Posts in category Costa Rica

Witches Rock Adventure: Part 3

Dec28
2011 Leave a Comment

Written by Morgan

Day 5:

Today we would walk the 20 kilometers out of the park, after a fairly miserable afternoon and night of rain we were sure of it. We packed up the gear and food in all our backpacks and went to see the rock one last time. Then, we realized it was the day we had waited for! Clean, long lines of surf, 4-5 ft, peeling in front of the rock. That is when we agreed we could last one more day, it wasn’t going to rain again we reasoned. We spent all morning, from 8 am until 1 pm surfing perfect waves and getting little barrels all to ourselves. It was like straight out of The Endless Summer and a truly epic day. Then, we saw the clouds come back, and realized we were in for another miserable afternoon filled with mosquitoes and the damp, sauna like conditions of the previous day. However, unlike the previous day, which lasted for only about an hour and a half, this day lasted for hours, keeping us in the tent all afternoon and into the night before allowing us to go back to the comfort of our hammocks. The rest of the night we slept in our hammocks fairly well, with only a light rain occasionally.

Day 6:

With food running low and a miserable afternoon the previous day, we loaded our gear on our backs and headed out. Despite the rain, we had a lot of fun that week and I was going to miss the park and the rock. We looked to Witches Rock one last time before turning and walking towards the path that would take us back to the entrance.
Our first steps took us though a muddy estuary. Our feet sunk in to the mud and we trudged through with our packs and surfboards, over 60 lbs each in all. Monkeys, screamed at us as we threaded our way through the acacias on the side where the path was a little drier. We walked for a solid hour through mostly flat swampy land before we came upon a river. We then took off our shoes and transported the gear across, keeping a watchful eye our for crocs. After all our gear and boards were safely on the other side, we sat down for some water and a cliff bar. We knew that while the ground was muddy and difficult to walk through before, it was going to get a whole lot worse before the path got better.
Fifteen minutes later we loaded the gear up again and started the climb as the hill became much steeper. For the next 10 kilometers the path led straight uphill and as you can imagine getting all the gear through that distance was not the most fun part of our trip. After an hour and a half of steady walking the track leveled out to only a gradual uphill and we walked on through mud and water that we would need to occasionally take off our shoes to cross before finally making it to the camp. We arrived at the midway camp at 2 in the afternoon and made a late lunch at 3 before relaxing the rest of the day. Throughout the afternoon, we saw deer, many birds and racoons which made the night that much better. After the sun set, we looked for snakes for a time before going to bed.

Day 7:

We arose with a breakfast of peanut butter sandwiches as usual, packed up our gear, and proceeded the rest of the way out of the park. At first, the paved road with only slight undulations made the walk much nicer than the previous day; however, after the first kilometer the sky opened up into a downpour that lasted the next 6 km. We trudged on, through the pelting rain until we finally arrived at the entrance of the park and the main highway. Our muscles ached, our faces were sunburned, and we had mosquito bites covering our bodies, but as the bus pulled up to the stop all we could think about was the awesome waves we got!

Posted in Witches Rock: 3 - Tagged Camping, Surfing, Witches Rock

Witches Rock Adventure: Part 2

Dec18
2011 Leave a Comment

Written by Morgan

Day 3:

This morning started with a few peanut butter sandwiches and some tea as the sea breeze drifted through the trees to our campsite. After finishing breakfast, we grabbed our boards and went out to surf. Walking to the rock, there were perfect clear blue skies and plenty of sun. We could see stingrays in the transparent waves and pelicans skim above the waterline. When we finally got to Witches Rock we checked the estuary for crocs like usual then walked back down to the water. The waves were small and choppy in the low tide and we decided today was the day to paddle to the rock which was only about 300 meters from the shore. Zach and I walked into the water and started paddling until we reached the iconic monolith. We paddled completely around and into one of the caves on the side, bats could be heard through the darkness, higher in the cave. After looking around and finally touching the rock that was made a classic by the second Endless Summer movie, we paddled back to the waves. By this time, the wind had changed and the tide had come up farther to make the waves better. It was a fun day, with about 3-4 ft waves and we surfed for a few hours before heading back to our campsite for lunch.

