Bethany's La Paoma Report

We awoke to the infamous beeping of the alarm clock at 6 A.M. After slipping hastily into our clothes, beating our black, brown, and blonde manes into submissive ponytails, and yanking on socks and shoes, we set off down the countless flights of stairs leading to the Lodge. Upon arrival, we met with our tour guide, Carlos. A 28-year-old native, he had planned to stay at La Paloma only for a few months, but soon became captivated with Corcovada National Rainforest and couldn’t tear himself away. “A lovely place to be imprisoned,” he says smiling.

The other participants of our tour group, a French couple, were already there so we set off to the dock. About 5 minutes into our 35- minute boat ride, a trio of frolicking dolphins surfaced. Seeming to sense how exciting we were at their arrival, they stayed close to our boat and entertained us with giant leaps that quickly turned into graceful dives. After a five-minute performance, they lost interest in our boat and decided to move their itinerant circus to the next audience.

The boat slowed down, as the shoreline loomed larger and we allowed the roaring waves to carry us in. We were told to jump in the water and my mother eagerly grabbed the railing being the closest to the rear. Unfortunately, a large wave was lifting the bow of the boat just as she jumped, and upon landing, was thoroughly drenched. After that, none got wet above their knees. We were told not to put our shoes back on yet for there remained two shallow streams to cross. After pausing briefly to dry our feet and slip on sneakers and socks once again, we set off.

Shortly after embarking into this total haven of greenery, we heard the distinguished cry of the howler monkeys accompanied by the gasps of excited tourists. We caught up to the group ahead of us and Carlos immediately erected a contraption that looked like a mix of binoculars and a telescope.

Howler monkeys travel in groups so we could choose any of the fifteen present to observe closely. Moving on, we came to two spider monkeys that soon turned out to be three. Carlos pointed out a little baby that was tucked into its mother’s pouch. I was shocked to learn that monkeys give birth up in the trees. They grasp a branch with their tail and one leg and
then catch the baby with the other leg! After enjoying this spectacle for a few minutes with Carlos stocking our head full of information, a guide came running back to tell us a large snake was up ahead and to come before it left.

As mom said “it was the first actually beautiful snake I’ve ever seen.” It was light pink with slightly lighter and darker patches of pink speckled down its spine. Carlos pointed to an unfortunate pygmy squirrel who was grooming itself on the branch above. As we moved on, it was startling to see how Carlos could pick out tiny animals that blended absolutely perfectly with their surrounding. Even with a stick pointed only an inch from its head, it wasn’t till it the tree frog jumped did we nod our head in agreement to his question, “Do you see it Now?”

We came across many brigades of leaf cutter ants that went as far as the eye could see. Amazingly, ants are completely blind! They follow paths laden with formic acid left by the scouts and simple trust their antennas to lead them home. To prove his point, he rubbed a strongly scented sun block in the middle of an industrious line. Just as he had said, the ants wondered
aimlessly in all directions now that their sole “compass was erased”. Nothing exceptional happened in the last stage of our trek toward the small brook. Upon reaching it, we rested for a while and watched various types of birds and their young. On the way back however, we saw a sloth- a gray one at that. Carlos said that some are greenish colored because of the fungus that grows on this almost stationary animal. He spouted off some amazing facts about the sloth that seem almost impossible. They can sleep for a week; it takes them a week to go down one tree; and, upon reaching the ground, is the only time they excrete refuse for the next seven days. We
spotted but one more unusual animal on the way to the waterfall/ swimming whole after we had reached the beach where we had landed. I have forgotten the Spanish name so a brief description will suffice. It was a little bit larger than a rabbit, had the head of a squirrel, and the tail of a rat. It is the largest rodent in the world. Though seemingly hesitant and with his
nose in the air, he stayed next to us for a while and allowed us all to get a good look. Because I have never heard of nor seen or, for that matter, even known existed such an animal, it was my favorite of the tour.

After the suffocating humidity, all of us headed straight to the pool and had a heavenly relaxation time in the shade. Back in Puerto Lempira though, I’m having a hard time conjuring up the image of a paradise-like pool. Hopefully Syracuse will seem cooler even though it does have its hot days. Hope to see you soon!