Costa Rica Journal – Pt. 1 - Introduction

Windycity

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
May 11, 2003
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117
My wife and I headed down to Costa Rica the last month for a little R&R. I also wanted to verify persistent rumors that the tarantula’s native habitat is actually not a small plastic box with lurid blue and pink ventilated lids. I thought I’d share a few thoughts and pictures with you.

Costa Rica is a beautiful, still largely undeveloped country with amazing rain forests and rocky coastal beaches. The temperature this time of the year runs up to the mid 70’s during the day and then drops down to the high 50’s during the night. The rainy season is solidly in place when we were there and the ground was completely saturated in most areas we visited. The soil conditions in the rain forests varied from thick organic loam to silty clays.

I was told that approximately 70% of Costa Rica was deforested in the 50’s and early 60’s to provide areas for cattle grazing; probably in response to the growing international demand for the quarter pounder with cheese. Coffee plantations also supplanted the native rain forest in many areas. The resulting landscape looks quite similar to New Zealand for any of you that have been there –steeply rolling grassy hills laced with clusters of darker tree stands running the ridges and saddling the many valleys. Here’s a picture of the typical landscape. Bilbo Baggins would be quite at home there I think.
 

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Windycity

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
May 11, 2003
Messages
117
The rain forest in contrast, is a lush tangle of thick undergrowth and dense tree canopies. By day, the forest is filled with the birds and monkeys running riot through the drizzle of rain and mist filtering through the thick forest rooftop. The following photo is the rain forest during a brief period of sunshine. To see any T’s however, you’ve got to hit the trails at night with flashlight in hand. We saw some amazing Megaphobema mesomelas’ during one night walk out in the forest.

Go to Part 2
 

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