"Jesus! Did you see that lizard?"

I realized that I haven't spoken about the most incredible creature that I've witnessed on my Central American tour.  It happened in Boquete, so this blog will be a bit out of sync time-wise with the trip, but the story is too amazing not to include.

At Suenos del Rio, my hostel in Boquete, the owner, Itza, contributed daily to a compost heap at the top of a 12-15 ft. boulder containment wall for the banks of the Rio Caldera.  She said that the government had taken about 6-8' of land from her in order to make the opposite bank extend farther into the river so that they could accommodate their own fairgrounds where they grow flowers and have daily tours.  So she is trying to gradually recapture that 6-8' of land by composting over the boulders.

From the first day I arrived, I began seeing the same two lizards munching papaya skins and melon skins and other delectables from the pile.  One of the lizards, whom I took to be the male, was larger and had an obvious crest.  The other, the female, was smaller and plainer, without a crest.  They took turns at the pile, and never gave each other any flak, so I assume that they were mates.

One day, as I was standing on the containment wall talking with Bruce, I noticed 3 other smaller, plainer lizards at just about the same time that the resident male noticed them.  In a flash, he took off after one of them. The smaller lizard ran toward the water and without hesitation continued running once he got there....running some 15-20' over the top of the water to a boulder mid-stream.  In the midst of my delighted shouts, it happened again.  The large male made a run at a different small lizard who ran to the water, hit the river and kept running.....upstream!

Apparently they are known as the Common Basilisk, but I find nothing common about them at all.  They are also known as the Jesus Lizard or Jesus Christ Lizard for their ability to walk on water.  Studies have found that they push forcefully downward with their feet, which every good kayaker or canoeist knows is a low brace, creating resistance to push against, thereby neutralizing the liquidity of the surface somewhat.  Then they push forward with the foot quickly through the air pocket they had just created, so there is less drag.  They achieve water speeds of 5.2 mph, just slightly slower than their land speed.  Smaller basilisks can run 10-20 meters on top of the water before dropping down to swim if they need to continue to evade their predator.  Larger ones can go 3-5 meters tops, so I assume that's why the larger one didn't pursue the smaller one once they got to the water.

This spectacle was the highlight of my day and a great reminder to practice my low brace when I get home.