Betsy's Blog

  Have you ever stayed on top of a cliff overlooking a rainforest river? I did in a Costa Rican home above the Rio Claro River. The American homeowner has lived there forever and built an identical house next door for rentals. He first came to the edge of this small town at the age of 18 with his father. They traveled in a dugout canoe with a tiny motor down the river for over an hour to this dirt road town on Drake Bay. His father married a local woman and built the house by hand. Homes with a view now sell for over a million dollars. The owner now lives here full time with his American wife overlooking the beautiful bay. His daughter lived in the guest cottage seven years ago. She ended up pregnant with a local boyfriend and had a baby. Then she moved back to the U.S. with her son and eventually got married. She has a two-year-old with her American husband. Life moves on and I wonder if she ever returns or has any contact with the Costa Rican father of her first child. Her mother...

                      Did you know there are six species of toucans? Have you walked in a rain forest with the chatter of wild animals around you? I did that within the safety of a Costa Rican EcoPark. Volunteer tour guides walked us around the park of rescue animals. The facility mimics their natural habitats and cares for them. The national government must grant permission to release them into the rainforest. Some of the wild animals never get approval to exit due to permanent injuries or socialization. They will live their lives in this preserve being fed and cared for. Humans are to blame for many injuries of these lifetime residents of the EcoPark. Wild animals have been mistreated in local homes or chained up outside. For example, an ocelot hides in a treetop wooden box in the EcoPark by day and only comes out at night at the EcoPark. He is fed and cared for by employees from a distance. The ocelot was found injur...

                                Have you ever walked in a rainforest under a green canopy of colorful flowers? I did today along the Costa Rica shoreline. From the jungle, I could see the Caribbean Sea with crashing waves and bikers with surfboards. The tall umbrella trees protected me from the rain as colorful tree frogs, snakes, and spiders climbed in the branches above.     Tree frogs stay awake all night guarding their trees. Once they grow up, they never touch the ground again. Tree frogs love the rain and sleep all day perched on green leaves that match their green legs. Webbed tree frog feet have tiny suction cups to grip the branches. They spend years in the trees catching insects with their long, sticky tongues. They hunt by closing their eyes until a snake or bird comes too close and then they spread their colorful toes to surprise their prey. Quickly, they climb ...

            “Do you want to go to Panama? It’s only half an hour away?” “Sure, why not? How do we get there?” “I know a driver who can take you to the boat to cross the river. It’s an adventure!” “OK. When can we go?” “How about in an hour?” “Hmmm...should we bring our passports?” “Absolutely not!” So our adventure began to visit a new country. We are staying on the Costa Rica beach with a pool. The surfers are out every morning and the water is warm and the white sand is hot. We are surrounded by palm trees, tropical flowers, and the sound of monkeys and exotic birds. We spent the drive to Panama looking for sloths in the trees. The local driver showed us the tallest palm trees to search for them, but no luck. We drove along the beach through tiny, rustic villages and abruptly turned left into the jungle. We passed a Chiquita banana plantation surrounded by a tall, chain link fence. There was a green plastic bag hanging on each banana tr...