On this day, lunch consisted of more peanut butter sandwiches and tea, same as breakfast. Once finished eating, we walked on to the lagoon to check for crocs. This time, we scored! As we walked up we saw the 10 ft croc that had most likely made the tracks we had seen the other day. He was basking on the bank, taking the afternoon sun in. Looking further, we could see yet another smaller croc in the water. It was awesome and we watched the reptiles for about 10 minutes before the big one slid into the water and glided away. We then walked to other trails around the lagoon in search of snakes and crocs, but with no luck.

By the time we finished looking for crocs the sun had set and we were ready to eat again. We fixed a big bowl of pasta and ate it with the sounds of the animals all around. After finishing dinner we got ready for another nights sleep, hopping it would be fairly mosquito free and there would be good waves in the morning.

Day 4:

We had another great night in the forest we awoke with a breakfast of peanut butter sandwiches and headed to the rock for an A.M. surf sesh. After walking the 3 kilometers to the rock, we found the waves were really fun! With sections lining up for fun little rides. We had a great time, catching wave after wave until we noticed large black clouds getting closer and closer. This was NOT good with only hammocks and a tent that had holes in it! We caught a few more waves then headed back to the camp to see what we could do to keep our food, clothes, and hammocks dry. Unfortunately, the best we could do was to put a poncho in the place of the tent flap; which, as we started feeling the raindrops become heavier and more steady, we hoped it would work. We both crawled into the tent as the storm worsened; rain and wind whipped the tent and thunder sounded above. Within minutes rain had leaked into the sides and we had to move all our food and clothes to the center of our small tent. It was obvious this was not going to be a comfortable few hours with the tent functioning as a sauna making us sweat uncontrollably in the damp, steamy interior. However, there was not much to do but wait it out, promising over and over again this would be the last night here.
Finally, the rain stopped and we crawled out under the grey clouds overhead. The rain was over, but it was still a very dark, wet day ahead. We then walked over to the lagoon to see if there were any crocs with the darker skies and recent rain, but saw none. This took us to diner time and we cooked up some pasta before heading to bed. Tomorrow, was the day we promised we would walk out.

Posted in Witches Rock Adventure: 2 - Tagged Camping, Cost Rica, Crocs, Snakes, Surfing, Wildlife, Witches Rock

Witches Rock Adventure: Part 1

Dec17
2011 2 Comments

Written by Morgan

Witches Rock Adventure:

This is the story of our weeklong trip to Witches Rock. I will tell it day by day and try to include everything. It was at sometimes very hard, but we had a lot of fun. The Rock itself, made famous by The Endless Summer 2, was over 20 kilometers into the Santa Rosa National Park and one of the most remote places in Costa Rica. Along with one of the most famous surf spots in the world, the park is also home to jaguars, monkeys, iguanas, many birds, snakes, and crocs! We came here to surf perfect waves and see all the animals, especially the crocs, which were supposed to be huge here. Surfing and crocs, what can be better? Here is the story of the journey, the destination, the crocs, the waves and everything else in between:

Day 1:

We heard a car honk and looked over to see the jeep that had come to bring us to Witches Rock. Zach and I grabbed our backpacks and boards, then loaded up. After our backpacks were in and our boards were secure to the roof we headed out to Santa Rosa. The countryside on the way was dry and mountainous, typical of the Guanacaste province of Costa Rica where the park is located. After driving for about 35 kilometers we reached the entrance of the park, which we turned into and headed the 7 kilometers to the headquarters where we would be dropped off. We passed terrain and habitat that looked more like Africa than Costa Rica as the road winded towards our destination. Finally, we reached the headquarters where we unloaded our bags and started the 14 kilometer journey to the famed rock where we would camp until the food we had packed ran out. We eat a lot, so we packed accordingly. The weight, close to 70 lbs, consisting of food, camping gear, and surfboards and got heavy really quick. Fortunately, within a kilometer of walking, a ranger drove by in a truck and picked us up to bring us to the beach where we would be camping. The ride that followed was the bumpiest ride of my life, through mud, rocks, twists and turns all the way to the beach. It took about an hour and a half, but we finally made it. We then started setting up camp, first putting up our hammocks, then the tent, which we realized did not zip up, then sorted the food. As soon as we finished, we took out our boards, put in the fins and headed for the surf.

