Aero: Brittany Gleason – Costa Rica 2014 – Biodiversity
Aero: Brittany Gleason – Costa Rica 2014 – Biodiversity
Aero: Brittany Gleason – Costa Rica 2014 – Biodiversity
Brittany Gleason
Costa Rica was rich with biodiversity; the different ecosystems were so unique to see. I was able to see the cloud forest, the rain forest, the life on the mountains, and the vegetation on the volcanoes. Each ecosystem had their differences but they all had one thing in common and that was they had so many different species living in them. I was glad that I got the opportunity to see each one, but we went on so many guided tours through the cloud forest and rainforest they started to blend together and I felt like I was hearing the same information.
When we were in the cloud forest we went on a day tour and a night tour. During the day tour our guide was so knowledgeable about everything and he knew just where to look to find the animals. The forest is not how it is portrayed in the movies, instead it is very dense and the animals are very hard to see. They all blend in with the trees and plants. Our guide pointed out a pit viper snake, and a two toed sloth through his telescope. The night tour was really neat because we all took flashlights and found tons of insects throughout the cloud forest. The next day we went on another walk through the cloud forest while we did the hanging bridges. This guide knew all about the different kinds of plants that can be used as medicines. The cloud forest was very wet and damp because we were literally standing in misty clouds. The rain forest was very similar to the cloud forest. Here we saw ants all over, and giant ant colonies. We also saw another pit viper snake before we took an aerial tram through the forest.
Costa Rica 2014
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The Costa Ricans used their resources and set up farms all along the mountains. They told us that the soil was the richest on the sides of volcanoes. As we drove up the mountains we saw all kinds of fruit and vegetable stands. They had strawberries, watermelons, onions, and potatoes. When we drove by the onion fields we could literally smell them. We saw several cattle, and horses that also lived on the farms. I found it very interesting that they would tie the cattle to the side of the road to eat the grass. Everything there was so environmentally friendly and fresh. The air was even crisp because they do whatever they can to protect the environment. When we traveled I did not see factories all over the place like I do in the U.S., instead I saw fruit stands. Instead of taking cars everywhere they walk. Gas in Costa Rica was $7.00 a gallon, which also makes is discouraging to drive places. Costa Ricans would rather live a simpler life than destroy their surroundings; I think it is amazing and beautiful.
Learn More: Study abroad with Modern Languages @ FLCC: Costa Rica!
– Brittany Gleason
The LEAF Project
www.leaflanguages.org
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