Green Basilisk
water color sketch

Costa Rica is the first country in Latin America to make sport hunting illegal. This was a citizen-driven effort and came as an amendment to La Ley de Conservacion de la Vida Sylvestre ~ the Wildlife Conservation Law ~ in 2012; placing grave penalties for any capture or domestication of wildlife with particular priorities around the protection of endangered species. 25% of land is protected through a system of national parks and reserves. Costa Rica is the only tropical nation to reverse deforestation by increasing forest cover from 40% in 1987 to nearly 60% by 2020.

My favorite sighting during my visit to Costa Rica was a Green Basilisk in Montezuma. They run so fast across water that the friction creates an electrical charge and thus a ‘4th phase of water’ making them water wizards. I always wanted to see one and they look hilarious when they’re dancing across lagoons with all that ancient knowledge.