Julie's Story

My favorite day of an incredible, jam-packed, 10 day trip to Costa Rica was, without a doubt, the day we traveled to Aula Global, the reserve outside Santa Elena. This reserve, unlike many others, has scarcely come into contact with humans. That morning I had a delicious breakfast of gallo pinto (beans and rice) with my host family in Santa Elena. While I wished I could stay another night to fulfill my promise of a soccer scrimmage with 8-year-old Favian, I looked forward to new adventures.
Mid morning, most of us piled into a mini-bus and headed out, and up, and up, and up. The road was so bumpy that my camera footage ended up as no more than a bunch of bouncing blurs. Someone in our group hit her head on the roof of the bus (not badly though) as we looked out at what appeared to be mostly vacant hilly farm lands on both sides of the narrow road. Eventually the bus stopped at the crest of a hill. This was the end of the ride; the bus wouldn't take us any further because the road was too bad. We were at about eye-level with the clouds and I noticed that the greenery had changed some. I could see, hear, and feel that everything around me was incredibly alive.
Some people hopped in the back of the truck, which we met up with shortly down the rocky road. I walked with Tiffany and Israel as we took in the new scenery and carried on a light conversation in Spanish about how the air was fresh and cool. I made a bathroom stop in the woods as Israel told me that from there on in, all the baños were in the forest. Ahead of us, the truck sloshed through rivers and piles of manure left by the cows grazing on the farm land bordering the reserve. Eventually we reached the truck, grabbed our large backpacks and whatever food we could carry and started trekking in, Israel and I in the lead. Ian and Colin had disappeared somewhere off the road in search of a rare and very large hawk. Apparently they found it and were able to get quite close to get some good pictures.
We hiked through a pasture or two and then WAZHOOM- we were surrounded by the sounds of the rain forest. Blue morphos and other brightly colored butterflies danced on the sides of the the trail as Israel and I passed. He asked me a little about myself and told me a little about the reserve. At each gate we came to he told me kindly "Diga al ultimo que cerrar el portón." and I would yell back in English to Sara on the tail of the group to make sure the gate got closed so that the cows didn't escape.
Man was my bag getting heavy. Israel was carrying a cardboard box filled with cans of paint thinner on one shoulder with one arm, so I couldn't complain.
Finally we crossed a bridge and Israel told me that this was where the property began. We hiked up a steep hill and soon a building, a bird house, and Colin's half-built composting toilet were in view. They were tucked in on a grassy slope with views of the thick canopy on all sides. I helped Israel, who was struggling to put down the box of paint and cheered as the rest of the group trickled in. All I could do was look around and take everything in, an activity I soon learned would never get old there. The place made me so relaxed and content with everything.
Israel peeled a naranjilla for Ian and me to try. This was a perfectly round, orangish, fuzzy fruit that was growing on the path right up to the building. Israel warned us that the fine fuzz on the naranjillas was like fiberglass to touch. With all the fuzz scraped off and the fruit cut in slices, it tasted like a combination between a tomato and a kiwi— absolutely delicious!
Before lunch, Ian and I went on a little exploration down one of the paths, finding a vine to swing on and emerging in what I thought of as our first dose of hard-core, jaw-dropping, stereotypical, JUNGLE. The sounds. The plants. The lighting. Everything. It was, to be modest, quite remarkable. We explored on the ground, finding at least four or five different seeds or buds that were extravagantly colored and looked like they could have come from another planet. The rich diversity was overwhelming.
Upon returning to "base camp" for a little orientation and lunch, some of us also got a brief lesson from Israel about how frogs lay their eggs in the water that sits, stagnant in an epiphyte called a bromeliad that grows on many tree trunks. I impressed myself by being able to follow it all in Spanish.
Later in the day, Israel took a whole group of us on an awesome tour through the rain forest by the river, on the path that Ian and I had begun to explore earlier. It was clear that Israel was there because he loves the place so much and has spent so much time there that he knows all the plants and sounds. It was obvious that he was indescribably passionate about the place and about sharing his home, his knowledge, and his passion with kids like us. The trip included several bits of information about different plants, warning about spines, and the sighting of a Black Gwan, among other things. As a grande finale at the end of the hour-long hike we heard "pio, pio, pio." Israel turned to us with wide eyes and a finger to his mouth to hush us, whispering "Shh! Quetzales!" Soon enough, through the fog, we saw not one, not two, but probably five or six, or maybe even seven quetzals with their beautiful green tail feathers and red breasts.

Julie Erickson traveled to Costa Rica with the Global Classroom in April, 2003