Poison Dart Frog

February 16, 2022

   After breakfast at our homestay, we bid a heartfelt goodbye to Sandra and her family. Soon thereafter we met our Juanilama naturalist who would be taking us to the famous La Leona waterfall. 

  Within the Juanilama community is the Juanilama Ecological Reserve, a protected primary forest of 62 acres that includes an impressive waterfall. The reserve is bordered on the northeast side of the Pocosol River and also by the Quebrada a Leona, from which the majestic waterfall, La Leona, is named. 

The constant humid conditions create an abundance of flora and fauna. This reserve is protected by the Juanilama community and the National System of Protected Areas of Costa Rica.

   We began our 2-mile hike to the waterfall through the primary forest. It had poured yesterday afternoon and evening so the air was quite humid, and the trail was slippery. 

We all were cognizant of camouflaged snakes and I for one was constantly looking down at the trail. So were quite a few of the others.

     We heard the thundering sound of the waterfall before we saw it. As we headed down the trail and rounded the corner, we came to a stunning sight, the La Leona waterfall. It was glistening in the sunlight. It was beautiful to behold.

The sunlight streaming through the trees into the waterfall's mist created an ethereal aura.

Our naturalist guide from Juanilama stopped to show us a non-poisonous frog on a leaf. 

It then hopped from the leaf onto his shirt and much to the guide's consternation, the tiny frog didn't want to move.

Our naturalist was finally able to coax the frog to release itself from his shirt. He scooped the frog into his hands and bent down to put it on the ground. He then pointed to a small brightly colored green and black spotted frog by our feet. He told us to hold still. It was the poison dart frog. 

 

The green and black spotted poison dart frog was beautifully camouflaged. 

He hopped between our feet.

and then off he hopped into the plants and became barely visible to us.

   Our Juanilama naturalist was a reservoir of knowledge on the flora and fauna of Juanilama Ecological Reserve. It was fascinating and throughout our time together, we learned quite a bit. It was a slippery, muddy trek back to the van but well worth the memory.

   We drove to the Maleku Indigenous Tribe's community where we met the locals and shared a traditional Maleku meal with them. Lunch was delicious.

     The Maleku elder, pictured here, 

shared with us the history of this 650 member tribe, its culture, and the challenges the community face in modern Costa Rica. With only 650 people left, the Maleku Indigenous tribe is the smallest in Costa Rica. The community and the country share a common goal in reforestation, both working to regenerate forests and plant fruit trees which encourage animals back to their natural habitats.

We learned about the significance of the jaguar in their artwork.  Here's one of the masks of the jaguar painted on a gourd.

There were numerous painted gourds on the wall. We were then instructed how to paint one of our own. Jeff painted a tortoise and I painted a hummingbird.

The Maleku Indigenous Tribe continues to create beautiful gourds some of which are carved and others elaborately painted.

Afterward, we hopped in our van and headed to today's destination, Rio Celeste. We arrived at our hotel around 4. Our room was very comfortable.

The dining room came complete with an elaborately painted ox-cart!

After dinner, Pedro arranged for there to be a bonfire and we had s'mores.

 It was surprising to us that s'mores were not something the Europeans in our group had ever tasted! They loved them. What's not to love about a s'more where the marshmallows have been lovingly roasted in a bonfire under a Costa Rican full moon? Ahhh life is good!