Category Archives: travel

Jul25

quietly floating through the cloud forest.

Posted on July 25, 2023 by beth

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crossing the continental divide

into the pacific region

for a visit to canto del rio and a hike into the cloud forest

one of the most unique environments in the world

surviving on costa rica’s mountaintops

incredibly quiet and powerful

the cloud forests are formed by a combination of wind and geography.

—

“in the cloud forest the fog is taken into the plants, thus ever clearing the air and feeding the streams. these forests are sacred, for they both bring flowing water to the ecosystem and hold the earth in place during the rains.”

-angela abraham

Jul23

up in the canopy and so lucky.

Posted on July 23, 2023 by beth

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it was a very lucky day

to wake up and look out my window

to see the high clouds had cleared

revealing the top of the volcano at last

then a hike up and into the tree canopy of the arenal rainforest

amidst many highly specialized flora and fauna that very rarely live in other places.

it’s estimated that no less than 1/3 of all tropical species are found in a rainforest canopy.

it was such a lovely way to end the day

to see these skies when returning in the early evening

after a day spent up high in the canopy

a very lucky day indeed.

“the forest is for me a temple-

a cathedral of tree canopies and dancing light.”

-dr. jane goodall

Jul18

gold and coffee.

Posted on July 18, 2023 by beth

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indigenous gold figures at the museo del oro precolumbia

san jose

britt coffee farm in the afternoon rain

central valley

“trust that the treasure we look for is hidden in the ground on which we stand.”

-henri j.m. nouwen

Jul16

the last straw.

Posted on July 16, 2023 by beth

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after much trial and error

and lacking strong spatial skills

i shifted to a 3-d jigasw puzzle approach

and was finally able

to fit everything

for my two-week trip

to a country

with twelve micro-climates

into a carry-on bag

that met the weight and size limits

however

i was not able to fit one more thing

as this sad q-tip having to be left behind would illustrate.

—

“on a long journey even a straw weighs heavy. “

– spanish proverb

Costa Rica’s 12 micro climates vary from the exotic volcanoes to the cool cloud forests, from the dense jungle to the tropical dry forests and golden beaches to the secluded waterfalls and rivers.