Day Six in Costa Rica

Day Six began with rain--a pleasant rain--a rain on which this forest's survival depends.  My spirit is immersed in wonder as I listen to the pitter-patter of the raindrops on the roof and then the "drip, drip, drip" of the raindrops falling from the flora and fauna as we walk to breakfast.  I notice too, as we return to our room, how many plants live off each other in the rainforest. We call these plants parasites.                                                                                        

The  Costa Rica Arenal rainforest has over 3,000 plant species, which include hundreds of parasitic plants.  These plants have difficulty obtaining the nutrients needed to survive, so they have evolved a system whereby they attach themselves to a host, such as a tree or shrub, and absorb nourishment. Parasitic plants are adapted to live on the forest floor or high up in the top canopy layer.   Are these plants Nature's way of telling us that the only way this world will hold together in the future is if we learn to be dependent upon one another?  I believe so.  Already there is drastic evidence that we need a stable economy in Greece, China, and Saudi Arabia in order to have economic security elsewhere.  People need one another, nations need one another.  In the future this will become even more evident as we wrestle with limited resources and other issues, such as global warming.

We hear the word "parasite" and immediately conjure up in our minds a negative meaning.  I would suggest that we put a more positive note on the word.  A parasitic plant cannot survive on its own.  Neither can we.

On the other hand, parasitic plants take what they need from the host plant and typically give nothing back.  This is precisely what humankind has done for centuries with the earth.  We have taken everything from it and given little back.  Our relationship with the earth must now be a vital balance of taking and restoring, of receiving and returning.  The same is true in our human relationships, both personal and societal.  We cannot long survive without the rainforests.  We cannot survive without a global community of mutual care and support.

Day Five in Costa Rica

Day Five in Costa Rica


At breakfast, Davy not only poured my coffee, but also gave me my daily Spanish lesson.  Someday Davey hopes to be a teacher.  I think he'll make a "Profesor excelente."  Some rain came to the Rainforest today.  I guess it shouldn't surprise anyone that it rains and rains often in a Rainforest!  The rain comes in intermittent showers at this time of the year. It did not prevent us from enjoying some time at the thermal pool and even soaking up a little sun in the morning hours.

The afternoon was bright with sunlight as we joined a group of eleven folk for a tour of the Rainforest via the  "hanging" bridges. This 2-3 mile hike through the Rainforest over 15 bridges, some stationery and some suspended over the forest, provides accessibility to the flora and fauna from different perspectives as you walk through different levels of the jungle.  What a treat it was to walk above the forest's canopy.

Many tourists take this hike thinking they will see all the wildlife a Rainforest has to offer.  It doesn't often work out that way.  Here are the birds, insects, reptiles, and animals we observed along our walk:  four Howling Monkeys (way up high in the trees), five or six different bird species and two hummingbirds--male and female--according to the guide, the male "dancing for his lady;" two wild turkeys, 1 turkey vulture,  5 Coati,  3 squirrels, 2 snakes (little, but very poisonous ones), 1 little iguana, a tarantula and leaf-cutter ants (lots of them!).   The highlight of our walk was seeing an Anteater as we crossed one of the suspension bridges--this sight was, according to our guide, a rare one.

Have you ever seen a tourist who is more interested in getting a photo than actually looking at and basking in the experience of whatever is being seen?  I think we had eight of them on our hanging bridges tour!  I was so much in awe of what I was seeing, so absorbed in the experience of being in the Rainforest, that my photos during the hike are few.  However, I took into my mind and heart many an indelible sight, sound, and smell, that I will treasure more than any photograph could possibly display.

Day Four in Costa Rica

My fourth day in Costa Rica began as all days do for me--getting up quite early and having a cup of coffee.  How special it was to sit in front of the patio doors here at Tabacon and look at the flora and fauna of the Rainforest and watch hummingbirds and butterflies do their thing (as I was doing  mine).  Davy waited on us at breakfast and tried to help me with my Spanish.  Cristian served lunch.  Aban served us at dinner. Wonderful guys! The Costa Rican people have a gentleness about them--a relaxed and easy-going spirit that is very appealing to me.  Perhaps some of it will rub off.

