Costa Rica - Iguanas and Lizards, Oh My!

Our first morning at Puenta Leona was still a little wet. While our hosts from Pickleball Costa Rica worked on trying to dry the courts and get them taped for Pickleball, Bob and I took a walk around the resort. As we passed a large rock some motion caught our eye. Sure enough a large iguana was running up to the top of the rock with his breakfast in his mouth. It would be the first of many iguanas and lizards of all sorts of sizes, shapes and colors.

One of the most exciting we met was the basilisk. We were headed to the small pool near our rooms. (There were larger pools further down the road and near the beach but we were going to try out the smaller one close by.) There were steps and a handicap ramp. Since my knees were not doing well, I opted to take the ramp. Just as I started down the ramp, a basilisk ran across it in front of me.

The first thought that came to mind was "a baby raptor!" It was running on its hind legs. When it made it to the other side it stopped and looked back at me. Was it thinking "you're lunch when I grow up?" I laughed. Further down the ramp I saw a few smaller ones but none of them ran on their hind legs. And of course, just like with the elusive toucan, I didn't have a camera ready. I doubt I could have snapped a pic that quickly anyway.

Here are some of our other encounters.