Submitted by Benjamin Blake on the 2013 winter session study abroad program in Costa Rica sponsored by the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology…
On January 22nd, our group left our mountain lodge at 8 am and hiked El Cerro de La Muerte, which translates to The Hill or Mountain of the Dead. Upon hearing this hike was called that, we thought it might be very difficult. We were right. The hike involved 5.5 miles of straight uphill climbing to get to the continental divide, which separates the Pacific side of Costa Rica from the Caribbean side. The bugs were very numerous, especially in the forest, but they vanished once we were at a high enough elevation. The hike was so strenuous that only half of our group was able to make it to the summit in time before we had to turn around and begin the hike back down. It took me and the others who were with me, four and a half hours to get to the top. Going back was much easier than coming up. Nevertheless, it is definitely cool to be able to say that I hiked El Cerro de La Muerte, since it is definitely not an easy task, and I’m definitely glad that I made it to the top, even though the view was mostly obscured by clouds.
On January 29th we went rafting down the Puerto Viejo River, part of which went through the Biological Station/Preserve of La Selva. It was a very calm, peaceful river with little to no rapids. However, it was teeming with wildlife. Everywhere we looked, we saw a different bird perched or flying by. Among the birds we saw were tiger herons, great blue herons, Amazon kingfishers, keel billed toucans, and chestnut mandibled toucans. Although the trip started out very cloudy with on and off rain showers, the sun came out for the last part of the trip. At one location, we were able to jump off a cliff that was 10-15 feet high into the river. We also stopped on a sandy island in the middle of the river to enjoy fresh pineapples and watermelons as well as float in the river. All in all it was a great experience.
