Monkey Business in the Rain Forest

Wow! What a fantastic adventure! Our trip to the Costa Rican Rain Forest was an enlightening experience. The trip was a total immersion in flora and fauna of two different rain forests: the high elevation cloud forest of San Luis Ecolodge and the coastal rain forest of San Miguel Absolute Reserve at sea level.

Before the trip, I had had preconceived notion of what to expect in a rain forest. Experiencing these two different forests drastically changed the mental image I had previously held. The first change was NO RAIN. We arrived in the dry season and it did not rain once. My rain poncho remained in my suitcase the entire trip, folded just as I had packed it in California. The second change was the evidence of the rainforest recovering after deforestation. In some sections of both of these reserves the rainforest is recovering, slowly but surely. San Luis had some of its forest cleared for growing coffee and cattle grazing. I had been told that the rain forest is unable to recover after being cleared, but as long as the entire forest is not cleared, the deforestation can be reversed over time.

The forest smelled of decay and regrowth, a rich, musty scent. I felt very primal there, with my sense open and aware. Walking up the road to the cafeteria called the "Comedor"; our noses caught a gardenia like fragrance. The source was difficult to find, but we finally located the tiny blossoms beneath our feet that had fallen from a vine high in the forest canopy and out of sight. So much of the flowering plants were located up high where they could catch the rays of the nourishing sun.

I felt like a sponge, soaking up all of the knowledge I could. Every meal we gathered around the dining table sharing what we had seen during the day. There were so many animals, plants and insects we had never seen before and there was always plenty to share. The delicious food disappeared before the stories ran out.

Even before I went on this trip, I had decided that I wanted to observe the monkeys in their natural rain forest habitat. I saw monkeys almost every day, sometimes two or three times a day. I would rise at 5:00 AM to catch them for their morning feeding routine in San Luis. They also traveled the same route in the late afternoon. I witnessed them eating fruit and leaves, playing with each other and showing affection. They groomed each other, carried their young on their backs, and threatened us by barring their teeth while shaking the tree branches. Phil and I even saw them mating. The female gave the male a come-hither signal and they quickly mated, lasting only a minute. Monkeys urinate a lot. Look out below! I would arrive and start observing. They would suddenly disappear into the forest and when I looked at my watch again, a whole hour would have passed unnoticed. I was transfixed by their antics.

Every day our hosts offered a vast array of activities to inform us about the rain forest and help us to experience the diversity and special qualities of the two rainforests. At San Luis, We were offered morning bird watching, blindfolded nature hikes, a hike to the third tallest waterfall in Costa Rica, horseback riding, insect displays, birding in the coffee plantations, and butterfly collection. We went on a night hike I the Monteverde reserve to observe the nocturnal wildlife. We visited the "Butterfly Farm" where the caretakers raise a huge range of Costa Rican butterflies in enclosed atriums. It was like walking through clouds of butterflies of every color.

At San Miguel Absolute Reserve, located at Cabo Blanco on the Nicoya Peninsula, we took many nature hikes (guided and solo). We explored the tide pools and collected species for identification and later release back to the tides. The snorkeling was great fun. We saw eels, lobster and a vast diversity of tropical fish. Sunscreen is a must, for Rebecca could not sit comfortably for two days after the snorkeling adventure. Unfortunately for the fish, we were able to research a mass beaching of threaded herring that appeared in the thousands on our first morning at San Miguel. The turkey vultures made fast work of the fish, until they could eat no more. The scavengers had the beach almost completely cleared by the next morning.

Millions of crabs emerge from the forest at night to comb the beach for food. There were two main types, hermits and harlequins. The harlequin crabs have red bodies, orange legs and bright purple claws. They fight fiercely with each other, sometimes ripping off claws of their opponent, which grow back over time. The sound of crabs rustling in the dry leaves fills the night air as we try to sleep and not think of the wolf spiders.

The animal diversity was tremendous. My senses were very acute and sometimes I could feel the monkeys before I would see them. One day I was walking back to our accommodations, when I felt the monkeys overhead. I became very excited because we had not seen Capuchin monkeys on the coast and had not had the chance to compare them to the cloud forest dwellers. I rushed down the path, about 30 yards to the cabins to alert my monkey watching partners that the capuchins were here. I was informed that my partners were 50 yards down the path observing a troop of Howler monkeys. I decided to go back and observe the Capuchins, since I wasn't sure we would get the chance again.

Two minutes of observing the monkeys and a large Coati Mundi ambled through the forest, digging up Harlequin crabs and crunching loudly on their shells. I didn't know where to look! Howlers, Capuchins and a Coati Mundi, all within 100 yards of each other. It was quite a dilemma. This scene brought to mind how we have displaced so many of our animals in the Santa Cruz Mountain forest where I live. Sure, I see lots of animals, but they are mostly domestic and the wild ones have far less diversity of species.

At the end of the trip I wanted more time. I did almost everything that was offered to us. I was afraid to miss anything and was painfully aware of the limited time I had in the rain forests of Costa Rica. I only had nine days, and each day my knowledge of the rain forest and its inhabitant increased dramatically. The mantra for the week was "I can't believe how much I have learned." At the end of each day, we were amazed at the amount of new knowledge we had assimilated. Nine days was not long enough for me, and I treasure my Costa Rican rain forest experience. I gained a greater appreciation of what a rain forest truly is and the importance of its preservation. The more I learned, the more I realized the vast amount that remains to be researched. Studying the rain forest is a relatively new science and many of our questions were answered "There has not been a study on that. I don't know."

At the end of our trip, I felt so healthy and strong from all the physical activity of carrying, hiking and swimming. The food was excellent and the hosts could not have been better. I was up early every morning and to bed late each night for fear of missing out on any aspect of the forest.

I have learned many important things on this trip. The rain forest is all about relationships. Take any one element out and it is diminished. Take too many elements out and the results could be catastrophic. The plants come back eventually, but the wildlife is much more fragile. They need lots of room to roam. The forest needs to be kept in large parcels to allow for the migration from one part of the forest to another. The epiphytes depend on the host trees for survival. The cycropia tree houses the ants in its hollow trunk. The leaf cutter ants promote decay and clear the dead leaves. The bacteria and fungus turn the leaf litter back into resources added to the poor soil for the growing tree's nourishment. The monkeys spread seeds throughout the forest by eating the fruit and disbursing them when is defecates.

Not everything I learned was about the rainforest. The people we traveled with were very good sports. The long red-eye flight followed by a four hour bus ride is enough to test anyone's spirit. Flexibility is the key. I also learned that I could push myself harder than I do at home, in order to catch everything I wanted to see. Interest is an energizer. The trip was extremely well organized, thanks to Diana and Milton Leiberman. The naturalists shared their vast knowledge, educating and informing us constantly. I am very grateful for their genuine interest in giving us a true rainforest experience. I also learned that a cold shower in the hot coastal rainforest feels very nice.

I look forward to returning someday with my son, so he can learn about this fantastic place. He will be the next generation to care for it, and once it has been experienced, it would be difficult to turn your back on it again. The Costa Rican people are one of the leaders in conservation, with 25% of the country in natural reserves. I wish the same for my country and others around the world. I am reminded of the lyrics in a Joni Mitchell song that goes…"Don't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you've got 'til its gone. They paved paradise and put up a parking lot." Let's hope we wake up before then.