They are two awesomely rad individuals who take a common interest in tarps, canoeing, and being goofballs. They only plan the grandest of adventures, and they hope you enjoy reading their stories as they go.
Well folks, welcome back to another edition of life on the road (a beautiful, dirt road in the tropics liked with Howler Monkeys, butterflies, and red hot LAVA). I this edition, we will explore where our travelers are spending their days. Since the lavish beach binge of bocas del toro and puerto viejo, the pair has ventured into the mountains of northern costa rica, and found themselves working at a Butterfly conservatory in El Castillo, a little pueblo with a few restaurants, a few hotels, a pulperia (general store), and one of the worlds most active volcanoes...
Above is a close-up of said volcano.
With Volcan Arenal in the background, you can see above the pairs new living quarters, in the beige house in the lower right of the picture.
The house comes with a very smelly pet that lives on the porch named Perky. He is quite loyal, always up for a walk, and hangs out even though nobody feeds him!
This is perky's bed. This is a picture of Maria. she is another volunteer at the conservatory who is from boston and is taking a year off to learn spanish, travel, and volunteer before heading back to graduate school to get her PhD in Neuroscience... and puppies.
This is Iris. She may not getting her PhD, but she's still pretty darn rad.
Last, but certainly not least, is the third roomate from Germany, Margot, seen here (behind the zero) hailing a beutiful sky and a view of the volcano in the nearby town of Fosforo.
Behind the house, the volunteers have a lovely swimming spot in a mountain stream...
...with a pretty epic view of the volcano while sunning on a rock.
The gardens at the butterfly conservatory are full of not only butterflies, but flowers as well, such as this Torch Ginger.
and this purple orchid-thingy...
and these hanging reina de la noches (queen of the night)
and this red thingy.
Across the hill from the conservatory, one can view a giant Kapok tree, a standing reminder of the forest that used to stand around el castillo before being cut in the 1950's to establish cattle ranching in the area. Tasha, working in the gardens where the conservatory grows plants to feed the butterflies while in their larval stage.
Jose, one of the Tico workers who lives in Fosforo, in the middle of weed ing amont the plants with his machete.
This is a shot of Jose on a bird'killing rampage after one found its way into one of the butterfly gardens. Kevin, trying to coax the little guy back to life after Jose dealt it a near-death blow with a piedra (small rock)
Jose, with his trophy. The view from the conservatory office... lovely isn't it?
Above, is the reception area at the conservatory where guests come in and learn more about what makes butterflies awesome.
a sample collection of the many butterfly species found both in costa rica and in the gardens at the conservatory.
Once the eggs are laid in the gardens, they are brought up to this lab where technicians bring them through their different stages of life.
an example of a paridese butterfly, resting on an hoja (leaf).
The Greta Oto, or Glasswing butterfly has nearly transparent panels on its wings, and lives in the shady forest interior.
Blue Morphos are some fo the largest and most common butterflies in Costa Rica. Interestingly, their wings are not actually blue- they merely appear that way due to how the light refracts off the scales covering their wings, much like a peacock's feathers.
The Cappuccino butterfluy, inlike many others, lands with its wings spread open for convenient photography.
This specimen hangs on the undersides of leaves and uses its coloration to appear to would-be predators as a dead, dried up leaf... decidedly a NOT yummy snack.
The conservatory also boasts a small amphibian house, including this Masked Tree Frog. As well as these Strawberry Poison Dart Frogs, also known as Blue Jeans.
The volunteers enjoy the company of a local High School student named Jonothan (second from left) who frequents the house and practices his english while the volunteers practice their spanish. Here, Maria, Jonothan, Tasha, and Margot are visiting Jonothan's house to see the new puppies that were just born.
Jonothan's sister, Gladis, his stepfather, Jose, and his half-sister wendy look on in amusement.
On one of their dia libres (days off), the pair hiked to the rim of a much smaller, extinct volcano with a lagoon down in the crater named Cerro Chato.
The two ugly ducklints with the lagoon in the background.
on their way back down, they saw this rad beetle climbing a tree...
and then they went to this nearby waterfall as well... it was no big thing...