It was another 3 kilometer walk down the beach to the rock. Once we got there we realized it was not the best conditions, but noticed the estuary flowing into the ocean where we heard there were many crocs. We went to investigate and saw one smaller one, who was only about 2 meters and a few birds. We scanned the water and mangroves for more crocs and saw none so headed down to surf. While the surf was by no means epic, we got some fun waves for our first day and we had them all to ourselves!

After surfing for a few hours we put our boards up and went to explore the cliffs down the beach. What we found was a some really cool boulders to climb around, some cat tracks (possibly from an ocelot), and even a bat cave! After exploring for a while, the sun was setting and we walked back to our campsite, checking the estuary again for crocs and watched the sun set behind Witches Rock.

Finally, after there was no more light we made a pasta diner with a small camp burner and ate before going to bed in our hammocks. Unfortunately, trying to sleep did not last long because the mosquitoes and sand fleas came out like a plaque making it impossible to sleep in the hammock or in the tent. It continued like this all night, constantly being bitten, never sleeping. The first night was miserable, I just hoped the waves would make it worth it in the morning!

Day 2:

I had to sleep in on the second day, with only an hour of sleep in between getting eaten alive by mosquitoes and sand fleas I needed all the sleep I could get and slept till 8 before rolling out of my hammock and opening a can of beans for breakfast. After finishing the can I grabbed my board and walked down the beach for a surf sesh, hopping that the waves would make me forget about the previous night. When I finally got to the rock I checked the river for crocs and unfortunately saw none, so headed for the waves. It was a decent day, nothing different from a normal day in Cocoa Beach, but it was fun. I surfed for a few hours till the wind got on it and headed back to our campsite to meet Zach for a lunch of peanut butter sandwiches.

After lunch, the waves had really turned bad, so Zach and I walked into the forest to look for snakes; we were looking for the neotropical rattlesnake, a very beautiful snake with one of the most potent venoms of the genus Crotalus. We walked, looking through the grasses and under stumps. We saw no snakes, but instead came upon a lagoon which we scanned for crocs. We didn’t see any crocs, but on closer inspection found tracks from a croc of more than three meters. We knew that this would be the place to come back to!

Seeing only the tracks in the lagoon, we traveled down the beach and came upon a trail which again took us into the forest. We followed it, past crabs, screaming monkeys, and mangroves and came upon another lagoon. We proceeded forward and saw a croc move! Success, that is what we came here for! She slowly slid into the water and watched us as we watched her before swimming off. We saw one more small croc opposite bank before heading back to the beach and then to our campsite as the sun set. We made diner and settled down for sleep; which, very fortunately, came much easier this night as I rolled into my hammock, sealing it for the most part from any annoying insect from entering. I could relax, listening to the sounds of the forests and fall asleep.

Day 3:

Posted in Witches Rock Adventure: 1 - Tagged Camping, Crocs, Endless Summer, Snakes, Surfing, Witches Rock

Catching Crocs in Costa Rica

Dec17
2011 Leave a Comment

Written by Morgan

Here is the story of a day catching crocodiles at Costa Rican University where Crocodiles were kept that had run into trouble with people. To learn more about Human-Crocodilian Conflict, as well as other problems for crocs, go to the issues section.

After arriving to the university we made our way to the croc pools where we would be working. We met with the team, who were already making preparations for the day: getting ropes together, calibrating the scales, making blindfolds. Ten minutes later it was time to get to work; we all made our way into the enclosure where the crocs awaited. One of the biologists carefully made his way down to the water and plodded through the mud to one croc, about 8 ft in length. After lowering the rope around the crocodile’s jaws he pulled making it tighten and threw us the rope.

