On Sunday we had made arrangements to do a local tour in Matapalo.  The tour was with a family run business called Everyday Adventures.  We really only did two outside excursions, the wildlife sanctuary and this.  We chose well.

Everyday Adventures offers several ‘adventures’ but we chose to do the nature hike and climb a 400 year old parasitic structure...namely a giant strangler fichus.  We walked through the woods to the same falls we had been taken to by our dog friend a few days back. 

Along the way, Andy, the guide gave us a great education in various plants and creatures of the rainforest.  He was a biologist in California before coming here on vacation and deciding to stay.  He lives in an open style house, much like Casa Linda with his wife, Terry, and their two kids.  They live here year round.  The kids have a zip line and a trampoline like we do at home, but their house is on Matapalo beach.  In the back yard they have the highest ’tree house’ I have ever seen, and they even had ducks!  The kids like getting over there before our walk to play.

Soon it was time for us to set out on our walk.  Along the way, Andy would pick up various plants, like hibiscus and just start munching on them.  We first learned about the ’beer belly tree’, really named the Ceiba tree, whose trunk becomes swollen with all the sap that builds up from hydrostatic pressure.  Just outside their home one had leaked sap on the ground and Andy started eating it.  Of course, he told the kids it was a rotted monkey carcass, and that really made Caden look at him strangely!

We then came to a termite mound that had fallen on the ground.  They are everywhere here, and we learned they are very essential to the rainforest because they break down fallen trees and turn them into a nitrogen rich soil that is important in the rainforest where the soil level is very thin.  It seems weird doesn't it?  The soil level in the rainforest is very thin, the trees that grow here only have topical roots.  Trees in our area send out ’tap’ roots which allow the trees to stand longer and stronger than here in the rainforest, but the growth rate of trees here seems to make up for it.  We saw several trees that were no more than 26 or so years, and they dwarfed the oaks in my backyard.  Termites taste like cedar.

We walked to the King Louis Falls on the same path we took before, and learned that you always walk where the water flows, because the rocks are not slippery.  The water has so many minerals in it, your shoes actually create a friction that allows you to walk straight up a waterfall—and we did!

Once at the falls we settled down for a snack and then we had our pedicure.  The fresh water shrimp in the pool under the falls eat organic matter.  So, when we put in our tired, blistered, bug bitten feet...they went crazy!  We thought it was like some specialized spa treatment people would pay hundreds of dollars for!

Our big excitement was seeing two tyra’s in the wild.  The pair ran right behind us at King Louis Falls!!  They were quick, and we are still curious why they were together since we had learned they were strictly solitary animals.  We wonder if they are mating, or siblings.  They are pretty unusual to see, although Andy said he has seen that pair over the last few months a handful of times.

Near the fichus there was a begonia leaf we tasted that tasted just like a granny smith apple!  Audrey loves the fact that we just walk around and pick stuff up off the ground and eat it.  Spencer was still not so sure.  The edge of this mountain allowed us to see the ocean below.  It was a spectacular sight. 

Well, we thought it was a spectacular sight, until we got to the tree itself.  It was amazing!!  We learned about the two types of vine relationships in the jungle.  One is a cohesive relationship, where the vines grow on trees, but don’t bother the tree.  In some instances they help support the massive structures of the trees.  Other instances, they are more of a parasite—like the strangler fig—and they overtake the tree and eventually the tree rots away and leaves only the structure of the fichus.  This was the case here.  There is a mesh of tree going up in every direction, and in the center is a hollow where the tree used to stand.  You can make out where the original tree was, because there is nothing there. The fig literally strangles the tree, and eventually, the tree rots beneath it.  This takes hundreds of years.  In fact, we saw a fig on the way there that was actually just beginning the process.  Andy said if we come back in about another 150 years, it could look like the one we climbed!

Of all the kids, I was really surprised to hear Malena wanted to go first.  Malena?  She never wants to go first!  But, she jumped right onto the fact that she was going to be the first to climb it.  She got into the harness quickly, and then headed up.  She was a careful climber, moving with care to make sure every step was a good one.  I could not believe how far she climbed.  She made it about 3/4’s of the way up, past ’Jezebel’s Tower’ to the fireman’s pole, but then she just got stuck.  I think she really could not quite make it farther, because she was just too short still.  But, she was about 55 or 60 feet up!  The highest point, and where the gong is, was 68 feet up. 

I was really unsure Spencer would do it at all, but he did it too!  He didn’t make it as high as Malena, but he gave it a good go, making it just past Jezebel’s tower and then free fell in his harness to earth.

Next was Cade, and sadly, he did not make it very far at all.  Needless to say, knowing how competitive he is...he had fun initially, but when he saw how far he made it he was mad.  He spent the rest of his time begging to try again. 

Finally, Audrey, who had been carefully watching below was up.  I think there was a light rain that had fallen and the fig was sort of damp.  Andy said it may be easier to climb barefoot.  Well, you know Audrey was all about that.  She scaled the tree like a howler monkey and made it to the gong pretty quickly.  She only paused at one point to see a crevice in the tree where the black myotis bats were hanging out.  When she jumped out of the tree, she let out a scream like I had never heard from Audrey!  Then, once settled, Andy let her do a ’Cirque De Soli’ routine, hanging upside down, spinning and twirling around.  It was very cool.

Not to be outdone, I was next.  I too made it to the top, barefoot...but something tells me I am much sorer than Audrey today!  My advil wore off in the night, and I awoke thinking ’What have I done?—Oh, ya, climbed 68 feet up into a tree.’  The only part I had a little issue with was the jumping off into the nothingness below.  I had my camera ready to video tape the jump, but it turned off as soon as I jumped.  Well, technically, I didn’t jump.  Andy says, ’I’m going to give three tugs, on the third one your going to jump.’  Well, I didn’t exactly jump, because on the third tug I decided maybe I would just climb back down—but the tug was so hard and quick, it was just enough to throw me off balance and I was swinging through the trees like Tarzan...or maybe Jane...but it was a little freaky. 

Matt went up next, and he too did not want to be outdone so he climbed it fast, and in bare feet.  He had less of an issue coming down than I did, and soon we were back on the ground heading for Andy’s house.  It was an awesome experience, and I was so happy that even though we only did two things, I chose well.  Everyday Adventures, well, there was nothing “every day” about it!  It was amazing, exhilarating, and something my family will carry with them always. 

It was just amazingly cool that we were able to go to the jungle and climb this 400 year old parasitic relic together as a family and get an amazing education along the way!

 

The afternoon was spent at the beach.  I spent some time in the casa looking at the pictures from our adventure that morning.  Bed came fairly early, and Spencer and I finished our books!  Hayley!!!  Spencer finished book two of PJ!  LOL!  I finished East—which I think Vicky had told me about long ago, and I really liked it. 

It is sad, and hard to believe we only have two more days here.  I am really glad this morning as the howlers are howling around me we decided to stay 10 full days and not break up our time in San Jose.  It is amazing. 

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