It’s no shock that Costa Rica is a rustic stuffed with lovely pure ecosystems. Its coasts are bustling with marine life, and its inside is blanketed with a few of the most biodiverse forests on this planet. Over half of Costa Rica is now forested, however that wasn’t all the time the case.
Within the Forties, loggers cleared a lot of the land to develop crops and livestock, destroying practically half of the nation’s forest cowl. The Costa Rican authorities noticed the financial worth in preserving its forests and determined to make it unlawful to cut down forests with out approval within the Nineties. This resolution, coupled with incentivizing landowners with funds for the environmental providers their lands produce when utilizing sustainable practices, has allowed them to regrow their forests to the astonishing numbers as we speak.
© Noah Patterson / WWF
The impacts of those laws have been clear on our latest journey with Pure Habitat Adventures. Not solely have been we in awe of Costa Rica’s pure magnificence, however we have been additionally impressed by the eagerness of the folks within the native communities we visited. It was evident that they acknowledged the essential position that the setting performs and the way intertwined folks and nature are.
This idea first surfaced on the very starting of our journey: Tortuguero. As we explored the magnificent canals searching for wildlife, our boat driver (an area within the village) by no means failed to identify even the smallest animal from miles away. He was so educated about each chook, fish, sloth and monkey and you could possibly see the joy in his actions as he laid eyes on the following spectacle. We will need to have seen and realized about over 20 animals in simply our quick time on the water.
The resort we stayed at additionally provided a service the place you could possibly watch a sea turtle lay her eggs on the seashore at night time. It was an unbelievable alternative! We boarded one other boat to the seashore the place we met our tour information for the night. She instantly welcomed us, and her ardour shined by as she advised us tales concerning the turtles on our means down the pitch-black seashore. She even reminded us about how essential these excursions have been for sea turtle conservation and emphasised how excited she was to be main us on this journey. And the journey didn’t disappoint.
Our tour information took us to the nest the place a sea turtle was laying her eggs and confirmed us a really dim pink gentle to not disturb her course of. We rotated each jiffy to permit one other group the chance, however throughout that point, we have been in a position to ask questions. She answered each single one with enthusiasm and inspired us to ask extra.
Our subsequent cease was Corcovado Nationwide Park on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. As we made our means as much as the resort which ignored the water, we thought, what could possibly be higher? Our query was answered the following day as soon as we launched into our hike by the park. We have been accompanied by a good friend of our Expedition Chief who belonged to an Indigenous group within the space. Not solely did we study native natural world, however we additionally acquired to listen to his tales about how his tribe lived off the encircling nature.
There was one time particularly when it started to rain. He ran over to a leaf and requested us to rub it in opposition to our pores and skin. The wax from the sort of plant was used to guard them from the rain. It made all of us on the journey really feel a lot extra related to the setting.
© Noah Patterson / WWF
From Corcovado, we traveled by boat, airplane and bus to Costa Rica’s cloud forest in Monteverde. It was an exquisite highway journey alongside windy roads. Our Expedition Chief advised us tales about a few of the spots on the way in which and we stopped at an area restaurant within the metropolis of San Ramon. They have been anticipating us and had probably the most scrumptious meals ready household fashion. The homeowners greeted us with smiles on their faces and have been excited to indicate us their delicacies. It was a pleasant expertise stuffed with laughter and, in fact, good meals!
As soon as we made it to Monteverde, we settled into our rooms after which met with a consultant of the Costa Rican Conservation Basis. She was there to provide us a quick presentation a few weak chook within the area often known as the three-wattled bellbird. The slides contained numerous scientific data but in addition emphasised the significance of its position within the ecosystem. It was clear how a lot we would have liked to guard the chook. We might go on to seek for three-wattled bellbirds on our hikes every day and at last noticed one! As we peered by our binoculars in amazement, the girl’s message about defending the chook remained high of thoughts.
The final cease on our go to was to the Arenal Volcano, solely a pair hours from Monteverde. We stayed on the observatory on the base of the volcano with probably the most scenic panoramic views. It was breathtaking. Nevertheless it was additionally a reminder of how folks and nature are so depending on each other. The observatory was nonetheless very a lot used to observe the impacts of volcanic exercise on the encircling space. We swam in scorching springs that have been fueled by the warmth from underground. All over the place we went, we have been part of nature—not the opposite means round.
© Noah Patterson / WWF
Costa Rica is a very talked-about vacationer vacation spot for a lot of causes. Most go to take pleasure in its seashores or discover its forests, however Pure Habitat Adventures instilled in us the cultural worth of Costa Rica. We realized from the native communities at each stage of the journey and plan to hold these classes ahead in our on a regular basis lives. Positive, its pure magnificence was spectacular, however its folks and the “Pura Vida” way of life are one thing that we’ll always remember.
By Jack Boeve, Supervisor of Strategic Operations and Planning for WWF, and Noah Patterson, Digital Technical Lead/Developer, Net and Apps Lead Engineer for WWF