Previous page . Sergio has a small staff working at his farm who live in the neighborhood. Here José (left) and Miguel are building a small cage that will be used to cover the Morpho foodplants. They were my partners in a rousing game of soccer on Friday evening before we headed to Puntarenas for a night on the town. Sergio, Eduardo and Diego were our challengers. They won, as they wouldn't give us a handicap for having a viejo (old man) on our team. . It is about a quarter of a mile and 300 feet down to where the butterfly growing operations are located. To get supplies like soil amendments, concrete, etc down and up the hill, they use this unique "jeep." Except for the frame and top, it is made of wood. The gas tank is a one-gallon plastic jug on the passenger's floorboard. I drove it around the driveway but wouldn't venture down the hill since the play in the steering reminded me of a ride at Disneyland!  . . Though Joris had figured I would be gone for three or four days, Sergio had planned the week as a vacation, and as a treat to his staff. Wednesday was a full day beginning with harvesting honey from a stingless bee colony. That evening we took an overnight trip to a beautiful river about 4 miles away and all of his staff came along for the evening dinner. We were back at the farm quite early since cows had to be milked before Sergio, Viviana, Diego and I headed to Las Rocas, north of San Ramon. Pupae raised at the farm and purchased from other breeders are used in the souvenirs. Here Eduardo is pinning pupae to Styrofoam where they will be allowed to emerge. Some of these are also used for breeding stock in the display butterfly house. . . After butterflies emerge, they are killed and prepared for pinning. Viviana not only prepared all of our meals during my week there; she also helped interpret since she has had more English than Sergio or his crew. Eduardo spreads the butterflies on standard boards. . . Sergio prides himself in arranging butterflies in the souvenir frames so only he does the actual assembly of these. He carefully chooses butterflies for a nice balance of color and shape for each mounting. As you can see from his build, Sergio is also very athletic, playing varsity soccer during his high school years. .