El Bosque de Dario (Dario's Forest)

Today I went on a hike with Noire through “El Bosque de Dario.” All of the kids in the family have their own forest! How cool is that? And these are not small pieces of land either. Dario’s forest contains about 100 acres of land! I think it is an awesome way for the parents to pass down this way of life, this way to live in harmony with nature. The kids are allowed to do whatever they want with their forests. Dario is the youngest child in the family, and he says he wants to be a biologist. He wants to keep the forest as it is so it can be explored now and in the future.

In the forest we found lots of frogs :) We found at least 2 different species, and a little baby frog that was literally about 8 millimeters long!

Leaf-litter frog, different species I think...They

said it looks like it has a backpack on :)

Bonus points if you can find this frog...Literally

no more than 1cm long, max!

Awesome butterfly (mariposa) with transparent

wings! (This picture is for Mrs. Stovall)

In the afternoon I juiced about 100 oranges…After that Dario and I caught another Mora Anole. This one was an adult male with a bright red dewlap. So far I have seen an adult male and female, and a very young male. All three looked so different in coloration, but the dark stripe between the eyes is indicative of this species. I love this place :)

Male Mora Anole (Norops tropidolepis)

This is my favorite picture of the trip so far. I

love seeing how interested he is in the lizard...

He's going to be a great biologist someday!

The first hike of the trip

Day 3 on the farm has been amazing! I awoke to a breakfast of oranges, bananas, bread with honey, and the best coffee in the world :) I helped clear some land for planting, and cut down the dead branches from some banana trees. They have me do this because I’m tall and can reach the high branches. Probably also because I don’t know how to do anything else :) We took a break for lunch because it was too hot to work.

After lunch I went for a hike with Noire (the mother) and Dario (the youngest). We saw so many cool animals! I caught a few lizards; two Emerald Swifts and one tiny Mora Anole. We also saw the first amphibians of the trip; three little Leaf-litter frogs (Species unidentified) , one of which I caught. There were some cool insects along the way, and near the end of the hike we saw a Spider Monkey! It was in a tree just above our heads. Besides getting eaten alive by mosquitoes, it was a great hike…

Emerald Swift #1

Dario with Emerald Swift #2

Leaf-litter frog (Species unidentified)

Little Mora Anole (Norops tropidolepis)

So tiny!

Awesome leaf insect

VERY blurry picture of a spider monkey in a tree

It has been very fun getting to speak in Spanish so much. It is amazing how fast you learn when you use it almost all day long! The family is also very patient and helps me when I don’t know the right words :) It is awesome to get to experience another culture so different from my own, and yet still feel connected to them…I love it here!

Providencia de Dota, Costa Rica

Providencia de Dota is a tiny little town in the Cordillera de la Talamanca in Costa Rica. I takes 3 hours to hike here from the nearest highway. I can't believe that they have WiFi! Anyways, I thought I would do a quick update...

I am staying on a local organic farm in Barrio La Piedra (45 minutes away) with a wonderful family. They grow almost everything they need to survive, and they make the best coffee in the entire world! (Starbucks isn't even close...) I am having a great time learning how to farm, and speaking about 98% Spanish. Thankfully one of the kids speaks excellent English so if I get stuck I can ask her...I'll post more pictures of this place later, because it is so beautiful!

I also caught the first lizard of the trip today! I don't know the common name, so I'm going to call it the Mora Anole (Norops tropidolepis) for the last name of the family.

Such a cool lizard!

Dario, my assistant :)

The first reptiles of the trip!

This will probably be the only time I ever do two posts in the same day...Since there were no cars heading over towards the farm this afternoon, I am staying overnight at QERC. It turns out that this was a great choice, because not only did I see some Emerald Swifts (Sceolporus malachiticus) on the way here, but some of the people staying here caught a snake! It is a Spot-lipped Litter Snake (Rhadinaea calligaster), and it is gorgeous! Here are some pictures:

I am keeping a running list of all the reptiles and amphibians I see on the trip, to the best of my ability. You can check it out on the right side of the page...Well, I'm off to the farm in the morning. Time for some authentic Tico cuisine and the best coffee in the world!

Viajando (Traveling)

I am currently on a bus on my way to QERC, the field station run by Southern Nazarene University. We are heading up into the mountains, and I was just able to see the Pacific and Atlantic at the same time! So cool :) I’ll head over to the farm from QERC, and I’ll be out of internet for a week or so…I’m sure I’ll have plenty of stories when I get back from the farm! Check back then :)

San Jose

Wow, what an experience so far! Today I walked all around downtown San Jose. I got a couple books and for lunch I went to Mercado Central, a big place with lots of shops.

Neat little park downtown

National Museum that used to be a fortress before

Costa Rica disbanded its army in the 1950s

Arroz con Pollo (Rice and chicken). So incredible!

Too much food for me to finish, all for about 4 bucks :)

I went to the Simon Bolivar Zoo, which was small, but very fun. It was a very peaceful, quiet place, much unlike downtown :)

Cocodrilos (Crocodiles). They look big, but they were

only about 6 feet long...

Chestnut-mandible Toucan

Ocelot

Side-striped Palm Pit Viper. I have a good chance of

seeing one of these in Monteverde! :)

Tortugas Continentales (Land Turtles)

A sneaky little crocodile...

Later in the evening I went to find Taylor’s house. It took about 45 minutes to finally get there, and I asked directions from lots of people along the way, but I made it. It was so nice to see a familiar face! We went out and got some dinner, then he showed me some pictures when we got back. He seems to he seems to be having a good time, and his host family is very nice.

Me and Taylor in his host family's house! So nice to

get to see him :)

I came back to the hostel on a bus, and I finished up some final things before I leave for the farm in the morning. Everything is going well so far. Hasta luego!

The Adventure Begins!

Today began early; 4:30 am to be exact. That's even worse when you are up til 3:00 packing! Needless to say this day has been filled with many emotions: fear, excitement, nervousness, sadness, expectation, joy, and pain to name a few...The trip down went well, and after a long trek through downtown San Jose looking like a very over-packed tourist, I arrived at my hostel. It is a nice place, very clean, safe, and comfortable. I am looking forward to a chance to explore the city tomorrow, and for my Costa Rican experience to begin. I miss everyone back home very much. This is going to be an amazing trip :)