Wowowow, I had the most intense hiking experience of my life so far. With a heavy backpack and rubber boots (double layers of socks this time), I hiked 14km down to Eladio's Refugio in Peñas Blancas, which is in a valley in el Bosque Eterno de los Niños, or the Children’s Eternal Rainforest. Starting from the reserve, we hiked down, stayed for five nights, then hiked all the way back! The picture above is our group at the start (clean and not yet sweaty and dirty), and the pictures below show only just a few of the amazing things we saw on the trip.
Before reaching Eladio's Refugio, we took a break and ate lunch at the Refugio Aleman, then had fun at a nearby swimminghole! We finished the second leg of the hike and arrived at Eladio's all exhausted and drenched in sweat. We set up our mosquito nets, showered, ate dinner, listened to Richard Joyce's talk about working with stingless bees, then slept oh so wonderfully.
We spent the days going on awesome hikes, and we spent the nights going on frog hunts. We spent our free time hanging out together on the porch looking out on the beautiful view of the forest, and enjoyed our time without internet. We saw so many cool critters: frogs galore, insects, snakes, spiders, birds, and more! The following pictures are in no particular order, since the days kind of blurred together anyway. The entire trip was non-stop adventure and it was nice to lose track of time and be immersed in the moment.
Little lizard posing on a palm leaf and Frank posing with a freshly shed snake skin!
Stunningly red mushrooms and wickedly huge orb web spider!
SNAKES!! Both nonvenomous, but still so cool! I got to hold the little one on the right, and it was so smooth and slippery.
Aw yiss, frogs. Eladio was amazing at finding these frogs for us to see in the night hikes, and we saw/heard over 10 species during our stay! While the red-eyed tree frog (Agalychnis callidryas) is iconic for tropical forests, my personal favorite was the climbing toad (Incilius coniferus), since I personally spotted three of them! On one occasion, Eladio held it in his hand and we pet it; it didn't even mind. Muy tranquilo. It's the the large green one next to the fly picture.
The enormous fly on the right belongs to the Tabanidae family, and even though it's been even worse in previous years, these horseflies were my least favorite part of the trip. They're incredibly persistent, AND THEY BITE THROUGH CLOTHES. Along with the mosquitoes, these guys bit me all over, so even though I enjoyed the rest of the trip, I'm glad it's over and I don't have to suffer from these horrid flies anymore.
Cool looking caterpillar! I bet it will grow into an equally cool looking butterfly. On the right, another huge spider! Aside from frogs, spiders and grasshoppers/katydids were the easiest things to find, since they move/jump a lot, so searching for motion helped find these cool guys.
Stickbug and damselfly. There were so many more cool bugs on the hikes, I wish they stayed still long enough for me to take pictures of them. Alas, the challenge makes the reward more worthwhile!
This is the first antlion I've seen on the entire trip abroad, which is understandable since they're not that common to find. Katie present this little guy for Show and Tell. On the right is a colony of oropendolas, birds that make hanging nests on the tips of precarious branches to deter predators. This particular group was hanging high over the river, so if a predator tried to climb out on a branch, it would have broken and the animal would have fallen into the river.
Speaking of rivers, we crossed and hiked along plenty of them! Our boots were often filled with water, and we would hike with our wet socks squelching. The end goal was always worth it: the waterfalls were almost unreal in how beautiful they were. Pictures do not do these waterfalls justice. You have to experience the sound, the spray, the way the droplets catch the sunlight, the water trickling down the boulders and rock walls that flank the waterfall...everything. The best part? Swimming in the pool. Yes, it was cold, but it was such a fun and unforgettable experience. It's definitely going to be one of my favorite memories.
Finally and certainly not the least is the man that made it possible for us to survive in the middle of the forest and enjoy its wonders. The ever so humble Eladio Cruz was not only our cook and guide for the trip, but also THE pro naturalist and expert on the plants in the region. He conducted thousands of transects to inventory the vegetation, and he even discovered a new tree family. Ticodendron incognitum is the only species of the Ticodendraceae family, which is the last plant family discovered, and it's named after him! (Recall that tico is the colloquial term for a Costa Rican.) Some more things to brag on his behalf (since he certainly won't boast about it): every plank in the refugio was cut from trees cut by Eladio, who of course cut down the trees and built the refuge himself. He's quite handy with a machete, and we spent a day following him as he bushwhacked through the forest to get to a lagoon (which we unfortunately didn't reach, BUT! It was about the journey, not the destination). He was also bit by the deadly fer-de-lance, but he played it off and initially refused to get help. Only when he passed out, went to a clinic, and started bleeding from his pores did he go to a hospital, but the story doesn't end there. After incising his own hand to drain the pus, he got bored of staying at the hospital and requested a transfer, but instead of getting on the bus to the next hospital, he went home to Monteverde instead. Such a boss. Eladio also played a key role in creating the preserve in Peñas Blancas, with his friend Wolf Guindon (note: read the book, Walking with Wolf). He's truly a remarkable person, but doesn't even show it because of his humility and modesty. I am honored to have met him.
No comments:
Post a Comment