| Journal Entries |
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 “Count Down To Costa Rica. Yes, amazingly time went by quicker that I had imagined. The trip is just around the corner and the jitters are creeping up on me like the flu. Almost everything is packed except for the usual last minute accessories here and there. I’m very excited especially since I’ve never been on an airplane much less out of the country. This opportunity might be a once in a lifetime deal and I want to take advantage of every minute that I’m there. My family has been very supportive and they made it clear to me that they’re glad I’m going even if they’ll miss me (which makes me very happy)…I’ll try to be like a sponge and absorb every detail of information, facts, culture, etc. to enjoy this experience to the maximum so that I can go back feeling much more secure about my future plans.
I couldn’t be more blessed than this.”
- Terry |
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 "day One!!! Costa Rica…We finally got out of the airport and started on the way to INBio Parque. I have never been to a place like that before in my whole life. It’s like a living museum. Our guide was really great and so passionate about Costa Rica’s plants, animals, insects, fish, etc. We saw really cool living things. I was totally freaking out! The only “wild life” I usually see is squirrels, pigeons, rats and Spring Breakers, so seeing wild iguanas, deer and other creatures was so cool. Plus, I saw some poison dart frogs! I’ve always wanted to see those little frogs and they are so cute and tiny!
Everything just feels so alive here. The mountains are gorgeous and the air is so fresh. On the way to INBio, we a passed a little shadegrown coffee grove. It was so fragrant!. I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings."
- Jessica |
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“Today we touch: fuzzy leaves that feel like peaches; blood red berries oozing their life onto my hands when squeezed; spongy tree bark that looks like a fungus has taken over; spiky palms that look like a porcupine and hold delicious palmito within. What I really wanted to touch I could not. That green slimy frog that appeared like it was created out of that children’s ooze that comes in a can. Oh well, I left him sitting on a leaf.”
- Larissa |
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 “Blue Jean Frog or Poison Dart Frog lays its eggs in the water and then moves the tadpoles to the center of a bromeliad.
No matter how you see the Blue Morpho, you get a great view. They are hard to take pictures of so I drew them.
Oops! This is actually the underside of a Caligo or Owl Butterfly but the underside of a Blue Morpho is very similar. The wings have black linings and iridescent blue on the topside.”
- Leslie |
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 “What an amazing sight the Poas Volcano National Park was. We all found some new things that we don’t usually see back home unless it’s on the Discovery Channel. How amazing it is to come across so many different species of plants and animals with every step we take.
Before, I used to believe that a tree was a tree and flowers were only useful to decorate our homes. But between the last few science courses I’ve taken, reading Tropical Nature , and just being on this trip has allowed me to step out of the four wall room I’ve been living in all my life. These experiences have allowed me to realize that there are more things to explore beyond the city of Miami and that everything is different for all sorts of reasons.
Standing on that observation deck to see the Poas Volcano took my breath away. Although the smell of sulfuric acid turned my stomach upside down, tolerating the smell of what seemed like rotten eggs was compensated by the view that Mother Nature had created. As soon as the clouds cleared and we all got a glimpse of the crater, I believe that everyone was just as amazed as I was. Breathtaking. it’s the only thing I can say to describe it…just breathtaking.”
- Terry |
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“The Poas crater was so magnificent is all aspects. Its size, its power, its surroundings, and most of all the whole idea behind it. It represents every facet of strength I can conjure up in my mind. And it seems like such a simple fact of Nature, but when you sit and ponder it, the whole process is so intricate and complicated. It’s not just a volcano erupting - and it effects so many other properties in Nature. Even though Poas is no longer active, there’s still so much that goes on without it even erupting. And to see that in person , yet again it completely mesmerized me. “
- Leah |
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“Condensed traveling senses awaken the morning mist. Howler monkey hangs high up in the Cecropia tree: “I am an ink drop in this landscape of rainy days, sunny days, swell moments. At ease with the Earth.”
- Aldo |
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“The Bug. I can’t believe what just happened! We were just attacked by an unknown species. It was huge - like an oversize mutant fly; I would estimate about 4” long. It came in through the open door and flew over Terry’s bed and onto the curtain. We let it chill for a while until it was our time for bed, then Sefora grabbed it with a towel and to our surprise, it started to scream like a girl! How weird. She walked outside and opened the towel to let it loose, but it just flew back into our room.  This time, it landed on Jessica’s pillow. We said to ourselves: "We have to be smart about this now. Let’s grab a glass and put it over the bug." As soon as we did this, it started to desperately fly around the small drinking glass. At this point we were really scared.
