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Timing Top
Herping is reportedly best during the
rainy season, which runs from May – November, with peak activity about
one month after the rains begin.
The progression starts with an explosion of invertebrates in the
leaf litter during the first steady rains, stimulating a feeding frenzy
by lizards. At the same time,
anurans begin chorusing and breeding like mad. These developments then prompt
increased activity of lizard- and frog-eaters, i.e., snakes.
During the dry season herp activity
drops off, and more so on the Pacific versant. The dry season is not quite as long nor
as dry on the Caribbean side of the
central mountain ranges, making it likely to be more productive than the
Pacific side at that time of year.
Guides Top
If your primary interest is to view
herps, the best piece of advice I can offer is to arrange
for guides. There is so much cover in the rainforest, and the
animals are so cryptic, that it is a big advantage to go with
someone who knows where to go, what to look for, and already possess
the relevant search image. In addition, there's lots
of bitey, stingy things in the jungle, and it's helpful to have someone
along who can ID them and provide the appropriate cautions.
Tours from the U.S.
One approach is to go
on a tour organized from the United States.
The advantages are
having all your logistics organized for you and being led by
knowledgeable guides. The disadvantages are cost, matching your
vacation to the tour dates, and having to stick to a structured itinerary
with a group of people. An internet search for "Costa Rica
nature tours" will turn up lots of sites, but for those interested
specifically in herping expeditions, I know of two companies that
regularly organize such trips: Green Tracks and Hiss 'n' Things. In addition, Matabuey.com occasionally
organizes trips from the U.S.
in conjunction with Osa Aventura (see Guides
below).
Local Guides
If you’re prepared to
deal with logistics, a less expensive and more flexible approach is to
make all your own travel arrangements and hire local guides.
A pair that I’ve used
and can recommend are Quetzal Dwyer and Monica Perez, Americans now
living in the southern Pacific zone of Costa Rica. They own and operate Parque Reptilandia,
a very professional and impressive Serpentarium near Dominical, and also
lead customized herp tours. They are very knowledgeable about Costa
Rican herps and where to find them, are quite
accommodating and willing to customize itineraries, and have excellent field
skills in spotting and handling herps.
Another local service
is Osa Aventura, operated by Mike Boston, a British herpetologist
living in Costa Rica. They specialize in expeditions of the
Osa peninsula on the southern Pacific coast, one of the wildest and most
beautiful parts of the country, and can customize tours for
herpers.
Eco-Lodges and Field
Stations
Eco-tourist lodges
often include accessible nature trails and resident naturalists who serve
as guides. An internet search for
"Costa Rica eco-lodges" will turn up many, but here are some
that have been popular with herpers: Marenco Beach and Rainforest Lodge,
Bosque del Cabo
Rainforest Lodge, and El Remanso
Rainforest Lodge, all on the Osa Peninsula; Esquinas Lodge near
Golfito in the southwest corner of the country; Hotel Villa Lapas near
Jaco on the central Pacific coast; and Rara
Avis on the eastern side of the country.
A similar choice
would be a biological field station that caters to tourists. One that’s easily accessible is the
world-famous La Selva
Biological Station located in Carribean lowland rainforest just a few
hours northeast of San Jose.
Although primarily a research and education facility, they also
accommodate eco-tourists.
Accommodations in the dormitory style housing are comfortable
and dining in the cafeteria is simple but adequate. There is an
extensive, well developed trail system and English-speaking naturalists
available for guides. The Organization for Tropical Studies,
which operates La Selva, also runs the Palo Verde and Las Cruces field stations
in different parts of Costa
Rica.
A more isolated
biological station is Cano Palma on
the northern Caribbean coast near
Tortuguero. There are several
miles of trails, as well as canoes for exploring the waterways, and
someone from the staff is usually available to serve as a guide. The facilities are very rustic and
meals are like home-cooking (nothing fancy but good-tasting and filling). There are no roads in this part of the
country, so to get there you need to fly from San Jose to Tortuguero (see Domestic Travel) where someone
from the field station meets you for the 20-minute boat ride to Cano
Palma.
