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The Orchid "Thief" in Costa Rica

By Richard Frisbie

The remote trail I followed up the steep shoulder of the volcano was created by the most dangerous animal in the jungle - man. But it wasn't man that worried me that day. It was the fact that 30 varieties of poisonous snakes made this mountain their home. I faced the horrible realization that I was 4 hours from base camp and, if bitten, 2 hours from a very painful death. Alone and sweaty in a Costa Rican rain forest, I tried to remember what made this trip sound like such a good idea.

My friend is passionate about orchids. If you've been to an orchid show in the Northeast, chances are you've seen one of his 500 plants. They are easy to spot in their rare beauty, usually festooned with ribbons. It was his fault, er, idea, that we go to Costa Rica to view orchids in their wild habitat. Something about them being seen in nature, vs. the contrived displays of a show. I don't know. I just went along for the scenery, and the chance to stretch my urban legs in the wilds of the Central American jungle.

Our travel arrangements were made by a mutual friend in Florida, a science teacher who leads student tours throughout Costa Rica. He had the best connections for lodgings and transportation, but I balked at the first and last night stay in the airport hotel. What may be expedient when dealing with a passel of teenagers wasn't suited for two grown men. In keeping with the theme of the trip, I found a small inn called The Orquideas. It's a ten minute ride from the airport, with a pool and a breakfast buffet for about the same price ($89 / Deluxe double room) as the sterile hotel chain. We landed in San Jose at 9 PM and easily navigated baggage and customs. Then we were met by a bilingual driver who delivered us safely to the gated and walled "The Orchids". In the morning, enjoying sunrise over the extensive gardens more than made up for the traffic noises we endured overnight. We learned that weekdays the early morning trucks "jake-brake" noisily down the mountain behind the inn on their way to San Jose.  At least it wasn't airplanes landing and taking off! It was auspicious that our first day in Costa Rica began surrounded by orchids and bougainvillea.

We wisely stuck with all the other travel arrangements our knowledgeable friend made. The problem was that nothing was confirmed in writing. Our protestations were met with, "Don't worry about it. Relax and have a good time. I'll take care of everything." He doesn't know from New Yorkers! So, at 8:30 AM we weren't sure a driver was coming to take us four hours north to the Lodge the Smithsonian built overlooking the Arenal Volcano. After two vain attempts to contact anyone who might be able to help us, and just before complete panic set in, a van arrived right on time with a genial driver ready to guide us across this beautiful land. Life is good. Don't worry, be happy. And we were off.

It was a little alarming that every shop and house we passed, even in the hinterlands, had bars on all the doors and windows. Some were compounds whose walls were topped with razor wire. It made even a modest hacienda look like a fortress -- most disconcerting in this garden of Eden. The disparity of wealth and poverty side by side, both wary of invasion, was striking. What we cannot change we must learn to accept. I looked beyond the security to see the beauty everywhere.

Our driver was really our private tour guide.  He beamed when I asked if we could see some of the back-country on our trip, then he suggested we take the long way to Arenal. As village and town rolled by he pointed out the highlights and mentioned a bit of history. This one is known for its crafts, this for its tin church, this for its coffee. He would have stopped at each, but we demurred until he said this town is known for the topiary garden in front of the church. Two gardeners - topiary - we were hooked.
   
He stopped in front of a public park literally filled with juniper topiary in shapes both real and fantastic. It was truly a remarkable achievement that went totally unremarked upon in my travel guide. There was a solid block of surreal shapes leading to a large wood and faux marble church. One man was in the process of trimming and pruning, and the fuzzy versus sharp lines, combined with the different shades of green and brown his work revealed, served to heighten the beauty. It was lunchtime and the park was peopled with uniformed school children, but I shot around them to get some great of this unexpected, manicured, oasis.

As it turned out, the whole trip was filled with such surprises. We drove through valleys and mountain passes, through hot humid lowlands and over cool peaks, on mostly narrow, poorly maintained roads. It was the truck route, so sometimes progress was slowed on the steep grades, and dangerous on the curves, but the vistas were dramatic and the vegetation lush. Plants we call rare here, and covet in their tiny pots, are roadside weeds they hack at with machetes to keep from blocking the way. We were constantly amazed at the size and variety of flora spread out before us.

The Arenal Observatory Lodge is isolated on a high plateau with a steep and rutted approach. After our van turned off the pockmarked pavement onto a gravel road, we passed through a security gate and began a 9 kilometer drive to the mountain-top retreat. The Lodge overlooks the most active volcano in Central America. It was originally established for scientific research, but now does dual service as a small resort. Because of this, the older of the 37 rooms are more utilitarian, but the new wing we inhabited was built with tourism in mind. That means you can watch the lava flow all night from the comfort of your bed, and step out onto the patio to see Lake Arenal, the largest lake in the country, spread below you. The scenery was beautiful! We spent the afternoon exploring the landscaped grounds.

