Following a chaotic week of pura vida proportions... 3 week queue to see if i can change my class, an early morning attack from the pack of dogs that 'run the block' on my school route, and an encounter with "johnny", friendly yet somewhat shady fellow from Guatemala that fancied himself an 'artesian' (bracelets and bar napkin bouquets were his specialties) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dq-BLpKwL0c&feature=fvw
...It was time for insert cliché
& that's just what we got!
We decided a trip up up & away! from the hustle and bustle of the city would do the trick and by 6:30am Saturday morning we were off to Parque Nacional Braulio Carrillo. Such a ridiculous vowel-filled name is excusable in this case as the park is the second largest in Costa Rica (475.8 km²) and honors an influential character in the history of Costa Rica (B.C. wasn't an epoch, but he was the head of state and made great lengths to clean up and unify Costa Rica). Because of the gargantuan size of the park (vertically and horizontally), there are a vast number of life zones containing diverse flora and fauna. The picture above was taken en route to the Copey crater lake -and if you searched for a pterodactyl in this picutre, I regret to inform you that although your suspicions weren't far-fetched, the picture wasn't taken in the Jurassic.Throughout the hike we got to see a nice variety of lowland, premontane, and montane rainforest. One of my favorite parts in the higher altitude (besides the pristine views, remarkably fresh climate, and vibrant blue skies) are the bromeliads!!!
Bromeliaceae is a family of plants containing ~3,170 species of flowering plants which include the pineapple! The diversity of plants and their adaptations is pretty sweet and ranges from terrestrial (pineapple) & lithophytic species (plants that grow on rocks) to epiphytes (plants that grow upon other plants). In the picture above are a number of epiphytic bromeliads which may belong to Tillandsia & Neoregelia. Their attachment upon the upper limbs of this tree allow greater exposure to sunlight and thus increased photosynthesis! However, water is another necessity for these altitude loving plants as it is integral to the production of ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate -the nucleotide responsible for transporting chemical energy within cells for metabolism).
The splitting of water (H2O) provides electrons for the photosynthetic electron transport chains which down the road leads to ATP production (when H2O is split, oxygen O2 is released as a waste product into the atmosphere -thanks for littering plants!) To put ATP into somewhat of a perspective, think of it as the Jimmy John's bike delivery man who brings precious energy to the starving college student, who will then utilize this energy to study.... or engage in other 'social activities'.
Bromeliads are ingeniously designed to grow in a roseate pattern with a central 'cup' to store water. At high altitudes, such as the cloud forests of Braulio Carrillo National Park, there is a great deal of moisture present in the clouds and bromeliads are able to absorb said moisture via roots and leaves and then store in it their own cup. check it: 
Here's a female Dendrobates pumilio carrying a tadpole up to the canopy. Another notable characteristic of bromeliads is that due to their water filled cup and relatively safe/high position in the rain forest, they provide the perfect environment for developing poison dart frogs (the mother will deposit fertile eggs into the H2O filled cup along with infertile eggs - a delicious part of a daily nutritious breakfast - and revisit daily throughout the development). If you've stuck around through all the biological mumbo-jumbo you may enjoy this sweet vid about the strawberry poison dart frog (D. pumilio)
Following a few 10 second photos (Trademarked by Jen) we headed off to the next lagoon (~45 minutes away). The entire hike seemed to be slanted up or down and finding safe footing on moist tree roots / soft mud was about as easy as unicycling on a greased up slip n' slide.
Check out the huge gunnera plants !
check out this pompous fellow
and finally... the point where things got messy
Jen was also fortunate enough to experience the warm embrace of the 'quick mud' and within seconds was up to her knees. However, just beyond this final booby trap lay the destination! Although it was somewhat anticlimactic (due to the hour + of hiking and very limited supply of coffee...), I thought it was well worth it.
Laguna Copey in all of it's elusive glory
Following a few more pics and a yippy break (yippys are like a dangerously addictive nutty bar) we hiked back up & down & up & down & so forth for a couple of hours until arriving back at the winding downhill road to sacramento. After seven hours of hiking we hopped on a bus and road into the sunset (aka the daily downpour from ~3-6pm).
Other tidbits in the past week
- Fresh Guava juice is delicious as well as chirriadas (corn 'pancakes' with sour cream lather on top)- Justin Bieber was pegged by a water bottle, Ticans took the news hard
- Twice in the past two weeks teachers, faculty, and community members skipped out of classes to participate in marches in Heredia & San Jose to raise funding for public universities. Pura Vida
- I saw this fellow on campus again (Blue crested motmot)
- Tonight we went to a fiesta at my mamatica's brother's house for a birthday party (Ana described it as an excuse for everyone to chat and eat ridiculous amounts of food). Pork, Beef, Chicken, Guacamole, and tortillas were over-consumed while we listened to live music (they hired a really good musician to sing/play guitar as well as discuss Bob Marley's role as a 'musical prophet', that last part was an added bonus )
few more pics
Pura Vida ! Que vaya bien
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