GREAT TURTLE RACE

One of the things I did after returning from my trip to Costa Rica was to sign up for a Yahoo group that consisted of people who were interested in all things Costa Rican. I got a message today informing me of a turtle race currently underway. Some of the leatherback turtles that spend the majority of the time in the Galapogos Islands off of Equador actually come back to the Pacific coast of Costa Rica to lay their eggs. This year some scientists have tagged 11 of them in order to track them as they return to the Galapogos.

The turtles are returning at a brisk pace of 1.7 miles per hour. So far its a close race, even though the rivals don't realize they are competing. You can track the progress of these reptiles by signing on to http://www.greatturtlerace.com

The race is actually a fund raising event. The money raised will go to the Leatherback Trust to buy land on the Playa Grande beach, which is the last viable nesting ground for leatherback sea turles in the eastern Pacific. I've been there on a previous trip to Costa Rica. If you've never seen one of these endangered creatures, be aware that they can weigh up to 2,000 pounds.

Enjoy the race .... Make a contribution ..... Place your bets!!

RAPPORT WITH REPTILES

One of the things that my wife and I found most suprising during our trip to Costa Rica was people establishing relationships with reptiles. We just never thought this possible.

The top picture on this post is one which appeared on the front page of the March 30th edition of THE TICO TIMES, Costa Rica's English language newspaper. The photo shows Gilberto Sheedan and his one-eyed crocodile friend, Poncho. Gilberto had found Poncho near death, lying on a riverbank after having been shot in the eye by an unknown person. Sheedan took the croc back to his ranch and nursed it back to health and a special bond was created. Both man and croc are about 50 years old. Now, every Sunday afternoon, about 4PM, Gilberto jumps into a 100 square meter artificial lake he constructed for Poncho, and calls quietly for his companion. When Poncho appears he is given some simple commands in Spanish slang and the crocodile performs. He does many tricks, and when Sheedan feels that Poncho is in a very good mood he even puts his head into the reptiles mouth. The tourists love it!

The lower picture is one my wife shot. One day we were walking around the grounds of the resort we were staying at in Tortuguero, looking for birds, when we saw a woman standing near a boat landing, looking out on the water and calling out, "Dosty, Dosty!" We asked if a child or dog was missing. She informed us that she was calling her pet caiman. She said that the resort frequently serves chicken. When all the guests are fed and chicken is set aside for the staff, anything left over is fed to their caiman. He has begun to associate hearing the name he was given with getting a good meal, and he comes to eat. After the lady called "Dosty, Dosty!" a few more times, sure enough, around the bend in the canal he came, and my wife shot the picture. Dosty is about 5 feet long. Poncho is obviously much larger.

WE HAVE ARRIVED

All elements of the trip to San Jose when very smoothly. What a difference a day makes! We were a little screwed up on the time when we arrived as Costa Rica has not jump-started Day Light Savings Time as we did in the States.

We had a very pleasant conversation with the rep from our tour company on the way to our hotel. Among other things my wife asked him what he called hummingbirds. He said, "Hummingbirds! ... I speak English so often, I forgot what to call them in Spanish" Ya Think?

In any event, we have a 4AM wakeup call as we are to be picked up at 5AM to head for the airport to jump in the little plane on our trip to Tortuguero.

Buenas Noches

DOS PINOS

A gentleman I met a number of years ago has had a significant effect on Costa Rica. He was the brother-in-law of a person I worked with in my job. This guy came from a farming background and achieved an agriculture degree from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. In the Sixties he went to Costa Rica as a member of the Peace Corps. He got some Costa Ricans interested in dairy farming. Next they needed a way to market their product so he helped them form a cooperative known as Dos Pinos (Two Pines). It has developed into the major distributor of dairy products, not only in Costa Rica, but in all of Central America. They now market fruit juice products as well as their dairy offerings.

In his spare time, this Wisconsinite spent time on the beaches near Quepos on the Pacific shore of Costa Rica. He convinced officials that the area should be protected from development and helped them form the first Costa Rican National Park .... Manuel Antonio! A photo of the part of the beach at Manuel Antonio is included in this post.

I haven't seen this gentleman in a few years, but the last time he and his wife were at our house they indicated that they planned to buy a house in a small town about 30 miles outside of San Jose and retire there. Vacationing in Wisconsin during June, July & August was also in their plans. Sounds like a good plan to me. I hope they've followed their dream!

One man, willing to work hard and give of himself, can make a big difference in the lives of people ..... and even of a country!

www.dospinos.com

www.manuelantoniopark.com

THE ORGANIZATION FOR TROPICAL STUDIES - - - LA SELVA

I had given you some visuals of the area my wife and I will be staying in when we are in the Tortuguero area of Costa Rica, in just a couple short weeks. Another place we will be spending time at is LA SELVA. This is one of the three biological stations in Costa Rica that are run by the ORGANIZATION FOR TROPICAL STUDIES. This group is a consortium of Universities and other groups, centered at Duke University. They perform all sorts of research in environmental issues relating to tropical rain forests. It's a fascinating place! The tours you take with a naturalist are simply amazing, as they point out flora and fauna unique to the area that you would have walked right by, had you been on your own. For example, La Selva is home to over 70 different species of BATS many of which roost hidden under large plant leaves during the day, come out and aid in cross-pollination of plants at night. My wife and I simply loved it when we were there a few years ago. You can actually sign up for classes and extended periods of stay where you can help the scientists in their research. Mary would like to do that in her retirement (which begins in 2 months, 27 days, & 13 hours!).

Check it out at: www.ots.ac.cr/en/laselva/

COSTA RICA TRIP

I received some bad news from my Travel Agent. While in the Tortuguero area of Costa Rica I will not have Internet access. I will be cut off from the rest of the world for three whole days! However, I think that my wife and I will have enough to do that we won't miss being "connected".

I'm posting some pictures from the web-site of the lodge that we'll be staying at and the type of environment they show that we'll be in. I'm going to investigate getting a Flickr account where I can upload pictures when we get back to a more "civilized" part of the country.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to a photo processing site that they think works better than Flickr ??

SPRING BREAK VACATION

My wife and I are in the final detail planning stage of our Spring Break Vacation. We are heading back to Costa Rica (For the Fourth Time!). We absolutely love this country. Previous trips have netted us glimpses of virtually all the areas that the touristos go to, so this trip will be spent primarily in remote areas. Although she was always a birder, my wife was not as fanatical a birder as she has morphed into the last couple years. Therefore, on this trip we will primarily be birding, looking for shots of Resplendent Quetzals, Bell Birds, Toucans, etc. There are 30 species of hummingbirds in Costa Rica! Because of the time of year we will also be able to see many birds that end up in various spots in North America during the Spring and Summer, as they are on their migration trip North from South America. Because of where we are going and how we are getting there, we will be limited to 30 pounds of luggage each. After cameras, lenses, binoculars, birding manuals, underwear and a toothbrush, we won't be able to pack much more! (I'll sneak in a book or two somehow)

Three days of the trip will be spent in the Tortuguero National Park and the Tortuguero Protected Zone. (You should be able to see it on the map on the North-Eastern part of the country). Much of our time there will be traveling up and down rivers and canals in boats and canoes.

HOWEVER, our good old faithful travel agent is now negotiating on getting us a personalized tour of the National Library in San Jose on our day of arrival. How cool is that !! I intend to find out if they have Friends groups and if we can exchange communications and ideas.

She is also working on places for me to get Internet access on computers with USB ports so I can upload both posts and pictures to this blog as we go along. So, I hope to be able to give you both nature photos and library photos! I can't wait ..... I'm almost packed already.