"OK, grab the hard piece of paper and gently slide it under the glass. Done. Now, let’s put it outside." So, Jessica gently took the glass with the paper underneath so that the bug had no way out - but it began to squeal again. We placed it on the ground outside with the paper still underneath then removed the paper.
We shut our room door so that only Jessica’s arm could reach the glass. Quickly, she lifted the glass and shut the door. We were now safe from the Giant Mutant Bug. The Bug continued to try to find it’s way back into our room, but we weren’t having that again. “
PS – The Bug was actually one of hundreds of large cicadas that had just metamorphosed from their underground juvenile stage into flying, reproductive adults all through the forests of Selva Verde. (CM)
- Raquel |
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“While rafting, we stopped along the Rio Sarapiqui to swim, jump off rocks into the water and to eat fresh pineapple and watermelon. We were all enjoying the fresh fruit as we conversed for a bit. My heart pumps my blood through my veins as a vital procedure to give me life. Just as Mother Nature’s heart pumps the fresh, clean water through her rivers as a vital procedure to give us life. To grasp and understand how important nature and all its diversity is to each and every being makes my heart fill with contentment just knowing that places like INBio and Selva Verde and Costa Rica as a whole are taking action and procedures to try to conserve something so precious – our nature, our rainforests.”
- Nicolette |
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 “Biodiversity: Central American dwarf squirrel; red-capped manakin; hummingbird; howler monkey; collared aracari; long-tailed hermit; mot-mot; white-faced monkey; toucan; violet green-eared hummingbird; parrots, violet sabre-wing hummer; purple grasshopper; tiger heron; rhinoceros beetle; scarab beetle; mosquitoes, cicadas; snowy egret; osprey; sunbittern; bullet ants; leaf-cutter ants; rufous-collared sparrow; blue tanager; clay-colored robins; red ants; tarantula; 12 spiders; Daddy Long Legs; golden bodied katydid; owl butterfly; morpho butterfly; heliconias; 8 more butterflies; sulfur butterfly; salamander; giant moth; iguana; Jesus lizard; mint chocolate chip frog;
leopard frog; blue jean frog; red-eyed tree frog; river turtle; terciopelo; buff-fronted leaf gleaner; parrot snake; vine snake; rainforest hog-nosed viper; emerald basilisk; Anolis; ameiva; blue crowned pigeon; turkey vulture; American Dipper.”
- Aldo |
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“It seems like we all walked right past the terciopelo last night without noticing…and then Terry saw it. One has about four hours after being bitten by this snake to get to a hospital and luckily there is one twenty minutes away.
Things to remember: we are in the Caribbean lowlands east of the Continental Divide on private property near Braulio Carillo National Park. On the banks of the Sarapiqui River where sometimes monkeys howl. Smell the ylang-ylang from which Shalimar and Chanel #5 are made. Very fragrant and free. Fortunately, we did not smell the corpse flower.”
- Larissa |
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“The lodge, Montana de Fuego is picturesque – extremely so. The cabinas are modest but very comfortable…and the backdrop to the already marvelous setting is the volcano itself. Everywhere it was extremely cloudy and the view of the top wasn’t good but the noises it made were very intense. There was a constant rumbling in the air which was very haunting. It reminded me of a dog growling when protecting its territory. Except not so vicious. It sounded like Arenal’s ominous, steady reminder to all the townspeople that any day could be their last day, so live their lives well and count their blessings.”
- Leah |
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“We were hiking up Arenal today to the old lava flow from the last big eruption. The hike itself was very serene, except at times, I thought Roman had us lost! We reached our destination and how  stoked I was! Everywhere you turned was big black rocks with very little plant life yet there was the occasional shrub and wildflower, but not much else.
Chris gave us 30 minutes to sit down somewhere and reflect (which actually turned into an hour and twenty minutes). I could’ve stayed there all day and been quite content. I climbed up to a rock peak and plopped myself down and collected all sorts of inspiration. It’s been a long time since I felt at one with myself like I did that day. I was very at peace – which is hard for my brain to be. In the background of noises, all you could hear was the random careening of rocks down the mountainside from the spewing of Arenal. All of these are moments so hard to find the proper words for. Words can do them no justice. “
- Leah |
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“I’m sitting on the ’92 lava flow with Arenal Volcano to my back and Lake Arenal (man-made) in my direct view. It is a fairly spectacular experience. When one hears sounds like that of God moving furniture it is merely the volcano throwing out some rocks this way and that. I can actually see the rocks rolling down its sides. Lichen on rocks. Rock decomposes into soil. One day this will be a forest again.
Birds warble. Voices carry. I hear six different conversations and the best sound is the wind blowing down on us after a steamy hike.”
- Larissa
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