Hiss ‘n’ Things, Inc.
Highlights of Trip
5
It felt like I just walked into my home away from home. "Don
Jim, como esta? Muy bien, y tu?" We had just arrived at the Hotel Villa
Lapas, after shaking hands with all the familiar faces and after checking
in, I knew I would wind down from the fast pace of the last 24 hours, which
took me from the Florida Keys to this spot in Costa Rica that I have come
to love.
It started twenty-eight hours ago when I went over my packing list of all
the things I needed to bring for my fifth trip of "Costa Rican Herping
Adventures". Taking Herpers to Costa Rica has become a twice a year event
for me, which I enjoy immensely. But getting from here to there is filled
with anxiety. With all the booking of the hotels and car rentals and airlines
taken care of in advance. For now my only immediate responsibility was to
get myself to the airport on time and hoping everyone else did the same. I
was packed and leaving well in advance and heading for my son's house here
I would leave my van and he would take me to the airport. I got to the airport
with time to spare, I was to meet two of my fellow travelers at the Martin
Air check in counter. I spotted Andrew right away; I spoke to him about the
trip at a snake show a year before, and he was the only one I had met before.
We were shaking hands when I heard my name called; I turned and saw Danny
waving to me from the bar. OK, everything smooth so far. We check our luggage
and head for the terminal. I breeze though inspection and the other two went
though the hole nine yards. But soon we were on our way to the gate. We waited
a while for boarding and got acquainted, next we were in the air and two and
a half hours we were landing in Costa Rica. Our luggage came with no problem
but Andrew had made a couple of homemade snake sticks that were a bit to long
to fix in his luggage. So he duct taped them together and sent them as luggage.
We had to wait until the end when they brought out the surfboard and other
odd shaped items. Immigration and Custom were fast; next outside we had a
twenty-minute wait for our ride to the Hotel Irazu
After check in we met in the bar to wait for our other four herpers coming
in on a later flight. I knew I would have no problem recognizing them because
they would be two 16 years old boys traveling with their fathers. They introduced
themselves as Pat and his Father Dave and Denny and his Father Dave. This
is the first time I allowed anyone this young on a trip. But judging from
these two fine young man if won't be the last. They check in and joined us
for drinks as it turned out Danny and I ones drinking alcohol. They wanted
to get something to eat and left. I turned in early to get a head start on
tomorrow. We met at 8 AM in the hotel lobby to go for the rental cars. This
always takes more time then you can believe but finally we got back to the
hotel with our two rental cars. Now we packed, check out and were on our way
for some herping.
4/30
So, here we are at the Villa Lapas having lunch and Danny is finishing his
second beer when he asks me how many cajones for the beers. After explaining
to him that their money is colones not cajones and you didn't have to pay
extra for your drinks, just ask for one when you want one. I know this is
a hard concept to understand but if you try you'll get use to it. The young
guys were already trying to catch spiny tail iguanas and basilisk lizards.
They aren't having any luck but I know it's just a matter of time. We are
going to hike the jungle tails in an hour so I tell everyone the meet in front
of my room. At the appointed time we get together and I explain the main hazards
in this Rain Forest is the Fer de Lance. This area has an abundant supply.
They are an ambush predator and hang out at the edges of the games tails.
And because the game uses the same trails we do, be careful, they bland perfect
with the forest floor. We caught a few poison
arrow frogs, and of course we came across leaf cutter ants carrying pieces
of leaves to their burrows. This is fascinating the first few times you see
it and everyone takes a lot of pictures. Saw and heard many different types
of birds a few small geckos but no snakes on this outing.
I asked everyone to please be in front of my room at 5:30 just before dark
so I can give a demonstration on the catching venomous snakes we may encounter
over the next few days. I have two homemade snake baggers that consist of
a flat 1/8 x1/2 inch aluminum rod shaped to fit a pillowcase. I explained
when using your snake hook to bring the snake into the bag try to do it with
one motion because once you touch a fer de lance he will move so quick you
think your dealing with a racer. I explained to get him in the bag then lift
the bag quickly and use your snake hook to pin the snake to the bottom. Then
I use a half size Rubber Maid sweater box to cover the end of the bag with
the snake in it. Put one knee on the box holding it the ground tie the part
of the pillowcase on the out side of the box. Turn the box with your snake
hook and use the hook to put the bag into the box and put on the lid. Then
put the box in the trunk of the car and leave it there until we take picture
and release the snake in the morning. That is the only way we handle venomous
snake on this trip and it you do otherwise and I see it or find out about
you will be on the first bus back to San Jose in the morning.
OK, guys let eat and get on the road and see that we can find.