Then, we started pulling. It took every bit of strength from myself and the 2 others pulling this reptile up onto the bank, the whole enclosure was muddy making good shoes a necessity; if you slipped it could be easy to get grabbed by a croc. As we struggled to make further movement with the crocodile it started to death role. In the wild, this behavior is used to tear pieces of meat off large prey animals so it is possible to swallow, but they also do this when caught. The death role is the best time to pull as their feet are no longer planted into the ground; when he did this we ran dragging him to the bank. Once on the bank, someone tied of the croc to the tree and I threw the blindfold over his snapping jaws. After picking 4 people to jump, the head biologist changed his mind and said that the croc was ours if Zach and I wanted it. So, we flipped a coin and heads got to jump the head. Zach won with heads and we prepared. The thing to remember about jumping the crocs is that when you are number one on the jump and call 1,2,3, you have to jump. There is no room for any hesitation because if you hesitate, even for a second, it could turn around and bite you or another part of the team in half. So, Zach called 1,2,3: and we both jumped, Zach’s hands went down over the mouth and pulled it shut. I picked up the back legs and we taped the mouth shut. After weighing her and taking measurements we found she was just over 8 ft. Zach and I were able to catch this one by ourselves, but the next one in line was going to be much more challenging, he was over 12 ft and the biologists said he was muy bravo.

This time we picked up the rope to pull one of the largest crocs in the enclosure, for him we needed 7 people to move him anywhere! The power of these animals is so amazing! We pulled, and pulled until he finally went for the death role, then we really went for it. It took several of these processes of pulling and waiting for the role to get this big croc up onto land. When we finally dragged him out of the water, Zach thew a blindfold over his eyes, which he threw off immediately with a thrash of his head. It took 2 more tries to finally cover his eyes safely. After his eyes were covered, the head biologist then said that this croc was very aggressive and would be very dangerous. Then, he gave out jump numbers, I was one, on the head, Zach was 2, and so on. The biologists said this would be one of the most dangerous crocs so far, they said we needed to jump and hold on with everything we had! So, when everyone was ready, I called 1,2,3 and we jumped. I threw my hands down on his head and pushed down as hard as I could until his head was on the ground and I held his jaws. Then he started shaking, harder and harder causing the 5 of us holding on to be pushed this way and that, but everyone held on; if they didn’t someone would have died, this croc was ready to have someone. Finally, he calmed down and we picked him up and moved him to the scale where we weighed and measured him. I am not sure of his weight but he was just over 12 ft and very strong. After all the data was collected he was moved to the holding area with the others. Then, we picked up the next rope.

We caught many more crocs throughout the day, each one presenting their own challenges as he or she put up a fight. Eventually, we had all the crocs measured and weighed and it was time to release them. By this time, many people had already left to work with the smaller caimans in an adjacent pool, it would only be two others besides Zach and I for the releases. With crocs, the releases are usually the most dangerous part of the project. You have to take many things into account to make the release as safe as possible including the direction the croc is facing, where other crocs are, if there is anything that would prevent you from jumping away safely, and so on. The first few crocs released were only about 7 or 8 ft and went straight to the water, but as they got bigger, they got far more aggressive, caring less about the safety of the water than about biting into someone. One croc ran to the water before their tape was off, that was not an option as it would be nearly impossible to catch with the others around and no way to get a top jaw rope. We had to run down the bank and grab the giant reptile as it threw the 4 of us around like a rag doll. It nearly took us into the water with the others waiting before we finally halted his “great escape”. We took the tape off and he was free to go. Steadily, we released all the animals until there was only one left, the big one. He was waiting in the corner. This is super dangerous for a release as there is only one side for everyone to jump to, but it had to be done. We were all ready to jump, 1,2,3! and we went for it. If we thought that any other jump had been hard, this one had them all beat! The bony ridges on his back cut into my chest and he flicked us into the fence, beating us against the wire. We held on, making sure he did not roll with us on him. Finally, after what seemed like forever, he calmed down, we cut the tape and on the count of 3 again all jumped off. Luckily he had enough and went to the water instead of trying to come at us.

It had been a great day, the best day of our trip so far! Zach and I both learned a lot and were stoked to be able to work with crocs again. Needless to say catching that many crocs makes a person hungry and we were starving, so the whole team headed to the cantina for dinner and to recount the stories of that day. I can’t wait to do it all over again!

