Let's Go Cave Diving!

            We got a late start this morning as we had planned to meet up with Luke around 10:00 so he could hand Arden off to Anna before we started today’s shenanigans. None of us slept in super long though so while we were waiting for Luke, Mom and I took Dad and hiked up the trail and to the lookout that we rode the horses to yesterday.  It was another extremely low tide today so a lot of the rock reef was showing today as well.  During the hike we got to see a nice sized family of Howler Monkeys, lots of butterflies, and a couple of small lizards.  I am beginning to see now that the Howler Monkeys are simply EVERYWHERE! You are almost guaranteed to see them most days you go out.  Hey, I’m not complaining! Though, if you didn't know what they were and the sound they make I definitely wouldn't want to have a family of those outside my tent at night, that’s for sure.  They sound anything but inviting…

            We met up with Luke right at 10:00 and shortly afterwards we were on our way to Barra Honda.  Luke really wanted to go there to see the caves, being a geologist and all, and we heard it was supposed to be cooler up there as well.  Sign me up!

The mountain we hiked to get to the cave at the top.

            We got there right around 11:30, good thing too because anytime after 12:00 and you couldn't get a guide which was required.  Our guides name was José and he was a really cool guy.  Didn't speak a lick of English, but caught on pretty fast that we liked photography and wildlife and went out of his way to show us what he could during the several mile hike up to the cave.  He would walk along the path all silent for quite some time and all of a sudden would burst out in bird call and sometimes I couldn't tell if it was a bird or him! 99% of the time he would get that particular bird to answer back and he would go along calling it for a while until we got too far away.

One of the many butterflies we saw on the hike.

            There was this one time that he suddenly stopped, dropped all the gear, and trekked off into the woods, telling us to wait on the path.  A short time later he motioned us to where he was and when we get there he point up into a tree.  Apparently he knew where this one nocturnal bird, a Potoo he called it, roosted during the day and had found it to show to us. Mom and Dad kept saying that another term for its variety, if you will, was a “goat sucker.” Don’t ask me why…

The Potoo

            We also saw a number of iguanas, other lizards, and tons of butterflies and Howler monkeys along the way.  I even got to see a little vine snake! I never would have seen it if it hadn’t have moved off the trail but it blended in so well with the tree branches I had a hard time telling which was stick and which was snake!

            When we finally got to the caves there were two other guides stationed there that helped us get our harnesses on and hooked up to the rope.  Apparently years ago people used to repel down into the cave but now they are a bit more sophisticated and have a ladder.  Well… more like several stuck together.  A really sturdy little thing but I can tell you hands down it was something that would never fly in the states. But that’s honestly what made it so cool, nothing in the cave but the cave itself.

            Once we got down to the cave floor, we did a bit of carefully walking over rickety and sometimes slippery rocks and can I just tell you it was really cool! I can’t really even describe it so these pictures will have to do…

           

            There was another little ladder down into a deeper part of the cave and that for sure would never have been ok in the U.S.! Just a little bit precarious there… but it was totally worth it and the cave was super cool! I can tell you Luke was having a hay day down in there. 

            After the cave and the walk back down, we said our goodbyes to José, tipped him for his awesome guiding skills, and started on our two or so hour drive back to Samara.  Luke and Anna are currently in the process of moving from their apartment to a temporary living situation at a friend’s house before they finally move into their new apartment on the 5^th. When we got back into Samara, we made a quick stop at the hotel to pick up dinner stuffs and then drove down to pick up Anna and the beebs as well as a bunch of their stuff to begin the moving out process.

A giant iguana we saw during our hike in Barra Honda

            The drive up to their friends house was a little interesting, straight up in places with a number of sharp, 180 turns.  I was pretty proud of the “Gutless Wonder” for making it up that way! Luke has also given it another description that might almost be a little better… a glorified skateboard… But I guess the fantastic gas mileage has to count for something!

            We had a great dinner with Luke and Anna, as always, and we even got to top of the evening by seeing some cool wildlife! While I was walking around outside when dinner was being made, I heard some rustling in the woods and getting my flashlight out, what should I see but an armadillo!! That was cool. I was super excited about that one and spent quite a bit of time watching it snuffle around in the leaves.

The best picture I got of the Armadillo with the pitch blackness and my phones flash

            A while later after we had finished dinner Anna suddenly pointed out the glass door to the front porch and there was a Costa Rican raccoon walking across the porch!  Pretty similar to the ones in the states aside from being a little skinnier, longer, and with shorter hair, but cool none the less!