Day 3- Juan Castro Blanco National Park Hiking and Night Walk

We awoke to the sound of gentle rain, and made our way to the main lodge for breakfast, traversing through the mahogany covered walkways, taking in the lushness of the rainforest.

One of our favorite things at breakfast is the fresh fruit. 

After breakfast we traveled to the Juan Castro Blanco National Park. It was pouring rain on our way to this high cloud forest so rain gear was a must today. The drive to the national park was interesting. Jimmy pointed out the large pineapple plantations. Costa Rica is now the largest supplier of pineapples to the U.S. Compared to raising cattle, pineapple growing is much more lucrative. On the same amount of land to raise one cow which would bring $3,000 for its meat, you could grow pineapples which would bring $40,000. We also passed under some narrow suspended “monkey bridges.” These bridges span over the highway to allow monkeys, sloths, coatis and other creatures to cross the highway.

We arrived at the outskirts of the park and were greeted by Douglas, the owner of a lodge and restaurant just outside the park. His family is one of the local community groups that work to preserve and protect the park. Interestingly, national parks in Costa Rica differ from national parks in the U.S.as their primary purpose is conservation and land preservation, no tourism. Therefore you do not see the large visitor centers and facilities for park visitors. Douglas and his family raise trout which are abundant in the streams of the highlands. On arrival, we selected our lunch entrees before taking off for a 3 hour hike. Some of us chose the roasted trout which was freshly caught by Douglas, cleaned by his daughter, and served as a whole fish for lunch. It was so fresh and delicious, roasted with rosemary in the body cavity.

We were in a high cloud forest. It rained on and off during our hike but not a detriment as the dense forest catches much of the rain before it reaches us. 

The combination of Jimmy and Douglas as guides was mind boggling- they are both such knowledgeable and acute observers of nature. I cannot possibly list all that we learned on this hike so I will share a few tidbits that Jimmy pointed out to us:

Our image of orchids are of the large blooming variety we see in floral stores but Jimmy pointed out the tiny micro-orchids on the trees.

Wild avocado trees grow in the high forest. They smell like our avocados! These are the fruit of the resplendent quetzal which, if lucky, we may spot. Just look for the wild avocado tree!

Jimmy showed us a fig that had fallen on the forest floor. Figs sustain a wide variety of birds and mammals and their seeds are dispersed throughout the rain forest. But the relationship between the fig and a wasp is most interesting. There are hundreds of species of tiny wasps that pollinate the many species of fig (Ficus) trees. The coevolution between figs and wasps is so profound that neither could exist without the other. The wasp pollinates the fig tree and the fig provides a safe place for the wasp eggs to develop since the female wasp deposits her eggs at the base of the pistil. The fruit develops with the wasp eggs inside which hatch and the tiny wasp develops. Some wasps die inside the fig so you may be getting some extra protein the next time you eat a Fig Newton!

Jimmy pointed out the variety of ferns, mosses, and epiphytes growing on the trees - an entire community of organisms, not only the plants themselves but also the organisms living on or in the plants. Sometimes the community of organisms becomes so heavy, especially when they soak up the rain, that the branch breaks off. Jimmy cut into a bromeliad to show us the layers and the corm.

So many beautiful flowers and fruits, each one having a specific purpose for their color and design. This one even matched Jessica’s fingernail polish!

So many more fascinating facts Jimmy shared with us that it would take several pages to describe them all here. We are so lucky to have such an outstanding guide.

We passed through a cow pasture- farmers still graze their cattle around the park. This one was interesting in that there were large boulders strewn throughout then pasture in the heart of the forest.

We had to cross several bridges, sometimes only one of us at a time could pass over. 

The last one required Douglas to move several rocks so we could get across. Some stayed back as the trail was getting rough and there were several stream crossings but the culmination was worth it to see the crater lake with green water formed in the volcano we were hiking up. An interesting pair of mating frogs was also found up there.

After lunch Douglas gave a talk about the preservation of this area and the role his family plays in conservation. We also learned how his family preserves some of the old traditions including foods made from the forest. While we were eating he found an interesting lizard which he showed us. He was a remarkable host with a lovely family- we were lucky to spend part of our day with him.

Returning to Selva Verde, we did some late afternoon birding and sloth spotting with the scope. The toucans were far away but easily recognized by their profile.

Some of our went on a night walk with Jimmy. Even during the day, Jimmy is adamant that we wear closed shoes and stay on the trail because of the probability of encountering vipers and other venomous snakes that would bite on the foot, thus no Keens or open shoes on our walks. The famous Costa Rican red-eyed tree frog which comes out at night was spotted and photographed with Josh holding a flashlight on it. Zoom in and you can see the nictitating membrane on the eyes of the mating pair. 

After a busy, tiring day, it was time to take the muddy hiking shoes  off and rest for another day filled with wonder tomorrow.