The thought appeared to me when I was walking around in a large field in Holland… no need in here to be on your guard, like ever! No snakes slithering through the grass, no bats flying around at dusk, no scorpions in your shoe, no humongous spiders in your closet, no ‘cucarachas’ in the shower, no nothing.
These are just everyday encounters. If you live in the tropics, there’s no way you can escape nature. Though you might think the idea of having snakes around is the worst, it was actually the (huge) toads that scared the shit out of me the most. Not that they’re harmful, but they just knew how to surprise me every time with their bouncing habits. Like giant snakeheads coming into my direction. And then there where the bats, of course the bats, with their incalculable manoeuvres.
Apart from that, every day another surprise popped of of creatures that decided to take shelter for a while. Have a look below at the creatures the tropics have to offer you!
Geckos
Geckos chilling on your chair, in your shoes, in your kitchen, in your dreams… Zzze Geckos are everywhere. Thankfully they do no harm at all and together with the ants they’re probably the best cleaning employers you can have in your house.
They take care of all of the other bugs (la cucaracha la cucaracha – ya no puedo caminar… lalalalala!) Still, their appearance is haunting me. Whenever I see something moving quickly in the corner of my eye, I think it must be a gecko!
Caterpillars
♪♩Everyday I’m shuffling♪♩. Also with ease, crawling very often into the house. Never long enough until they transformed into a ‘mariposa’ butterfly unfortunately.
Giant grasshoppers
The season of the grasshoppers starts on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica every year around march. The insect starts small, with a red and blackish outlook. After a month they transform into these giant purple beasts.
They have a big ‘je ne sais quoi’ attitude and destroy every thing on their way, like as it were a plague. Out of every plant a bite must be taken – check out the second picture!
Butterflies and moths
The more favourable ones of the insect category. All kinds of butterflies came by during the day, although these animals seems to have seasons too. The green one (second picture) appeared a lot around March and April for example.
The Birds
B b b b bird bird bird.. bird is the word.
Iguanas
A curious encounter caught
Parrots / parakeets
These fellows were so cute. Around sunrise and sunset these Green Parrot / Finsch’s Parakeets were having their chatter hour. Always flying around in pairs and pretty in sync too. We had one couple that permanently lived in our roof with their offspring.
Crabs
Around the beginning of June the crabs start to enter the land (I guess to lay eggs) en masse.
Sloths
Some 100 meters from our doorstep one tree seemed to attract sloths. Always fun to check it out while passing by. At one point I even saw three of them together, which is highly unusual, since sloths are solitary animals. Funny moment though (check it out below)!
Owl
Another unusual visitor: a spectacled owl. Our neighbours found him without mother and raised it perfectly, until it was ready to fly away.
Toads
Snakes
This only happened once, a dead boa constrictor in front of our door.
Hummingbirds
Walking sticks
Bats
Ahhh just one more!
Because gecko’s are awesome!
