Submitted by Dylan Nicholson on the 2017 winter session study abroad program in Costa Rica and Panama sponsored by the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology…
As we move from eco-lodge to eco-lodge on this journey, I keep thinking to myself there is no way the next location will be more captivating. Yet, at each new location I’m blown away by the different sounds and smells. At our last location, I woke up to the sounds of Scarlet Macaws talking and the waves breaking on the beach of the Osa Peninsula. As I stepped out of my platform tent, I was met by the smell of the salt air and tropical flowers. While these senses are present at home, the feeling is different here in Costa Rica. The air is rich and refreshing. The sounds are new and completely wild.
At each new eco-lodge, I am surrounded by untamed nature that has seen minimal intrusion from man, whereas, at home there are paved trails through the woods. The trails at home cut through the landscape distinctly showing human footprints on the environment. What I’ve noticed during this adventure is that man’s footprint on the environment plays a larger role than what I could have ever imagined. Without the intrusion of humans here in Costa Rica, the rain forests come alive with the sounds of birds and monkeys. Animals move freely, almost playfully. The trees and plants move effortlessly in the wind. I have never seen an environment with such rich biodiversity and I credit the biodiversity to a smaller footprint left by man.