Week 13 - Costa Rica

Caitlin and Adam want to see the studio, so we head out on Monday morning to Puerto Jimenez to visit Alan in the studio, and to have lunch with the crew at Carolina’s. After lunch we do a bit of shopping. Caits and Adam need gumboots to go out bug hunting with us, so we go to La Costa, the local hardware store to buy some botas.

Alan is desperate for centipedes this week in the studio. We only have one to work with, and it isn’t performing well. So on Tuesday we have a look around the house next door, Casa Aire Libre for some centipedes. No luck though, we can’t find any.

Adam and Caitlin are enjoying their sleep-ins. They are staying in the guesthouse on our property, so aren’t disturbed by Tayen and Saige who wake up at 6am every morning. We haven’t seen Caits and Adam till at least 11am so far, so I can’t plan any morning activities for us to do. So Wednesday afternoon we head out to have a look at Playa Blanca, about half an hour’s drive from our place. It is a beach that has a lot of coral debris on it, making the beaches look white. Costa Rican beaches have volcanic sand on the beaches, so the sand is black rather than white. Bit hard to get used to when Aussie white sand beaches is what we are used to.

Caitlin and Adam at Playa Blanca

Playa Blanca has a flock of vultures on it when we arrive, and Tayen tried to sneak up on them with little success. They are almost as tall as she is! We have a hermit crab race and a bit of a play in the water while Caitlin and Adam draw a progressive story in the sand. After we have had a bit of fun, we head into Puerto Jimenez to meet Alan for dinner and go out bug hunting up The Road. On the way back from a successful night, we see an ant eater crossing the road leading into Dos Brazos.

Vultures at Playa Blanca

Hermit crab race

Playing in the water

Stories in the sand

We have a lazy day at home on Thursday, catching up on blogs and emails and chatting to each other. It’s really nice to have Caits and Adam here and have some adult conversation at home during the day!

Caits and Adam give me a bit of time to myself on Friday (something which I haven’t had much of since we came to Costa Rica) and take the girls down to the river for a swim. Ohh, the things I would love to do with that hour or so to myself – sleep, read, sleep…but no, I figure I should look after our animal collection without the constant interruption that I usually have. Every day I spend a few hours feeding and cleaning and watering all the animals we have collected to use in the production, a process that would be much quicker if I didn’t have to supervise the kids and stop them running around the garden getting to close to bushes and plants that might be harbouring terciopellos or wandering spiders (though we have a few of those captive in our animal collection). Either that or I am breaking up arguments about sharing toys, or fights about “she hit me first” or soothing when they have fallen over and grazed their knee. All of this is part of everyday motherhood, but it makes caring for the animal collection a much lengthier job! So having some time to myself to get this job done well and quickly is an opportunity I can’t pass up.

Trip to the river

Friday night is footy night, and we have another party at the studio to watch the Cats play West Coast in the preliminary final. It was fun to have Caits and Adam there as well. This time our internet connection wasn’t fast enough for skyping the live TV back in Australia, so Alan desperately searched the internet for another method of watching live AFL games. Costa rica doesn’t have rights to broadcast live AFL games, so the normal channels weren’t open to us. In the last 5 minutes before the game, he found TVU which broadcast live TV from Tasmania (the only Australian channel available). So after putting the computer outside to pick up better signal, it was like being in our own lounge room…sort of. The Cats won, so it was all worth it in the end. Here comes the Grand final next weekend!!

Go CATS!

