Who's afraid of a poison-dart frog

There is an amazing botanical garden on the way into Puerto Viejo that we like to visit called Jardin Botanica La Isla. We went there this past Sunday to buy some new plants for our window boxes. Luckily I brought the camera with me because there was an abundance of tiny red Poison-dart frogs hopping throughout the bromelaids, just waiting to have their photos taken. I was so fascinated by these little guys that I borrowed a book from a neighbor, A Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica, Twan Leenders, published by Distribuidores Zona Tropical, S.A. copyright 2001. I have summarized the following details from my research for those of you that find the whole topic of Poison-dart frogs fascinating. For those that who hated biology you may want to stop reading now and just enjoy the photos. Here is what I have found out about these tiny frogs:

There are 133 species of frogs and toads in 8 families found in Costa Rica. The Poison-dart frogs are in the Dentrobatidae family. The Dentrobatidae family includes 8 species in 3 genera: Colostethus (3 species), Dendrobates (3 species) and Phyllobates (3 species). The Poison-dart frogs made famous by Hollywood movies are from this latter genera, a South American species called Phyllobates terribilis. The toxin on the skin of this species is the strongest animal toxin known to biologists and is sufficient to kill 10 adult humans. It is this toxin that is used in blowguns used by indigenous people from the Choco region of Columbia for hunting (for monkeys, sloths and other food - quite sure they don't hunt people although I am sure it could be tempting). The secretion from the frog's skin contains a strong neurotoxin. They cover the darts and arrows with this secretion. When the dart or arrow pierces or even grazes the skin of the target animal the neurotoxin can cause total paralysis, or even cardiac arrest, within minutes. The book, A Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica, goes on to state that recent studies have indicated that the source of the chemical compounds (alkaloids) responsible for the toxicity of the skin secretions may be from the TINY ANTS that make up a large percentage of the frog's diet.

The frogs at Jadin Botanica La Isla that are in my photos are also known as Strawberry Poison-dart frogs but they are not the ones used by the Columbian tribes in their blowgun darts. These adorable creatures are from the same Dentrobatidae family but are from the species Dendrobates pumilio. They are found throughout the Caribbean lowlands of Costa Rica. Although they are very small measuring from 3/4 to 1 inch (19 to 24 mm), their bright red-orange coloring and smooth skin makes them hard to miss. They lay their eggs in the concave part of a leaf or shallow depression in the ground, which explains why the ones at the garden were romping throughout the bromelaids. Their diet is largely comprised of tiny ants and they can reach 5 to 6 years of age. Their skin toxin is not deadly to humans but the author of my research book gave an anecdotal account of an encounter he had after touching their skin. After he had handled one of the frogs, he wiped the sweat off his face with his hand and thinks he must have accidentally ingested some of the toxin residue as he he had trouble swallowing and breathing for the next 30 minutes.

I hate tiny red ants. They bite me. It hurts for days. Nothing stops the itch. I am thinking about adding lots of bromelaids to my yard. I believe there are benefits to having a yard full of tiny red Poison-dart frogs instead of tiny red ants.

Exploring the interior

I've always wanted to visit the indigenous communities in the Talamanca Mountains on Costa Rica's Caribbean side. Saturday, June 12th, afforded us the opportunity to one of them, The community of Bambu, which is sometimes labeled as Bratsi on maps, was holding their first Feria Organica to celebrate the success, personal and financial, of the community's transition to organic farming. We took the 9:30 AM Sixaola bus out of Puerto Viejo with plans to hope on the next bus out of BriBri heading for Bambu. Thirty minutes later we were in BriBri only to find out the next bus for Bambu would not come until noon. Anyone who has ever been to BriBri can tell you there is just not a whole of to do there. But luck was with us and we found a pizza-internet restaurant to hang out in. Restaurant Terrible, yes, that's right. However there is an accent mark in Spanish and the pronunciation is slightly different. Terrible is what the locals call the owner, an expat named Terry. Swapping tales and sampling their pizza, macaroons and brownies made the time fly by. On to Bambu.