Posted in Catching Crocs - Tagged Crocodiles, reptiles

Snakes of the Refuge

Dec17
2011 2 Comments

Written by Morgan

Working with Snakes at Refugio Herpetologico

Although it might not be a huge draw for most people, Costa Rica is home to some amazing snakes. Fer-de-lance, Neotropical Rattlesnake, Eyelash Viper, and Bushmaster all live in this beautiful country. It is the same year round warmth and tropical atmosphere tourists flock too that makes it an ideal habitat for snakes as well. While working at Refugio Herpetologico, Zach and I have had a chance to learn more about handling and caring for some of the most venomous snakes in the Americas. We have already had experience with some rattlesnake species, boas, coral snakes, cottonmouths; however, the fer-de lance was going to be a lot different than the slower snakes we had previously handled. Today, we had to clean all their holding areas.

First up was Zach with the Neotropical Rattlesnake. He places two containers on the ground, one with clean newspapers and another containing the rattlesnake. He took off both lids and with the snake-hook in hand, gently lifted the beautiful snake out of her enclosure and into the clean one. An important thing to remember when working with any snake it that it is always better to be relaxed; when you are relaxed the snake is much more relaxed as well. This snake made it very easy and Zach finished cleaning her previous enclosure and moved her to a new, clean enclosure.

Next snake to clean was the Terciopelo or Fer-de-lance, an extremely venomous snake that is the cause for the most envenomations here in Costa Rica. Neither Zach nor I had ever worked with this snake before and to show us how they move and what to be ready for, Rodolfo, our friend and founder of Refugio Herpetologico, took out the first terciopelo. He calmly slid the hook under the snake’s head, lifted, and placed it on the ground. Even the calm fer-de-lance was much more mobile than almost every rattlesnake I have ever handled. Any time they are touched with the hook they move, it just depends on how much. A calm terciopelo might move only slightly while a agro or stimulated one would be all over the place. This is the reason for being calm, especially with a species such as the fer-de-lance, when they are calm it is much easier to work with. After carefully watching Rodolfo handle this snake I felt pretty comfortable handling the next one. So, I took down the next terciopelo after cleaning a new enclosure for her. I opened the lid and she slithered out. Then I hooked her about a third down her body and tried to maneuver her into the cleaner box. As usual with more active snakes she did not want to go back in the box; it took several minutes of careful handling to finally move her into the next container, but, in the end it was a successful move!

The Neotropical Rattlesnake and the Fer-de-lance were the highlight of that handling session, but there were some other interesting snakes we got to work with as well. Some of the others included several non-venomous snakes such as a boas, racers, and several others. Even though most of them were non-venomous, each one presented it’s own challenge whether it was a small really fast snake or a big boa that you would not want to get bitten by. It was a great time and we both really learned a lot about working with new species of snakes. However, Rodolfo had one more snake for us to work with, the Bushmaster, the most venomous snake in the Americas!

Finally, after almost 2 weeks at the refuge we get to work with the Bushmaster! The Bushmaster we would handle was around 2 1/2 ft. It’s pretty hard to decide who gets to handle a snake first, but somehow I lucked out. This time, we were taking photos in a natural looking environment for the website of the Refuge. I maneuvered her into positions for the pictures, the whole time Rodolfo teaching Zach and I how to make it easier for ourselves and the snake. After Zach had some good pictures he took the hook and worked with her. Then, a few minutes later we got the call that dinner was ready, and as we were all hungry we jumped on that, put the beautiful Bushmaster away and went to eat. It was a GREAT day!

* Remember snakes are beautiful animals and each have their own personalities that are easy to see once you work with them long enough. This along with their vital part in nature makes it even more of a tragedy when they are killed out of hate. Please, if you are one of those people that hate snakes, try to understand them. Look at a photo of an eyelash viper or a emerald tree boa; understand their place in the world. Maybe you will learn something and have a little more love in the world for one of our beautiful animals that share this earth with us.

Posted in Snakes of the Refuge - Tagged bushmaster, herping, rattlesnakes, refugio herpetologico, Snakes, terciopelo, venomous

Eyelash Vipers: In search of ornaments of the forest.