Methods
and Equipment Top
Some words of warning:
First, Costa
Rica has some seriously dangerous
snakes, especially fer-de-lance (locally called terciopelo) which are
extremely common and cryptic. The
information I am sharing is in no way meant to encourage your coming in
close contact with them. It’s very
important to be properly equipped and maintain a safe distance.
Second, it’s important to have permission for your activity. Herping on private property without
approval could be punished as trespassing or illegal hunting, while
disturbing wildlife on protected public lands could be penalized as
well. And collecting is strictly
forbidden without first obtaining (difficult-to-get) permits. Even road cruising may cause you to
look suspicious and draw the attention of police.
All the more reasons for using a guide.
Methods
When I was on foot it
was mostly in undeveloped forest where there was very little artificial
cover. Did check in/under logs on occasion, but with so much
natural cover around --- mostly leaf litter --- the herps don't seem to
concentrate under logs the way they might in more
temperate habitats. Consequently,
I did virtually no flipping.
During the day I
found my best chance of seeing herps was to keep walking,
especially keeping an eye on the edges of trails, in hopes of spotting
movement when animals spooked or while they foraged. At night
I spent most of my time shining the trees and understory
plants, but it's also real important to watch where you step (we
found multiple terciopelo poised in ambush position right on or next
to trails). Main thing is to look for something light and slightly
reflective that looks out of place, whether on a branch, a leaf, a
trunk, or on the ground.
To see the greatest
number of snakes, probably the most productive method is driving at
night. Road cruising is basically
the same as anywhere, however, there are some special cautions:
1.
Potholes. Axle-breaking,
car-swallowing potholes. Take it
slow.
2.
The thing
you MUST watch out for when driving at night, especially near small
towns: People walking in the middle of the road.
You'll be driving along out in the country where it's very dark,
and suddenly there’s someone casually standing or walking in your
lane, not on the side of the road. Usually they're wearing
something dark, so you have virtually no warning. Sometimes it's
one person, sometimes a whole string of people. Doesn't matter what
time of night (we had to swerve to avoid hitting someone at 3:00 AM). Just keep your
eyes peeled and be expecting it.
3.
Police check-points. This can be an issue on roads leading
to, and not far from, the borders with Nicaragua or Panama. Have your passport ready and be
prepared to explain what you’re doing, possibly even get searched.
Equipment
Snake Hooks. On my first trip I
took tongs as well as snake hooks, but on the second I left the tongs
home. Besides being sort of heavy and awkward to travel with, the
greater majority of snakes I encountered were fairly small and easily
handled with a hook. Anything dangerous enough to require tongs,
like a terciopelo, I had already determined not to mess with too
closely. I'm experienced and comfortable handling hots,
but took a conservative approach to being in a foreign country
with dangerous, unfamiliar species in the middle of nowhere.
I also brought a field hook first time
around, but since we did very little flipping, it too stayed behind on
the second trip. Instead,
my tool of choice was a Collapsible
Hook by Midwest Tongs. Lightweight and took up
little room for travel, comfortable to carry and easy to place in a
pack or attach to a belt.
Lighting. For night hikes I used a headlamp
and a hand-held flashlight (both waterproof, a good feature for
herping the tropics). I found that using both sources increased my
field of view and improved my chances of seeing something, plus it's
important to have redundancy if something happens to one of your
lights. However, note that the
headlamp does attract bugs to the face and can shine right in other
people’s eyes if you turn to face them.
I use the Petzl
Duobelt LED 5 with 4 “C” batteries in a belt pack because it's less
weight on my head and gives longer battery life, though the cord
sometimes gets in the way. For a
flashlight I like the compact and bright Princeton
Tec 40.
Batteries. For my digital camera I used rechargeables (the current and
plugs are the same as in the U.S., no converters or
adaptors needed), but for flashlights I brought a whole lot of
alkaline batteries. The brands available in CR are not the best and
they're expensive. I found that I went through one set per
flashlight for each night that we did a night hike, which was
usually around 4 hours of hiking.
Boots. The most popular choice for hiking the
rainforest is high rubber garden boots.
