Our Fourteenth Trip to Costa Rica
May 23rd to 30th, 2009
First Day (Saturday 05/23/09)
Well, this trip is starting out different for me. I’m starting out from Orlando instead of Miami. I’m spending about half of my time in Central Florida now. Anne dropped me off at the airport with plenty of time to spare. Jet Blue made good on their promise of an on time departure and I was off on Costa Rica Herping Adventures 14th Trip. It was a 3 hour trip from Orlando, with the time difference I arrived in Costa Rica an hour after take off. Costa Rica does not do Daylight Savings Time, they tried it many years ago but no body changed their clocks. Upon landing and clearing Customs I grabbed a taxi and told him to head far the Hotel Aeropuerto which was only five minutes from the airport. Since I started these trips in May of 2001 we’ve been staying at the first night at the Hotel Irazu near downtown San Jose. I found the Hotel Areopuerto to be a nice hotel and provided all we required in a pleasant atmosphere.
I expected Jeff to arrive about hour after I did. He didn’t but the rain did, in buckets full; it really came down. The rainy season was here in its full glory. Finally a cab pulled up to the front of the hotel and a single guy got out. He had that herper look so I figured it was Jeff from Minneapolis. Jeff had a delay at the airport and his bag didn’t make the flight he came in on. They told him it would arrive at 9 PM that evening and be delivered at 9 AM the next morning. Ten minutes after Jeff got there, Jim and Pat arrived after a long trip from Indianapolis. 75% of the guys on this trip are from an “apolis.” After everyone had a few minutes to settle in and because it was still pouring rain, we made our way to the restaurant for a beer or two to get acquainted. Jim had been with me on our third trip back in May of 2002. The rain finally stopped around the time we had dinner; after dinner we got some lights from the rooms and went around the hotel looking for frogs and geckos, we came up empty. After a day of travel we all were ready to hit the sack and look forward to tomorrow.
Second Day (Sunday, May 24th. 2009)
Everyone looked well rested the next morning as we made our way to the restaurant. They served a buffet style breakfast and everyone dug in. After breakfast I asked the guys who drove stick shift? Jeff said he never had, so he was out. I said Jim was out because seven years ago I had to ask him to slow down every night. When you’re road cruising, it’s all about being at the right place at the right time. So, in my opinion it’s better to go 30 kilometers an hour and stop with the snake in your headlights instead of turning around or backing up. So, Pat was going to be our relief driver. I called Payless to send a van for us so we could do the paper work and get going. It turn out to be a big hassle about the insurance and the extra driver. We compromised on the insurance and I won on the extra driver. But, Payless will see less of me in the future. We got back to the Hotel Aeropuerto and grabbed our bags, including Jeff”s which came while we were at Payless, and took off. This hotel will be at least a haft-hour less driving time to the Villa Lapas. In only three or four minutes we were making the turn off the Pan American Highway and heading for the Villa Lapas. Before long I was stopping at the bridge over the Rio Tarcoles to see the big crocodiles that make their home there. Today I counted 34 of them, so everyone had plenty of shots to get. Fifteen minutes later we were checking in at our hotel. We drove down to our rooms and un-loaded the car. I told the guys to settle in and in a half-hour we would have lunch then herp the trails on the other side of the river. On the way to the restaurant Pat was checking out a coconut tree along the path, which he had never seen up close and personally. Around the base of the tree they had piled fallen coconuts, two or three had sprouted and had small fronds about two or three feet tall; he was amazed. Then he saw some coils around and between the coconuts. He caught the first snake of the trip – a six foot Bird Snake.
