COSTA RICAN NATURE

        Costa Rica’s Braulio Carrillo National Forest  is named for Braulio Carrillo Colina, the country’s third president.  The foliage was lush and thick protecting 6000 species of plants and 333 birds.

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.

COSTA RICA

                                Couple More Costa Rican Experiences

We drove through Braulio Carrillo National Forest where the foliage was lush and thick. Named for Costa Rica’s third president Braulio Carrillo Colina, the area protects 6000 species of plants and 333 birds. We saw a couple of small waterfalls.  We stopped in the rain forest bordering the national park on the far side for an aerial tram ride through the canopy of the forest. We couldn’t have asked for a nicer day. The sun was shining on a  clear day.

We boarded a six passenger gondola where a local guide was waiting for us. He 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. There were several streams running on the ground below. It was so quiet up in the canopy---the only sounds being those of birds.

After the tram ride we took a half hour nature hike on the rain forest floor. We all were fascinated with the many leaf-cutter ants busily working away. Their nesting area was huge. The guide pointed out a small, but very poisonous snake. This private rain forest covers 470 acres and the tram is fourteen years old. It was a new experience for the girls and great fun for us all!

Butterfly gardens are always fun and often one sees unusual butterflies that you’d probably not see in the wild. 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.  Later we rode by many pineapple fields and banana plantations. The last few miles to the canal boats for Tortuguero National Park were over a bumpy dirt road.  At the dock people were selling coconut milk. The coconuts were small and round. For a dollar a fellow with a sharp machete cut off the top of the coconut and inserted a straw. Not only were the perfectly round coconuts a different shape than the ones we were familiar with in Hawaii, but the ‘milk’ was clear and very mild in taste. Until I watched the actual process of preparing the coconuts I thought they may have filled the nut with water. There was perhaps an eighth of an inch of coconut meat in each shell. I liked the cool and refreshing ‘coconut water’.

            There is only one way to get to Tortuguero National Park and that is by boat. There are no vehicles in the park which consists of several islands connected only by canals. We all boarded a large canopy-covered boat for the hour-plus ride to our hotel. Enroute we saw howler and white-faced capuchin monkeys, snowy egrets, green iguana, rose spoonbill birds, and a small crocodile called a caiman. A caiman can survive in either fresh or salt water and is the most numerous specie of the crocodile family.

            Monkeys were seen several places during this trip with the girls. At the beach they played and scampered just beyond us. One monkey came down on the beach and lifted a pack of crackers from a gal’s beach bag while she lay sunning and oblivious to all the activity. The white faced monkeys are very social and are great fun to watch. We also had the chance to see and watch sloths---are they slow! It would take all day for them to climb up a tree!