Elizabeth's Secret Garden

Manuel Antonio National Park is just south of Quepos, Costa Rica. Its beautiful white sand beaches and primary forest makes it one of Costa Rica’s most popular parks. In the tropical humid climate flora and fauna thrive. The sloths, monkeys, and birds make their homes high among the trees. It takes patience to spot the wildlife before they see or hear you. The beaches at Manuel Antonio are exquisite with their clear blue skies and sparkling waters. As I stood gazing at the scenic oceanfront above, I felt as if I had stepped into a painting. Watching the the supple waters ripple, as they met the land, brought me peace and tranquility. The sounds of gentle waves and children’s laughter entered my ears.     This large iguana was soaking up the sun’s rays when I began to approach.  It was alert to my presence, but was not seriously bothered by my videoing and photographing. I learned that the iguana’s communication consists of various postures, movements, a...

  On January 18th our tour took us to Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica. My mom and I stayed at the enchanting Plinio Hotel. The hotel includes a restaurant, bar, pool, and its own private nature park. The open aired hotel is built up on a hill side and feels like a large tree house. http://www.hotelplinio.com/en/index.html   The restaurant specializes in Thai food, but also has a delicious Tico (the name referring to Costa Ricans) specials. My favorite drink was the mango smoothie which was a great energy boost! The atmosphere at the hotel was very relaxing with the hammocks, rocking chairs, and pool. I enjoyed writing in my journal while swaying in the hammock. Hotel Plinio Nature Park One of the main reasons my mom chose this hotel was so we could enjoy the free nature park. We also wanted to be close to Manuel Antonio National Park. Though Manuel Antonio National Park was close by, it was still necessary to take a bus. This tree housed a family of black vu...

For a year one of my dreams had been to see and film the Blue Morpho butterfly in its natural habitat. On January 13, 2010, I finally had my chance to search for one of the rarest Blue Morpho species, Morpho amathonte, in the jungles of Costa Rica. For five days I explored the jungles and climbed through waterfalls as I persevered to complete my ultimate goal. So far, I had only gotten a glance of the majestic Blue Morpho as it had glided through the rainforest canopy. Its brief appearance gave me the determination I needed to continue my search. On my last day up in the jungles, January 16, I courageously journeyed out by myself to a river. My only form of protection was an umbrella and a whistle for my call of 911. As I entered the serene world of the Blue Morpho, I began to hear the roar of the flowing waters. The rainforest trees provided shade and the sense of protection. On this day, I deeply felt an assurance that I was going to have the chance to film the Blue Morpho. God...

Many of my blog readers are probably wondering how I was able to post my first two blog entries in the middle of the Costa Rica jungle. Well it was not an easy task! For my first trip to the internet, we hitched a ride in the back of an old pickup truck. It was pitch dark and we were riding backwards on a bumpy dirt road on the edge of a mountain. Our destination for the internet connection was a school building out in the jungles. I was quite surprised when I realized we would be connecting to the internet on the outside, in the pitch dark, with only a small flashlight! The connection was a broken cable extending from the outside wall. After we checked for scorpions under the table and chairs, we plugged in and were thrilled that it worked. Our mini Dell laptop screen served as a light, but we quickly learned that the disadvantage was it attracted the night wildlife. They could see us, but we could only hear them! About this time our host decided to go pickup his motorcycle he ha...

After a morning full of hard work, my mom and I would cool off by submerging our legs in the fresh creek water in the pool. An umbrella was a useful tool for protecting ourselves from the unforgiving sun.  Coconut milk fresh from a coconut tree was another way to cool off. With the constant sweating, keeping hydrated is very important. We drank lots of water and consumed juicy fruits to supply our body with enough liquids.   At the VerdEnergia community we stayed at, the food is either grown on their land or purchased at the local market. The salad above contained greens from the garden, cucumbers, and was decorated with the purple flowers of a Butterfly Pea plant and the red flowers of a Hibiscus. The edible flowers were quite tasty!   Another vegetable grown right in the garden were beans. The hundreds of pods had to be picked off by hand. Then the pods had to be opened, the beans were next soaked, cooked, and finally eaten! The beans inside each pod...