Grooving with nature

On my first night in Tortuguero, I slept like a baby, and much to my surprise, I woke up quite easily the next morning around 5:30 or 6; the early sunrise definitely helps. They get around 12 hours of sunlight and 12 hours of darkness in Costa Rica because of its proximity to the equator, which makes "early to bed and early to rise" the norm, at least for me. This was quite a different trip for me in so many ways, one being that I had a lot of free time, I didn't have trains to catch or museums to get to any place I had to be.

It was really relaxed, which can be a little unnerving; I took naps, I read Beowulf, I walked the grounds 

and took the occasional excursion, and I tried to take photographs. Oh and I ate some really good food. 

Just look at that fruit plate. And those eggs. A delicious was to start the day. 

The lodge has extensive property which are laid out in different trails, and I picked up a map and some Wellington boots from the front desk. If any of my friends are reading this they might be laughing at the irony of me with a map, but let's think good thoughts. The Wellies are a must as I discovered pretty early on as I was frequently extricating myself from quicksand-like mud. I don't want to be melodramatic, but there were a few moments where I regretted my mild adventurous streak. I saw quite a few red frogs, but I cannot say for certain if they were the red poison dart frog. Other than that, I was too worried about falling on my ass to notice anything else.

My friend the iguana.

I need more practice taking pictures of wildlife; they just don't hold still like a good old castle or bridge or even a mountain.

  

I wanted to take a night hike because the animal activity is different at different times of day, and this would be a guided walk, so I knew a guide would see things I wouldn't see (and hopefully keep me out of the mud). Before we left, we got our Wellies and sprayed ourselves down with more mosquito repellent and started off. I requested to see sloths, and while there are no guarantees with Mother Nature, I was hopeful. I'll save you the agony - we saw one, way up high in the tree and my picture is crap. It was cool to see, I'm just sorry the photo didn't work (nighttime, distance and animals - ugh). That's a spider down there, in case you couldn't tell. 

This little guy was so cute and actually took a nice photo. A little opossum. 

A bull frog, who was much clearer to my eyes than to the camera. We saw plenty of other little spiders and frogs, and things we would have missed if not for our guide, Miguel. He grew up in the village and seemed like one of those people who could live in the forest for days if he had to. I really appreciated his local knowledge, and stories of how he grew up and learned about the world around him. It was a good night.

This little fellow was not on the night walk, but in my room. I do not know how he got in, and even stranger, I do not know how he got out, he was there when I went to sleep.

Buenos noches