After a leisurely morning, enjoying the hot tub and swimming pool, we went on the Arenal Volcano Hike Tour.  Confound it!  Three-score and ten years plus 3 is creeping up on me!  I could feel it as we climbed up the lava rocks to a summit where we had a wonderful view of Lake Arenal and the volcano.  I could feel it going downhill too!  Don't wait to do your traveling-- confound it, do it now!

Along the hiking path we saw some unique birds (and heard their strange jungle songs) flowers, and some animals too.  One of the animals was the Coati, a mammal similar to our raccoon.  There were a few orchids blooming along the pathway too.  A wonderful hike.  I just need to get in shape--the issue has nothing to do with arthritic knees, extra fatty tissue, or age!

When I was young, National Geographic magazines and Tarzan movies helped me conjure up in my mind a great fantasy.  I imagined myself an explorer in the jungle, a naturalist collecting different species of insect and wildlife.  And here I am today in the Costa Rican Rainforest.  I still, every once in a while, when no one is paying attention, pretend to be that explorer of my youth cutting a swath through the jungle.  What?  You can't picture me cutting a swath through the jungle?  If I have to conjure it up in my imagination, then you can only "picture it" in your own imagination!  It is quite a sight--hope your imagination can get hold of it!

Day Three in Costa Rica

Yesterday we traveled 93 miles north from San Jose to La Fortuna, Costa Rica.  The shuttle in which we rode included two people from Sweden, one from France, three from the USA, and the driver.  By the time we reached La Fortuna we had become an international community of travelers.  Along the way we saw several sloths and numerous giant iguanas.  Our temporary home for the next few days will be the Tabacon Grand Spa Hot Springs hotel, located near the 30,000 acre Arenal Volcano National Park.  The hotel houses guests in the middle of the Costa Rican Rainforest. I can look out the back door and see butterflies, humming birds, and the Rainforest flora and fauna. From the front of our little building of 8 guest rooms we have a magnificent view of the 5,347 foot Arenal Volcano.

Arenal is Costa Rica's most active volcano.  It's most recent eruption period began in 1968 and continued through  2010.  Seismologists say it is resting now, but still very much alive. Arenal National Park surrounding the volcano has nearly 75% of the total 850 species of birds in Costa Rica.  Other inhabitants in the park are sloths, white-faced capuchin monkeys, coati, deer and snakes, including the infamous fer-de-lance, parrot snake and boa constrictor.

A five minute walk (or a very brief shuttle ride) from the hotel location is the Tabacon Thermal Hot Springs Spa Resort, where the water heated by Arenal cascades down into the Rainforest to form bubbling streams and babbling waterfalls.   I enjoyed a relaxing time sitting beneath one of those waterfalls yesterday!  I shall do so again today!

Home and loved ones are never out of mind when on the road or across the sea.  Our granddaughter Katie returned from England last night and our home will be her home while we are away.  She graduated with a Master's degree from Bangor University in January (and grandad adds braggingly with a 4.0!). Her friend from England, Liam, is now shoveling snow from our drive--an opportunity he had never had before--and here we are in lovely Costa Rica,  soaking up the thermal waters.

Day Two in Costa Rica

Hallelujah!  The luggage arrived last evening at 8 p.m.  Throughout the afternoon I would wander into the lobby checking for it and asking about it.  The folk there became aware of my plight and when I walked back into the lobby at 8, looking forlorn, a very elated group yelled, "Mr. Owens, Mr. Owens, it has arrived.  We have been trying to call your room!  Your bags are here!" The most striking and noticeable thing about Costa Rica is its people.  They are a friendly, smiling, cheerful, accommodating, and seemingly happy people.  They are a delight to be around!