On Saturday we headed to Playa Preciosa in the evening to have some dinner at the Iguana lodge, and to see if we could spot any nesting turtles. After finding the raided nest last week, I thought we might be able to spot some turtles, since it’s nesting season. The beach I found the nest at is still quite high in the gulf, so I didn't think the turtles would be coming up that far to nest, but a few obviously do. There is also some good bug hunting habitat along the beaches, so we thought we could combine the two activities. Unfortunately though it started raining heavily during dinner and Adam and I had a quick look on the beach for turtles, but didn't find any. Bugs don’t like rain either, so it wasn't much good for anything. Caitlin did manage to have a close encounter with a yellow wasp though. It flew in through the open window while we were shining our spotlights out into the dark. Her screams from the back seat as it proceeded to sting her sent half of us into cardiac arrest. After it all calmed down, Caitlin was very insistent that we didn’t do that again. About 10 minutes later Alan decided to have a quick look out to Caitlin’s disgust. Alan said “what is the chance of another one coming in?” Within seconds another big yellow wasp entered the car to much panic. No one was stung this time!

On Sunday Alan took Caitlin and Adam for a walk up the Bolita trail. It’s quite a nice walk during the day, but it can be a bit daunting at night as the trail is very narrow in places, and it plunges down into darkness that seems to go on forever! We went out bug hunting again that night along The Road, and on the way Alan screamed to a stop on the road leading out of Dos Brazos as he saw a terciopello on the road. It is the first time we’ve seen a snake of any kind on the road, and great that it was a terciopello as Caitlin and Adam hadn’t seen one yet. 

Bug hunting up The Road

Week 12 - Costa Rica

This week started out with photographing an adult male Basilisk lizard, which Alan had caught the night before and kept overnight so he could photograph it during daylight. So with me being the animal wrangler, Alan was able to take a few photos of the basilisk……before it decided to wriggle out of my grasp, turn around and bite me on the thumb knuckle! It was very painful, and I screamed, the girls bust into tears, and Alan was trying not to laugh – until he saw that my face had drained of blood and I was about to pass out! Needless to say, Alan was late for work Monday morning, and I was fine after a few minutes!

Alan and the Basilisk

Some animal wrangler I am!

The fresh bite

All cleaned up

The cheeky Basilisk stayed around our house after I let him go!

I went out bug hunting on Monday night with Tristan and Armelle. We went up a trail on Steve’s brother’s property, which goes right up the mountain behind our house and into primary Rainforest. Most of the trails that we have been out on every night are not well used, and this one in particular is very rough. The track is barely there, and dense rainforest is close on both sides. The trail is steep, and in some places you need to climb up muddy banks that are 60 degree inclines. The first time I went up here with Carlos I was so lost, and thankful that he was with me, otherwise I would have been lost for sure! This time with three of us watching the track, I was a little more confident! We were particularly after Candy cane katydids, a spectacular little katydid that looks like a roll of lifesaver lollies. We also needed some Bug-eyed katydids, small green guys with large bulging yellow eyes.

Back when gold was a big thing in Dos Brazos around 15 years ago, a Canadian mining company came in and bulldozed most of the primary rainforest that was to become the village of Dos Brazos. Lush rainforest became a desert moonscape, and only the forest high in the mountains survived. Since then of course there as been a lot of regrowth of the rainforest, but the animals are most diverse and abundant in the primary rainforest.

On Tuesday Armelle took the girls and I to see a small waterfall that was just up the river from where we live. This involved walking upstream through the river for a few hundred metres to find it, and there were also a few little waterholes for swimming in. It is only possible to access the waterfall if the river isn’t too high, otherwise the current is too strong and we could all get swept away. The girls loved walking through the river in their gum boots, and throwing river rocks into the water.

The waterfall

The girls with Armelle in the Rio Tigre

Tuesday night Alan heads out bug collecting down a road just out of Jimenez as it leads into primary rainforest. He is astounded by the invertebrate diversity he finds in just one night, and in fact the Bug-eyed katydid that we tried so desperately to find on Monday night flew in through the car window and landed on his face! In that first night out collecting there, he finds nearly all of the animals we have used so far in the shoot! This collecting spot is christened “The Road”.

Thursday is Independence Day in Costa Rica. On September 15, 1821, after the final Spanish defeat in the Mexican War of Independence (1810–1821), the authorities in Guatemala declared the independence of all of Central America. That date is still celebrated as Independence Day in Costa Rica, and so to celebrate, there was a street parade in Puerto Jimenez, which we all stopped to watch once it eventually got under way!