This howler monkey put on a show for our traveling pair as they walked with margot to Fosforo for a bit of ice cream and a sunset.
Above, Iris and Maria Hold Debbi aned Fiona, Erika's duaghters at a party their last night in El Castillo.
Erika, who masters the reception office at the conservatory, dancing with Fiona at the party.
Above is a close-up of said volcano.
With Volcan Arenal in the background, you can see above the pairs new living quarters, in the beige house in the lower right of the picture.
The house comes with a very smelly pet that lives on the porch named Perky. He is quite loyal, always up for a walk, and hangs out even though nobody feeds him!
This is perky's bed.
This is a picture of Maria. she is another volunteer at the conservatory who is from boston and is taking a year off to learn spanish, travel, and volunteer before heading back to graduate school to get her PhD in Neuroscience... and puppies.
This is Iris. She may not getting her PhD, but she's still pretty darn rad.
Last, but certainly not least, is the third roomate from Germany, Margot, seen here (behind the zero) hailing a beutiful sky and a view of the volcano in the nearby town of Fosforo.
Behind the house, the volunteers have a lovely swimming spot in a mountain stream...
...with a pretty epic view of the volcano while sunning on a rock.
The gardens at the butterfly conservatory are full of not only butterflies, but flowers as well, such as this Torch Ginger.
and this purple orchid-thingy...
and these hanging reina de la noches (queen of the night)
and this red thingy.
Across the hill from the conservatory, one can view a giant Kapok tree, a standing reminder of the forest that used to stand around el castillo before being cut in the 1950's to establish cattle ranching in the area.
Tasha, working in the gardens where the conservatory grows plants to feed the butterflies while in their larval stage.
Jose, one of the Tico workers who lives in Fosforo, in the middle of weed ing amont the plants with his machete.
This is a shot of Jose on a bird'killing rampage after one found its way into one of the butterfly gardens.
Kevin, trying to coax the little guy back to life after Jose dealt it a near-death blow with a piedra (small rock)
Jose, with his trophy.
The view from the conservatory office... lovely isn't it?
Above, is the reception area at the conservatory where guests come in and learn more about what makes butterflies awesome.
a sample collection of the many butterfly species found both in costa rica and in the gardens at the conservatory.
Once the eggs are laid in the gardens, they are brought up to this lab where technicians bring them through their different stages of life.
an example of a paridese butterfly, resting on an hoja (leaf).
The Greta Oto, or Glasswing butterfly has nearly transparent panels on its wings, and lives in the shady forest interior.
Blue Morphos are some fo the largest and most common butterflies in Costa Rica. Interestingly, their wings are not actually blue- they merely appear that way due to how the light refracts off the scales covering their wings, much like a peacock's feathers.
The Cappuccino butterfluy, inlike many others, lands with its wings spread open for convenient photography.
This specimen hangs on the undersides of leaves and uses its coloration to appear to would-be predators as a dead, dried up leaf... decidedly a NOT yummy snack.
The conservatory also boasts a small amphibian house, including this Masked Tree Frog.
As well as these Strawberry Poison Dart Frogs, also known as Blue Jeans.
The volunteers enjoy the company of a local High School student named Jonothan (second from left) who frequents the house and practices his english while the volunteers practice their spanish. Here, Maria, Jonothan, Tasha, and Margot are visiting Jonothan's house to see the new puppies that were just born.
Jonothan's sister, Gladis, his stepfather, Jose, and his half-sister wendy look on in amusement.
On one of their dia libres (days off), the pair hiked to the rim of a much smaller, extinct volcano with a lagoon down in the crater named Cerro Chato.
The two ugly ducklints with the lagoon in the background.
on their way back down, they saw this rad beetle climbing a tree...
and then they went to this nearby waterfall as well... it was no big thing...
This howler monkey put on a show for our traveling pair as they walked with margot to Fosforo for a bit of ice cream and a sunset.
Above, Iris and Maria Hold Debbi aned Fiona, Erika's duaghters at a party their last night in El Castillo.
Erika, who masters the reception office at the conservatory, dancing with Fiona at the party.
Kevin, Caught in the act of holding a child...
count 'em...yep, there's four...
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