This is normality for me now

On my first full day here, I got some timely advice from Lisa. She said, to paraphrase; "you should write your blog as much as you can the first few days, as eveything will seem more exciting and you'll have much more to write about." I truly wish I could say she was wrong, but I suspect it to be true, if I'm honest! Not that I'd dare complain, I'm still in the country of my dreams, with wonderful people and culture, great weather and some none-too-shabby wildlife, but, dare I say it, it's becoming quite routine. It's starting to feel less like a trip, and more like normal, everyday life. Such is the inevitable cost of acclimatizing, that some of the adventure, excitement and wonder disappears from life.

Since my last post, we've had a tour group of 17 people come through for two days. Led by Rick Taylor (author of several books on birding in Arizona), and featuring yet more knowledgeable guides to sponge knowledge off of, this was a fun time. I do think I prefer smaller groups though, in general. There's more chance to get to know people intimately, whereas with 17 names to learn, 17 people to converse with, 17 people to point out birds too, it is inevitable that, with two days, you'll only begin to scratch the surface. They were absolutely lovely people, but I think I preferred the smaller, more intimate atmosphere of showing small groups of people around Rancho. However, we got out for plenty of good excursions, and I gorged myself on more stunning views of Sun Bittern and male Snowcap; the latter being the "signature species" of Rancho Naturalista, and the most beautiful hummingbird in the world to boot!

male Snowcap (from Wikimedia, my photos are never this good!)

In other exciting news, I can add another insect bite to the long list! Mosquito's and midges are inevitable, the Fire Ants were painful and I've suffered a myriad of other small but uncomfortable ant bites. Nothing though, absolutely nothing, compared to Army Ants.

For many a birder, the Army Ant is a harbinger of joy in the rainforest. This is because their swarms, sweeping through the rainforest and devouring everything in their path, will flush up insects from their hiding holes by the thousand. This, in turn, brings out many of the most elusive birds of the jungle, swooping down on anything lucky enough to escape the marauders below. For this birder though, the first Army Ant I saw was nothing but a bastard.

Coming back down one trail, it was still very slippery underfoot, and on one particularly steep bit of the path I slipped. No harm was done, as I put my left hand out to break my fall. But when I got back up, my middle finger was in absolutely excruciating pain. Imagine if someone had simultaneously nail-gunned your finger, and put it in an open flame. I looked up, wondering what the hell had happened, to see a large, orange-brown ant crawling around my hand. I was in shock enough that I managed to put a blocker on the pain until I'd carefully removed it from my finger. But not too much longer! Fire Ants were nasty, but this felt like pure agony. After a minute or so of howling and holding tears, I begun to think rationally, and remembered the insect-bite cream in the first aid pack in my bag. I was biting down on the other knuckle as I applied it, but gradually it began to alleviate the pain, and I sent a silent thanks to Mum for being sensible enough to buy it for me. Within five minutes, the only trace of the bite was a dull ache, the cream worked remarkably quickly. Within an hour or so I couldn't even feel it. But thank god I had the first-aid bag with me, on some occasions I've neglected to take it out, and that would have been an absolutely hellish walk back to Rancho otherwise!

An Army Ant Biouvac (basically they build a nest out of their own bodies), again courtesy of WikiMedia

So, I've been bittern by Fire Ants and Army Ants, nearly stepped on a Fer De Lance and a Boa Constrictor, and I currently have two bizarre red swellings on my right leg, which I can't even remember the cause of. A fairly typical jungle experience! Don't let any of this put you off visiting though. This is still one of the most wonderful experiences of my life, and at the end of the day all those moments, painful and frightening though they were at the time, become nothing more than amusing anecdotes and valuable experience. For this, I owe Rancho so much.

There's not much else of jungle life which I can amuse you all with for now, but in equally positive news I've almost completed by TEFL course! On any downtime I'm looking at the jobsites, and having to stifle the kind of giddy, manic laughter that overcomes me whenever I see the opportunity for a great adventure, much as in the almost archaic days just a few months ago when I first e-mailed Lisa about this opportunity. With any luck, I'll have plenty more travels to write home about over the coming months and years!

