La Selva Biological Research Station covers 1600 hectares of lowland tropical rainforest and recovering habitat. It has accommodation for a limited capacity of 180 overnight guests. We are three of them and are staying in some of the lodges that the facility provides. I have to say that they are very good. The lodges have an excellent shower room and a decent bedroom area. My only complaint is that my fridge doesn’t work so I have to drink the beer fast before it warms up. My lodge has a double bed and a single bed each with a ceiling fan above. I have them running constantly, with the temperatures in the high 20s°C and the humidity high. Since my baggage is still missing, I’ve managed to dry a pair of laundered underpants beneath one of the fans.
The windows are curious in that there aren’t any. Or, at least, there is no glass in them. What look like normal windows are in fact empty lattice window frames backed only by insect screens. Given the temperatures, this is an excellent idea.
There is a veranda with two chairs at the rear of my room overlooking some of the forest. Sitting here with a JD & Coke would be great but beer has to do.
The weather pattern here, on what is known as the Caribbean slope of Costa Rica, is proving to be predictable at this time of year. We are experiencing sunny mornings that suit the hunting of odonata. Then, almost like clockwork, at about 13:00 every day the cloud has rolled in and rain starts, frequently becoming heavy, sometimes accompanied by thunder. The rain continues unabated all afternoon, through the evening and into some of the night. The rain, of course, puts a stop to any field activity.
We use the first part of the downpours for lunch. Today’s lunch was memorable because we watched a bedraggled 2-toed Sloth relocating itself in the trees beside the covered outside deck of our restaurant in the nearby town of Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui. The cameras were in the car.
After lunch in the pouring rain there is little to do. Thus, bedtime tends to come early. I have usually awoken twice before midnight.
Early morning, though, can be quite entertaining. The dawn chorus here is a wonderful cacophony of a troupe of Howler Monkeys keeping in touch with each other. It starts at around 04:00. Listening through my insect screen windows was OK but I was so captivated by their sounds that I took myself out onto the veranda to sit on one of the chairs and listen to something previously heard only on TV. Very soon, bats were zooming over the grass adjacent to my lodge, too.
We’re leaving the lodges at 06:30 and making for breakfast to capitalize on the morning’s mostly sunny, at least dry, weather, though generally the dragonflies aren’t any more awake than I am at that time of day. Breakfast at La Selva consists of very good fried eggs – soft not rubbery – served with the Costa Rican mixture of rice and beans known as Gallo Pinto, accompanied by a choice of potatoes, tortillas, maybe fried plantain, and what looked like some kind of corn bread, though don’t quote me ‘cos I skipped much of that; the rice and eggs was plenty for me. You don’t go hungry. Oh, there were small bowls of tropical fruits, too. The black coffee to wash it down was also very good.
We hit the extensive network of trails soon after 07:00. Maps are provided but I find them less than clear. Fortunately Mr. Leader uses his offline navigation app as a guide.
Our morning excursions in La Selva have produced a new phenomenon for me, not usually being at the bleeding edge of science. There’s a delightful little dragonfly here which is thus far “undescribed”, and it is noted in the Costa Rican Field Guide as such. It’s in the genus Perithemis but has no species name yet; the common name used is Dancing Amberwing.
I spent some time on a solo mission back up near the entrance to the reserve itself. There were some flowering shrubs/trees being worked by a fast, darting Hummingbird. It was too quick for me to snap it in flight at the flowers but it took frequent rests from its frenetic feeding activity allowing me a perched shot. I think this is known as a Green-crowned Brilliant.
As I was bird-watching, a family of Peccaries wandered through the grassy area where I was sitting. They didn’t hang around but I managed a hasty grab shot. They’re also called Javelinas or Skunk-Pigs, though they are not actually a true pig.
When we returned from today’s sortie soon after 12:30, I called into reception, largely to find their opening hours, this being a Sunday. A very welcome surprise awaited me; my luggage had already been delivered. It had made it’s way to San José yesterday on the KLM flight and was delivered to La Selva this morning. I was expecting it today but not this early. Changing addresses makes it difficult for a lost bag to catch up with you at the correct location. My fear was that it would miss me and be delivered to a location that we’d just left. Happily, we were staying at La Selva for four nights which had given it time.
Relieved and overjoyed does not come close to describing my emotions. Having to wear the same shirt and same trousers for four days in a sweaty, humid climate, even I was beginning to find myself offensive. Along with my other essentials, the thought of some clean clothes was too exciting. Not that the clothes would stay clean for very long here but at least I could now change. At last, I also now have my monopod, which I use habitually to hold focus points on small subjects like insects. I had not been completely convinced that the courier service understood exactly where to deliver my bag but happily they apparently did.
My first four days here have been decidedly unsettling. Hopefully the coming days will prove to be more relaxing.
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