Leaving Isla Cabritos, we only had a vague idea of where we would collect next. We knew that Sierra de Bahoruco was the next stop, but the park is huge and our reservation at a hotel for the next week was unexpectedly cancelled.  Therefore we followed a suggestion from Gabriel De Los Santos to visit a small bird watching camp near Rabo de Gato through the north entrance of the park. We arrived expecting no rooms available and ready to camp anywhere with flat ground. Fortunately, we were welcomed with open arms by a sweet couple that proceeded to prepare five cabins. After settling in, we promptly set out to collect. The forest here is astounding; a moist valley surrounded by an expanse of untouched tropical dry forest. Rabo de Gato is fed by a natural spring, and dominated by large karst stones, deep leaf litter, and towering mahogany trees.

In the first fifteen minutes of collecting we uncovered two of the rarest spider families in the world: Lauren and Angela unearthed a humongous 2 cm long Caponiid, and Trevor found a beautiful transparent purple Drymusid under a stone. The discovery did not stop there. That night, we searched under the full moon framed by the soft walls of the valley. By the time we went to bed, we had collected specimens representing five arachnid orders including thelyphonids, four genera of scorpions, and tetragnathids in webs spanning a small stream.

We collected in Rabo de Gato for two amazing days. The majesty of the landscape, and the incredible biodiversity revitalized the weathered team. After five weeks of fieldwork, this location was a breath of fresh air and reminded us all why we love collecting arachnids. This energy will carry us through the final week of collection, focused on the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in the southwest peninsula of the country.