Christmas Day and a lazy start. It’s always a different experience being away from family at Christmas when you’re travelling and everyone deals with it in different ways. Some travellers spend the day glued to the phone to friends and family back home. I personally find it easier to just treat it as a normal day. The time difference between Central America and Australia makes it difficult as well to make connections when you would like.
Maria, my Chilean friend, and I decided we would go out to the Jaguar Rescue Centre to see if it was open as we couldn’t find any information on-line. We caught a tuk-tuk and found it was well and truly open with over 100 tourists booked in for a tour. Fortunately, they split into groups of about 20, each with their own guide, which made for a more manageable experience.
The Jaguar Rescue Centre is actually a bit of a misnomer. Two European animal biologists met in Puerto de Viajo where one had already moved to. A local brought an injured ‘jaguar’ (actually an ocelot) to them which unfortunately didn’t survive, but that didn’t stop locals bringing the couple injured animals and referring to them as the Jaguar rescue people. The Centre has now grown to a large, well organised organisation running primarily on a volunteer staff, funding from public donations and what they make from tours.
Our guide, Carlos, was excellent. He explained how the Centre came about and the threats and challenges facing local wildlife. It would appear that electrocution from overhead powerlines are up there as the main cause of death and injury for animals such as sloths and monkeys. The Centre has an active program raising funds to purchase insulation for the cables to make it safe for wild animals. The Costa Rican power company has agreed to fit any provided insulation as part of an agreement it has with the Centre.
After our tour, we tried to find a soda (local restaurant) one of the guides recommended, but failed so had lunch elsewhere. Then it was back to the hostel for a chill for the rest of the afternoon. And that was my Costa Rican Christmas.
Wild Woman Wandering 