They don’t call it the rainforest for nothing! Our class was given the opportunity to take a boat
tour with the Laguna Lodge through the Tortuguero canals today in two different boats. The rain decided to take the tour with us. The tour involves an exciting journey through
the canals on small motorboats while the diverse wildlife of Tortuguero
surrounds the boats on both sides of the water.
Our Costa Rican tour guides explained much about the canals/rainforest
including an in-depth look into its history.
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| Tortuguero Canals |
While boarding the boats, my classmates and I put on rain
ponchos as protection from the torrential downpour that had been occurring
since early in the morning. We bore the
true rain forest experience. Once the
journey began, it would only be a matter of seconds before we would see some of
the wildlife the rainforest has to offer.
Over the course of the tour, we saw howler monkeys, spider monkeys, a sloth,
basilisk, caiman, and many different species of birds. It was truly a dream come true as I saw a
sloth hanging from a tree eating leaves.
While viewing these animals that none of us are used to seeing back in
the United States, we learned much about the exciting creatures from our tour
guides. I personally found the
information about sloths the most interesting.
We learned that there are two different types of sloths, that being
two-toed and three-toed sloths. Three-toed
sloths tend to remain closer to the ground while two-toed sloths live at higher
altitudes. Something I found
particularly interesting was that sloths eat leaves and fruit, and only “go to
the bathroom” about once a week. They do
this because they do not want their predators to know their location. One way they do this is by covering up their
waste once they are done. Though the
animals call the rainforest home, Tortuguero is home to people as well.
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| Look closely! A caiman in the leaves. |
There are about 2,000 people who live in the area. The rainforest used to be a main area for
people to come in and chop down trees for industrial purposes, but as of more
recently, Tortuguero is an area that is completely safe from any industrial
minds. The population that lives there
today is only there because they were living in Tortuguero before it was
pronounced as an area of preservation. Costa
Rica, especially Tortuguero, is known for its unique position near the equator. Our tour guide explained how all of the
animals in the south travel north and vice-versa at a certain point of the
year. Due to its geographical position,
Costa Rica acts as a pathway for these animals moving north or south. This is why the rainforest is home to 100+
different species of plants and many species of animals.
The canal tour is an experience that I would
recommend to anyone, as it really opens your eyes about how being unsustainable
can really harm such an amazing area. It
is astonishing how every person we have met in Costa Rica is extremely
passionate about sustainability as it is a way of life around here. Due to the rainforest and the enormous amount
of agriculture in the country, Costa Ricans realize how important it is to
avoid human-induced pollution as much as possible. It is inspiring to view this way of life in
person while the experience is also motivation for our class to go back to the
United States and promote sustainable practices in our country. If the world would realize the potential
dangers of being unsustainable and commit to change, future generations could
benefit tremendously.
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| One of the boats of students led by our tour guide Miguel! |
For
more information about what our class has done in Costa Rica, please follow our
blog.. You can also follow our classes Twitter account
here as well as my own personal Twitter account.
Ronny Wagner
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