Well, I thought – this was our fourteenth trip and we had only got one before – about two years ago. We took a few quick pictures and Jim said he’d go get a bag, I said it would be better to take the snake to the room and bag him and leave him there. Sometimes when we get a snake on the hotel grounds and other guests see it, they want to take pictures and ask questions which takes time. So, Jim took the snake back with him to the room. He came back and joined us at out table, he sat down and said he had gotten another one. I ask what kind? He said the same — a Bird Snake, I was amazed; two Bird Snake in ten minutes both six footers. We were off to a great start. After lunch we headed across the river to see what herps we may find. Jim and I took one trail and Pat and Jeff the other. After an hour and a half Jim and I had seen a couple of Ameivas and four Dart Frogs having managed to get one in a deli-cups for photos. Pat and Jeff didn’t see any herps. But, they did see Pete who has been there with me seven times over the years. He told me he would try to come by while we were here and spend a couple days herping with us. It would be good to see him again. We got back to our rooms just before the rain started and did it come down. When we were at lunch, I asked one of the waiters if they had been having much rain, he said very little. The rain stopped around 7:00; time to eat. As I walked from the game room area over the little bridge above the pond filled with lily pads, I saw Red Eyed Tree Frogs all over the place. There were frogs on the rail on the lily pads like I had never seen before. There were egg masses on the lily pads, even some on the hand rails. And there eating some of the egg masses were Cat Eyed Snakes, we counted 6 of them. This may have been the first major rain of the rainy season but everything was turned on like I had never seen before. I caught up with Pete and met Jamie for the first time. I told Pete he had done good, she was very charming and fit in with us herpers with no problems. Pete said the same about the frog activity, nothing we had seen in the past came close to this. The rain started up again, but it was lighter now. Jeff, Pat, Jim and I jumped in the car for some road cruising. It’s about a 35 to 40 minute drive to the place we start, so we were ready by the time we got there. There were lots of dead frogs on the road. We finally came across a small dead Boa, a while later we caught a Juvenile Tree Boa. Our final snake for the night was a 3 to 3 1/2 foot Fer-de-Lance.
No wanted to catch him, so we took some pictures of him on the road and called it a night.
Third Day (Monday, May 25 2009)
After we had a great breakfast we were set to climb the mountain. We do this early in the trip when everybody still has enough energy to make it to the top. We made it up the first little mountain and walked down the path leading up the next mountain. As I lead the way, I noticed the path was over grown, so over grown it looked like it hadn’t been used for quite some time. I pushed on and soon saw the reason the path was out of use. There had been a land slide that made it impossible to use. We turn around and went back to the bottom, got the cars, and went to the beginning of the Skywalk. Walking down the Skywalk trail is a lot easier than walking up from the bottom as we usually do. We planned to just go to the first three suspension bridges, turn around, and walk back up. We walked slow looking at the ground, bushes and trees. What we saw herp-wise was a couple of Dart Frogs, some Ameivas and we spotted and caught a Helmeted Iguana a/k/a
Helmeted Basilisk (Corytophanes cristatus). We also saw a beautiful Toucan sitting high in a tree, but we were right up there with him on the bridge. We drove down to the hotel and had lunch. After lunch we herped a bit then went to the pool and hot tub. Before dinner Pat, Jeff and Jim found some Basilisk lizards in the shrubs. Jim grabbed one and was rewarded with a vicious bite on his thumb, probably needed a few stitches, but I forgot my sewing kit. After dinner we hit the road. The day’s tally was a Boa, Fer de Lance, Stuart’s Milk, Cat-Eye, Parrot Snake, Snail-eater, all DOR, and 3 live Cat-Eyes.
Fourth Day (Tuesday May 26, 2009)
I left my room wanting a cup of coffee, which I don’t usually drink at home, but in Costa Rica I indulge because it just so tasty. Walking down to the restaurant I use a different path each time hoping to spot a snake. Over the years many have been found this way, but not this time. Can’t win them all!! We all got together for breakfast and ate and relaxed, we had nothing planned for this morning except for herping around the hotel. Pete and Jamie were leaving today to fly back to New Jersey, hated to see them go because they brought a lot to the group. They had been in Costa Rica for 15 days before joining up with us. They pretty much covered one end to the other of the country, they only saw a few snakes because it had been so dry. It looked the rainy season started a little late this year. It usually starts the beginning of May, not the end, but who knows anymore. Later after we finished lunch, Jim mentioned he would like to walk around in the river and see if he could find any interesting looking tropical fish, I said I’d join him. Jim had a small aquarium type net which he attached to a 5 foot walking stick and now had a long handle net. Jim and I walked in the water which was moving pretty fast; Pat and Jeff walked along the shore trying to keep their shoes dry. Jim was able to catch a few minnows, but they looked like guppies you see everywhere. We did get up pretty close to a Tiger Heron and an Ibis which kept moving down the river ahead of us. One thing on the river walk that I found interesting was a tree hanging over the water had some ripe fruit on it. One of the fruits was opened and the flesh of the fruit was exposed. There was a small back hummingbird flying into the fruit and taking bits of the fruit flying to a near by limb and eating it. He keep doing this for 8 or 9 minutes; the fruit was maybe 20 feet above the river, so we had a great view. I guess he