We pack up the car for the night's hunt and walk to the restaurant I'm just
getting my place then Denny comes run up the tell Pat has found a Fer de lance.
Denny take us back to the location right by the pool on a concrete walkway
very close to a landscape lamp is coiled a small Fer de lance half covered
by a plant. My guess is the light is attraction bug to the light and the bugs
for attracting frogs and the frogs are, well you know! So, because Pat found
this guy we are going to let him bag it. He followed the procedure flawlessly
and caught his first Fer de lance. Hey, guys let eat before it all gone. That
night in addition to Pat's Fer de lance we caught a Red Tail Boas and a Cat
Eye Snake. We also found 3 more Fer de lance DOR. Not a bad start.
5/1
At breakfast we all talked about the herps we caught and saw the night before.
We decided to go into Jaco before lunch; Jaco is a small town about a twenty-minute
drive from the hotel. When we got back we teamed up for another walk on the
Rain Forest trails, same as the day before. Many interesting insects, birds,
frogs but we saw no snakes or mammals. After that we spent the rest of the
afternoon in the pool.
At dinner the boys and the two Dave's said they wanted to stay around the
hotel and not road hunt tonight. OK with me but Danny, Andrew and I were going
to road cruise and catch up with the other later in the evening. After 3 or
hours we headed back to the hotel. We caught one cat-eye snake for our efforts.
The boys on the other hand bagged 2 Fer de lances and let another go because
they were out of bags. They also got a cat-eye snake all around the hotel.
Well, we couldn't let the night go by without trying to even the score a little.
Danny said he was hitting the sack but Andrew and I were game. I decided to
walk the forest trails. We crossed the river and headed in to the dark. We
moved slowly examining the ground and the trees and just listing to the jungle
night sounds. I was in the lead and Andrew was maybe 15 feet behind me. I
had my headlight aimed up the path Andrew looking out to the side. All the
sudden they're was a tremendous noise very close to me and squatted down as
a reflex. I hadn't seen a thing but Andrew had. His headlight picked up some
motion, a head came up and looked right at him and then bolted with lighting
speed. We had been within 20 feet of an Ocelot on the ground at night in the
Rain Forest. This is a very rare event for anyone to have the good fortune
to wittiness in the 21st. Century. We didn't come across any else that night
but that was more then I could have hoped for.
5/2
We had just finished breakfast and I was walking out of the restaurant when
a young couple said to someone in their tour group that they had just seen
an Eyelash Viper. I ask her where and when she said on the Skywalk just a
few minutes ago. She said they had just come back from the Skywalk tour. The
Skywalk is on the hotel property (over 500 acres) and the Skywalks are suspension
bridges built between the mountains at a height of the tree canopy. Early
in the morning many birds and small mammals are often seen from the Skywalk.
Early morning is the best time for this tour. I found Edwardo who usually
conducts the tours and ask him about the Eyelash Viper. He didn't know anything
but he found the guy who lead the tour and told him to take us up there. I
let the other in our group know to get their cameras and come on. We had an
Eyelash Viper to find. We drove up the mountain and stopped a little before
the beginning of the Skywalk. We took a short cut in and headed back up hill.
On the way in the guide pointed out a sloth in the treetop moving very slowly
eating leaves. We crossed a couple of suspension bridges and about 30 feet
beyond in a huge tree, which I couldn't reach even halfway around with my
arms fully extended, about 8 feet off the ground a sizable limb stuck out
and on it lay a beautiful Golden Eyelash Viper
right next to the trunk of the tree. With my bagger and snake hook I would
be able the reach him. But first, let's get all the pictures you want before
we disturb him. Everyone had made all the pictures they wanted, now it was
up to me to bag him. I knew if he got off the limb and on to the ground it
would be very unlikely I would be able to make the catch because of the steepness
on the mountain at this spot. I put the bag under him and moved him gently
with the snake hook and he crawled on to the bag frame and I moved him over
the path we were standing on. Easy as pie. We
took close up pictures until everyone was happy.
I put him back on the same limb I found him on and we left. We were in two
cars and for some reason the car I was driving stayed behind for about twenty
minutes after the other car went down. On our way down we met the other car
coming back up. We both stopped in the middle of the road and they said that
Edwardo was upset because he wanted to take pictures. So they were going back
to get the snake and take him back to the hotel. Oh hell, we had to go catch
that Eyelash Viper again. Well!
