggest I’ve caught in Costa Rica. Most of the Boas we get are under 3 feet. Later in the night we came across a small Fer de Lance and 2 Cateye Snakes. Ian, Pete and Kevin came across 1 DOR Speckled Racer and 1 Blunt Headed Tree Snake. All totaled we found 5 snakes the fifth day in the field.
Seventh Day Monday (05/16/05)
This morning we all had to be on the beach at 7:30 AM to get picked up by the taxi boat and brought out to the snake hunting/fishing boat. We made it to the beach on time, but I had a little problem with the guys who set up the taxi service to the boats. He said we were only supposed to be four people not eight. I told him I didn’t want to hear this; we are eight people; just get us on the boat. Don’t give me any BS. He didn’t like that, but he got us going. We got aboard at quarter of eight; by eight the rain started. Every day the rain started after noon sometime, but this morning it was dark, overcast and raining. Boy, I picked a looser today! We ran for about thirty minutes then found some wind slicks. We putted along in the slick looking for Sea Snakes, but things didn’t look good. We couldn’t find any debris, the sun wasn’t out, the wind was picking up a little, but still not bad. The Captain put out a couple of rods with plastic baits on them. Twenty minutes later we got a hit, Greg grabbed the pole and after maybe 15 minutes he landed a good size Jack, probably 15 plus, he was released. A while later Ian landed a small bonita, but before he could be released Greg had cut him up for bait. I believe Kevin caught the next fish, a nice size Sierra Mackerel which feed us all for dinner. No Sea Snakes this trip, and we were back on the beach by noon. Everyone was glad to on land and out of the rain and wind. It was raining at the hotel and after lunch no one had any enthusiasm for the Zip Line and more rain. Time was getting short; we only had one more night on the road. After our big fish dinner:
(Standing) Mike, Ian, Romie (Hororary member) Kevin, Dave, (Sitting) Diana, Greg, Pete and Jim
I suggested that we give another try for the Kinkajous on the Skywalk before hitting the roads for our last night. We drove up to the entrance, parked the cars and unlocked the gate. We were almost to the first bridge when Kevin yelled out Banded Gecko and snatched him up. Well, this was a good find, only the third one I’ve come across in many years of hunting. We checked out bridges two and three with no luck on the Kinkajous. On the way back to the cars Kevin caught another Banded Gecko. Once on the road cruising, our car found a few snakes as did the other car. That night we came across 1 Boa, 2 Cateye Snakes, 3 Blunt Headed Tree Snakes. DOR we found 1 Blunt Headed Tree Snake and 1 Speckled Racer. All totaled we found 8 snakes the sixth day in the field.
Travel Day Tuesday (05/17/05)
Well, today is our last day and it was a travel day, my least favorite by far. The only part of the day I like is morning at the Villa Lapas. After we left there it was pressure to get where were going and then wait in line for this and that. To make matters worse I just realized that at the beginning of the trip, I had let the guy at Alamo get me to agree to return the cars at 11 AM instead of noon. I always have to negotiate a late return without penalty. Now instead of drinking free beer at the Villa Lapas we’ll have to pay for beer at the Airport. The good part is we could still drink Costa Rican beer but at American prices. Boy! Did I mess up on that. As we were heading up the mountains, I noticed in my rear view mirror that the two cars following me had much improved drivers over the newbies that were so timid a week ago. As we were moving though the mountains, I saw on the road a dead Racer sp., just over the highest peak when we started our descent. On a tight curve I saw a small Spilotes stick his head about four inches on to the road and pull it back again. At that place on the road it was impossible to pull off; even for a couple minutes, down the road there was no place for safe stopping. Maybe if we are lucky, we’ll catch him when he grows up. We finally made it to the main highway and stopped to fill the tanks before returning the rental cars. After everything was checked out and OK’ed, they dropped us at the Airport. More waiting in lines, but it was not too long before we were inside and able to go the our gate. We stopped for a bite to eat and the last Costa Rican beer for a while. The K9 unit with his handler came into the restaurant and passed by each passenger’s bag looking for drugs. I see these dogs working on every trip, so a word to the wise is never be in the Airport with drugs in your possession or you’re busted. Our flight is called and we are boarding at last. A short while later we were in the air heading for home. In thinking about the past seven days and the adventure we shared, I know everyone had a good time and saw things they have never imagined they would see in person. These seven days we all experienced life to the fullest. We made new friends that may pass over time, but we’ve made memories that will last a lifetime.
