| Our first stop was the Aerial Tram outside of the Braulio Carrillo national park. The Tram is basically a ski lift that has been unobtrusively (well as much as possible) set into the secondary cloud forest via helicopter. |
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We saw and learned about epiphytes which are plants
that live on other plants, but do not injury the host plant;
i.e., they are not parasites. Life in a rain forest is
all about getting to light, and being able to hitch a
ride on a tall tree growing toward the canopy is a good
strategy.
Look at all the different epiphytes on this one tree trunk! |
| One of the stranger things we saw was this walking palm. It is apparently able to move on its tendril like roots--presumably trying to find a spot where more light hits the forest floor. |
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| A couple days later, at the Monteverde Reserve, we were fortunate to see a resplendent quetzal; it was at a distance but brilliant in full sunlight. (The picture is a scan of a postcard). |
| The next day, still in Monteverde, 4 of us went on a canopy tour. It was really 3 stretches of "zipline" 80 or so feet in the air. It was a lot of fun, seemed pretty safe, but took way too long to do. Here, Erik shows his form. |
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On the way past Arenal Lake, we came across a troop
(mob?  ) of
coatimundis, relatives of the raccoon.
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| Our next adventure involved white water rafting down the class 3 and 4 rapids of the Pacuare River. We hadn't even got our life jackets on, when the guides rescued a 3 toed sloth from the river currents. |
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| Man the oars! All 5 of us, plus guide Ricardo standing in back, negotiate a class 4 rapid. |
| Finally, Kathy and I went on our own to Tamarindo in the northwest province of Guancaste in search of surf and sun. We found both. |
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