Sorry I haven't managed more brilliant stories, I'll try especially hard to find some interesting and exciting stories for the next blogpost. Maybe I'll get some Bullet Ants to bite me, that would be interesting! Though I'd probably be in too much pain to type.

All my fondest regards, Liam :)

and to sign off, the COOLEST insect in the world, the Lichen Praying Mantis

Vamos a la Playa

Lit translation; "we're going to the beach" 

The above title is dedicated to any Seaford Head student who was in Mrs Stroudley's Spanish lessons in years 8-10. The eponymous song was played at least once a lesson, sometimes more! If you've never heard it, here you go...

And you are welcome...

But that was yesterdays story, I've still got two more days of my trip to catch up on before that! Both were fairly quiet though. I spent large amounts of both June 30th and July 1st acquainting myself with the bird life once again, in preparation for the next batch of guests arriving soon. I woke up too late to see much on the 30th, but did find the nest site of a Streak-headed Woodcreeper, and called in White-collared Mannakins by hitting two rocks together, a proud achievement of fieldcraft and patience! I also got a second run-in with Fire Ants. On the one hand, this run-in was preferable as only fifteen or so bit me. On the other hand, I was wearing sandals, which made it much worse! That evening, I also helped out with making some dinner, alongside Cisco and Rebecca, learning off of her a new German recipe for Pancakes (you put apples in while you're making them, it's absolutely delicious). We also managed to avoid setting the kitchen on fire, credit where credit's due!


On July 1st, there is probably even less for me to wax lyrical about, at least not to everyone reading this who'll be semi-comatose the moment I mention Yellow-billed Caciques or Rufous Motmots. But I was pleased to see them regardless. I tried to keep myself motivated with a bit of private competition, seeing how many species I could see in a day around Rancho. This puts into practise some useful skills, namely the desire to chase up every single call/fleeting glimpse of wingbeats disappearing into the canopy, vital for any good guide in the rainforest. I managed 38, less than I'd hoped for but not too shabby, considering how piss-poor the visibility was today! 20 metres in front of you was, for most of the day, the very edge of identifiable range. I suspect I would have seen at least 50 species with better conditions, not too bad considering we managed 66 with a professional guide a week ago; using tapes, years of expertise and various other materials I'm not currently blessed with!

a fairly typical representation of the visibility, from the Mirador Pasture. The visible trees are about 10 feet in front of me

July 2nd was a much more eventful day, and thankfully gave me plenty to talk about! The plan went something as follows. I, Lisa, Rebecca, Cisco and Angelo wake at 4.30, leave Rancho at 5, and get down to the beach, not too far shy of 200km away, by 8.30. We head to some of the more beautiful, scenic beaches on the Carribbean coast, see some interesting wildlife, swim a lot, then drop Rebecca off in Puerto Viejo, a scenic but thankfully quite underdeveloped (by that I mean, not encroaching on the protected nature reserves surrounding it) tourism town in a beautiful little corner of SE Costa Rica. She's staying there for a few days and then catching the buses back up to Rancho, getting to see a bit more of Costa Rica in her travels. Then, the four of us go back to Rancho, get home by about 6.30, just in time for dinner, and try not to collapse from exhaustion first!

The first part went fairly smoothly. Though Rebecca and Angelo weren't actually awake until 5, we did manage to leave at 05:15. It was then a very hot drive down to the beach (you REALLY notice the temperature difference when you come down from the highlands), with a 20-minute stop in an unassuming little truckers restuarant, owned by Mario's family. Here I finally rediscovered Orange Juice, which surprinsingly I'd gone without for almost two weeks. For unfathomable reasons, that vitamin C hit and tangy taste to me is what Coffee is to most normal people in the morning. Finding an entire glass in front of me, having gone cold turkey for so long, I felt a bit like a relapsing heroin addict!

amusing image from the trucker's cafe; "Hey look, a thousand colones!"

It was only about an hour or so from this stop down to Puerto Viejo. On the way, we passed a police control, a fairly standard procedure in Costa Rica, what with the Narcos that wreak havoc in all of Central America (but a lot less here than in countries further north), and the legal requirement to have ID on you at all times. Just repeat that last sentence in your head, if you're british. You can get thrown in jail for not having ID on your person here. My passport was safely tucked away back in my room...

