Today we got to sleep in and had to be at breakfast by 8. Breakfast was the usual, fruit, cereal, bread and juice. The bread is so good. I had two pieces. On one piece I put guava jam and on the other I tried pineapple jam. I think I like the guava one better.
After breakfast we went back to the cabin and got our daypacks ready and set out on our morning hike. We saw a lot of different plants like the Gambolimbo, the “muscle” tree and the tree the Guyabano fruit grows on. We tried some of the fruit and some people said it tasted like pumpkin, some said kiwi. I thought it tasted like kiwi, just less sour.
Then we saw a turquoise browed motmot. It had such a cool tail. It was basically naked with a few feathers at the end. Costa Rica has some pretty spectacular birds. Another one of my favorites is the white-throated magpie jay. We then walked to the pond where we saw another cool bird – the Northern Jacanas. I loved the yellow mask that was on its face. There were babies too and we got to see them fly. It was really hot under the sun today, I felt like my scalp was on fire. But I decided to stay in the sun and take some pictures of the Northern Jacanas because I have never seen a bird like it before and I thought it was very interesting. Does this yellow mask provide any benefits for the bird? Is there a reason it’s yellow? Is it easy for predators to spot? Or do they stay away like the anoles with their red throat flap? When we were done standing out under the direct sun, we walked down the trail a little more and came to an enclosure with a spider monkey. He looked really sad. I don’t think I have ever seen an animal sincerely look sad before. Depression was so clearly written on his face it actually bothered me a little. I felt bad for him. It was weird seeing an enclosure in the middle of the forest. After looking at it for a few minutes we finally decided it was too hot and headed back to camp for lunch.
Lunch was the same as yesterday – fish, fries, rice, beans, fruit and salad. After lunch we had a two-hour break to relax because it was really hot and Sam got sick last night and we think it could have had something to do with the heat. Regardless, Chelsea and I went swimming. It was really refreshing. We didn’t get out until it was time to go. We planned only to stay in for a little, get out, and then go nap. But the water was so nice and we had fun in the waves since the tide was coming in. Chelsea found a cool bottle that was sealed and crusted at the top. I wonder where it came from and how long it had been there. When we were done playing in the water we headed down the beach to where we thought everybody was (they weren’t) but Dr. Matlaga caught a puffer fish. That was so cool to see! It was a lot bigger than the one I saw yesterday snorkeling. I’ve never seen one up close.
When we were done looking at the puffer we headed down to the creek to do some more fishing. It was a little eerie after because we saw crocodiles in the same area tonight during our walk. A few people actually waded in the water. Some went waist deep right at the spot where we saw a crocodile! There was no way I was going that deep. I give credit for the few that oh so fearlessly did. So I stayed on the bank and in the shallow water with the cast nets.
Dinner was the same as last night. Priscilla sat at my table tonight and she told us about how there are only three bio universities in Costa Rica and she only paid $500 a semester. Only $500! I spend that much on textbooks every semester (almost) and that much every semester on my horseback riding lessons.
After dinner we went back to our cabin and got ready for an exciting night walk. Tonight we saw some kinkajous, raccoons, and crocodiles that Pablo tried to catch (what doesn’t he try to catch?) We also grabbed some mangos from a tree. I learned that they are closely related to poison ivy. Weird. Who would think to ingest something in the same family as poison ivy? As we stood on the bank looking at another crocodile and caiman we saw a giant crab just below. I asked Pablo what the Spanish word for crab was and he told me it’s cangrejo (can-grey-ho). Then he told me that the Spanish word for shrimp is camarón in South America and jamba in Spain. I like shrimp and I’m going to Spain this summer so this is good to know. On our hike we also saw a terrifyingly large spider. I’m so glad that’s not the size of the ones we have seen in our cabin. There was also a scorpion in our kitchen right above the outlet. Needless to say, no one charged their electronics there tonight.
Today was the first day my feet and knees actually started to hurt from all this walking. Tomorrow we’re hoping to check out the bat caves, I’m really looking forward to that. And we’re going out to dinner to try something called ceviche (which I’ve never heard of either). I can’t believe tomorrow will be our last day 😦
A Life Full of Laughter 