Our visit with nephew, Todd, was a good one.  If we had missed getting on that stand-by flight in Miami the night before we would have missed that opportunity.  (It was the only day in our schedules). Sometimes things work out--not often--but sometimes.   Todd has lived in Costa Rica for 18 years.  He calls it "Paradise."

After a couple of days and nights of just relaxing here at the Marriott in San Jose, I'm inclined to think that Todd might be right.  If it isn't "paradise," it sure is awfully close.  We've been well-pandered.  I may not be able to pour my own cup of coffee in the morning when I return to the hum-drum and routine of my own home.

Today we travel north to Fortuna.  

Yesterday's Travel Adventure

Shh!  It's a secret.  We skipped town yesterday for a new adventure.  On Sunday I dug a narrow passageway through the snow to the street (the driveway was full of drifted snow) so that we could sneak off in the shuttle that picked us up at 3 a.m. on Monday.  I-95 was clear and we were at the airport in no time at all.  Our 6  a.m. flight was a go!  How could everything be going so smoothly?  Well, wait, wait, for the rest of the story.

Passengers boarded that flight to Miami in a festive mood.  It had not been cancelled like so many others.  Then the bubble of good fortune burst when we were told that everything was set to go, except for the fact that there were no pilots to fly the plane.  The pilots were in Dallas or Miami, flying from there to Philly to fly our plane to Miami!  Everyone got off the plane--stood in line for two hours making arrangements (or trying to do so) for connecting flights--and waiting.   At 10:30 we boarded the flight to Miami (with pilots this time--all the way from Miami) and arrived safely there at 1:30 p.m. (10 hours after leaving home). We were unable to get confirmed seats on the last plane (6:05 p.m.) of the day flying to San Jose, Costa Rica--our destination.  We were on stand-by, however,  and fortunately there were seats available (and pilots).  We arrived in Costa Rica at 8:45 EST.  Our luggage did not!  So I stood in another line for another hour or so attempting to find our luggage.  "Ah, your luggage is in Miami," well, who would have guessed!

If you travel, you must be prepared for adventure like this and you must have a good travel agent to help you along the way.  We have Rose and how grateful we are for her.  I texted her as we left Miami.  When we arrived in San Jose, someone was there to take us to our hotel, with or without baggage.  Today, we'll be with my nephew who lives here in Costa Rica. We may be in yesterday's clothing and our hair a bit out-of-kilter, but we've had a peaceful rest, a shower, and even brushed our teeth with complimentary brushes and paste. My gypsy heart is having a blast!  

Nature’s Beauty and Havoc

The “Blizzard of the Ages” (aka Jonas) has now passed, leaving behind wondrous sculptures on rooftops, decks, and vehicles.   Emerson, in his poem, “The Snow Storm,” describes it as "The frolic architecture of the snow.”   Like all other similar storms, however (from “The Great White Hurricane” of 1888, the Knickerbocker Storm of 1922, the Blizzard of 1978, the “Storm of the Century” in 1993 and the blizzards of 1996 and 2010) Jonas wreaked havoc as well as “frolic architecture.” That havoc will continue for days to come at astronomical cost all along the mid-Atlantic as attempts are made to clear the highways and byways, repair and rebuild the coastal aftermath, and make up all those cancelled flights at major airports.  

The pristine whiteness of the snow yesterday will soon turn an ugly brown along the highways.  The beautifully sculpted drifts will be plowed down or shoveled away and eventually the snow will melt and coastal waters recede.  Normality (whatever that may be for each of us) will return they say—eventually.

In every storm of life something can be found that is beautiful, as beautiful as the wind-sculpted snow.  Every storm of life brings havoc too.  Nature tells us so.  Life is a conundrum, a confusing and difficult riddle, a puzzle which often times we think has several missing pieces, a brainteaser that we wrestle with everyday.  It is both beautiful and unsightly.