We woke up - later than usual because we went to bed later than usual - to an Agouti nibbling on something right outside of our window.
We had coffee in our room, read, then went to breakfast. Another tasty breakfast. We got ready and went back to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve (Reserva Biológica Bosque Nuboso).
Moving along... I think this is called a Monkey's Tail.
Interesting patterns in the leaves made by insects.
This caterpillar (?) was soft as a teddy bear! But don't go around petting things that look like this because it could very well be poisonous. Our guide knew that this was a species that mimics the poisonous species, so it was safe to touch.
A very colorful cricket/grasshopper-looking insect.
Walking over a suspension bridge, closer to the canopy, there were lots of trees covered with epiphytes. These are what gives the forest a luxuriant appearance. I found these fascinating...
Epiphytes are plants that grow on other plants/trees (or sometimes other objects) but are generally not parasitic. They get their water and nutrients from the air, the rain, and debris found on the surface of the host plant. Epiphytes are found in the rainforest canopy where they can take advantage of the sunlight, that is lacking at the bottom of the forest. Also they don't have to worry about the ground-dwelling animals at the bottom of the forest that would eat them. The trade-off, however, is that the canopy can be quite dry and arid and lacking in nutrients. (You'll see below how some epiphytes have evolved strategies to counter this.)
In the photo below, see the string-like things that hang down? Those are actually roots. Aerial roots. The epiphytes can send their roots down toward the ground in search of moisture and nutrients. (The trees themselves can send aerial roots downward to parts of themselves that collect debris that contains nutrients - epiphytes also love to grow on these parts of the trees.)
By the way, I read that 90% of all organisms in a rain forest are found in the canopy! So if you're not taking those canopy tours - whether it be by suspension bridges or ziplines - you're missing out. (We didn't go on the zipline - I'm a wimp.)
This is some type of bromeliad, I believe. There was a really interesting story about how this catches water and then closes, but unfortunately I can't remember it. (Another link: What is a Bromeliad?)
Glass-Wing Butterfly.
Walking along in the forest understory, we were very shaded from the sun by the dense canopy. However, we came to this part that was very open, called a light gap. This was caused by a huge tree falling - which is not an uncommon occurrence in a rain forest - opening up a vast area. The guide explained how these tree-falls are actually a good thing - exposing the forest understory to much-needed sunlight - and, thus, very beneficial to trees that would not be able to establish themselves otherwise. It provides a much-needed growth spurt.
The falls may be caused by wind, the asymmetry of the tree crowns, and/or the stress of all the vines and epiphytes clinging to the trees. Oh, and I guess we can add wild turkeys running into them! (See yesterday's night walk.)
A shell among the leaves.
Another Monkey's Tail.
That's Jorge, our guide. His specialty was birds.
According to my Guide to Costa Rican Wildlife, this is either a Bananaquit, Great Kiskadee, or Tropical Kingbird. It's hard for me to tell. The guide that we had along the hike identified everything, but it was so much information to remember.
We had coffee in our room, read, then went to breakfast. Another tasty breakfast. We got ready and went back to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve (Reserva Biológica Bosque Nuboso).
Monteverde is a very popular tourist destination. It is home to a cloud forest. The term, cloud forest, created this fantastic, otherworldly image in my mind. A forest that - because of its altitude and climate - is perpetually in the clouds. From what I had read, it sounded like a paradise for nature-lovers, with its incredible amount of biodiversity.
The captivating cloud forest in daylight. (Hmm, I expected more clouds...)
Though we had no intention of "roughing it" on this vacation, I thought this was pretty cool: you can stay in a no-frills dorm room at the reserve for $36 a night (plus the $17 the park entrance fee), including three meals a day. The cool part is that you can meet any visiting scientists and befriend the local guides and workers.
More info on the reserve can be found on the website of the Tropical Science Center (Centro Científico Tropical), a scientific and environmental organization in Costa Rica.
