living in la selva, working in the forest day in and day out, i tend to lose touch with reality. it can be easy to forget that there is a whole country and world outside of the finca. the only ways i keep track of the days is by the dates i have to record when i sample; wednesday night is always BBQ night, and mauricio has weekends off.
i often forget how amazing even some of the most common animals and plants in the forest are. and how strange my life is compared to my friends and family. a typical day for me involves my 4:30 am wake up call courtesy of howler monkeys, hitting the trails by 6:30 or 7 am and leaving even the more remote and less traveled trails in la selva to hike through a forest of dense vegetation, swamps, rivers. in sun, rain, thunder and lightning storms. we come across monkies, vipers, non poisonous vine snakes, frogs, scorpions, various strange insects, countless birds. just me, my spanish speaking assistant mau, and my compass alone in the forest.
i love getting the chance to travel as well as having people visit; it brings me back to reality for a short while. i am reminded that all the strange and amazing plants and animals i see on a daily basis really are strange and amazing. that knee high rubber boots and field pants are NOT appropriate attire for all occasions. and that some people are more 'dry clean only' than 'wash and wear,' or more accurately 'not wash and wear.'
A few weekends ago, my parents came to la selva to visit, see where i work, and then take me on vacation for three nights in Monte Verde Cloud Forest. the first hour they were here, 6 howler monkies decided to cross the river along bridge along the suspension cables and then launch into the neighboring trees. my parent later had to be brough back down to reality: 'you mean, you dont normally see monkies dangling 2 meters away in costa rica?!'
they were fascinated by the leafcutter ants that were harvesting leaves near the labs and had created a cleared highway back to their nest. leafcutters have a very complex caste system and social structure. just within the ant working, there were those cutting, those carrying, soldiers patrolling along the highway, and even small ants that hitch a ride on the leaf pieces to protect the leaves as they are carried from other flies and wasps laying eggs on the leaves.
my parents spent a good 15 minutes crouched and watching. my mom whispering excitedly, and not all that quietly, as my dad tried taking pictures of them with his digital camera as they descended from the tree. and my reaction: 'oh yeah, leaf cutters, they are all over the place. and a trouble in the shadehouses. you have to keep all the pants on tables, with the table legs in buckets of water, or else the ants will try and bridge across the water, climb the tables, and destroy your plants.'
we saw poison dart frogs, the hog nosed viper, tucans, oropendulas, bromeliads, bullet ants, walking palms, just to name a few. and when my mom went back to her room after breakfast, there was a big freshwater crab scuttling across her pillow. luckily i saved the day and wrassled it (released it outside). right, so did i mention that the rainfores here has land crabs? how strange is that? you'll be out hiking along the trail when, out of the corner of your eye, you catch a crab scuttling past.
our trip to monte verde was amazing. the forest there is so different from here. yet with many of the same plants. we spent a day in the reserve, hiked to the continental divide (but couldnt see anything because it was so overcast and rainy), did a canopy tour, and i got treated to lots of great food. we also had excitement with the really bad road there. my dad managed to get a flat tire and sent me to go negotiate at the 'taller' to fix the tire. i think he had a bit more faith in my spanish than i did. but it was strange traveling around with them. i felt like i was looking after them. i would help them with even more simple things, like ordering food, getting directions. yes, we are in a country that is not the US. where the spoken language is NOT (GASP) english.
anyhow, it was an interesting trip. i will get some pictures posted soon, amores.
besitos.
i often forget how amazing even some of the most common animals and plants in the forest are. and how strange my life is compared to my friends and family. a typical day for me involves my 4:30 am wake up call courtesy of howler monkeys, hitting the trails by 6:30 or 7 am and leaving even the more remote and less traveled trails in la selva to hike through a forest of dense vegetation, swamps, rivers. in sun, rain, thunder and lightning storms. we come across monkies, vipers, non poisonous vine snakes, frogs, scorpions, various strange insects, countless birds. just me, my spanish speaking assistant mau, and my compass alone in the forest.
i love getting the chance to travel as well as having people visit; it brings me back to reality for a short while. i am reminded that all the strange and amazing plants and animals i see on a daily basis really are strange and amazing. that knee high rubber boots and field pants are NOT appropriate attire for all occasions. and that some people are more 'dry clean only' than 'wash and wear,' or more accurately 'not wash and wear.'
A few weekends ago, my parents came to la selva to visit, see where i work, and then take me on vacation for three nights in Monte Verde Cloud Forest. the first hour they were here, 6 howler monkies decided to cross the river along bridge along the suspension cables and then launch into the neighboring trees. my parent later had to be brough back down to reality: 'you mean, you dont normally see monkies dangling 2 meters away in costa rica?!'
they were fascinated by the leafcutter ants that were harvesting leaves near the labs and had created a cleared highway back to their nest. leafcutters have a very complex caste system and social structure. just within the ant working, there were those cutting, those carrying, soldiers patrolling along the highway, and even small ants that hitch a ride on the leaf pieces to protect the leaves as they are carried from other flies and wasps laying eggs on the leaves.
my parents spent a good 15 minutes crouched and watching. my mom whispering excitedly, and not all that quietly, as my dad tried taking pictures of them with his digital camera as they descended from the tree. and my reaction: 'oh yeah, leaf cutters, they are all over the place. and a trouble in the shadehouses. you have to keep all the pants on tables, with the table legs in buckets of water, or else the ants will try and bridge across the water, climb the tables, and destroy your plants.'
we saw poison dart frogs, the hog nosed viper, tucans, oropendulas, bromeliads, bullet ants, walking palms, just to name a few. and when my mom went back to her room after breakfast, there was a big freshwater crab scuttling across her pillow. luckily i saved the day and wrassled it (released it outside). right, so did i mention that the rainfores here has land crabs? how strange is that? you'll be out hiking along the trail when, out of the corner of your eye, you catch a crab scuttling past.
our trip to monte verde was amazing. the forest there is so different from here. yet with many of the same plants. we spent a day in the reserve, hiked to the continental divide (but couldnt see anything because it was so overcast and rainy), did a canopy tour, and i got treated to lots of great food. we also had excitement with the really bad road there. my dad managed to get a flat tire and sent me to go negotiate at the 'taller' to fix the tire. i think he had a bit more faith in my spanish than i did. but it was strange traveling around with them. i felt like i was looking after them. i would help them with even more simple things, like ordering food, getting directions. yes, we are in a country that is not the US. where the spoken language is NOT (GASP) english.
anyhow, it was an interesting trip. i will get some pictures posted soon, amores.
besitos.
posted by erin at 7:24 PM
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