Enjoying a local delicacy - home made ice creams in plastic bags.

Watching the parade - it was a bit noisy!

Some parade floats

The locals dressed up for the occasion 

Traditional dress

On Friday Tristan and Armelle came into the studio to have a look around, and we all went out to lunch at Carolina’s. Afterwards, Tristan and Armelle took the girls and I out to a beach called Playa Preciosa. The waves were a little bit big for the kids (and for Armelle and I) but we had a nice walk along the beach collecting shells and rocks. We also found a turtle nest that unfortunately had been raided, so there were broken egg shells everywhere.

Playa Preciosa

The waves are too big for Saige

We have been very excited for Saturday to arrive, as this is the day that Caitlin and Adam arrive! (Yes, Caitlin, you are reading about your arrival in Osa after you have arrived back in Australia!). They are due to arrive in Puerto Jimenez on the last ferry across from Golfito, so we go to meet them at 3:30pm. It is a very happy reunion! Caitlin and Adam have been in Costa Rica for a week already, but spent the first part of their trip in Tortuquero.

Happy reunion

Adam carries the groceries

On Sunday we take Adam and Caitlin down to the river for a swim, and on the way (in our own driveway in fact) Tayen spots army ants en masse. We have been on the look out for them for the last few weeks to finish a story started back in the second week of filming, and now here they were, ready to attack! Alan called Malcolm and Mylene to come over to film them, and as they take half an hour to arrive, Alan still had time for a quick dip in the river. They spend the rest of the afternoon filming the ants, and that night we head into Puerto Jimenez for dinner, before we all head out bug collecting with Carlos and Steve up The Road.

Filming Army ants with Mal and Mylene

Week 11 - Costa Rica

Monday morning we woke up semi-refreshed. We only had a little way to travel today, as we were planning on staying at Montezuma for the night. After breakfast we started off towards our destination. Alan randomly stoped on the side of the road to look for bugs, and we were pleasantly surprised to find Mantled Howler monkeys in the trees above us. This was the first time we’d seen them in daylight, and we were very excited! Especially Tayen, as she wanted to see these monkeys since first arriving in Costa Rica. We hear them calling nearly every morning and night at our house, and both Alan and I have seen their eye shine at night, but this was the first time seeing them up close.

Mantled Howler Monkeys high in the tree

Coming down for a closer look

 We hurriedly got Tayen and Saige out of the car, and unfortunately Tayen and Saige stood right on top of a fire ant nest. Alan noticed the ants moving on Tayen’s legs before they stung her, and he grabbed Saige and yelled at me to grab Tayen. That’s when Tayen started screaming, and I started yelling, and Saige started crying, and it’s bedlam! Alan, by the way, just rolls his eyes at us all and tells me to settle down! We made such a racket trying to get the fire ants off us that a farmer living up the road came out to see what all the hullabaloo is. Thankfully the howler monkeys were not perturbed by this (after all, they are howler monkeys!) and just looked down at us curiously. Once we had all settled down, the howler monkeys started to come down for a closer look at us. There were around 9 of them, and they came out of their tree and conveniently walked across the electricity cables to another tree to settle for the day.

Crossing the cables

We continued to drive to Montezuma, and along the way saw some bizarre fences – the Ticos planted trees along their boundary lines, and then attached them with barbed wire. Once the trees get to a suitable height, they are chopped and pruned to form posts. Many of the trees keep sprouting leaves though, so the fence lines look a little strange!

