Dave Looks for Plants

It’s March 2015 and I am just back after a very successful trip to southern Ecuador.  I will soon be writing about my adventures there and completing the blogs of the previous trips, exploring the jungles of Central and South America looking for Costus.

These pages will contain a journal of my future trips and my reminiscences of previous ones.  It is obviously going to take me a while to catch up on ten years of travels, but like any trip, you have to start somewhere.  I started with the first one, Costa Rica 2005, and I am slowly working my way forward, so tune in here from time to time to check on my progress.

Below are some of the highlights.  Click on a link below or use the menu to the right.

• Costa Rica: June-July 2005 — my first time in the jungle and I am hooked!
  
• Costa Rica: May 2006 — I learn all about riding buses (and horses).
  
• Costa Rica: August 2006 — my wife learns about mountain rats (in bed with us).
  
• Costa Rica: November-December 2006 — “Friends of the Osa” are friends of mine.
  
• Ecuador: May-June 2007 — mud, mules and my escape from the Shuar Indians.
  
• Costa Rica: January-February 2008 — a little monkey named “Sweetie” is in love (with me).
  
• Peru: June-July 2008 — Heliconia Society International conference and tours.
  
• Panama: October-November 2008 — seeing everyday family life in Panama home stays.
  
• Ecuador: October 2009 — I tour the country from one end to the other (with friends).
  
• Singapore & Borneo: July 2010 — Heliconia Society conference and tour in Borneo
  
• Costa Rica: June-July 2011 — at long last, I re-discover a nearly extinct species.
  
• Guyana: August 2011 — overnight deep in the mountain jungle with a drunken Indian.
  
• Brazil: November 2012 — my “luxury tour” and first Chamaecostus in habitat
  
• Panama & Colombia: July-August 2012 — Heliconia Society conference and Colombia tour.
  
• Peru: January-February 2013 — a long treacherous ride through the summits of the Andes.
  
• Costa Rica: September 2013 — a visit with my friend and super plantsman Reinaldo.
  
• Brazil: January-February 2014 — Thiago and I find Chamaecostus cuspidatus in habitat.
  
• Colombia: April 2014 — exploring the beauty of the Colombian Chocó and eastern mountains.
  
• Mexico: July 2014 — I find Costus and coffee, two of my favorites.
• Ecuador: February-March 2015 – exploring with father and son – Marco Jiménez Sr. and Jr.

This travel blog is a part of the website with detailed decriptions and
thousands of photos of plants in the family Costaceae.