Found in tropical Central and South America, the glass frog (of the Centrolenidae family) was the center of a recent study which reveals the creature’s translucent skin to be a camouflage device. While the frog’s back is typically “vivid green with their intestines and heart visible through their underbelly,” their legs are more see-through—making them much harder to detect. Dr James Barnett (postdoctoral researcher and …
The origins of chocolate, at least until last week, dated back about 3,500 years ago to civilizations in Mexico and Central America. But now, thanks to newfound evidence, cacao’s history actually begins 1,500 years earlier in South America. Tests run on the bowls, mortars and jars found in the highlands of Ecuador—in the area known as Santa Ana-La Florida—proved traces of cacao remained. This confirms a …
It’s somewhere between the oddly low organic-juice-bar-to-streetlight-ratio and the packs of chickens that freely roam the streets of Nosara that it hits visitors: eating local isn’t a buzzy concept here, it’s a way of life. Long before tourists schlepped to the beaches and mountains of Costa Rica in search of pura vida, Costa Ricans proudly lived close to the land. And nowhere is that tradition …