Living fence posts

We found a place to stay. Montezuma is a beach town, and very touristy. It’s not really the place we would usually come to for collecting, but we were told that the habitat was quite different from the Osa. The Cabo Blanco National park is nearby, so we’re hoping this will be our saving grace! We grabbed a bite to eat and head out to suss out some collection sites for the night. As we drove out of the driveway and on to the road, Alan realised there was something wrong with the car. “Flat tyre” he said, and got out. I really couldn’t believe it, but sure enough, the front passenger side tyre was flat as a tack. How did I not notice this when I got in the car??!! So we got organised to change the tyre, and a local man stopped to help us out. We were starting to wonder what else could go wrong on this trip!!

Flat as can be!

Our helping hand!

With the tyre changed, we ventured out on the road to Cabuyo and found that it was quite bushy and a potentially good site for bug collection.

As we are at the beach, the kids have been asking to have a play in the sand. So we stopped at Montezuma beach before lunch. We checked out a few other potential collection sites before heading back to our cabina for a bit of a rest. Both Tayen and Saige have colds from our recent flights, so they are not feeling the best, and are wearing Alan and I out too.

Montezuma Beach

Saige having fun

Us!

Bug hunting that night was mildly successful. We found a few species of crab that we could use, and a few unique katydids and spiders we hadn’t seen before, but overall we were really disappointed about the diversity of invertebrate life here. According to the locals, animal diversity has dropped dramatically in the last 5 years, and even this year has seen less species turning up at light sheets.

So that was Monday!

Tuesday was taken up with the ferry ride and the long drive back to Dos Brazos. We arrived home to a newly manicured garden and clean house, which was very nice (although the plants at the front of the property had been completely cut down). Also, the orb weaving spiders that we had set up in the guest house had been removed and cleaned out! We had yet to use them on set, so it was a bit disappointing to find them gone.

Tayen's photo of Saige and I on the ferry

 Alan and I were starting to get homesick, and missing things like non-sweet bread, full cream milk, good internet connection, lack of power outages and the ability to flush toilet paper!

Our first froglet emerged this week! We have been rasing these Masked Tree Frog tadpoles for around 5 weeks, feeding them on frozen lettuce. The kids have had an active role in helping to feed and clean them, so it was exciting for them to see the first little froglet emerge.

Our first little Masked tree frog!

On Wednesday we catch up on emails, setting up our new animals and sorting out our species list for the next half of the shoot. We have a power outage (of course!) for 9 hours from 4pm till around 1:30am.

The first day of the second half of the shoot is on Thursday. As luck would have it, both Alan and I have now come down with a cold – bloody planes!! Good news though – the first of the AFL finals was on Thursday night our time, so we had worked out that we sleep over at the studio (where the internet connection was faster and more reliable). We skype my parents back in Australia for the sole purpose of sitting the camera in front of the television, and watching the game that way. Alan had tried nearly everything else to be able to watch the game live over the internet, but Costa Rica doesn’t have the rights to play AFL games, so we’re stuck with skype. It also means that to watch the game live, we need to be up at 3:15am! But it was all worth it as Geelong won! (I have to admit, I slept through most of it!)

Our sleeping arrangements at the studio

Our 'skype TV' on the laptop (there's the famous internet key!!)

The weekend brings Alan’s first day of working on a Saturday. This is to try and make up for a bit of lost time when we had to leave the country. We’ve been on the lookout for Army Ants, as we need to finish a story we started in the first 2 weeks of filming, and we needed some footage of Army Ants in the wild. So on his early morning walk, Alan found some up at the house next door to us, which is vacant at the moment, and the house that we were originally going to be staying in. So Mal and Mylene come up to shoot half a day here, but unfortunately the ants are not in raiding mode, and are not interested in eating anything.

On Sunday we take a drive up Matapalo, though it is raining the entire time, so we don’t find much out an about. The river crossings to get there though are very interesting!

The road at Matapalo

Week 10 - Costa Rica

While in Orlando, we were staying at the Buena Vista Palace in Downtown Disney. So on Monday, after our huge day at the Magic Kingdom, we have a day swimming in the pool, playing at the playground and doing not all that much. We went out to dinner with Mal and Mylene to Rainforest Café in Downtown Disney.

