Ok, so this is sort of a wussy challenge, but I've been busy and some changes I plan to make can't happen while in Costa Rica. So.....for now here's a relatively easy one. You know those packages like Eclipse that have the flat cardboard with plastic inside, I'm giving up that kind of gum. It's just more plastic and ends up in the landfills and eventually scattered all over the world! I'll explain more on that later once I'm back in the states!
Now on to the fun stuff:
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Monteverde
This past weekend, we made a trip to the rainforest and had one of the BEST weekends of my entire life. Please, come take the trip with me.
We started the trip with a walk and tour at the floor of the rainforest. We went on a hunt for animals and just to take in the beauty of the trees and vegetation! It was absolutely amazing! The clean air and the wind would make all of the leaves dance in unison. The sounds were so calming.
We saw an agouti which is in the rat family, a few squirrels, a salamander, and a couple of birds on our walk through the rainforest.
The trees were almost always covered in vines and the branches were like window sill pots lined with plants. The plants that grow on the branches of the trees are called epiphytes. Epiphytes are a type of plant that grown on another plan non-parasitcially. These plants derive their nutrients from the air, rain, and sometimes from debris that accumulate around or in them.
Nature's swing set!
Much of the tour was spent on hanging bridges, high above the ground. This offered us a view from above to better see birds and look down at some of the animals below.
One of my favorite views of the day!
This tree is hundreds of years in the making! Can you see the weird lattice type work that appears in the trunk above? This tree is actually hollow in the middle! Wait? What? How does that happen? Well many many years ago a monkey was sitting on a tree eating or something when it pooped or a bird. This poop fell down and landed on a branch. Within the monkey's feces was a seed of a plant called a strangling fig. This strangling fig germinated and started growing. The fig sent down roots from the branch. Those roots eventually hit the ground and took hold. Over hundreds of years those roots solidifed and grew together and formed the tree you see above. The strangling fig eventually cuts off nutrients to the tree upon which it started it's life and the original tree eventually decomposes and leaves a hollow tree!
And what better thing to do with a hollow tree than to climb it! It's helps when guides before us have placed nice rope steps within the tree.
Peek-a-Boo!
Coming up next on our Monteverde adventure is a Canopy Tour!!!!!!!!
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