had enough and he flew down the river to another tree. Maybe five minutes later the fruit was covered with insects, which were not around while he was working the fruit. After we got cleaned up, we decided to go the Maxi Bodega in Jaco. I wanted to pick up some coffee for my friends back home. We got about five minutes down the road and traffic was backed up from an accident. After growing impatient I did a u-turn; Since we were out and about, I told the guys I would take them to Tarcoles to see the beach. I’ve known for many years that towards evening the Scarlet Macaws sometimes come into Tarcoles near the beach and roost for the night. I didn’t mention it to the guys because I didn’t know if they would be there or not. Anyway we parked up close to the beach under a lone tree. When we got out of the car, the sea breeze felt great. The guys started taking pictures and walking up the beach. I could hear some Macaws somewhere in the trees but could see any. I saw that I had left the headlights on in the car and walked back to turn them off. By this time the guys were pretty far up the beach, so I decided to wait at the car for them to return. They seemed to be far enough up the beach to be close to the noise the Macaws were making. After a while they started back to the car. When they were close, a pair of Scarlet Macaws came flying into the area of the noise. They must have stirred things up because 5 of them flew out. The guys were back to the car by now. We heard some more squawking and five Scarlets flew into the tree about us;
those cameras were burning up. More came into the tree, then they all flew out and around and back again. They didn’t seem to mind that we were 20 to 30 feet below them, at one point there must had been at least nine or ten in the trees. This must have lasted thirty or forty minutes; then off they went and that was the last we saw of them. What a Kodak moment!! We went back to the hotel and had a dip in the pool and hot tub. At dinner I told the guys I wasn’t going on the road tonight since my stomach was acting up and I thought I should stay close to the Bano. They came across a Fer de Lance and a Sibon both DOR. Not much for the day, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything back home!!
Fifth Day (Wednesday May 27, 2009)
Our today plans included a trip to Carara National Park. We stopped at the office and bought our tickets for entry into the park; the price had gone up to $10 each. The guide told us that there was some water on the road of the second trail, so Pat rented boots. The guide also mentioned that for only 2,000 colones we could have Carlos watch our car; this was a deal I would take, 2,000 colones was a little less then $4.00. So, we piled Carlos into the car and off we went. The trail was dry in the beginning but soon because wet, maybe ankle deep – not knee high as sometimes in the past. Lots of the wild banana trees near the edge of the trail had ripe fruit on them which was a good sign. When ripe fruit is available in the rain forest, snakes like boas, eyelash vipers, etc hang out close to the banana stocks and wait for a meal of small birds, lizard or rodents. I told everyone to look hard and take their time around the ripe fruit. It was hot and still on the trail, and we just took our time drinking plenty of water. Finally we came to the opening to the pond where the crocodiles hang out. I walked along the until I saw a nice seven-footer up on the bank. I stayed quiet and signaled the other guys and pointed to the croc.
They took several pictures, then the croc moved into the water. I started working the water edge hoping to get a chance to make a grab. I spooked four or five of them; the grass was tall and thick and I was never able to see one before they took off, I should say before they spooked me. Once they get into the deeper water, they are safe from me because there may be a big one out there that I don’t want any part of. There were several types of Birds around the pond, so they became targets for the cameras. On the way back I spotted three Coatamundi in a banana tree treating themselves to lunch. The cameras started clicking again. Soon we were back to our car and heading back to the hotel for lunch. Because the hotel had very few guests due mainly to the US economy, all our meals were ordered from the menu; they just didn’t enough diners for the lovely buffet they usually have. So, the kitchen staff had time on their hands. So they made our plates look a little fancy. Of course the guys never miss an opportunity to take a picture and the plates were no exceptions. After lunch we stayed around the hotel, used the pool and later drove into Jaco to buy coffee and a few other items. After dinner we drove up to the Skywalk and hunted down the first four bridges. After we got down aways, the sky was alive with lighting and deafening thunder. We knew we were in for it. At the third bridge there is a path to the road and we could walk up to the car on the road. When we got to the third bridge, it still was not raining, so we pushed on to the fourth bridge. We turned around there and headed back. Crossing the third bridge we saw an eye-shine – it was a pair of kinkajous bouncing around on a limb about fifty-feet away from us. We went down the path that lead to the road; this road is steep and takes 12 minutes to get back to the car at a study pace, I’ve timed it before. The guys were walking slow, checking the edge of the road. I pushed ahead knowing the only thing they may see would be a frog. About that time Jim called out Boa!! So, down the hill I went; he had spotted a 5-foot Boa up a tree. He was about 12 feet up and climbing out on a limb going over the road. Pat shinied up the tree and managed to grab the boa’s tail but the boa had already gotten his a good part of his body past a limb making it immpossible to pull him back. Pat was under the limb the boa had crawled out on and was about to fall off, holding his weight with only one hand. We were trying to find a stick to push the Boa back from around the limb that Pat was pulling against. Pat said in 5 seconds I’m letting go and he did.
