Deep into el Bosque lluvioso

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Hola. Finally, I had the chance to see the beautiful side of Costa Rica. The school I am at, Centro Panamericano de Idiomas ( CPI), offers many excursions to places in Costa Rica. This week I took a 'jungle cruise' to Sarapiqui. After an 1 hour and 1/2 ride on what is one of the main roads from Puerto Limon, a road that would be deemed impassable in my neck of the woods, we arrived at a swift flowing green and brown colored river. Boat safety? I think not. No life preservers were offered nor none in evidence. I felt better when the guide told us the river at present was only a meter deep. I felt worse when she told us that it is also full of crocodiles. I'm sure my nice tender and meaty legs would be a delectable dinner for Mr. Croc.

Lucky me! Turns out it is iguana mating season. The big, handsome boys were literally hanging out of the trees trying to attract females. They turn a bright orange and have a swingy flap of skin hanging under their chin. They wave this 'flap' back and forth hoping to attract a mate. And, we were told, size does matter. THe bigger the hanging, orange flap the more attractive to the female. Are you guys taking notes? Truly iguanas have to be some of the ugliest creatures alive on the earth today with the exception of Mick Jagger. But I guess to another iguana.....

Further along the river we saw howler monkeys, lots of howlers. They were not interested in us, only other howlers. Now, here is another interesting fact...when they have sex it lasts only 30 seconds. Hmmmm. Are you guys taking notes? And, the alpha male can have sex up to 10 times a day. Now I've got your interest. That may sound exhausting but if you do the math it is all of 5 minutes. No comments

Well, more cruising and some sitings of caimans, which are small sort of midget crocs but never did get to see the dreaded crocs. There were plenty of birds but no sloths. The guide decided they were' too lazy that day'...must be a guide joke.

The river is bordered by banana plantations. Some are owned by a corporations and others are small plots farmed by families. The families live in small unpainted huts that look like a good wind would blow them down. Usually, there were a few barefoot and even bare bottomed kids running around. Tne only source of transportation these families have is by long canoes. The kids go to school by canoe. The mama does her shopping by canoe. In one short ride I was transported back to what Costa Rica and all of Central America must have looked like before the Spaniards and /or the United Fruit Companyarrived. One interesting observation: some of the bunches of bananas were covered with large, blue trash bag size plastic bags. We were told that these are like little hothouses to ripen the bananas more quickly. Insectisides are added to prevent damage. That's because we all like our fruit to be perfect. Lord help us if we ever come to a day when they wax bananas as apples are done now.

www.rainforestrams.com
What is that, you may ask? That was Friday's field trip. I am still struggling with words to try and describe this trip to you. So perhaps you can view the web site and get an idea of what I'm talking about.
Last year, on a 6 hour bus ride form Cuenca to Vilcabamba, Ecuador I tried to describe all the colors of green that I saw along the top of the Andes Mountains. Time to get out the box of crayolas again. Perhaps, a simpler way to put it is a 'day in Oz'.
I had no idea what to expect other than the advertised ' tram ride in the rain forest'. Upon arrival we ( 6 other classsmates and me) were put on a large van. We drove deep, deep, deep anddown, down, down into the floor of the rainforest. Trust me if the van had broken down, I'd still be walking trying to find my way back. At one point I asked if anyone had brought the bread crumbs!

We were greeted by 2 young guides and shown a film of how the tram was constructed so as not to environmentally damage the rain forest. And interesting line in the film was that the 30 foot high steel poles needed to string the cable were put in place using Sandinista helicopters. Wonder if Reagan knew that.

The tram cars hold six people plus a guide and soar up to 30 feet right into the tree canopy. On this day the sun was shining ( extremely rare, hence the name rain forest). I was eye level with monkey vines, 'broccoli' trees- so called because all their lower branches fall off leaving them looking like, well, broccoli. I was less thatn 2 feet away from a column of ants working their way down 5 meter deep home that they share with 15 million sisters and a few million brothers. Fact: the women do ALL the work. The guys just are used for mating purposed only. Absolutely no comment here.

At one point we were stopped for about 20 minutes. Up ahead we could see some workmen trimming branches. There had been a slight accident that morning, we were told. A woman had leaned out of the tram taking pictures and had been hit by a branch. So workers were now trimming that area to prevent further mishaps. It was completely silent. I was surrounded by ferns as tall as a house, palms 2stories tall. and trees over 100 feet. The ants kept working oblivious to my stares. The sun played in and out of the trees tops making some plants on the floor happy. Mostly, I was stunned by the incredible peace. The 2 other women in my tram were silent. The guide was silent. We all realized that what we were experiencing was a gift.

At some points along the ride the tram dipped to within 3 feet of the forest floor. Pungent moldy odors overwhelmed me as compost was being made to supply nutrients for the plants and trees that don't often see sunlight. Stringers were hanging from many trees. A way, the guide told me, that the trees absorb more water. Later on the ground during a walk through another part of the forest he picked one of the strigners off and passed it around. It smelled like citronella and is used as an insect repellent. He showed us tree bark taht is used for diabetes, other plants that are used nowa days in modern medicine.

Of course I knew what the rain forest was. I've watched National Geographic specials and the Discovery channel. But nothing prepared me for silence, the smell, the zillion shades of green, the incredible resource that it is to the world. I'll never think of ' save the rain forest' as just a bumper sticker again. It is resource that all the world must work to save.

Next week: Monteverde
Hasta luego,
Carolyn

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