Tag: central-america

Pura Vida – The pure life

We spent 9 days in Costa Rica dividing our time between La Fortuna rainforest/volcano area and Manuel Antonio-pacific beach town. We got to see tons of animals during our stay and on our guided hikes to National parks and night walks. I was amazed by the variety of birds, lizards, flowers, and monkeys you can see as well as the way Costa Ricans have preserved the nature and its diversity. Costa Rica is one country where I found my iPhone camera isn’t enough to capture all the colors and vibrancy of nature.

These are some of the things that fascinated me during our stay:

1. Leaf Cutter Ants- Nature’s farmers that grow Fungai
2. Sloth and its symbiotic relationship with algae and moth
3. Hermit hummingbird and false bird of paradise/ Heliconia flower
4. Red eyed tree frog
5. Halloween Crabs
6. White tailed deer- National Symbol of Costa Rica wildlife
7. Snakes and vipers
8. Birds of Costa Rica
9. Flowers of Costa Rica
10. Colorful carts of Costa Rica
11. Costa Rican Rainforest mask or Boruca Masks

Leaf Cutter Ants- Nature’s farmers that grow Fungai

First time I saw these little ants carrying the leaves was on a zip lining trip in La Fortuna and someone pointed them out to me. I was amazed by these ants carrying as much 50 times their weight in leaves as if to prepare an amazing salad. I read about them after coming back to hotel and spent next couples of hikes actively looking for them. Next to the human society, leaf cutter ants have most complex society with caste system and are the best farmers after us.

Leafcutter ants don’t eat the leaves they carry but use leaves as their fertilizer to grow their fungal gardens. These ants act as true gardeners by providing the fungus with freshly cut leaves, protecting them from pests and molds, and clearing them of decayed material and garbage. In return, the fungus acts as a food source for the ants’ larvae. Ants are very sensitive to the needs of these fungi and change up the leaf if the Fungai don’t like it as a food source. This symbiotic relationship also benefits from a bacterium that grows on the ant’s bodies and secretes antimicrobials, which the ants use to protect their fungi. You can read more about these amazing insects here .

Sloth and its symbiotic relationship with algae and moth

Most people who go to Costa Rica want to see sloths which are the national animal and symbol of Costa Rica. We were able to see Sloths in a few places both in La Fortuna and in the Parador resort at Manuel Antonio which had a resident sloth named Valentina that hung out by the pool on the mango tree with her baby.

Although pretty common in Costa Rica, Sloths are not easy to spot. We were able to see 3-toed sloths in La Fortuna area during daytime while we saw nocturnal 2 t0ed sloths in Manuel Antonio Park. We weren’t able to spot first few until the guides pointed out but after a week, we got pretty good at spotting them especially on certain tress where they inhabit. As a slow-moving animal, sloths have developed a good camouflage technique that makes them hard to find. Sloths have a specialized fur coat that is covered in tiny grooves, providing the perfect environment for green algae to grow. This green alga acts as a natural camouflage, allowing the sloth to blend seamlessly with the surrounding green leaves of rain forest. This camouflage not only helps sloths hide but also provides a source of nutrients as these sloths often lick their fur, eating the algae, which provides them with essential vitamins and minerals.

Hermit hummingbird and false bird of paradise/ Heliconia flower

One of my favorite memories from Costa Rica was waking up on day 1 in the rain forest bungalow and looking out of the window to see a hummingbird feeding on a flower. The Chachagua Rainforest hotel where we stayed had beautiful gardens and tons of hummingbirds but every morning, the one hummingbird came back to feed on the same flower. Until we went on hike to Rio Celeste and Naturalist guide explained relationship between the hummingbird and this particular flower, I finally understood the reason. 

The false bird of paradise is called Heliconia and Green hermit hummingbirds have a symbiotic relationship, and this relationship is a great example of the fine tuning of coevolution between plants and its pollinators. The green hermit hummingbirds have curved bill that mimics the shape of the flower of Heliconia. Only after being pollinated by these long-billed birds, the Heliconia plant begins to reproduce. The plant accepts pollen only from birds with bills that match the shape of its flowers. It seems like the long-billed birds and long-flowered plants evolved to fit each other. Isn’t nature full of surprises? You want to read more about this symbiotic relationship, you can check out this article.

Red eyed tree frog

Red eye tree frog is the most iconic symbol of Costa Rica and you will see on any books or items related to Costa Rica. I thought it would be easy to see these frogs as everyone posts beautiful pictures of them but our first night walk in La Fortuna, we didn’t see any red eyed tree frogs. I was determined to see them before we left Costa Rica and we did another night walk at the Parador nature resort. As soon as we reached the pond area, the guide said you are in luck as he can hear the mating call of the frog but after 30 minutes searching, we didn’t find any even though we knew they were close by but well hidden in the trees.

As much as you can easily recognize these frogs with their large red eyes and bright green skin, they are hard to spot. The bright green color of the skin easily blends with the surrounding and when frightened they close their eyes and perfectly blend on the green rain forest leaves and surface. The large red eyes of these frogs also help them to see in low light conditions. Additionally, the red eyes can help to startle predators and give these frogs a chance to escape. Our guide was finally able to spot one on our way back from the night walk and I was able to finally capture the picture of this iconic frog.