You know how herpers hate that sort of thing. Oh well, we have to keep Edwardo
happy. I drove down until I found a spot I though might be safe enough to
turn around and headed back up. He was still there but further out on the
limb, no easy catch this time. After several minutes of planning it was decided
that Denny (the lightest) would climb on Andrew's (the heaviest) shoulders
and reach with a set of tongs and lightly grab him. It worked but not before
Andrew and Denny almost went down the side of the mountain. But we have our
Golden Eyelash Viper for the second time. On the four trips preceding this
one we only came across one small normal colored eyelash viper dead on the
road. This was another first for me, 30 years of running around Costa Rica
and this was my first Eyelash Viper. A lifetime goal realized. Could it get
any better? This for me was like our first trip when I caught a Crocodile
another lifetime goal. Well, time to take this baby to the hotel for a photo
op.
On the way back to the car we all were all walking a little slower and looking
a little harder. As we were going I hear Andrew tell Danny if we see another
Eyelash Viper Andrew was going to let Danny stand on his shoulders and catch
the next one. Everyone laughed because both of these guys are close to 300
pounds. I looked up in a small tree and at about 9 or 10 feet off the ground
I see something and I can't believe my eyes. I quickly moved to another angle
it was still there. I moved again and yes, I'm seeing what I think I'm seeing.
I yell to Danny to get up on Andrew's shoulders because I've got another Golden
Eyelash Viper spotted. The cameras started rolling again, after getting
shots all natural, we let Andrew push the tree over so we could get close
up with the snake still in the tree. This was not at all like the first mellow
one we encountered this guy was
fisty. We let Danny make the catch.
At the hotel we put the Two Golden
Eyelash Vipers on a big rock for pictures. A couple of tour buses with
about fifty people were there and they all started taking pictures. Their
guides started telling them how deadly they were, "If you get bitten
you won't live more than an hour." I didn't say a word to the contrary.
An hour later I was back on the mountain releasing these beauties in the area
we collected them. As I was walk out of the jungle after releasing the Eyelash
Vipers I thought of the fact that 7 herpers walked right by the second Eyelash
Viper 3 time each before it was spotted. It just gose to show you how hard
it is to find snake in the rain forest. But again there is a lot of jungle
out there. We only got a cat-eye snake the rest of that day, but what we missed
in quantity we made up for in quality. That night we again hit the trail hopping
for another chance at an Eyelash Viper. We didn't get another but crossing
one of the suspension bridges we came face to face with a Kinkajou
in the top of a near by tree. At one point he was only 6 to 8 feet away and
looked just like he was going to jump
right to the bridge. He seemed fastinated by our lights and showed no
fear of us.
5/3
Saturday morning was the beginning of another beautiful day. What did it have in store for us? Shortly after breakfast one of the boys found a Black-necked Crown snake. He was just a little guy around 15 inches with an interesting pattern. We took some pictures of that snake and some frogs and insects the boys caught. We hung out and after lunch the two boys, the two Daves and Andrew decided to go to the waterfalls. This is a six hundred foot waterfall which takes 45 minutes on the way down and a lot longer on the way up. Danny and I decided to walk the Skyway trail again. I was now set on another eyelash viper but it didn't happen. I did come across a 5 to 6 foot Spilotes laying off the trail behind a rope hand rail erected to keep you from falling down the steep mountain. I got over the rope and he just headed down with me right after him. Too bad for me I was no match for his speed on this steep slope. I lost sight of him and I had all I could do to keep from falling. I reached out and grabbed a tree which I wasn't surprised to find was covered with thorns. When in the rain forest when you really, really need to grab a tree, that tree will have thorns. That's one of the laws of the jungle. We hiked on with no luck and when the sky darkened, the temperature dropped slightly and I knew another law of the jungle was about to reveal itself. I told Danny we had better get a move on or we would be getting wet. We moved on but we were twenty minutes from the car. A few minutes later it came down and Danny learned first hand why it's called the RAIN FOREST. You have to be there you just can't believe the volume of water. We found out later that the guys were in the same deluge we were on their way up from the waterfalls. I'm glad they shared the experience with us I wouldn't want them to miss out. We rode the mountain road that evening and I caught a banded gecko early on. The banded geckos are found thru Central America but are rare in Costa Rica, this was only the second one I've come across in Costa Rica. Last we stopped at a bridge and the boys caught a big bull frog that was huge. Sometime later we stopped at a gate with an overgrown road that someone told us about. They said there was a fallen down house which we didn't find. We did find a large tree with roots growing down from the limbs, like a rubber tree. Anyway at the base we found a Fer de Lance and in the limbs and roots was a tarantula. The boys were very excited and tried to catch him but he outsmarted them and got to a place that was totally hopeless. We hunted in other places and an hour later we were back for the tarantula hoping he came back out. Well, he did and the boys were not to be denied. They came up with a plan to knock him off the limb to the ground where they would have a chance with him. They all got around in their appointed spots and knocked him off the limb. The problem was they couldn't find him until Andrew felt him walking across his neck. They made the catch and we headed back to the hotel for some well deserved sleep.
