Corcovado National Park

The first leg of the two-week field trip consisted of traveling to a beautiful place called Corcovado National Park. Corcovado is in the Southwestern part of Costa Rica. It has a total area of 50,000 Ha. It can be considered an "island" in terms of biodiversity, as all of the species inside are essentially isolated from the rest of the country. This national park is one of the last untouched areas of rainforest in the country. It looks like you stepped into the Amazon rainforest. It has approximately 100 species per Ha, which is a very large species density. 

Corcovado National Park

The journey to Corcovado began when we left San Jose early on Sunday the 8th. We began by visiting Sierpe, which is a small town on Rio Sierpe. That river empties into the Pacific Ocean. 

This picture kinda shows where Sierpe is located compared to Corcovado National Park. It is located on el Rio Sierpe.

The hotel we stayed at was located right on the river, which was pretty cool! We unloaded the bus and got settled into our rooms before heading out to dinner just a few blocks away. The following morning we loaded all of our stuff into 3 boats and headed out on the river. The entire morning we spent learning about mangroves and the many plants and animals that live there. There are 4 different types of mangrove trees that inhabit the mangroves of Costa Rica, which include Acicennia germinans (black mangrove), Laguncularia racemosa  (white mangrove), Rhizophora mangle  (red mangrove), and Peliciera rhizophorae (tea mangrove).

Tea Mangrove, Sierpe River

We also saw numerous animals on our ride, including squirrel monkeys, crocodiles, lizards, and birds. 

Basilicus basilicus (Jesus Christ Lizard)

Little Blue Heron

When we reached the red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle), we were allowed to get out of the boats and climb through the roots! That was so much fun! It was like a natural jungle gym! At the other side of the mangrove, we got out and swam in the water (mostly to get the mud off of our legs). From there we continued on the boats, doing a few more species. We then were driven out into the ocean and down the coastline to our next hostel, which was called Jaguar Jungle (only accessible via boat or a really really long hike). This place is right outside Corcovado National Park, which made it easy access for us to get to the park. This is what it looked like pulling up in the boat:

View from the boat, entering the alcove to our hotel in Corcovado.

The room we stayed in was completely open, and we had to use mosquito netting which was a pretty nifty experience!

That night after getting settled in, we had a lecture on poisonous snakes, as Corcovado has a few venomous species. 

The following day (Tuesday the 10th) we had orientation hikes around the hostel, mostly to get oriented with the trails. We did many species reports, such as the Nephila clavipes (Golden Orb Weaver Spider), Megaloprepus caerulatus (Helicopter Damselfly), Caligo memnon (owl butterfly), Morpho spp.  (morpho butterflies), Atta cephalotes (leaf-cutter ant), and Eciton burchellii (army ants), as well as many plant species. 

Nephila clavipes  (Gold Orb Weaver Spiders)

We went for a night hike after dinner, too, which was pretty awesome! We saw a three-toed sloth (Bradypus variegatus), and it had a little baby with it!

Wednesday, February 11th started off with plant diversity. We learned more in-depth stuff about the parts of plants and many different families. After the lecture, we had a few hours for a break, which marked the first shower since leaving San Jose! That afternoon, we were given a mini-project, which basically involved us (in groups of 3-4) researching and presenting a different family of plants. My group had the Pteridophyta family, also known as ferns. We had all afternoon to prepare a poster and find samples. At 4:30 we all got back and shared our family's information with the rest of the groups. I thought it was very informative and helpful to learn about the specifications of each of the plant families, as it will be useful when studying for the species exams later on in the program.

Thursday, February 12th is a day I like to call - The Day I Walked Forever, or better known as, Hiking Day. We got up early to head out on a very long hike from the hostel where we were staying to a beach on the other side of Corcovado National Park. In total (there and back) it was about 11-12 miles. It may not seem like a lot, but we hiked in basically the Amazon, which meant a lot of mud, a lot of hills, a lot of streams to cross. But it was a really cool hike, all things considered. I've never done something like that before, and it was a great experience to have. It pushed me to all my limits, both physically and mentally. But we saw a ton of spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi), and lots of ant species and birds, which made the whole hike worth it! The "destination" of the hike was a beach at the edge of the forest, which is where we hung out for a few hours around lunch time. It was really pretty, and was just one of many beaches we would be visiting on the trip.

Halfway to the beach!

One of the streams we crossed on the long hike. 

Final Destination! The beach in Corcovado National Park!

Beach crab

Scarlet Macaw

We spent maybe 2-3 hours on the beach upon arrival, which was a nice break between hiking there and back to the hostel. There was a little waterfall where we could refill our water bottles. There was a larger waterfall a bit further away, but I didn't visit it. I explored along the beach, and found a lot of the crabs and was even able to find a macaw and followed it through the trees for a little bit. It was really awesome, and I'm glad I was able to make it to the beach. The way back was a lot quicker, as we didn't stop to see things along the way - just powered through the pain! I was one of the first ones back, so maybe 7 or 8 of us sat on the edge of a stream and let our feet relax in the cool water. It was such a nice break, and I really enjoyed the hike, even though it was really long.

Friday, February 13th - Adventure day! We traveled to a nearby island off the coast of Corcovado called Isla del Caño and spent the entire morning there. We did some species reports in the forest there, which included Brosmium utile (cow tree) and the whiptail lizard. Then we had a lecture on the beach about Island Biodiversity. The fact that we sat on an island on the beach and had a lecture with the sand as our chalkboard was just indescribable. Best lecture location to date!

Isla del Caño

After spending time on the island, we got back on the boats and went back to the mainland and went snorkeling through a small coral reef! That was unbelievable. I saw parrot fish and even a sea turtle! I will never forget that, ever. I wish I had some pictures, but unfortunately none of my cameras are waterproof! Anyway, the snorkeling lasted for about an hour, and then we got back into the boats and went to a little beach to eat lunch. After lunch, we walked a little ways to a waterfall, where we spent a few hours swimming in the pools around the waterfall. That was a lot of fun, and the water was so refreshing! 

Also! That day marked 7 months with David, which made it an even better day :) Happy 7 months <3

Saturday, February 14th - That day was quiet, we spent it walking around the property and doing many species reports around the hostel. We did a lot of species relating to the banana tree and did a few bird species too. It was a long morning, and it was really hot! It was a boring morning, but in the afternoon we had a lecture on arthropods, and then walked to some tide pools and looked at the diversity of the arthropods there. It was a little of a tough walk because of having to climb over slippery rocks, but it was worth it!