More info on the reserve can be found on the website of the Tropical Science Center (Centro Científico Tropical), a scientific and environmental organization in Costa Rica.
* * *
The captivating cloud forest in daylight. (Hmm, I expected more clouds...)
For double the price - but well worth it - we had a personal guided tour, with Jorge. Again, he was an extremely knowledgeable guide, and we got to use his binoculars. These guided tours are like watching a really neat documentary on PBS, only it's completely interactive because you're right there!
This was the day that made the book I brought along on the trip, Tropical Nature: Life and Death in the Rain Forests of Central and South America by Adrian Forsyth and Ken Miyata, come to life! It became my perfect rain forest companion, as so much of what I was seeing on this hike was discussed in the book in such an interesting, entertaining, not overly-technical way. I highly recommend this book - it's also lightweight for traveling. (Technically, Tropical Nature deals with the lowland rain forest, not necessarily the cloud forest. However, many of the phenomena discussed in the book can be seen in the cloud forest. You'll get to see a lowland rain forest when we get to the Osa Peninsula.
Interesting patterns in the leaves made by insects.
This caterpillar (?) was soft as a teddy bear! But don't go around petting things that look like this because it could very well be poisonous. Our guide knew that this was a species that mimics the poisonous species, so it was safe to touch.
A very colorful cricket/grasshopper-looking insect.
Walking over a suspension bridge, closer to the canopy, there were lots of trees covered with epiphytes. These are what gives the forest a luxuriant appearance. I found these fascinating...
Epiphytes are plants that grow on other plants/trees (or sometimes other objects) but are generally not parasitic. They get their water and nutrients from the air, the rain, and debris found on the surface of the host plant. Epiphytes are found in the rainforest canopy where they can take advantage of the sunlight, that is lacking at the bottom of the forest. Also they don't have to worry about the ground-dwelling animals at the bottom of the forest that would eat them. The trade-off, however, is that the canopy can be quite dry and arid and lacking in nutrients. (You'll see below how some epiphytes have evolved strategies to counter this.)
In the photo below, see the string-like things that hang down? Those are actually roots. Aerial roots. The epiphytes can send their roots down toward the ground in search of moisture and nutrients. (The trees themselves can send aerial roots downward to parts of themselves that collect debris that contains nutrients - epiphytes also love to grow on these parts of the trees.)
By the way, I read that 90% of all organisms in a rain forest are found in the canopy! So if you're not taking those canopy tours - whether it be by suspension bridges or ziplines - you're missing out. (We didn't go on the zipline - I'm a wimp.)
This is some type of bromeliad, I believe. There was a really interesting story about how this catches water and then closes, but unfortunately I can't remember it. (Another link: What is a Bromeliad?)
Glass-Wing Butterfly.
Walking along in the forest understory, we were very shaded from the sun by the dense canopy. However, we came to this part that was very open, called a light gap. This was caused by a huge tree falling - which is not an uncommon occurrence in a rain forest - opening up a vast area. The guide explained how these tree-falls are actually a good thing - exposing the forest understory to much-needed sunlight - and, thus, very beneficial to trees that would not be able to establish themselves otherwise. It provides a much-needed growth spurt.
The falls may be caused by wind, the asymmetry of the tree crowns, and/or the stress of all the vines and epiphytes clinging to the trees. Oh, and I guess we can add wild turkeys running into them! (See yesterday's night walk.)
A shell among the leaves.
Another Monkey's Tail.
That's Jorge, our guide. His specialty was birds.
According to my Guide to Costa Rican Wildlife, this is either a Bananaquit, Great Kiskadee, or Tropical Kingbird. It's hard for me to tell. The guide that we had along the hike identified everything, but it was so much information to remember.
This is a Howler Monkey photographed through the guide's telescope.
Again, my husband and I found this bit of knowledge so interesting: that trees in the tropics don't have growth rings because there are no distinct growing seasons due to the mild year-round climate.
