Nature Bears the Colors of the Spirit : Costa Rica

8/6/17 

I woke up to go to Monteverde (across lake arenal and further into the mountains) by way of a jeep, then a water taxi, then another jeep ride. This is a time saving option in comparison to riding a bus in the mountains all the way around the lake. Pratik and Nicole, my friends from the previous hostel, were on the same schedule as me and we all ended up traveling together again. 

This is the beginning of when I really got to know Pratik. The three of us discussed when we had our first big travel experience, and what made us yearn for more. Pratik works for GAVI/the global vaccine alliance and he’s worked for the World Wildlife Fund. He lives in Geneva now, but he’s lived in something like 12 countries in his life. Pratik told us about his previous travel… he’s been to see the northern lights and taken kung fu classes in China. He’s hiked thousands of meters of elevation change in the Himalayas and had to crawl the last bit of his ascent because he was so tired (all he could see over the ledge was Himalayan prayer flags, all he could hear was the other hikers cheering him on). When his day-to day life became too predictable, he decided to bike from Prague to Budapest on his own. He stays in hostels when he travels to get 'back to basics' and to remember how to be resourceful again. As he puts it, he "wants to know that he could live without all the comforts of his normal life and everything would be ok."

Arrival to My hostel and the surrounding area:

walking into town with Nicole

I arrived at my hostel, Hostel La Suerte, and got ready for the Kinkajou night walk tour with Nicole. This is a guided noncurnal hike where you can see the nocturnal animals in the rain-forest. It was crazy to see just how alive the forest was at nighttime. Our guide said that he does this nightly, and by carrying one flashlight he was able to spot even the most well camouflaged animals in just the blink of an eye. I was almost more amazed by his ability to spot the animal than the animal itself. 
First, we saw a two-toed sloth in the tree. Apparently, they climb down once a week to go to the bathroom, but that’s it. Interestingly enough, I learned they are a cousin to armadillos and anteaters. 

Next, we saw a red-eyed tree frog specific to the elevation of Monteverde. Costa Rica has 400+ frog species, 8 of which are poisonous.

We saw a keel-billed toucan sleeping on the tip of a branch, so that he can fly away if he feels any animals causing movement in the tree. 

We saw a Side Striped Palm Pit Viper coiled in the guava tree (he was directly above me). They grow to 2.5-3 meters long. We saw a small one, but they can still kill a person in 2-3 hours. 

Next, we saw a ‘walking stick’ bug which can reproduce asexually if there aren’t any males around

  We had army ants, which are poisonous, swarming around our feet when we saw a "small" orange-kneed tarantula hanging out in its burrow. The females eat the males after mating, because they no longer need them. I’m seeing a trend here…

The tarantula is eaten by a tarantula hawk wasp, which has the second most painful sting in the world next to the bullet ant (which is also all over Costa Rica....who rates these things and how?). The tarantula hawk wasp stings and lays its eggs, which then will eat a creature from the inside out. They also can sting humans/tourists.

Our guide told us more about the ficus trees, which are actually parasitic. They wrap and strangle another tree from the top to bottom and use its roots for survival. A small mammal, the Kinkajou, eats ficus fruits and drops their pits to aid in its spread. Many animals love to live in the crevices of the ficus trees, including spiders, scorpions, bats, and snakes. 
I didn’t know it then, but I would climb a giant ficus tree a few days later.

At the end of the tour, our guide pulled a prank on Nicole and me. He told us to try the “ice cream bean” from the tree. We watched as he ate it first, but we didn’t see that he did not actually chew. Nicole and I did chew the bean, and it was the worst tasting thing.  Our faces were pained and  he seemed to enjoy our gullibility. 

we survived....

 

The View From My Hostel in Cloudy Monteverde

A rooster that chased me and enjoyed blocking the door to my room

 Everything I own has been soaking for days. My backpack.. shoes... towel...clothes Everything. There’s a level of dirty you become while traveling this way, because your towel and your clothes cannot be kept clean in the mud and rain and humidity, and even if you wash them while taking your cold shower there’s no chance they will dry, but they will mildew. I wore my supportive hiking sandals the entire trip, because there was so much mud and rain that any other type of shoe would be perpetually wet and never dry as well. 

8/7/17 

I started the day going ziplining in the cloud forests of Monteverde. I got off the bus with a group of other visitors to a line of about 20 costa rican men holding up harnesses and helmets. They’re apparently not very concerned with communication here, they just kind of lift your leg for you, tighten straps, twist and turn you around... and in record time you’re in a body harness with pulleys and a helmet. No one could accuse them of being inefficient, that’s for sure

While zip lining, you’re up high in the canopy of the trees, with great views of the forests below. There are 14 zip lines, and the longest is about 800 meters long and goes between mountain passes. I also did the ‘super(wo)man’ which is a kilometer long zipline where you lay on your stomach and experience flying like a bird.  They also have what they call a Tarzan swing, which is an absolutely terrifying 45 m free fall.