Because
of the rain or wading in streams, something waterproof is preferred,
and leather boots with laces can become heavy and messy as they collect
mud. High rubber boots are presumed
to offer some degree of protection against smaller snakes, though I doubt
they would do much against the strike of a large viper. It is possible to
get them in a snakeproof
version, however, they tend to be stiffer, sometimes causing rubs or
making it a bit harder to maintain balance when flexing is required on
inclines/declines. Personally, I
prefer a pair of regular waterproof, snakeproof hunting boots (Rocky
has several different models). The
lacing is a pain and the Cordura nylon doesn’t shed mud quite as easily,
but I have found them far more comfortable and flexible. For added comfort it’s a good idea to
insert more padded insoles if the originals can be removed.
Clothing. Personally, I tended to keep myself fully
covered (long sleeves, long pants) for protection against bitey, stingy,
scratchy, itchy things.
Lightweight, fast-drying clothes are particularly useful for the
rainforest. I found it helpful to wear a hat, not so much
against the sun (which you don’t encounter much of in the forest), but
mainly for the rain and insects, especially at night with a headlamp
attracting bugs; the brim helps keep them somewhat away from your face.
Herp Books. The most comprehensive
book on CR herps is The
Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica by Jay Savage. Great to bring along if you have the
room, but far too big and heavy to carry around. Same goes for Snakes of Costa Rica
by Alejandro Solorzano. For a
portable field guide in English, A Guide
to Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica by Twan Leenders provides a general overview,
while Amphibians
and Reptiles of LA Selva, Costa Rica, and the Caribbean Slope by
Craig Guyer and Maureen Donnelly
has a more regional focus.
Maps and Travel Guides. International Travel Maps offers a Costa
Rica road map that’s more detailed than most, with a scale of 1:330,000
(though the lack of an index is bothersome), while topographic maps can
be obtained from Omni Resources. A Costa Rica travel guide (many
kinds available on Amazon,
etc.) is also good to have on hand as a general reference (I use Lonely
Planet Costa Rica).
Miscellaneous:
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Sealable plastic bags come in handy for examining small herps, especially
amphibians (and particularly if your hands are covered with insect
repellant). Also useful for
keeping gear dry inside your pack, bring a bunch of ‘em. For added protection, enclose desiccant
packets (those little bags of silica that come packaged with cameras,
etc.) in the plastic bags with electronics.
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Insect repellent is advisable, though, surprisingly, the rain
forest was not as buggy as I imagined it would be. Mosquitoes were never that numerous,
however, some do carry diseases and parasites, so I did
protect myself with 100% DEET, spraying my clothes as
well.
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Walkie-talkies were useful if we spread ourselves out of sight
while hiking, though sometimes the signal was weakened by the dense
forest.
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Basic first aid items, especially for bites and stings (didn't happen
much, but was good to have on hand when it did); moleskin for blisters;
and perhaps baby powder or antifungal stuff since you'll be hot and
moist in all those special places.
General Information Top
To learn more about general issues such as health, safety,
transportation, lodging, and other tips, I suggest getting a travel
guide to Costa Rica
to review in advance and bring along for reference. I also found it useful to check on-line
resources such as infoCostaRica.com,
the Consular
Information Sheet from the U.S. Department of State, and Traveler’s Health
Information for Central America from
the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
Beyond that, here are
some personal observations:
Driving. If
you're going to travel by car, I strongly suggest a vehicle
with 4-wheel drive (and don’t forget to ask for a AAA discount if you
have it, the major rental companies will honor it). Many of the
roads are in poor shape with treacherous potholes, and a car with
good traction and high clearance is strongly recommended. Road conditions also affect travel time
unpredictably. Besides potholes,
add in mudslides, bridges going out, trucks getting stuck, etc. and
long distance driving during the rainy season can easily double due to
delays and detours (it's worse in the southern Pacific zone than in
Guanacaste or the Caribbean lowlands because the terrain
is steeper, muddier, and crossed by more waterways). CR drivers can also be a
challenge. In Costa Rica
it's customary (though technically a violation) to ignore double-yellow
lines and to pass anywhere, including curves, hills, blind corners,
etc. Be careful. Finally, don’t leave your belongings in
your car. Daylight break-ins,
especially in the cities, are not uncommon.
