We finally made it to Braulio Carrillo National Park. Well actually, we drove through it and then went to a private park that was adjacent to it. We had tried going there the third weekend that we were here but got stopped because the road was closed due to a landslide. Once we crested the pass and headed down through the eastern mountains, we could see why. The sides of the hills are very steep and loaded with vegetation. While it may seem counterintuitive, the heavy foliage does not prevent landslides – the roots do not go deep enough. I thought the topsoil in a rain forest would be meters thick – but it is only an inch or so. Apparently the sunlight and high humidity is ideal for the microorganisms to be super efficient in digesting all the organic matter that falls from the plants, leaving just the minerals to form clay. Keep in mind that there is no fall here – the leaves fall year round, so the decay process can keep pace.
Costa Rica has a different thought about National Parks. They are not set up to handle lots of tourists or for a variety of activities. Mostly they are there to just preserve the ecosystem.
We chose to do a walking tour and an aerial tram through the rainforest. We met our guide, Max and had only gone a short distance when we saw some howler monkeys in a tree. We had heard but not seen howler monkeys before this. They were camera shy and stayed hidden behind some branches, without making their distinctive call.
As we were being driven to the next spot on our hike, the driver came to a sudden stop and started speaking in Spanish with our guide, both of whom gestured up and down and looked out the front window of the van. We hopped out of the car eager to see some new exotic wild life, but to our untrained eyes, it appeared that some kid had dropped his stuffed animal in the middle of the road. Our guide proclaimed that it was an anteater, which we severely doubted because it was laying flat out in the middle of the road. Nevertheless, as the driver and guide were trying to assess whether it had fallen from a tree, the creature picked up its head and sat up. We must have looked threatening, because it tried to scare us by rearing on its back legs and putting its front arms (or are they legs) up in the air. It struck this “I am big” pose for about a minute, and then must have realized that a) we clearly were not ants; b) we weren’t very aggressive and c) we were way bigger. It was very amusing, since it was only a foot or so tall while sitting on its haunches, with fairly short arms, and it made no sound. So, its threatening pose didn’t really have much of a scare to it. As it sauntered off the road, our guide commented that it was probably upset because we had forced it from its warm spot in the sun.
We had a great walking tour through the rainforest with Max. He was very knowledgeable and we learned a lot. At one point, Nancy noticed a flurry of activity on the edge of the sidewalk. It was many, many Leaf-cutter ants busy collecting the leaves to take back to the hive. We followed the trail for 100 yards and found them going into a hole by the root of a tree. Then 20 feet beyond the tree, the rainforest floor was totally bare. The ants had totally cleared a 10 by 20 foot area. These nests last about 8 years and when the queen dies the whole community dies. Max said the queen was probably about 8 inches long.
We then took an hour long aerial tram ride through the canopy of the rainforest. It was a pleasant ride and as we were talking with Max, we discovered that he had been to many of the places that we have been to in Colorado. We mentioned the Boundary Waters and he said that he had heard about them but had not ever been there. He had heard rumors that if you got lost in the Boundary Waters, that the mosquitoes were so large that they would pick you up and lift you above the treeline so you could find your way out.
He was also impressed with the fact that Americans go out in the wilderness. He kept saying that the rainforests are so safe compared to our wilderness. Keep in mind, that during our walk he kept an eye out for vipers and poison dart frogs. He said that we have so much more to worry about; the weather, the bears, etc.
During our trek through the forest floor and the canopy, it was very pleasant – and no rain. Max even commented during the tram ride that we were supposed to be getting soaked at that point. Once we got off the tram, we decided to eat at their restaurant, and it started to pour. When we finished eating, the rain stopped, so all in all, a great trip to the rainforest.
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