More photo opportunities with princesses!

Downtown Disney. The giant Stitch was spitting out water

Tayen and I getting spat on by Stitch!

A giraffe outside the Rainforest Cafe

Inside the Rainforest Cafe (which was also a souvenir shop)

Tracy the Talking Tree - Saige was terrified of her!

We were up early on Tuesday as we are due to fly out to San Jose. The girls were tired from our few days away, so they slept through most of the flight, which was nice! We arrive in San Jose and have to stay overnight until our domestic flight to Puerto Jimenez on Wednesday. We got some lunch from a local panaderia (bakery) and hangout at our hotel (The Trapp family Inn), walking around the gardens looking for bugs and watching a bit of television (which we don’t have at all in Dos Brazos, so it’s a bit strange sitting in front of the TV after so long!)

Arriving back to our hotel in Orlando

Tayen excited because their new toys Woody and Jessie had moved from where she had put them - "They talked!!"

The flight from San Jose to Pto. Jimenez was quick and easy compared to a 7 hour drive! We arrived back home to find an email announcing the arrival of a new nephew – Robbie and Emily have a new baby boy – Archer Ben. He was born on the 1^st September, a day after Annie’s birthday and a shared birthday with our niece, Laura. Tayen and Saige are excited to have a new cousin!

Archer Ben Henderson

We still had a week of animal collecting time before filming starts again, so Alan organised to go to the Osa Conservation Organisation (Friends of the Osa) research station to go collecting actually within the Corcovado National Park. He was staying there with Steve, and they are away for 2 nights. This means that the girls and I were without a car, which was a little daunting since we are so far away from town.

Alan gets rained out the first night he was away so doesn’t find all that much. He met a few other people who were staying there researching various animals. One guy in particular was searching for a micro bat species, and he found a colony right outside his cabina! The second night Alan was away was a bit drier so he and Steve managed to find some animals to use on set.

Alan arrived home on Saturday afternoon, and was looking forward to catching up on the footy scores that he had missed the night before. We don’t have the best internet connection here at home, so we haven’t been able to stream any live games, but Alan was able to listen to ABC radio for past games. The best we could do after the game was to search Youtube, and he managed to find half the game and the highlights. He was very happy to learn that the Cats had won over Collingwood in the last game prior to the finals.

As I’ve mentioned before Tayen is such a good wildlife spotter. On Saturday afternoon she raced out the front door, shouting that there were Macaws close by. She said that she had heard them and thought they might be in our backyard. Well, she was right! We had 4 Macaws in a tree in our backyard, the closest we had seen them land yet. They are such magnificent birds!

Saturday night Alan went out bug hunting with Tristan and Armelle, and after talking to them about searching for bugs in different habitats, we decide to take a road trip to north western Costa Rica, on the Nicoya Peninsula. It will take us a whole day to get there, so we plan to leave early the next morning.

Sunday was Father’s Day back in Australia, so while Alan was away Tayen, Saige and I made him some cards and the girls did some drawings for him.  We presented them to him on Sunday morning, before getting ready to leave on our road trip. As things normally go with the Henderson’s, we got a later than expected start at 9:30am. After an 8 hour drive (with at least one wrong turn off the freeway!) we arrive in Puntarenas where we need to catch a ferry across the Gulfo de Nicoya to Paquera. We arrive in Paquera at 6:30pm, then decide to drive a little further to check out the habitat. It’s a little disappointing to find that it’s not all that different from the Osa Peninsula. We find a place to stay in Tambor, at the Costa Coral hotel. After such a long day travelling, we are exhausted, and only have the energy to search for bugs around the hotel gardens. We find some millipedes we haven’t seen before, so that’s a little encouraging. Hopefully tomorrow night will bring some more new species.

Alan and the girls on the ferry on Father's Day

Our ferry (or at least one very similar to ours!)

Sunset over Costa Rica from the Golfo de Nicoya