Nature is Amazing

Ant going to town on butterfly larva

Living and working in the tropics is a real treat. It never seems to amaze me of learning new things that just put you in a position to think "Good Gosh, Nature is amazing...". When doing a tour one of the first things as a nature tour guide in the tropics is to let people know that that tropics is a war-zone of different animals and species of plants all fighting for energy from the sun and other sources of energy in and around the rainforest.

Butterflies, Ants, & Plants

A butterfly lays it's eggs on plants and then when the larva hatches from the eggs it starts to feed off the plant that it's egg was sitting on. It is sort of like giving birth to a baby in an all you can eat buffet and the baby just staying at the buffet eating and eating. They say that pretty much is what butterfly larva is "Eating Machines".

Ants in many parts of the rainforest have a symbiotic relationship with plants. What does the word symbiotic mean? Symbiotic is a close relationship between two species of benefit or dependence. In the rainforest the relationship between the ant and plant in many cases is symbiotic. The ant feeds on the plant at extra-floral nectaries which are basically sugar that the plant is producing for the ant. It is in the best interest of the ant to protect the plant because the plant is the food source for the ant.  In return the ant protects the plant from predators. This is where the plant and butterfly larva come to meet each other.

If a butterfly lays its eggs on a plant that has this symbiotic relationship with an ant species than you can expect the ants to destroy the eggs before the larva has the chance to hatch and start eating the plant would could cause the plant to die. There are many plants in the rainforest with symbiotic relationships with ants. So what can the butterfly do so it does not have it's eggs eaten by ants?

Well the butterfly has had to adapt to laying it's eggs on the tips of leaves where the ants do not visit. When the eggs are place here they are less likey to be discovered and disposed of by the ants. The butterfly also in recent studies has developed a smell that it releases from it's abdomen that tricks the ants into thinking it is really ant larva. Nature just keeps going and keeps adapting to whatever it might be.

Now that is some interesting stuff how nature just continues to adapt to it's surroundings.

Interesing in seeing and learning about Nature in the Tropics?

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Costa Rica Pictures

Costa Rica Family Vacation

The high season has finally begun and it did not take long to get an excellent picture. Costa Rica is a paradise for nature lovers, adventure seekers, and with all this photographers find it quite the playground also. I myself am no profesional photographer but I did happen to catch a family of four on one of our Costa Rica vacations and a new found friend. This is a tree frog and he is not poisonous but he is great at getting in a picture.

If you happen to see one of these in the wild you will surely want to get a picture but just try and make sure you do not use a flash. They come out at night so getting a picture of one means you probably found one awake during the day which is quite lucky!

If your interested in a Costa Rica family vacation let us plan your trip we involve some of the best adventures and nature experts with years of experience.

Costa Rican Resource

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Hotel Capitan Suizo Costa Rica

After reading many different comments about this hotel I wanted to get some things straight. Its not a bad place. I know all travelers want to go to tripadvisor for comments on where to travel. But a bad comment on tripadvisor does not mean a place is bad.

For example and this goes for my opinion and I understand that all of you might not think the same way which is fine which means Hotel Capitan Suizo may not be the place for you. Costa Rica is located in the TROPICS which is what has made it popular and one of hte most bio-diverse places on the planets. The cute looking monkeys, beautiful toucans, and colorful looking frogs would not be around if it was not for little noisy insects (can you believe that, isnt that weird?). This is my first complaint of the complaints I see about hotels on tripadvisor.

I do agree Capitan Suizo was probably trying to save energy cost as many hotels do it is the "Green-Energy Saving Vibe" going on (its a good thing unfortunately the majority of paying tourist are not on the same vibe yet which hotel owners need to be aware of) by not using dehumidifyers in the rooms and things got a little damp. The sheets the beds. From what Ive heard they made the investment and this problem has been fixed. Some other complaints were the towels were a little out dated which in my opinion working as a guide for years sorry to say Capitan Suizo NO EXCUSE!!!! We get clients out of the river after 2 days of rafting and the most important thing is a nice fluffy towel even though we are in the town of Siquirres which is one of Costa Rica's least pleasant towns it is amazing the magic of the fluff in a towel so I understand those complaints for the vacationer as operatering tours it is the little things that count.

I love the idea of Capitan Suizo how they use no chemicals so if the insects come into the room deal with them. I think visitors need more contact with nature literally. It seems nuts but in the US there is so much isolation from nature it's amazing what we have exposed ourselves to in thinking we are protecting ourselves by getting away from all these little bugs. They actually dont hurt you as much as you think they do.

The staff is amazing, the rooms are big, the hotel grounds are super secluded and kept at perfection and one thing that cant be beat is that you are ON the beach. When it comes to Costa Rica there are many places you will stay AT the beach but ON the beach not as many.

Interesting Facts About Hotel:

• No TV's I love this
• 11 rooms with fans
• 11 rooms with A/C
• 95% of employees are from Costa Rica
• No pesticides are used in the gardens
• 10 minute walk from the town of Tamarindo (good part is you still feel secluded)

Family Vacation Planning Specialist

The Costa Rican Resource
http://www.crrtravel.com/
info@crrtravel.com


Related Articles by CRRTravel:

• Canyoneering Costa Rica
• Costa Rica Rural Tourism
• Costa Rica's Best Kept Secret

About Us

Costa Rican Resource is a company that has been operating Student Travel Tours and Family Vacations since 2002. This is a small company that concentrates on personalized attention. The company was formed by Tom Ranieri. He is from the State of Florida and has resided in Costa Rica for the last 9 years. Tom worked as a river guide on the Pacuare River where from there the company was formed. Tom's family moved down to Costa Rica to help with the business and now all operations are out of their office in San Jose de la Montana in Heredia located on the slopes of the Barva Volcano. With some excellent networking and the idea of the company being spread out through different small businesses Costa Rican Resource was formed.

This is a company that operates from many different levels. We have our own rafting department, video department, transportation department of which all are seperate owners and everyone gets a peice of the pie. Not only do seperate small business owners pay the bills with Costa Rican Resource but the amount of time, money, and work given back to communities is a major part of this company. The company makes donations but the idea of making the local communities, the orphanage, and families in rural areas being a working part of our company is the main idea. They offer our clients an amazing experience in which both benefit from the activities that take place.

Our company is always making progress forward in being the most environmentally friendly tour operator possible. During our tours you will notice the importance giving to the environment and the education each client will recieve on ways they can help.

We invite you to look at our site or even better contact some of our former clients and get an idea just how personalized, attention to detail, and proffesionally operated are the tours of Costa Rican Resource. PURA VIDA!!!