Mercifully, random passport checks are fairly rare, and on this occasion the police let us through without so much as batting an eyelid. But I felt 10 shades of moronic, making such a rookie travelling mistake. And a dim voice in the back of my head reminded me we'd be passing back this way again in the afternoon. But I tried to drown that voice out, and enjoy the rest of the day before I worried myself.

There was then a very scenic drive along the Carribean coast, from the port of Limon heading south. It is absolutely beautiful here, and my jealousy at Rebecca staying for a few nights is insurmountable. Ok, if I see another Sun-Bittern or a male Snowcap I might feel vindicated in staying at Rancho, but when I return to Central America the Carribean coast is very high on my itinerary! Once we reached Puerto Viejo we drove for another 10 miles or so, getting off the beaten track a bit and down to some really spectacular beaches. Words won't do justice to them, but luckily they won't have to.

from closest-farthes; Lisa, Angelo, Rebecca and Cisco crossing a river to reach our destination

How beautiful is that?  Also, try to notice the scenery

more beautiful scenery, less of beautiful Liam

the beach we swam on for much of the afternoon

We had a wonderful time down at this beach. A Vine-Snake was found, Lizard still in its mouth and attempting gamely to swallow it whole. The most remarkable thing about Vine Snakes is how incredibly strong they are, for such a small snake. They're able to balance their entire body on their tail, and thus can stand up to heights of about 40cm. It would be a bit like doing you or I balancing our entire body weight on one finger! The sea was stunning, but a bit too rocky/full of sea urchins for safe swimming. So, after a walk through the beautiful coastal rainforest (not a lot of wildlife, apart from many biting ants on our bare feet, but the forest itself was stunning), we headed back to the car, and drove five miles or so north to another, more suitable swimming beach.

coastal rainforest; a lot denser, a lot more green and a hell of a lot more humid than 900 metres up at Rancho!  

This beach was a great way to spend a few hours. There was a small, rocky peninsula that could be accessed by swimming, which I had great fun clambering over like I was 14 and carefree again. An abandoned boat about 30 metres offshore was a great platform for diving off of, and the sea generally was just wonderful, relaxing and somewhat cleansing after a very busy and at times almost overwhelming two weeks here. You may conclude since I've only given a fairly short paragraph to them that these three hours or so weren't that interesting, but to be honest it just sits in my memory as a warm, fuzzy glow of contentment, which is difficult to write about with any justice!

excellent boat for a wide variety of Tom Daley-esque cannonballs

All too soon we were leaving though, and dropping Rebecca off in Puerto Viejo. It's a nice town, I personally think one of the best tourist resorts I've ever seen. Everything is welcoming and in good condition, but it still retains a traditional, local presence that many such places end up losing. Credit has to go to the Costa Rican government for not allowing excessive development on protected areas, and to the local people for making sure their town retains a distinctly Costa Rican flavour.

I've just realised, I also neglected to mention most of the wonderful wildlife on offer here! But while it wasn't the primary aim of this trip, it was difficult not to notice some rather fine birds and mammals. Large flocks of Brown Pelicans bombed along the coastline, often in sizeable squadrons. These are jokingly named the "Costa Rican Air Force", partly a tribute to their tendency to fly in formations that resemble old fighter pilots, and partly as Costa Rica is one of very few countries in the world with no military. The latter is a very brave step for any country to make IMO, but comparing Costa Rica with the violence and disruption of neighbours like Honduras and Mexico, it's hard not to feel that they're getting something right here. How much of a role the lack of military plays, I have no idea, but this probably is the perfect country for a pacifist to visit, to see how you can get by without the futile combats that plague so many societies.

Alongside the Pelicans were a few Magnificent Frigatebirds, coasting on the thermals. Long-winged, long-tailed, sharp-beaked, when I see them they remind me without fail of the Dementors from Harry Potter, eerie, haunting spectres of the open sea. They're also a harbinger of peril for many other seabirds, due to their behaviour of constant, agile, aerial harassment, persuading it to drop whatever food it has caught. True pirates.