Flying. Local flights have limited schedules
and connect through San
Jose.
Travel light: these are tiny little planes (they will
weigh both you and your luggage before boarding to make sure
the flight is not overloaded) and there's not a whole lot of room
for excess baggage. You can
purchase tickets in advance on-line from Sansa, the
domestic airline of Costa
Rica.
Insurance. I did make a point of
buying travel insurance, not so much for trip cancellation or
interruption (although that was certainly a potential benefit), but
mainly for medical expenses (including emergency evacuation) since my
regular health insurance wouldn't be accepted overseas. Travel insurance is relatively cheap
and very worthwhile, in my opinion. You can compare policies and
prices at Insure.com.
Telephone. Another thing we decided
to do for safety and convenience was to rent a cell
phone (available through most auto rental agencies) since ours
did not work overseas. Besides being able to call back home or
reach people we had to meet in Costa Rica, it also gave us
some security being able to call for help in an emergency. There are also
local calling cards that can be purchased in CR or perhaps
international calling cards that can be used from CR, but we never really
checked into those. You can probably get more info either from a
travel guide book or from your hotel desk clerk.
Lodging. Our first and last nights were spent at
the Hotel
Aeropuerto in Alajuela (a San
Jose suburb where the airport is located).
The hotel is just five minutes from the airport, comfortable and clean,
the clerks are friendly and English-speaking, they have a restaurant with
decent food, and we felt perfectly safe there. Their rates were
better than other nearby hotels, and included in the price of a room is a
nice breakfast buffet plus free transportation to/from the airport.
Getting from the airport we just called the hotel upon our arrival
and they sent out a driver, and getting back to the airport we made
arrangements through the desk clerk (even a 5:00 AM departure was no problem, the
driver was there waiting for us).
If you anticipate getting in late, as we did, be sure to let them
know in advance. They had no problem with our arriving after midnight, but the entrance to
the hotel is locked late at night and you might not be admitted after
hours unless they’re expecting you.
Money. I found that it was more convenient and
economical to exchange money at the hotel, which usually offered
better conversion rates than the banks or airport kiosks. However,
in general, I put everything I could on credit cards. If you do the same, be sure to call your credit card
company first to let them know you'll be in CR; they may block usage if
they see unexpected charges from overseas. In larger cities credit
cards are readily accepted for most expenses (auto rental, gas stations,
hotels, restaurants, souvenir shops, etc.). However, in small towns and rural areas
credit card acceptance is more uncertain, so be prepared to pay
cash. And if you happen to be
somewhere that doesn't accept credit cards and you're short of colons,
most places will take dollars (and give you change in colons) at varying
conversion rates, depending on where you are.
Kid-friendly Places. Not
having traveled to Costa
Rica with children, I can’t speak from
personal experience, but my brother Ron says: “Our experience with the kids at Manuel
Antonio (on the southern Pacific coast) was very good. There are a
number of decent hotels in the town (some with pools), a kid-friendly
beach (boogie boards, etc), & squirrel monkeys in the trees. The
national park is next door (you walk across the beach and wade across a
tidal cut). It should be ok for herping - lots of trails in the park and
a fair bit of habitat diversity. We saw one snake (chironius?) in the
forest, a leptophis near the beach, many amievas, leptodactylus,
smiliscus, basilisks and a sloth on one hike. And tons ctenosaurs and
mooching capuchins on the beach, of course. There are private guides with
spotting scopes for hire who hang out at the entrance to the park.”
Our friends Quetzal and Monica, herp guides who
operate Parque Reptilandia
near Dominical in the southern Pacific
zone, make these suggestions: “As far as kid-friendly places in our area,
we recommend Hacienda Baru
(great hiking trails, bird watching, zipline tours, short walk to a nice
beach, restaurant) and Hotel Rio
Mar (fabulous swimming pool, restaurant & bar, tourist center
featuring loads of local activities). “
Finally, parents travelling with children might want to check out Travel
for Kids: Costa Rica.
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