At the
rain forest bordering the national park we boarded an aerial tram for a ride
through the canopy of the forest. We couldn’t have asked for a nicer day. The
sun was shining in a cloudless sky. The tram was fourteen years old in the 470
acres private rain forest. The guide in our six seat tramcar told us they had about
two nice days a week.
The
guide was good about identifying and pointing out birds to us. We saw a rare
black bird, a duck sitting in a tree, lots of palm and mahogany trees. An
occasional waterfall and several streams flowed on the ground below. The only
sounds in the quiet canopy were those of
birds. After the tram ride we took a nature hike on the rain forest floor. We
all were fascinated with the many busy leaf-cutter ants working and carrying their
loads. Their nesting area was huge. The guide pointed out a small, but very
poisonous snake. Both the tram ride and hike were lots of fun!
A walk
through a small butterfly garden
provided good photo ops. It is hard to
photograph butterflies as they always seem to be in flight. We saw lots of the blue
morpho butterflies on this trip. The beautiful blue is easy to spot as it
stands out against the green backdrop.
It was
a wonderful day. I love rain forests and never pass up an opportunity to be in
one. Costa Rica is a fantastic place to get close to nature.
On another
trip we visited the La Selva Biological Station where we picked up a park guide for a walk through
the rainforest. Located at the confluence of the Sarapiqui and Puerto Viejo rivers
,the station is run by the Organization
of Tropical Studies (OTS). Three quarters of the 4000 acres is prime forest,
and there are 35 miles of trails. The Station borders a national forest.
Studies
are extensive with everything from the smallest ant to the largest tree. To date 350 species of ants, 3000 mosses, and
1900 plants/trees have been identified. The station has an extensive school
education program.
We
crossed over a rather long swinging bridge to enter the trails. The river below
was flowing at a pretty good rate. Scores of birds were flying around and
singing. It took quite a while to get across the bridge as we kept stopping to
observe the birds.
We saw a collared Peccary
(wild pig) cross the path ahead of us. We also saw several agouti, the small-dog
size large rodent. We saw boo-coos of birds and took pictures by a kapok tree.
Rain held off until we left the forest and entered the gift shop.
This
is where I saw my first toucan---I heard them in Belize on the way to the Mayan
ruins, and again in Panama when going up the Sambu River, but both times they
were too high up in the canopy to see.
Now I was excited to see several of them.
On another
trip we visited the La Selva Biological Station where we picked up a park guide for a walk through
the rainforest. Located at the confluence of the Sarapiqui and Puerto Viejo rivers
,the station is run by the Organization
of Tropical Studies (OTS). Three quarters of the 4000 acres is prime forest,
and there are 35 miles of trails. The Station borders a national forest.
Studies
are extensive with everything from the smallest ant to the largest tree. To date 350 species of ants, 3000 mosses, and
1900 plants/trees have been identified. The station has an extensive school
education program.
We
crossed over a rather long swinging bridge to enter the trails. The river below
was flowing at a pretty good rate. Scores of birds were flying around and
singing. It took quite a while to get across the bridge as we kept stopping to
observe the birds.
We saw a collared Peccary
(wild pig) cross the path ahead of us. We also saw several agouti, the small-dog
size large rodent. We saw boo-coos of birds and took pictures by a kapok tree.
Rain held off until we left the forest and entered the gift shop.
This
is where I saw my first toucan---I heard them in Belize on the way to the Mayan
ruins, and again in Panama when going up the Sambu River, but both times they
were too high up in the canopy to see.
Now I was excited to see several of them.
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