One of my favourites was the Two-toed Sloth. Seeing a wild Sloth has always been an ambition of mine, and we got two in the forests of Puerto Viejo, including one scratching away in a Secropia on the beach! There are few mammals I thik are more charismatic than these charmers, who just seem to ooze ambivalence and a passive, laissez-faire attitude to anything and everything.

to the untrained eye, and without the camera's zoom, this almost looks like a cankerous growth on the tree! But you can just about see the arms of the Sloth wrapped around the trunk

To compare these to the other mammals we saw, Howler Monkeys, I don't think you could get a stronger contrast. Where the Sloth is placid and gentle, the Howlers strut around the canopy with belligerence and arrogance. When we found them they were similarly lazy, but as we got out of the car they began growling slightly, paying attention to the not-so-welcome visitors. When we got back in the car, and Lisa revved the engine, it was quite a spectacle! We got several minutes of the full on howling that earns their name, alongside some jolly good, old-fashioned testicle displaying, which I'm sure would have been a very intimidating display if I was a fellow Howler Monkey. The sound is difficult to describe, but imagine Brian Blessed attempting to converse, while plagued with such a bad throat infection that all he can manage is a hoarse bellow. That goes some way to describing the voice of the Howler.

a howling Howler

Anyway, back to chronological storytelling, we had just dropped Rebecca off at her hostel, had a walk around the town ourselves, and were heading back home. On the way we took a brief stop-start tour of Limon, a busy port but also one of the more dangerous areas of Costa Rica. I always find you can judge the safety of a neighbourhood by the amount of security on the houses, and breaking into one here must be a bit like trying to knock down the Great Wall of China with a pickaxe. That said, for all the money seemingly spent on keeping your house as secure as possible, there doesn't seem to be a lot left over for much else. Public amenities seemed limited, many houses were falling into disrepair and the whole area seemed trapped in moderate poverty. Of course I only saw a little bit of Limon, which could be a wholly unrepresentative sample, but the people I've spoken to about it say it is one of the least safe areas of Costa Rica. I enjoyed looking around nevertheless, I always feel it's necessary to see the underbelly of any country before you judge it's virtue, and Limon seemed no worse than parts of Baltimore or London.

Limon Port

Cisco (behind) and Angelo (in front) admiring the view of the port as the boats came in

So after that it was another 3 1/2 hour drive back home. I had successfully avoided worrying myself about the thought of getting caught without a passport right up until we reached the police control point again! For those of you expecting a story here, sorry to disappoint, but once again they didn't check. I think the odds of getting caught without ID on a daytrip are low, but all the same I'll try and avoid doing so now I know not to! The writer in me was actually a tiny bit disappointed, as nothing would have quite rounded off this blog like the story of "the one where I spent a night in a Costa Rican prison". But that would have meant another long, stressful drive for whoever came to pick me up, and is just the selfish whim of a cocky teenager looking for good stories to impress people with! Which I've found more than enough of without being detained for the night!

When we got home, it was about 6.30 and I was knackered, so dinner and a fairly early night were in store. I had a comparative lie-in today, not waking up until 6 and lounging around in bed for 20 minutes, then practicing some Spanish before breakfast. Es mejorando, lenta pero constantemente.

Apart from practising Spanish, today has mostly been spent writing this blogpost! I'm currently sitting on the balcony, in gorgeous sun, with perfect levels of heat and humidity. It's 14:00, the buzz of Hummingbirds is a constant auditory accompaniment, and life seems perfect. Guests will arrive tomorrow, a group of 17 of them in fact, and I'm eagerly anticipating the metamorphosis that will occur as Rancho embraces these arrivals, to support it through the lean wet season. Busy, hectic, challenging or stimulating are all words that could be sued to describe the atmosphere when people arrive, but mostly it's just a lot more fun, for me at least. Everyone seems to have an increased sense of purpose and drive, and I certainly feel I do.

I hope England is remaining as sunny as I was shocked only recently to discover it has been! All my best regards, Liam :)