Is the Rain Going to Stop

Grey-tailed Mountain Gem - Bosque de Paz

After the early morning session at Arenal in the dry, we left with high hopes we had seen the back of wet weather for a while. Sure, we were operating in and around cloud forest and rain forest, but a little dry wouldn’t go amiss. Our destination was the Bosque de Paz Lodge, which their website describes as; ‘a lush jungle paradise, surrounded by magnificent cloud and rain forests’.

Our route took us over the well-known Iguana Bridge near the town of Muelle, where we stopped to photograph the Green Iguanas. They weren’t hard to find and there were plenty of them, right outside the ice cream and gift shop beside the bridge. On one side of the shop there is an open balcony where it is possible to picture them in the trees. During the breeding season the males take on an orange colouring and there were a few such specimens to see on this occasion. It was very hot there and the ice creams are strategically placed, but a word of warning if you go there. Some of the so-called ice creams are actually sorbets.

Fairly soon it was time to move on so that we could arrive at Bosque in time for lunch. It was still dry when we arrived, but not for long and while we were checking in the heavens opened again. As with our time at Laguna del Lagarto, we were able to stay under a degree of cover to shoot hummingbirds in the rain and after lunch all of the group eagerly unpacked their cameras and got to work.

This was quite a challenging session as we tried to shoot a variety of hummingbirds hovering before dipping their beaks into the feeders. The session lasted until we had really lost the light and that was the cue to change to macro lenses and flashguns to venture into the grounds until dinner. In a circular walk of no more than 300m we found a variety of frogs, Katydids, Stick Insects, Flatworms, Praying Mantis, Spiders, Caterpillars, Snails and Moths.

We were very lucky at this location as we were the only guests and consequently had exclusive attention from the friendly staff. The food was very good, as it had been all the way so far, but some of us were tiring of the black beans and rice at every meal.

Next day was a succession of hummingbird set ups and opportunities to walk in the grounds between the sessions. There were one or two landscape images to be had here as well as the wildlife activity including a couple of Agouti and a rather tame White-nosed Coati that kept us amused during our visit. Some of us took the opportunity between sessions to repeat our efforts of the previous afternoon with the hovering hummingbirds.

As the light faded there was the chance to photograph the lodge, lit up and reflected in the river and waterfall that runs alongside it. Like the previous evening, we ventured out with the macro kit to see what we could find before dinner. Grasshoppers, Anole Lizards and the rather fine looking Virginia Ctenucha Caterpillar were added to the list this time.
Normally I don’t blog about bedroom activity, but on this occasion I’ll make an exception. While I was attending to a middle-of-the-night call of nature, Rose spotted a large spider on the wall beside the bed. Her instruction to me to put a glass over it, then seal the top of the glass with a sheet of paper before removing it to outside just wasn’t going to work. It was far too big for that. Calling on my ingenuity skills honed over 30 years as a fireman, I cast my eyes around the room to see what I could use. At this point one of the unusual phenomena encountered in Costa Rica came to my aid.

In general, the plumbing over there doesn’t allow for toilet paper to be flushed away, therefore receptacles are provided for it to be placed in there. The basket we had for this purpose was a perfect size, although there was no way an A4 sheet of paper was going to seal the top. So it had to be placed over the offending arachnid and then dragged down the wall on to the floor, checking all the while that it hadn’t escaped. Next it had to be dragged across the floor to the door about 4m away and out on to the balcony. Final act was to turn the basket on to its side and withdraw into our room, shutting the door and ensuring it hadn’t followed.

When we checked in the morning, the spider had gone to live elsewhere. It may have been harmless, but on the other hand not being a spider expert, it may not have been. We ventured down to breakfast and made ready for a whole day excursion out from Bosque, but more on that next time.