Costa Rica in situ: natural oblivion

This is the second part to the previous entry (urban observation) about a trip I took to Costa Rica in January 2017.

In going to Costa Rica my main hopes professionally were to spend a few days immersed in natural areas, ideally staying in the rainforest either at a field station or somewhere nearby as to maximize time exploring. Fractured planning, miscommunication, logistical errors, and compromising with others all played roles in me not achieving this goal. On a less ambitious scale, I was happy just to be out of the United States and seeing a new place while enjoying moderate weather.

Even though I didn’t get to stay in the rainforest I got to experience some really nice spots in a few national parks that I was able to visit. One of the parks was quite crowded and though it was a productive spot for seeing a few species of dragonflies, some monkeys, and European tourists, it wasn’t a good place to shoot ethereal nature scenes. I got some nice insect shots there and stepped in the ocean to try and reset my life but coming out I felt no different.

The second park was far more my style, being secluded, absolutely empty, and having a barely-recognizable system of paths. Here is where I felt the most tranquil and absorbed in nature, in awe of these ancient creatures, as I was likely the youngest organism by millions of years, in terms of species’ age. Everything around me had spent a relative eternity refining itself and adapting to become suited to an environment not tainted by the advanced mechanisms of technology and cultivation.

I didn’t expect to see a lot of insects due to the time of year I was visiting but I was still surprised at how few I did see. However, the thrill of being in the rainforest overwhelmed my disappointment regarding the dearth of visible insects and I felt re-energized and excited for the first time in a long time. As much as I love checking out new cities and enjoyed wandering around San José, the short trip to Parque Nacional Braulio Carrillio was by far the most meaningful experience I had during my time in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica in situ - few human feet

A short path that ran a loop near the visitor's center of Parque Nacional Braulio Carrillio. It didn't look like many people come here and in some spots the path was totally obscured by plants growing over it. This was absolutely diametric to the paths at Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio.

Costa Rica in situ - baby fern

A fern not yet unfurled into its more recognizable form. In this state it almost appears more animal than plant.

Costa Rica in situ - las hojas

I was intrigued by these very interesting leave shapes--I don't recall seeing any like this before. It almost looks as if originally it was all one big leaf and a caterpillar or something ate a little chunk and then moved down a bit and crawled to the other side of the leave to do the same, repeating for the entire leaf.

Costa Rica in situ - density

Some of my favorite visual overloads are jungle scenes--so much similar color, so many planes of growth and sprawling connections. There's a feeling of relief and at-homeness but also a very clear sense of apprehension that is enlivening and forces one to be present.

Costa Rica in situ - Parque Nacional Braulio Carrillio

In Parque Nacional Braulio Carrillio. This park was my favorite spot, being a little out of the way. No USB ports, no novel statues or monuments to take selfies in front of. The only people who bother to visit are those who take care of the parks, those who love nature, or the gangsters who dumped the headless body that was found there (which is actually a better alternative than wasting space in the ground).

Costa Rica in situ - habitat

This is the only area at Parque Nacional Braulio Carrillio where I saw a dragonfly and I had a 100mm lens on and was unable to get close enough before it flew away. Though this just looks like a little bit of water, forest streams are the larval habitat of the damselfly family Polythoridae, to which the species I was unable to photograph likely belonged.

Costa Rica in situ - ancient creek crossings

Another angle of the "portal" image, this one with some sun flare to try and approximate the hazy humidity and ethereal quality of the rainforest.

Costa Rica in situ - portal

On this trip I was hoping to literally go back in time for many reasons, internal, external, political, cultural, and environmental. Unfortunately I only succeeded for portions of eight days, but at there were eight days.

Costa Rica in situ - outnumbered

It was so refreshing to be surrounded by free-growing nature and to see man passing as the fleeting outlier.

Costa Rica in situ - fern

To me many of the plants looked hyper-real or close to imaginary, embellished versions of things I was familiar with.