Frog Prince Bottle Opener

Guyana, 2011

Searching for obscure creatures in an obscure country sums up the Guyana experience. The place is an environmental Eden that few people know about. Size-wise, it’s a bit bigger than Washington state, but with only 15 percent of the population. It’s also the only English-speaking country in South America. More than three-quarters of the land is still covered by virgin rainforest.

My guide, Wally Prince, was born in Guyana. He grew up watching TV, dividing his attention between wildlife documentaries and The Cosby Show. He’s a gleeful expert on Guyana’s flora and fauna, with an unnerving gift for detail.

“Watch out for pit vipers,” he said as we circled a tree, on one of several sweltering hikes. “Those are mean guys. Imagine a rattlesnake eight feet long—with no rattle.”

Guyana’s jungles host many rare species: gorgeous birds like the cock-of-the-rock, the enormous Victoria amazonica water lily, stealthy jaguars, and colorful frogs. But the country’s signature attraction is found at breathtaking Kaieteur Falls, which plunges into the Potaro River with a drop five times the height of Niagara.

After landing at a tiny airstrip near Kaieteur National Park, we began our short hike to the headwaters. I told Wally my personal obsession: to find Guyana’s famous golden frog. I love frogs; they’re fascinating creatures. In 2010, after watching Disney’s The Princess and the Frog, I tried to snag “frogprince2010” as my Gmail address—alas, it was already taken.

The golden frog is a poison dart frog, found inly in this part of the Amazon. They like to hide inside giant tank bromeliads, perched near the pools of water that collect within the plant’s broad green leaves. But golden frogs are notoriously skittish, and will leap away if disturbed.

With Kaieteur Falls roaring behind us, Wally crept from plant to plant, parting the broad green leaves to peer inside. Finally, with a wide-eyed grin, he gestured me over. Success. The jewel-like amphibian seemed lost in thought, serene in his (or her) chlorophyll cave. I set my camera to macro, and snapped several close-ups.

“Can you send me one of those?” Wally asked.
“Of course. What’s your email address?”
“Got a pen? It’s frogprince2010,” he said. “at gmail.com”