5/4
Today we are going on a snorkling trip to Isla de Tortuga. Andrew is a big diving fan and he got everyone except Danny to agree to the snorkling trip. I made the arangements to meet Marcelo at 8:00 AM and we showed up at 8:30 and he wasn't there. I don't know if he showed and left or didn't show at all. Andrew found someone elsa and we were on our way. I told the captain that we wanted to find some sea snakes. I told him the water conditions where we might find them. He found the right type of water conditions we needed but no sea snakes. Last year in May we hunted over five hours and came up empty. I didn't hold out much hope but we were on the water anyway so we gave it a shot. We ended up just like last year. The November trip is the time when we have the best chances of getting them. Last November everyone on the trip caught one. As we neared the island we dropped anchor in six or seven feet of water and everyone got a mask and fins and hit the water. This may be OK for someone without experience but for me it was extremly disappointing. All my life I've had the Keys and the Bahamas in my backyard and I have used them extensively and by comparasion the Pacific doesn't even get a beep on my scale. We were there about an hour then headed to a beach where the boats bring their tourists. Beautiful beach and we hung out there for two or three hours had a nice lunch laid around some more everyone fell asleep. By the time the captain was ready to go back the wind was up. We loaded up the boat and had four extra passengers for the trip back which in Costa Rica is not uncommom. It was rock and roll all the way back for the next hour plus. After dinner Andrew and I headed out for road hunting the boys wanted to hunt around the hotel. We found 4 dead fer de lances, caught a cateye snake and a baby iguana. They found 4 live fer de lances and caught a cateye snake.
5/5
Today being are last day at the Villa Lapas we all to do the Cable Ride. The cable ride is through the Rain Forest going from tree to tree for about a half of mile. After breakfast we found Edwardo and told him we were ready. After every one paid $30 we headed off to get our gear on. We were a great looking group. We walked into the forest across the river twice and finally we got to the tree rigged for takeoff. Our takeoff platform was about forty feet off the ground but we just had to cross a catwalk from the side of the mountain. We had safety lines on us the whole time we were off the ground and we all felt very comfortable. There is Denny and Danny waiting their turn. The cable ride takes a little over an hour we go from platform to platform. The platforms are built around the huge trees using cables the trees are protected from harm. They hook the pulley which is attached to your safely harness, to the overhead cable and away you go. This is Danny flying though air, he did not quite make it to the end and had to hand over hand to the platform. Everyone really enjoy the cable ride and will always remember it as a great experience. They all kinda hung out that day spending some time on the trails but a lot of time in the pool.
Standing Dave, Andrew, Denny and Jim. Seating Dave, Pat and Danny.
After dinner Andrew and I when on the road and came across two dead cateye snakes, a dead fer-de-lance. We caught a snake that had eluded us so far a Blunted Head Tree Snake.
5/6
Travel day. The two boys and the two Daves had an early flight out and they left the hotel around 7:30 AM. After a few rounds of good-byes they were on their way. They planned to stay in Miami a couple of days so they could hunt in the Everglades. I guess some people just can't get enough. They gave me an e-mail report on what they found, a few things but most memorably mosquitos. Danny, Andrew and I stayed around until 10:30 said good bye to the staff and headed out with one stop before the Airport. We planned to send a couple of hours at "World of Snakes" which is a Research, Breeding and Exhibition facility in Grecia, a few hour drive. We had rain almost all the way and I did not think we would be able to see the snake they have there. But as we approached the rain slowed to a sprinkle. I had seen the exhibit before so I stayed out of the rain. Danny and Andrew were given new umbrellas and off they when. They came back a while later to the house where I was drinking my second cup of coffee talking with the owner. He invited them to see his breeding area which is not part of the tour. I when along for this part and I glad I did Marcel had a new larger building since I was there six months before. It was much larger laid out well and had good lighting, something his other building lacked. We were treated to seeing baby Eyelash Viper only a few days old. That plus several other new arrivals. We left after buying some neat herp t-shirts, we gased up on the way, returned the rental car, got our ride to the Airport for a couple hour wait before takeoff. Danny and I enjoyed a couple of out last chance Costa Rican Beers before boarding. Up, up and away two and a half hours to Miami another two hours and I'm home in bed. It's always great to go but it's so,so good to be home.
Jim Kavney