Below is the intriguing Strangler Fig or Matapalo, which means "tree-killer". Strangler Figs begin their life as epiphytes (see above) at the tops of trees. They then slowly grow their roots down the host tree - eventually into the ground - while also growing upward. They essentially end up "strangling" the host tree, sometimes actually killing it, making the core of the Strangler Fig hollow, where the original tree had been. So here we are actually looking at the Strangler Fig's roots and the hollow core.
Of course, parts of this "hollow" is anything but empty space. Many creatures - from ant colonies to geckos to bats - call these niches home, as they provide much-needed protection against predators.
There are other trees that are rotten and hollowed-out in places, and these also provide roosts and nest sites for various animals, including bats. It's an exchange - the tree sacrifices some structural stability, but the animals provide the tree with much-needed nutrients through their waste.
Now we come to the end of our hike, to the Hummingbird Gallery, where we saw an adorable, young coyote.
You can sit here on a bench in the Hummingbird Gallery and see loads of hummingbirds come to feed in their "fast-forward" manner. Costa Rica has 50 different species of them.
This is a tank bromeliad. I found its water reservoir very interesting - you see a lot of this here. This plant was potted; however, when they grow as epiphytes in the canopy to have more access to sunlight, they don't have as much access to water and nutrients because of the lack of soil. Therefore, they evolved these little tubs that catch rainwater, attracting certain microorganisms and small animals, which in turn - through their waste - provide much-needed, easily-absorbed nutrients to the plant. Actually the tanks are not so little; some species can hold up to 2 gallons of water!
Afterwards, we had lunch at Tramonti, along the main road connecting the Cloud Reserve and Santa Elena. Pretty good food. Spain beat Italy in fútbol.
Again, my husband and I found this bit of knowledge so interesting: that trees in the tropics don't have growth rings because there are no distinct growing seasons due to the mild year-round climate.
Below is the intriguing Strangler Fig or Matapalo, which means "tree-killer". Strangler Figs begin their life as epiphytes (see above) at the tops of trees. They then slowly grow their roots down the host tree - eventually into the ground - while also growing upward. They essentially end up "strangling" the host tree, sometimes actually killing it, making the core of the Strangler Fig hollow, where the original tree had been. So here we are actually looking at the Strangler Fig's roots and the hollow core.
Of course, parts of this "hollow" is anything but empty space. Many creatures - from ant colonies to geckos to bats - call these niches home, as they provide much-needed protection against predators.
There are other trees that are rotten and hollowed-out in places, and these also provide roosts and nest sites for various animals, including bats. It's an exchange - the tree sacrifices some structural stability, but the animals provide the tree with much-needed nutrients through their waste.
Now we come to the end of our hike, to the Hummingbird Gallery, where we saw an adorable, young coyote.
You can sit here on a bench in the Hummingbird Gallery and see loads of hummingbirds come to feed in their "fast-forward" manner. Costa Rica has 50 different species of them.
This is a tank bromeliad. I found its water reservoir very interesting - you see a lot of this here. This plant was potted; however, when they grow as epiphytes in the canopy to have more access to sunlight, they don't have as much access to water and nutrients because of the lack of soil. Therefore, they evolved these little tubs that catch rainwater, attracting certain microorganisms and small animals, which in turn - through their waste - provide much-needed, easily-absorbed nutrients to the plant. Actually the tanks are not so little; some species can hold up to 2 gallons of water!
* * *
Afterwards, we had lunch at Tramonti, along the main road connecting the Cloud Reserve and Santa Elena. Pretty good food. Spain beat Italy in fútbol.
We had such a fun-filled day that I have to divide this day's post into a few parts!
next post > day 4 - Monteverde Bat Jungle
previous post > day 3 - Monteverde Night Walk
first post > day 1 - Adventure, Exploration and Relaxation
next post > day 4 - Monteverde Bat Jungle
previous post > day 3 - Monteverde Night Walk
first post > day 1 - Adventure, Exploration and Relaxation
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