My last blog entry was centered around reconnecting with my inner child. With my time at La Selva I was able to foster my passion and wonder for wildlife. Now entering unit two of our course, food systems, my wonder has expanded to reach new places outside of just La Selva. This began with our expeditions to sustainable organic farms. We visited both pineapple and banana agricultural practices. Upon reflection of both experiences, I aspire to bring back the knowledge I’ve learned, whether that be how to pick the best pineapple or how to make tostones, and begin cultivating a garden at home with my parents.
These trips to sustainable organic farms were a great way for us to build a foundation going into a unit covering food systems. Over the course of these two days, we also had lectures diving deeper into the systemic means of a farm. Doctor Libby introduced the subsidy model that our agricultural industry has in the US, which then led to a discussion covering our abundant variety of processed foods. I participated heavily in this discussion as I was greatly intrigued with how complex the agricultural system was and the scope of its breadth across the nation. These two days, Thursday and Friday, built upon my foundation of heavy interest in the topics discussed in this course. I touched on this in my last blog, but the genuine curiosity I hold in each lecture is a wonderful feeling. Throughout the course, I’ve had this constant sensation of wonder and awe in the world around me. Whether it be in the course material, data collection hikes, or travel days. With the farms, I was fascinated by the differences in the size of the production process. The pineapple farm was much larger and covered 24% of the world’s market for organic pineapple. The banana farm was on a much smaller scale, having only a domestic reach of ~ 350 stores. Interacting with both farms was not only insightful but astonishing. I carried a new appreciation and interest for sustainable farms after these travel days.
However, from then on it was as if each day was upping the last one. Before leaving La Selva, I went on a night hike with Lilly and Mikey, where we saw a stunning plethora of wildlife amongst the shadows.
We walked alongside a sloth, at eye level, on the suspension bridge. Each slow step following the movements of the sloth felt intimate and special. While watching its methodical movements and appreciating her unique structure, it was as if us four were in our own world. Every night hike carried this distinct sensation of the otherworldly. Whether it be with the colorful array of frogs and reptiles Mikey, Lilly, and I came across or the alien-like mammals, we all shared a deep fascination for the world around us. That night we came across a fabulous looking coral snake, bright yellow frogs of all sizes, and a mystical looking Mexican hairy dwarf porcupine. These creatures, each unique in their size, structure, color, behavior, and movements, filled me with this sense of familiarity and wonder. You can imagine that having left La Selva in the coming days was a bit of a sad moment. However, the coming days of this course were all filled with their own distinct sense of excitement and creativity.
The day we left La Selva, we stopped at a gorgeous waterfall hidden deep down in the green tangle of the forest. While admiring the forest I came to realize the beauty in the different shades of green in each tree, plant, and flower held. Some had hints of white creating this bright, elegant feel, whereas others had shades of black and blue meshing well with the shadows and corners of the forest in a mysterious manner. Then all it took was turning 180 degrees to come face-first with the dramatic waterfall that crashed down behind me. You could focus on parts of the waterfall and see the speed at which it erupted. Or you could follow a certain splash all the way down, allowing you to focus on seeing its movements in slow motion. This stop on our way to La Fortuna, like my experience with the sloth and night hikes, was filled with a sense of otherworldliness. But it hasn’t been just the nature around me that’s brought a dramatic sense of fascination, it’s also been with my newly made friends around me. For about half an hour, Mikey, Spencer, John, Eddy, and I stood in a circle chatting. Looking back, our conversation was filled with laughter and joy, with frequent moments of appreciating the waterfall not 50 feet away from us. This wonderful group continued into our nice afternoon spent at La Fortuna. We all got lunch together at a local restaurant where we shared drinks and laughed more, connecting over niche topics and individual stories.
Our next stop was at a remarkable hotel equipped with sneaky decorative garnishes lining the compound. In the same group minus John, we explored the hotel during the day and climbed to the top of The Nest: this astonishing watch tower above the canopy. In our moments spent up there that same sense of otherworldliness came back to me. Time seemed to slow as spider monkeys swung around us down below, with the view of Lake Arenal shining just up ahead. Later that night, the feeling came back but enhanced 10-fold when I found my favorite childhood animal in the wild, a red-eyed tree frog. On a night hike with Mikey, Lilly, Saranya, and Marcelina, we found two red-eyed tree frogs mating with eggs below them. The glowing orange toes accented by a unique deep blue design up the frog’s side, all encompassed in a classic tree frog green, imprinted an image in my mind forever.
What seems like the end of our traveling was finally brought by our arrival to Monte Verde, our second location with multiple days to spend. This week was full of traveling and different experiences, yet all following a common theme of chasing wonder. I’m sure this last week will continue following this theme as we explore the cloud forest and live with our homestays.
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