The Boa moved out and up very fast; he had had enough of us. I told the guys to stay and take some pictures and I’d go get the car. Fifteen minutes later, I pulled the car up under the tree. Because I was the lightest, I climbed onto the trunk of the car the guys used a snake stick to bring down the end of the limb the snake was on and pulled. The limb came down some, and I got to the roof of the car closer to the snake. I reached up with my snake hook and was able to pull the snake a little but he was still out of reach, then his tail came down some and I was able to get hold of it. I used my hook to push his head from around a limb, then he rapped around the snake hook and I had his tail on one side and his body on the other side. So, I let go of my snake hook and pulled him and the hook over the limb and then dropped him to the guys below. We had our Boa!!
Besides the Boa, we got 4 cat-eye snakes that night.
Sixth Day (Thursday May 28, 2009)
The night before I ask Pat to set his cell alarm for 6:00AM and to knock on everyone’s door and make sure they were up and ready to go to breakfast which the kitchen starts servicing at 6:30. We were expected at the beach by 7:30, ready to go hunt Sea Snakes. We all got to breakfast by 6:30 and placed our orders and sat around drinking juice or coffee, waiting for the food. I told the guys I had a friend from the Keys that would be joining on the boat today. Finally the food was served and we packed it in. I happened to look at my watch and it was 7:15 and we weren’t finished yet, if we left now we would be 10 minutes late; the Captain might think we’re a no show and leave. When we got to the beach, it was almost 8 o’clock. Carol came up to the car and said she thought she had gone to the wrong beach or we had left without her. I introduced her to the guys and we headed for the taxi boat, after a short delay he boarded us and took us out to Captain Chino’s boat. Soon we were on our way and quickly found a wind slick which petered out in about five minutes. We kept going and going without finding the right conditions. After an hour or so I began to wonder if it was going to be one of those days? After a while Chino put a couple of fish lines and we trolled while snake hunting, two of my favorite pass times. After being on the sea for two hours, Chino spotted one.
We brought in the fish lines so he could maneuver the boat, and I grabbed one of the two nets I brought with us. I wanted to be sure to get the first snake in the boat. Last trip I let one of the guys try and he missed and we didn’t see another sea snake tha day. Of course this put a lot of presure on me, but I came through. The net was passed the around until all the guys had caught one. Next was Carol’s turn, but we had seen our last for the day. I really wanted Carol to catch one because her son is a herper and he would proud of Mom and maybe a little envious. On our way in, Jim did catch a nice 7 or 8 lb Dolphin, which the hotel served us that night. After dinner we hit the road and got a couple more Cat-eyed snakes.
Seventh Day (Friday May 29, 2009)
This was our last day for herping so I wanted to try some thing that had worked in the past and might work again. Three years ago I had mentioned to the guys that the previous year we had caught an Eyelash Viper on a tree right near the river. I told them that walking the river looking in the trees by the water may be productive; they tried it and got one on a tree by the water. Well, this year’s group said, “Lets go!” We walked back to the third bend in the river and got into the river and searched the trees overhanging the water. We saw some neat birds and lizards, but no snakes or mammals. The water was running fast from the rains, and it was difficult sometimes to find your footing, but with a little patience all managed to find our way back without any falls. Boy, that water sure did feel cool and good, we’ll have to do that more often. Everyone worked up an appitite so it was off to lunch. Everyone seemed to be stockpiling in the gut food for tomorrow when they’re eating peanuts on the plane home. On the way to dinner Pat saw a snake moving between the buildings. He had his light on it and ran and caught it; guess what? Another Bird Snake in the six foot range and this one was really pretty; it had some red on it, which we hadn’t seen before. After dinner we hit the road for the last time this trip. Was tonight going to be our lucky night? Well it was, if you like car and trucks. The road was loaded with them, even after 10 PM there was never a break, I couldn’t figure it out, but it finally slowed down so we weren’t afraid to stop the car if we saw a snake. The guys wanted to drive by the infamous “Beetle Bar” in Jaco. The place was jumping, but with a cover charge no one wanted to pay tp go in for just a few minutes, so that was it for the night. We did manage a few Cat-eyed Snakes.
