Costa Rica Part 5

This morning after breakfast we walked to the nearby butterfly garden, where we had a guided tour.  Our enthusiastic guide was a young American woman who’d gone to college to study design, lost interest in her chosen field, dropped out, come to Costa Rica, fallen in love with the country and found her life’s work in environmental studies.  She escorted us through several large netted enclosures where the butterflies lived, mated and died.  In the first enclosure, the butterflies lived entirely on sugar water.  As the day progressed, the sun’s heat fermented the sugar water. As evening approached, the butterflies became slightly drunk. After three weeks of daily happy hours, they passed away. 

In another, larger enclosure, they lived on cut-up fruit, such as papaya.  Because of the vitamins and minerals in the fruit, these butterflies lived a few weeks longer than the sugar-water group. 

We also learned about the regimented work lives of the resident ants, saw specimens of hundreds of local insects, were amazed at the size and intricacy of several spider webs,  and heard a few hair-raising tales about scorpions hiding in boots.

I liked this sign outside the rest room in the reception area.

In the afternoon, we headed for Selvatura Park.  Our van soon caught up with a dozen riderless horses, all wearing saddles, which were trotting along in an orderly line. A helmeted cowperson on a moped was herding them. The van driver had to poke along behind them until they abruptly turned left and went down another road. 

At the park, we walked through a series of bridges suspended high near the top of the canopy, marveling at the profusion of trees and ferns.  A narrow steam of water meandered far, far below.  The air was filled with bird song. 

Phil, my sister, Barbara, and brother-in-law, Ron

Eventually, we noticed a peculiar zinging noise. Before long, we realized the zinging noise, sometimes accompanied by a scream, was coming from a couple of  ziplines, which could be seen from several of the bridges.

The zipline is a Costa Rican invention. It has escaped from its homeland and is seen in recreational areas world wide, including one at Savage Mill, not far from our home in Laurel, MD. Phil offered Ron a zipline ride for his 82^nd birthday, which fell on Wednesday, midway through our vacation.  Ron said he’d think about it.