Nov21
2011 Leave a Comment

Written by Zach

After nearly three months of surfing epic waves, catching and working with captive crocs and snakes, hiking through some of the most beautiful jungles Costa Rica has to offer, and making some great friends along the way we still found ourselves far from our goal of seeing as many venomous snakes in the wild as we could. Although this might not sound like a goal many would strive for, and with good reason, my brother and I love snakes with a passion and want to know everything about them so that we can protect them.

We consulted with some locals and our guidebook then decided that Cahuita National Park on the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica was our best choice for accomplishing our last goal. Allegedly some snake species are quiet common in this area and can be seen in abundance.

Cahuita National Park, Costa Rica

When looking for venomous snakes in the wild, proper clothing is a necessity. A pair of pants is defiantly preferred, but a good pair of shoes is essential. When millimeters can mean the difference between envenomation and safety, it is always important not to sacrifice price for protection. Grip is important as well because I make it a personal rule to step on logs instead of over. The last thing I want in any herping trip is to fall off a log onto a snake and get bitten. I prefer a shoe that is durable with good grip, shaped more like a running shoe, but one that still gives me the freedom to run down the odd snake or even pursue it up a tree if needed.

Once we compiled all of the essentials, shoes, pants, camera, field guide, and snake hooks we were ready to head into the park. We began our journey at about eight in the morning with high hopes of seeing a lot of snakes. Although we were looking for everything, monkeys, sloths, birds, and other animals the main focus of our day long expedition was for Eyelash vipers!

Morgan searching for eyelash vipers

Eyelash vipers are a beautiful snake that is named after the eyelash like scales that form over the eyes and help to camouflage them. These “eyelashes” assist in breaking up the distinct shape of the head. They come in many different colors from yellow, red, green, grey, pink, brown, to even mixed. Ever since we first started working with them in Costa Rica they quickly became one of my favorite snakes and I could not wait to see one in the wild.

While scouring every branch, leaf, log, and tree with a quick yet careful glance, we made our way from the park entrance down the jungle paths that paralleled the beach. After making it all the way to the river, it was clear that spotting the snake, we were looking for, would not be as easy as we once thought. Hopefully on the other side of the river we would have better luck, but now the only option was to roll up our pant legs and get a little wet.

After making it to the other side across the short channel of water, we proceeded down the main path once again. It was already twelve noon and we decided to forgo eating, not something we do often, to continue our epic quest for the beautiful eyelash viper. Many false sightings later, we were beginning to lose hope. We heavy-heartedly began to realize that we may not find what we had came in search of.

Just then Morgan spotted something that he thought looked promising, a bit of yellow tucked up under a green leaf. We stepped closer and to our immense joy there it was. In all of its glory, as yellow as the purest gold or brightest sun contrasted against the color of the green jungle. It was so small. It could have easily been overlooked had we not known what to look for. Truly an amazing find by Morgan! Others had passed it all day and never seen it, however we just saw our first eyelash viper. The downtrodden spirits that had begun to arise previously were vanquished. We were stocked to see the viper and had newfound enthusiasm.

Something must have happened after we saw our first one, maybe our eyes became attuned, or maybe the little guy was a just a good omen. Afterwards we saw not one, but five more ranging from the same bright golden yellow to the dark color of freshly brewed coffee. For each snake, we took multiple pictures so we could share the beauty of this awesome animal with friends and family back home.

In the end, the day was a huge success! In total, we were able to see five eyelash vipers, four vine-snakes plus lots of monkeys, sloths, birds, and some other very interesting rainforest creatures. The Eyelash vipers in Parque National Cahuita are some of the most beautiful in the world. Morgan and I were extremely lucky to witness them in person in their natural setting. Check out the video below to see some of the amazing animals we encountered during our time in Costa Rica. By the end of our trip, one of our first goals was achieved, and we can finally leave in peace. Now it is time to move on to our next big adventure back home in Florida… any suggestions?

Posted in Eyelash Vipers of Cahuita, Snakes - Tagged Cahuita National Park, eyelash viper