Tarzan Swing, you can see the jump point up at the top of the photo

            At each traditional pulley, the man working it would ask you "what’s your name?" and "where are you from?" while he switched you to another line, and then send you on your way. I think I introduced myself about 40 times throughout the day, but had no idea what I was getting myself into at each line or where to go next. After the last sitting zipline, one of the men would look at you and say “superman?” and if you said "yes" he’d silently switch your harness into a laying-support harness, pull your pants higher, and switch all your strap connections while you’re still standing there in the harness (and confused). 
Then, he pointed to an ATV and a couple of British travelers and Nicole and I went to get in it for a ride higher in the mountain. He dropped us at a trailhead, pointed to a box, and said “grab pulley” before he drove away.  We all had a common consensus that we should hike up the trail with our pulleys, but we also were all laughing at the fact that they chose the person who spoke the least English to drop people off in the woods and leave. I kept saying, “I feel like I’m communicating a lot, but not about anything that matters before I’m 200m in the air.”

            Flying in the air was amazing, you’re going fast enough that your eyes are watering and the air feels cold. The views from that high up were amazing.

we're done!

            After ziplining, I toured around the town of Santa Elena and went to a local favorite lunch place. It started pouring, and while waiting to leave I met two people living in my hometown, Richmond.

            A girl in my hostel named Tayler, Pratik, Nicole, and I went to dinner at a local soda before heading to bars. Some stray dogs escorted us to the bars and made sure to get a few cuddles from us. We made a stop at a little ice cream shop, where I rode the armadillo statue out front.

loving on all the stray pups I met

We had the best time talking; we were practically in tears we were laughing so hard. Pratik told us that he enjoys keeping a moon diary because he finds that some of his best nights in life coincide with the full moon. We each thought of some really special memories in our lives and then looked up whether they happened on a full moon. We looked at the dates of the photos on our phone to see what we were doing during some recent full moons. This brought us to tell some pretty special stories to share with each other. 
That night, it just so happened to be the full moon.

            We headed to Bar Amigos, a local favorite place to dance (it’s open until 4AM every single night). I met two Canadians (from Quebec), who were actually staying at my hostel, and a French girl. We all spoke French for the night.  There was another Canadian guy as infatuated with the stray dogs as I was, and I learned that he had recently worked at a dog rescue in Thailand for a few months. I told him about my previous foster puppies in the USA and we showed each other photos of them like two proud grandparents. He told me that he was headed towards Manuel Antonio next just like I was, but staying at two beaches an hour north and south of where I’d be. 

(This is important because I ended up seeing him again, two times in completely different and random places in Costa Rica).

Pratik tried to teach me to meringue, and we ran into some girls from our previous hostel in la Fortuna. We all had guaro shots and danced together. 

One of the most unique things about Costa Rica is how small of a world it is for travelers. I repeatedly would run into people that I had met in other cities, who I had been on a bus with, or from previous hostels and it was so nice to be able to continue to see them and to get to know them but to still be able to have your own adventure and the ability to be on your own as well.  

8/8/17  
I went hiking in the Monteverde cloud forests and enjoyed seeing some wildlife and having some quiet time. I rode there in the bus with some friends from the hostel, and we hiked together for a little while.  

 

the canopy is gorgeous everywhere you look

The Tree Of Life?

Trying to match the forest

When we got to an observatory, I went to the top and listened to my music and the incredibly noisy howler monkeys surrounding me. It was chilly and windy at this elevation and on the tiny platform at the top of an observation deck, but I could see the Arenal volcano that I was at the base of just days before and watched the clouds move across it. I sat there for at least an hour just enjoying the sights and being up in the trees by myself.

The next return bus was very late, so I had some more ‘contemplation’ time, this time in the parking lot. There was another strange coincidence because as I was sitting there I ran into the fellow dog-lover (I met him the night before), Michael. He was with some people whom he had just met and was hitching a ride with on their way out of town towards the southern beaches.  

Leaving the cloud forests, I immediately hiked to go find the giant ficus tree outside of town. I  walked straight uphill on the gravel roads to find another trail, which then took me into the forest where there were a lot of ficus trees. I had the company of another Costa Rican stray dog on the way, apparently he wanted some ‘quiet time’ and reflection as well. He stayed near me and walked with me there, looked out into the forest, and then went on his way. 

The tree was so cool! It formed around/was a parasite to a very old and large tree, and the diameter of it is large enough that a human can crawl up inside it to the top. When you’re almost at the top, it gets pretty narrow and there’s more squeezing-through involved. So, the first time I went up it I went up inside.

Can you spot me?

I realized that the branches were perfect holds, and as a rock climber I couldn’t resist climbing it again, but on the outside. A few people decided to hang around; they were likely curious to see if I would make it out unscathed.

That night at the hostel, Nicole and I had beers with the Canadian brothers from Quebec in our hostel and I learned more about French Canada from the three of them.

Bloody Backpacker Feet