Tuesday, June 13th, Caimans, Snakes, Frogs
We lingered at the Caiman pond just at sunset, and listened to the 11 baby dwarf caiman bleating.
A butterfly on a camera pack seemed almost surreal:
Back at the lodge, Melvin was busy trying to photograph a poison dart frog on some leaf litter which he raised up in a most creative way. Including his matching boot in my image was more fun.
Resting quietly before dinner, we got a peaceful view of the river:
Suddenly the quiet was broken with a thundering sound across the wooden porch. From there, out toward the water in the grass, Jaime had spotted his prize of the evening, a yellow snake, and was running towards it!
Victor found a purple caecilian. There was quite a long and ongoing struggle as Victor tried to get and keep it in one place on a leaf.
We went back on the same path we had taken the night before.
This time I was better prepared with mosquito netting over my head, and it felt much better having seen in the daylight the swamp that I had waded through, nearly blindly, the night before.
This was another time when I felt intensely ambivalent regarding my desire to see whatever was being found, and the need for the creature to be held for a better view for all.
The little caiman that Jaime caught off the pier made me feel saddest. S/he was emitting little eheheh sounds. When Jaime put it back, it just sat immobile in the water for a while, until it finally swam away. What would YOU tell your mother if your head had been held in a giant hand that could go all the way around your neck?
But I would go back again on another SAVE THE FROGS! Ecotour in a heartbeat.