Until the next time.
HAPPY HERPING!!!!
Jim
The following is a list of snakes our herpers encountered on our trip to Costa Rica May 10th to 17th. 2005.
|
SPECIES
|
COMMON NAME
|
LIVE
|
DOR
|
|
Boa Constrictor
|
Common Boa
|
8
|
0
|
|
Bothriechis schlegelii
|
Eyelash Viper
|
1
|
0
|
|
Bothrops asper
|
Fer de Lance
|
5
|
6
|
|
Drymobius margaritiferus
|
Speckled Racer
|
0
|
2
|
|
Epicrates cenchria maurus
|
Rainbow Boa
|
1
|
0
|
|
Imantodos cenchoa
|
Blunt Headed Tree Snake
|
5
|
5
|
|
Imantodos gemnistratus
|
Blunt Headed Tree Snake
|
1
|
0
|
|
Lampropeltis stuarti
|
Stuart’s Milk Snake
|
0
|
2
|
|
Leptodeira septentrionalis
|
Cateye Snake (Northern)
|
6
|
3
|
|
Leptodeira ahaetulla
|
Parrot Snake
|
1
|
2
|
|
Micrurus mipartitus
|
Coral Snake
|
1
|
0
|
|
Oxybelis aeneus
|
Brown Vine Snake
|
1
|
0
|
|
Oxybelis fulidus
|
Green Vine Snake
|
1
|
0
|
|
Spilotes pullatus
|
Tiger Rat Snake
|
1
|
0
|
|
Un-Identified
|
0
|
1
|
|
|
TOTAL
|
53
|
32
|
21
|
This list doesn’t include the numerous other forms of reptiles and amphibians we came across on this trip. This list was compiled by: Jim Kavney.
From a Herpers Point Of View
The following information was provided by members of our group for the May 2005 Trip.. Each member of the group was asked to send me an email in their own words describing their impression of the trip.
My Herping Adventure in Costa Rica
Hello Jim:
This was my forth trip with Hiss N Things, and about my 7th to Costa Rica, your trips have always given up the most Herps and animals.
This last trip I saw more common boas than all my prior trips combined I believe, and definitely the largest. In all my trips I have only seen 3 Eyelash Viper and 2 of the 3 were on your trips.
Also this trip about 7 fer de lance, also the largest amount of nice size adults, as well as some new frogs and lizards to add to my life list as well as birds, mammals and fish.
As always the members of the group were lots of fun and there was never any boredom, hope I have time to join you on my 5th trip in November …
My Best Pete
My Herping Adventure in Costa Rica
I visited Costa Rica in early May of 2005 with a small group hosted by Jim Kavney. This was my second visit to that beautiful corner of the world, & I enjoyed it as much as the first time I was down there. The trip was geared toward observing, capturing, photographing & then releasing reptiles, primarily snakes. With the background I have in herpetology, it was right up my alley. I have been studying herps since 1954, and ran the reptile park at Lion Country from 1968 to 1972.
I almost felt bad that I did not go out on all of the nighttime road cruising trips, but I am happy to say that I felt no pressure to do so, either. While the trip was aimed at herping, if someone would rather kick back & relax or go out & look for birds, that was fine. The birding, by the way, was as good as anywhere I have ever been. You may have a chance to see more different kinds of hummingbirds in Ecuador, but overall, I’ll take Costa Rica.
I even learned a few things about reptiles down there, like Terciopelos are not as easy to hook as rattlers are, & they are about as fast as racers when in the escape mode. I also learned that the hatchling Ctenosaur is bright green, much unlike the adults.
I would strongly recommend a trip down to Costa Rica with Jim Kavney for anyone with any kind of interest in snakes or lizards. The area is well populated with both, & Jim can find them & give a less experienced herper all the guidance necessary. I found the cost of the trip to be reasonable & the accommodations most excellent.
Greg Longhurst
My Herping Adventure in Costa Rica
Not being a true herper and being the only female signed up for this trip, I was not sure what to expect. But Jim’s tour showed us many reptiles and amphibians in the wild and also gave us a chance to relax. Our first day at Villa Lapas, we found an eyelash viper that stayed on the same tree for five of the six days we were there. We checked on it daily and during that time it fed. Speaking of feeding… Villa Lapas fed us very well also. We had three meals a day and drinks were included.
The Villa Lapas hotel also has beautiful grounds that provided good habitat for many birds. Reptiles were abundant just walking the trails, but night road driving produced more species. I joined the guys on one night cruise, but I enjoyed walking around Villa Lapas at night and relaxing with a book. I got to see all their catch the next day when we did our photographing. My favorites were the lizards and the arrow poison frogs, both of which were plentiful.
For the ladies, they did have three shops at Villa Lapas where I found souvenirs. Their prices were comparable to other areas. It was a great trip!
Diana
My Herping Adventure in Costa Rica
Dear Jim:
Just had an opportunity to go to your web site and read your diary on
the May Costa Rica trip. I loved your detailed play-by-play; it brought
back some wonderful memories. I am disappointed to see your November
trip is sold out. My wife and I are discussing the next May trip.
Here is a “Herpers point of view” which you may use if you’d like:
Since I first got interested in herps as a kid, I have dreamt of going
to a place like Costa Rica to search for snakes in the wild. So for my
40th birthday, my wife surprised me with a trip with you to Costa Rica.
I must say, though, it was nothing like what I expected; it was so much
better! I never imagined there would be so much to see and so many
species of snakes, lizards, birds, etc. I’m still can’t believe we got
to see an anteater, the Macaw parrots, the Toucans, and all of those
gorgeous butterflies. Of course, my favorite moment was when we found
that gorgeous, bright orange eyelash viper — I still get chills when I
think about it. That week in Costa Rica is one of the most memorable
weeks of my life. It did create one problem for me though; after seeing
the pictures I took and listening to me tell everyone about the trip,
the next time I go with you to Costa Rica, my wife is insisting on going
as well!!
Mike Lohr
My Herping Adventure in Costa Rica
To Jim & all fellow herpers & adventurers, First & utmost I have to say this was a trip of a lifetime, very well planned, organized & very affordable. The views of trip from the airport to our 1st destinations were breathtaking, especially the volcanic mountain ranges. The serpentarium we visited was a good starter to introduce us to the local fauna, & gives you a chance to watch blue morpho butterflies in action at your fingertips. The hotel accommodations were nice, the resort we stayed at was spectacular, like living in the rain forest, the food was great, & the service treated you like a king or queen. Jim was an excellent & experienced host, always available to answer any questions. Our daytime hikes through the rain forests & mountainsides were awesome, with lots to see, never a dull moment. My experience of being rained on in the middle of the rain forest, midday while crossing a bridge over a deep river valley, put me in touch with nature, an experience you’ll never forget! Also finding my 1st snake on my 1st day herping midday along with my fellow herpers, a gorgeous golden eyelash viper. Was a thrill that would make any nature lover jump for joy!! The diversity of fauna & flora in Costa Rica is so diverse it would make you excited with each step you take. Just think how you would feel closing your eyes in the middle of the rain forest on a crossing bridge, at night, it’s pitch black, you are surrounded by fellow herpers, & all you hear is the silence of the jungle, only to be startled by the nocturnal cry of wild kinkajou. The nightlife, beach resorts, shopping, national parks were all fantastic. Makes you want to move there if at all possible. I look forward to my next trip which this time I will be more adventurous & try out the zip line, see some yellow bellied sea snakes and catch me a big fish.
ALL ABOARD…Cheers!
Dave Powell
Last Updated July 8, 2005
Website created and maintained by: Jim Kavney