My first tarantula, ain’t he cute
Some may think I am brave for hiking through jungle and rainforest areas in Corcovado National Park and today in Manuel Antonio National Park in Costa Rica. Tarantulas and other giant spiders run amok not to mention some dangerous snakes. Truth is I am as frightened of big spiders as anyone.
A truly stunning creature in my opinion
If you gave me a basketball, placed me under a basket, then threw a big hairy spider on my shoulder, I would jump ten feet high. I would do some serious Michael Jordan or Spudd Webb action.
I am at the same kind fascinated by spiders big and small. I have a certain macabre interest in seeing them, just as long as they are not crawling on me. Or perhaps I just want to be like Mike or Spudd.
I think today my arachnophobia turned a corner. While hiking in Manuel Antonio National Park, our guide spotted this gorgeous tarantula on a leaf. How he spotted this in the jungle, I will never know. We saw so many cool things today including howler monkeys, sloths, Jesus Christ Lizards, rainbow grasshoppers.
For me, the highlight was this amazing tarantula. I have seen them in pet stores and in a cage, but I have never seen them in the wild. I was not frightened by this guy at all (although I am sure I would have freaked if he was crawling on me).
St. Pauli girl beer used to have a real catchy advertisement that sang “you never forget your first girl.” Well, I will never forget my first wild tarantula.
TT
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I am sure you won’t be able to forget this guy 🙂
Siddhartha Joshi recently posted..Chittorgarh, the legend…the history…
Traveling Ted scared of a big spider? I find that hard to believe! 🙂
Leslie recently posted..Photos: The East Village survives Hurricane Irene with flooding, fallen trees and a dead rat
I think you are brave for hiking through jungle and rainforest.
One great thing about NZ is there are no deadly spiders here (or snakes or any other life threatening creature).
Ted, you know as well as I do that you can proof read a piece two million times before you post it and still miss an obvious. Do a retake at Michael J’s name there. Oh and I would have to have quite a few St. Pauli girls before I went traipsing off through the creepy jungle. Thanks for taking us along, buddy.
Robb714 recently posted..Endurance of the Human Spirit
I’ve never been close to one before – I’d probably be scared _________ 😛
Nomadic Samuel recently posted..Singapore Photo Essay | FOGG Odyssey
hhm – Think I will leave the spiders to you.I can not stand them. I freak when I see even the smallest.
Natalie recently posted..Should Animals Be Kept In Zoos?
reminds me of the deep fried tarantula being sold in cambodia 🙂
flipnomad recently posted..Deja Vu in Siem Reap: 10 New Observations
Saw a humongous tarantula in Belize – but it had it’s regular hole in the rock and didn’t seem to bother anyone – just so creepy looking. But so are the super fast, really big, gross wolf spiders we used to get in the fall in Vancouver,.
Leigh recently posted..The Best of the Tour du Mont Blanc
Reminds me of the first in the wild Tarantula I saw. Was on the 4am temple #4 sunrise hike at Tikal, group was fairly large, maybe 100 plus, but I made sure to stick in front by the guide (as he knows what to look for). Sure enough, bout 10 minutes in, he stopped by a tree and shone his light into a bit of a hollow, nice big brown tarantula 🙂
Dave recently posted..Spyderco Uk Penknife 3″ Serrated Leaf Blade $29.95
Great post! First off, my husband wants me to tell you thanks for the Spudd Webb reference as he was apparently his favorite player growing up. I would like to tell you thanks for the post as this will help us when we go to Costa Rica for some outdoor adventures in May!
I was a big fan of Spudd from his NC State days through his time with the Atlanta Hawks. You have to love someone who is so short that could play with the giants. Of course it helps if you have an insane vertical jump.
Enjoy your time in Costa Rica. I returned in December to check out a few new areas. I love this country. So much cool stuff to do with a lot of variety with beach and jungle adventure opportunities.