Katie and Rob, a wonderful couple I met, told me about Eco Park and the advantages of going there. Until someone actually points out some of the small creatures like frogs, you don’t know where to begin to look. A short taxi ride costing a couple of dollars took me to this park, where I found a small gift shop and asked for Elias like I had been advised. He was a young man of about 14 who worked in the park part-time. He was to be my guide for the next hour and a half.
With his assistance I learned what type of plants to look for and depending on whether it was rainy or not to turn the leaves over to find the blue jeans frog (aka poisonous dart frog), and the red-eyed frog depicted in so many brochures advertising Costa Rica. With such large eyes, I was told not to photograph the darling using flash as it seriously stuns the little fellow. This is a good practice to use in photographing all critters.
The path wound around the grounds and near a pond where I was able to see heron, turtle and caiman. We crossed a bridge and ended up at butterfly aviary. Just outside the aviary were large poster boards. Different leaves and cocoons hanging from them were pinned to the boards. The larva was attached to the type of food they eat. Whenever a cocoon was spotted in the aviary, it was brought out to this protected place. Some of them looked like a pair of gold earrings as you can see from the picture I took.
After walking through the aviary, we exited the other side where a bird feeder attracted some brightly orange-colored birds as well as the quetzal bird for which Costa Rica is famous. Running along the ground were adorable agoutis that reminded me of large guinea pigs. I kept creeping closer and closer trying not to scare them off and get a decent picture.
Elias spotted a sloth in the tree and proceeded to tell me about them. He said they do everything in the tree from sleeping to eating and only come down weekly to do their business. Again he pointed out the type of trees you are most likely to find them.
With the rain coming down I spent little time at the reptile exhibit. Not a fan of snakes I must admit the brightly colored yellow one and neon green one were quite beautiful.
I left the park armed with knowledge to help me locate some creatures without the help of a guide. The park opens at 9am and closes at dusk. The entrance fee is $5 dollars and I gave the young man a tip. Round trip cab fare is $6. People who work around the park are primarily volunteers more than willing to share their knowledge. There is a small giftshop with postcards and natural wood souvenirs.
I took what I learned to hiking Cerra Chato a couple of hours later.
From journal Fortunate La Fortuna & Me