Unlike the cushioned buses that come in and out of resort towns like Puerto Viejo, the bus to Bambu was very basic with hard resin seats. The 30 minuten trip was fun as we followed along the riverbank of the Suretka River (we actually thought it was Rio Sixaola at the time) opposite Panama. After passing the very, very small community of Chase (or Shasse) we began an uphill climb, over 3 flowing streams and onto the Bambu Cultural Center. The Center consists of a large traditional thatched-roof structure which housed most of the produce and artesians. There was also a small all-purpose grocery store, a bar-meeting hall, a public restroom and another small thatched roof building which was being used to cook tamales. There were gigantic organic avacados, lots of organic plantains and bananas, organic cocoa made into chocolate milk and all types of delicious homemade foods. We tried quite a few items and came home with some organic chocolate (no sugar). The pork tamale was one of the best I've tasted anywhere. The return bus came by at 3 PM and it was back to civilization for us. Wonderful way to spend a day.

Putting your best foot forward... Flip Flops or Tevas.

It's one of those questions
I ask myself each morning.
In the Caribbean region of
Costa Rica, especially in
beach towns like Puerto Viejo
and Cahuita, everyone -
no exaggeratiopn - everyne,
wears flip flops. Walking, riding bicycles, driving motorcycles or scooters. In dresses and bathing
suits. Doesn't seem to matter. Everyone wears flip flops. Well, I do a lot of walking and it's not all
beach walking. We live in the mountains a few miles from the beaches so I often walk down the
dirt road to take a bus. Sorry, but I haven't seemed to master the fine art of "hiking" in flip flops
on mountain roads and have selected Tevas as my shoe of choice. The sole is much sturdier
and the straps guarantee that the sandal is still on my foot when I've made it to the bus stop. 
I was convinced that Tevas were the way to go. Until today. Today the sole came off of my
second pair of Tevas in two weeks! The only explanation I can think of is that it is too drastic
for shoe glue to go from the 0% humidty of Arizona to the 80% humidity here. I 've now glued
them back on using Costa Rican approved and produced glue. I'm trying to adjust to flip flops
while they dry but my feet aren't cooperating. Apparently there are special toe muscles that help
you keep them on your feet while you walk. Another set of muscles I am lacking I guess!

Revisiting Cahuita or A Day at the Beach

This story is more about the pictures than the words, so let me begin. It was a beautiful, sunny Saturday morning. Laundry was done. Banana tree chopped down. Nothing left to do but head for the beach. Since we also had a hankering for Chinese food (yes, Chinese), our decision was easy. We headed for Cahuita National Park. A gorgeous yellow sand beach with changing rooms, shower facilities and conveniently located next to a Chinese food restaurant. The water was perfect - green, clear and warm. The food was great, portions large accompanied by cold beer. After lunch we took a short stroll around a few side streets we had never explored - the flower was on one of these. What could be better than this? Well, to our amazement and delight, the howler and capuchin monkeys were out playing in full force just inside the park. This is very unusual, particularly for the shy howler monkeys, who are more often heard than seen - especially this close up. Whole families. Wow.

Discovering Hone Creek

I remember when we started to look at properties on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. most of the properties near the beach, were out of our price range. The ones that seemed most affordable seemed to be located in a place called Hone Creek. Trouble was, we couldn't even find Hone Creek on the map! Sometimes we would find a place called Hotel Creek, sometimes a Home Creek, but very rarely Hone Creek. So here it is, 3 years later, and Hone Creek is turning into one of the "hottest" areas in this part of the Caribbean. The epi-center, if you will, is at a "Y" in the highway. One fork leads to the north to Limon and San Jose, the other fork leads to BriBri and Panama, and the last one leads to the beaches of Puerto Viejo and the Gandoca-Manzanillo National Wildlife Refuge. Buses are frequent in all directions along this route and taxis are becoming plentiful as well. This strategic location has made Hone Creek the perfect spot for the area hospital/clinic, large grade school, 2 large grocery stores, and a modern, well-supplied hardware & building supply store. This was all here when we left in October. Now, 6 months later, there is a multi-bay service station (see ohoto), an internet cafe (that's Gordie sitting outside using their WiFi), there is a bakery, a new soccer field with adjacent restaurant, a clothing boutique, and a delivery Ital-Tico pizza place. There is now also municipal water available to the homes along Carbon Road (our road). So, although we will probably keep our water connection to the mountain spring, we plan to hook up to the municipal water as well so there will always be a water source. Now that's what I call progress.