Adventures of camp

May 17, 2007

One never knows what you will find wandering the roads in a tropical country! This morning I was headed out to the woods to do some more observing of the wildlife when suddenly it began to pour. Yesterday there were a few sprinkles but they never amounted to anything. Today I decided I should head back for my jacket. By the time I left the house again, minutes later the rain had stopped so I guess the rains have not quite arrived but at least there is hope of them. I am anxious for them for the sake of the camp and wildlife but for myself, I do not anticipate the torrential downpours days on end that I experienced during Costa Rica’s rainy season.

Anyway I went in search of Wes, the Camp Director, and found him holding a coral snake. One of the night watchmen had seen it on the road last night and killed it. The snake was a little over 3 feet long and was bigger than I imagined a coral snake could be. I had never seen a coral snake other than through the glass at zoos and places like that. In the end I picked it up because I had to take the opportunity. We decided to skin the snake and attempt to save the bones by burying them and then digging them up after the flesh has decomposed. I aided in this process too though only for the sake of the story. I do not like touching dead animals in the least. I guess that I can rest assured that if I ever need to survive by eating a snake, I know how to skin it. Never mind the fact that I have to kill it first. I am not going to use the snake skin to decorate the walls of my house though it would add some color to the grey. We hope to have a Nature Center at some point and the skin will go nicely there. I have officially decided that I probably should use a flashlight when walking to my house at night, especially if I have sandals on. I always wondered about the snakes but now I know too much.

Earlier in the week Joel caught a Basilisk (Jesus Christ Lizard) in the backyard of the home of missionaries in the city. He has a knack for catching animals and later he tried to make a trap so that we could transport it to camp where it would actually have space to run around, but the trap did not work. The first time he caught it by hand which is amazing because these lizards are fast. They get their name because they run on top of the water. I think that in many ways there will never be a dull moment around here at least when it comes to animals and wildlife.