FIRST NIGHT GROUP PICTURE
Jim, Jeff, Jim, Jamie, Pat & Pete.
Travel Day (Saturday May 30, 2009)
We all met at breakfast for our last get together before going our separate ways. The day was clear and a nice easy drive back. Jeff and I dropped Pat and Jim off at the airport. Our next stop was to take the car back to Payless. They drove us back to the Hotel Aeropuerto where we had a room for the night. We would be flying out Sunday morning.
Well…… we bagged another great trip!!
Can’t wait to do it again!
And I hope you will be with me on the next one!!
Jim
My Herping Adventure in Costa Rica
May 23rd to 30th, 2009
Ahhh…. The tropics! I’d been there once and it was time to go again.
I talked my cousin, Pat, into going with me this time and I think he was pleasantly surprised.
It was great to hunt with Jim Kavney again as well as Pete Mooney and his friend Jamie. Jeff Akerman was a great guy and he fit right in with the goofiness of myself and Pat. He also took the best shots of us all.
I saw some really cool lifers last time in 2002 and this time didn’t disappoint. Of my new sightings was the helmeted iguana that Jim Kavney spotted in a sunny area off a trail. That is an animal that you just don’t see…or so I’m told. Jim said he’s only seen one in the 20 or so years he’s been coming to C R.
Another was the close up experience with scarlet macaws. We went to a beach to do some exploring and first heard the squawking of macaws. Then we saw a pair gliding in the distance. They approached a tree that we were standing under and landed above our heads. Soon several more came and we had about seven of the beautiful, striking birds above our heads. Of course I didn’t have my good camera but if I had, we probably wouldn’t have seen them.
My next new experience was with sea snakes! Our “fishing” trip in 2002 failed to yield any of the yellow/black aquatic serpents. This year we caught our number. There were four herpers on board the boat and we caught four sea snakes! It was really a great experience to get up close and personal with these elusive snakes. Its something that not many folks get to do. I also reeled in a decent size mahi mahi or dolphin which we had for dinner that night.
Another first timer for me was a boa constrictor in a tree. We found boas in the road last time I was here but never in the natural habitat. We had just finished a night hike on the sky bridge trail. We didn’t see too much other than one cat-eye snake and some nice arachnids including a good-sized tarantula. Hiking back up the road, I spotted a nice 4.5 foot boa making its way up a tree. After the others came, Pat shimmied up the tree for it but he couldn’t hold on and it was on its way. However, Jim came back with the car and three of us managed to pull the tree down while Jim (atop the car) retrieved the snake.
It was one of the nicest looking boas I’ve ever seen! No scars, ticks, or anything. It had great markings and it was very docile. So docile in fact that we’d have sworn it came from a pet store. – HA!
Other cool finds were Fer-de-lances, bird-eating snakes, giant spiny tail iguanas, dart frogs, basilisks, red-eye tree frogs and many more.
I also had a chance to hear my first audible sounds of a howler monkey. It is amazingly amplified throughout the jungle. It’s a small monkey but sounds more like a great ape!
In all, I was really pleased and met some nice folks, native and American.
I’m ready for trip #3 !!!!
Jim Horton
My Herping Adventure in Costa Rica
May 23rd to 30th, 2009
I have to admit I wasn’t looking forward to this trip to Costa Rica . I wanted to go to the desert but my travel partner Jim Horton had been trying to get me to go on this trip ever since his first trip with Hiss n things back in 2002. I just didn’t feel Costa Rica had anything to offer me. I do love snakes but I just couldn’t get excited about this trip for some reason.
Once the plane landed and I got my first look at the country I instantly knew I was in paradise. The grounds of the Hotel Aeropuerto were amazing. There were mango trees full of fruit, tons of flowers, tropical plants and leaf cutter ants all over the place. This hotel was just beautiful although there weren’t any herps (except for some tadpoles) to be found.
The next day we got up and made the two hour drive to our destination at the hotel Villa Lapas. What an amazing drive. The view was gorgeous. This truly was a tropical paradise.
Our first stop was at the Rio Tarcoles crocodile bridge where American crocodiles were abundant. I think we spotted thirty crocs. This was my first time seeing American crocs in the wild. I had no idea they got so big. Another few minutes down the road we arrived at the Hotel Villa Lapas. Before we even made it out of the car someone spotted a large spiny tail iguana eating leaves up in a tree right next to the car. Wow! we haven’t even checked in yet and herps were all around us. Spiny tailed iguanas were everywhere!