Halloween Crabs

These crabs go by various names including red land crab, white spot crab, moon crab etc and usually have some combination of red, orange, purple, black, and or blue. When every animal in rainforest is trying to blend with its environment and hide from predators, these crabs seem have taken opposite approach and gone as colorful as possible. As you walk through Manuel Antionio National Park or kayak in Mangroves, you will see hundreds of these crabs. When I asked guide why they are so brightly colored, I was told that the crabs have poor vision and bright colors is how they see each other. According to this article, these crabs are also ecosystem engineers and create habitats with deep dug borrows. “These burrows then serve as homes for a host of other creatures after the crab has moved on or become something’s dinner. They also participate in the nutrient cycle. They eat seeds, seedlings, and leaf matter, which they carry down to their burrows returning nutrients to the soil. Their diet affects their environment in another way. The seeds and seedlings that they decide to eat or not eat ultimately help to shape the plant populations in the areas where they live” (from https://guanacastewildlifemonitoring.com/)

White tailed deer- National Symbol of Costa Rica wildlife

One of the first animal we saw in Manuel Antonio National Park was a white-tailed deer and its baby and our guide spent 10 minutes talking about the animal. Living in Northeast and South of US, where these deer are everywhere and not so special and they usually they run into roads causing accidents. But sometimes, when you travel, you realize that your ordinary is someone’s extraordinary. In Costa Rica, these deer sightings are rare and it’s an accomplishment to see these animals. They are a protected species facing extinction and penalty for killing these animals is huge and our guide joking said that ” he would rather be caught selling drugs and other petty crimes than to kill this deer”. White tailed dee is declared national symbol, by President José María Figueres Olsen, on May 2^nd, 1995.

Snakes and vipers

We were able to see couple of different kinds of venomous snakes in Costa Rica. We saw the eyelash viper both in Mistico hanging bridges as well as in Rio Celste hike. One of the most prominent features of the eyelash viper is its scales, which are responsible for its rough and bumpy appearance, providing a unique texture to its skin. The color of the snake usually shades of green or yellow and it seamlessly blends into its surrounding. Both times, the guides were able to spot them, but we struggled spot them even after we knew they were there. The name of these snakes comes from extensions of scales above the eyes resemble eyelashes.

Fer-de-lance – Another venomous snake we saw in Manuel Antonio ( scientifically known as Bothrops asper). Fer-de-lance means “spearhead” in French, this venomous pit viper is known for its triangular-shaped head and deadly venom and are masters of camouflage. Again, even after the guide pointed out, it took us a little while see this snake. On the flip side, the coral snake we saw on our hike to Rio Celeste is as bright as possible.

Birds of Costa Rica

We were able to see several types of birds both in La Fortuna and in Manuel Antonio. Humming birds and Toucans were abundant in Chachagua Nature resort that we stayed in La Fortuna. We saw couple of Scarlet Macaws in Manuel Antonio but weren’t able to capture their photo. One of the crown jewels of Costa Rican bird is the Quetzal, we didn’t get to see it, but we will see them in our next trip to Costa Rica.

Flowers of Costa Rica

Just like the birds, Costa Rica has abundant flowers of various colors and sizes including a variety of Orchids, Birds of Paradise, False Bird Paradise (Heliconia), and ornamental bananas. One of the most beautiful and best smelling flower/ plant I saw is the shampoo ginger which smells like ginger and is used for making shampoos as well as Ilan-Ilan that smelled like Channel No. 5 perfume.

Colorful carts of Costa Rica

When you travel in Costa Rica, you will see these bright colored carts displayed in parks, hotels, and miniature versions in gift and souvenir shops. These bright colored and intricate patterned carts are unique to Costa Rica and were essential to Costa Rica’s growth, enabling the transport of coffee from the mountains to the coasts for export. Costa Ricans improved the cart design using a solid construction based on Aztec wheels that helped them to get through unique landscape of Costa Rica. In 2005, UNESCO inscribed Costa Rican oxcarts onto its list of intangible cultural heritage, and these carts the country’s official symbol of labor.

Even though Ox Carts are no longer used in Costa Rica for transportation, instead of fading away, ox cart become a symbol of Costa Rica and a testament to the old way of doing things. The painted carts were symbol of economic status in their time and craftsman that made the carts started painting bright colors and intricate designs that included flowers, stars, faces, landscapes. Each town/area developed its own unique designs. Also, carts were added with bells and whistles, so each cart played a signature song whenever it moved. Today, Sarchí a small town near San Jose (a good stop on the way from La Fortuna to Manuel Antonio), is only place left that produces these colorful, hand-painted works of art. Eloy Alfaro, who founded the factory in 1923 in Sarchí and is operational till today and you can visit and see the factory in operation. (https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/colorful-oxcarts-costa-rica)

Costa Rican Rainforest mask or Boruca Masks

One of my regrets after visiting Costa Rica is not buying one of these colorful masks made by Boruca community. The origin of these masks’ dates back to 500 years during the Spanish conquest of Costa Rica. These masks were created by Borucan indigenous people with the intent to scare the unwelcome Spinrads. These diablito masks or little devil masks were created as homage to the animal spirts that guided the tribe to successfully fight Spinrads. Usually carved in a single piece of Cedar or balsa wood, these intricate masks are carved and painted to represent the spirits, fierce animals, devils, and also images of the local flora and fauna. The carvers use a technique called relief carving that creates three dimensional images with unbelievable depth. There are 3 different kinds of mask – the ‘diablito’ or ‘devil’ mask are the traditional masks used for ceremonial purpose, ‘ecologica’, featuring animals and plants of the rainforest such as Toucan or sloth and are considered more modern and ‘combinados’, are the combination of both the ‘diablitos’ and the ‘ecologica’, as they represent the blending of the traditional and contemporary styles. (Check out here for more information). These masks can be bought in gift shops and other artisanal stores (not sure how authentic), but the authentic ones can be bought directly by Boruca Community or from this place in San Jose. The tradition and history behind these masks are amazing.