The next morning we opted for a structured nature walk. That's when a bilingual guide herded a crowd of us through a mostly level stretch of the tropical Arenal National Forest and up onto the lava flow left from the massive 1992 eruption. The rich diversity of flora and fauna, with multiple colors, sizes and shapes, was mind boggling. Picary, howler monkeys, coatimondis, toucans, parrots, montezumas, and seemingly a zillion more varieties of birds and plants were all vying for our attention. And the orchids, yes, orchids! We saw our first wild one that morning growing in the lava. But, just as I reached out to touch it, I heard the guide's admonition: "When in the jungle, NEVER TOUCH EVERYTHING!" He then proceeded to describe the venomous snakes and insects, and the adaptations of coloring and shape that enable them to hide in the various plants and flowers as they await their prey. Costa Rica has many varieties of poisonous snakes, frogs and insects. There are 14 varieties of scorpions alone. The tour books say most people who visit never see any of them, but I was duly chastised, and concentrated on taking pictures after that. Nothing is as it seems, and everything can harbor potential danger, even a beautiful flower. I never touched everything.

There were several highlights to our stay there. One morning we went by taxi off-mountain to the nearest town, Fortuna. From there we went on horseback for 45 minutes up  through the pasture foothills and into the jungle. We were going on a canopy tour. After tying up the horses, we trekked into the jungle and climbed to platform #1. The 'tour", more realistically referred to here as the "ride", is a series of cables strung through the treetops from which we hung in individual web harnesses. The idea is that, as crazy people, we would leap off the series of  "floating" platforms designed to hold about half the number of people the tour guides crammed onto each one, and zip along at breakneck speed over dizzying heights hoping to land on the next overcrowded one. It is a thrilling, daredevil experience that has little to do with observing nature in the jungle canopy, and everything to do with scaring the bejeesus out of you. It was great fun!

Because of the steep terrain, part way through the ride I could actually step off platform #5 to touch the reassuring earth for perhaps one last time. I leaned against the tree our cable was attached to. That's when I heard the alarming, "don't turn around, just walk towards me" from my observant friend. When I reached him I turned to see a coral snake, the most poisonous land snake, crawling where I had been leaning only seconds before. I had the presence of mind to get a snapshot of it, but, what I remember as huge as a boa constrictor appears as only 18 inches long in the photo. Well, big or small, it was a most colorful and venomous addition to the tour.

I had time to reflect upon that nearly lethal encounter while on the other hikes we took, either together or separately. Both the Old Lava trail and the Lago Cerro Chato hike were accessed from the Lodge. They were rated most difficult because they are straight up and down, and we needed things to hang onto, but we couldn't touch EVERYTHING. It was like being on a stairmaster without handles, and climbing straight up had my head a snake-strike from the ground, which offered ample opportunity to confront my fear of serpents "head on", as it were. Luckily, I did not have to. We saw no other snakes, venomous or otherwise, and I'm sure the rustling we frequently heard in the leaves was caused by small lizards. At least that's what I kept telling myself.

It may sound foolish to have attempted all this, but, by risking sure death I got to see orchids, elusive butterflies and brilliant birds in more varieties than I could identify. For example, that brief moment when a Blue Morpho butterfly fluttered through a shaft of sunlight penetrating the forest canopy is one I will have forever. And, standing on the rim of an extinct volcano waiting for the clouds to part below me to reveal the green waters of Lake Cerro Chato was exhilarating. Every step of the way was worth taking, albeit very carefully.

Our return to the proximity of the airport the day before our early-morning departure was memorable. We opted for the back roads again with the same driver. He took us to a native restaurant where the food was served on banana leaves in combinations and flavors the bland food at the Lodge had us craving. I still don't know what some of the stuff was we ate, but it was very good.

Then he took us to the mall! I'm embarrassed to say we must export the worst of what passes for "culture" in this country. That's because the majority of youths we saw, when not in school uniforms, were on skateboards and/or in "gangsta" gear. It was definitely a "culture" shock after days in the jungle. Otherwise, a mall is a mall. We found the best prices and selection of coffee there, and loaded up with souvenirs. Then back to The Orquideas Inn for a better (traffic-free weekend) night's sleep, and the return flight early the next morning. Customs, security, people - all great. It was a wonderful, if too short, vacation. I already want to go back.

FACTS: Costa Rica is a peaceful democracy that disbanded its standing army in 1949. They are our allies and really like Americans. Our money is strong there, approx 500 colones to $1, and practically everyone speaks a little English. Nearly 25% of the country is protected as a National Park or Forest, and ecotourism is a major industry.
WHEN YOU GO
The Orquideas Inn http://www.orquideasinn.com/ includes "the best breakfast in San Jose".
Arenal Lodge http://www.arenal.net/observatory-lodge/ Junior Suit $155 double includes buffet breakfast.
Costa Rica Transportation Service: bus@arenal.net  4+hrs $120 to Arenal Lodge
For Arenal volcano images and a good general Costa Rica web site - http://www.cocori.com  &  http://www.centralamerica.com . Be forewarned, Arenal Volcano can be very active, erupting as often as 80 times a day when we were there. Scientists do not expect any eruptions to be major. For the record, they didn't expect the devastating eruptions of 1968 of 1992 to be major either.

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