After checking into the hotel we unloaded the car and made our way over to the open air dining room for lunch. We didn’t make it to our destination before I spotted a large gray snake coiled under some coconuts next to a tree. It turned out to be a five foot bird snake. Another lifer for me. We took several in situ pictures of it then I went in for the capture. Much to my surprise it didn’t bite. Jim Horton chose to take it back to his room to be bagged so we could get more photos of it after lunch. When he returned to the table he informed the group that he had found another bird snake on the walk back to the room.
After lunch we had a look around the grounds to see what else we could find. Spiny tailed iguanas and brown basilisks were abundant.
The rest of the trip was absolutely amazing. Our typical day started around 7am and lasted well into the next morning. I just couldn’t go to bed. There were too many herps to find. Jim Horton taught me how to capture sleeping basilisks at night with a flashlight. We also captured several frogs at night including a Smokey Jungle frog which let out a pretty funny release call when handled.
Besides the amazing scenery, beautiful birds, and the herps I had fun catching critters in my shower stall. Each morning I got up and had to rescue spiders from the shower stall which made a great pit fall trap. On our last morning I scored big with a scorpion in the trap.
I had the time of my life in Costa Rica . All of us got along well and things couldn’t have gone any better. The local people (Ticos) are friendly the food was great. The staff of the hotel went all out to make sure everything was just right. The only thing I have to complain about was having to leave the country and return to work.
Pat Hammond
My Herping Adventure in Costa Rica
May 23rd to 30th, 2009
Hola, I didn’t really know what to expect on this trip, but I wanted to go to Costa Rica , I love Herps as well as other wildlife, and Adventure. I GOT IT ALL in one trip!!!
I had a little scared when my bag didn’t arrive, but I got it the next day and we were on our way. It was great getting to know the other guys on the trip and I think we all worked well together. Jim Horton, Pat Hammond and I had one thing in common from the get go beside the love of cool creatures, and that was clicking the shutter of a camera.
I had heard about the BIG CROCS on the Rio Tarcoles and was looking forward to our 1st stop. When we stopped to see the Crocs and SO many of them, all I could say was WOW!!! Click, click, click and I was on my way to 1275 photos!
When we got to the Villa Lapas we spotted our 1st Spiny Tailed Iguana in a small tree before we even checked in and it was smiles and click, click, click, of the shutters. Just before lunch Pat found a Bird Snake and Jim found another one, click, click, click, and this was only half the day! The grounds at the Villa Lapas were teaming with Spiny Tailed Iguanas, Basilisk, and many types of birds! At night the place would come ALIVE with the sounds of music, that is from Frogs and Toads. Every night I couldn’t wait to see the awesome abundance of Red-Eye Tree Frogs, I must have taken over 100 photos of just them!! With the openness of the dining area, Frogs and Toads would be hopping right through and it would be hard to stay seated because I wanted to get up and look around!!
Hiking the trails, road cruising, and just walking around both day and night was a thrill at the chance to find something, and some of those things included Snakes, Green & Black Dart Frogs, Lizards, Spiders, Leaf Cutter Ants (amazing little creatures), Coatamundi, Toucans, Macaws, and other birds. Seeing a couple Fer-de-Lance was VERY cool, as well as a Very Beautiful and mellow Boa Constrictor. Jim Kavney with his well- trained eyes spotted a lot of amazing creatures including an Awesome Croc on the edge of a pond! Another highlight was catching 4 Sea Snakes, one for each of us, and Jim H. also caught our dinner, Tasty!! Sometimes you don’t even have to leave your room to find wildlife. Click, click, click, to all of this!!
Yes it was Steamy, yes it was Hot, and yes it did rain a lot, but it was worth it with a cool pool, very good food, a great staff at the Villa Lapas, Friendly Ticos, a great group of fellow herpers, and most of all a Visual Stimulation of seeing all these Awesome Creatures in their natural Habitat.
This was a great place to get away from it all and the perfect place for Photography. A BIG thanks to Jim Kavney and his friends for making this trip smooth and worry free. I hope to come back to this Amazing Place .
Adios for now but not for good.
Jeff Ackerman
Species List
The following is a list of snakes our herpers encountered on our trip to Costa Rica; May 23rd to 30th 2009.
Thanks for visiting!
Last Updated June 6, 2009
Website created and maintained by: