The sudden changes in the weather pushed us away from the Cape Horn, yet it prompted a faster departure for the Antarctica Peninsula. Before entering the Southern Ocean, however, our ship Magellan Explorer had to brave across the Drake Passage, which bridges the waters of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Fueled by the uninterrupted circumference of the Earth, this relatively narrow body of water is infamous for its stormy weather and record high swells. Everyone onboard was bracing for a rocky sail.
With no land in sight, some of our fellow expedition members soon found themselves fighting the seasickness in their cabins. Barf bags, strategically tacked in everywhere around the ship, evaporated overnight. Yet, other passengers (especially a group of gregarious New Yorkers) never grew tired of socializing in the lounge and touring the usual time-sinks, such as the sauna and the gym room.
Between the gourmet meals, safety drills and adventure travel lectures, these two days of sailing would initially feel like “the time lost to transit”. Luckily for us, pelagic birdwatching served as a perfect outdoor entertainment and a way to connect to the physical world outside.
We would frequently trade the comfort of our cozy cabin for exhilarating moments of absolute solitude spent on the freezing-cold bench of the upper-most deck on the stern of the ship. Standing there under the continuous barrage of the ocean spray, we would follow the majestic Wandering albatrosses and solitary Giant Petrels cutting the salty air while masterly passing the ship on both sides.
Tiny Arctic Prions, with their wings colored in silver, blended in perfectly with the ocean glitter and remained elusive while I attempted to catch a glimpse of them in the view finder. Loose flocks of Cape Petrels, also called Pintado for their painted appearance, were elegantly running the waves before taking off as a swarm of black-and-white butterflies.
Very little else came to sight, until we reached the very first iceberg and the rocky outcrops of the Antarctic peninsula, covered with pink guano and crowded by countless Chinstrap and Gentoo Penguins nesting along the steep slopes of the islands.
When Travelling to Antarctica, A Little Planning Goes a Long Way
Having overcome writer’s block during the pandemics, I am finally ready to share some thoughts and memories from our latest trip abroad.
Anyone travelling to Antarctica, does not just end up on the frozen continent on a whim. Like others, we were inspired and drawn to the “bottom of the globe” by the triumphant and gut-wrenching narratives of the early south polar explorations by Scott, Shackleton, and Amundsen. And, probably, like most travelers, we realized early that some planning was in order before our adventure with Antarctica21 (although it was conceived as a “side-trip” within our initial travel itinerary around Argentine and Chilean Patagonia).
It took us about 6 months from the first inquiries about a fly-and-sail expedition with Antarctica21 to setting our foot on the expedition ship Magellan Explorer. Yet, while on board, we met a solo traveler from Atlanta, who made all the arrangements and joined our party in Ushuaia on a very short notice (all within a single week!). Presumably, the price was also good for the inconvenience and uncertainty, which often comes with this sort of “last-minute travel to Antarctica”. The last-minute discounted cruses to Antarctica details many pros and cons.
For us, the peace of mind was absolutely worth a modicum of advanced planning. A relatively early booking helped us secure a cabin of our choice: one by the library, close to the center point of the ship to minimize the sickening impact of the high seas which are very common in is part of the world. The few months before the trip were filled with thrill and anticipation of the travel ahead of us.
Truthfully, as independent travelers with complex itineraries and countless points of interests, we learned early the necessity of advanced planning. The window of opportunity to sign up for unique, seasonal experiences and visit popular destinations with limited access and capacity oftentimes closes up quickly.
The Penguin Island of the Harberton Ranch outside of Ushuaia, the world’s most southern city and the starting point of most expeditions to the Antarctic Peninsula, was a perfect example of such a destination on this trip. Home of the only continental colony of Gentoo and Magellanic penguins (there was even a single vagrant King penguin, who seemed completely lost in the mix!) in South America, it is open to ONLY 45 visitors per day and for a single hour! If this and other “out of the ordinary” places are on your bucket list, you’d be better off by planning well ahead.
Antarctica Expedition vs Cruise
Every morning at 7 a.m., we were awakened by the expedition leader David, a tall gregarious Swede, making intercom announcements in an iron voice. He liked to remind us periodically that we were “NOT on a cruise, but on an expedition” and he would not cut us slack. With a schedule crowded with lectures, movies, safety drills, social gatherings and outings, the atmosphere on the boat felt downright hectic at times.
Every landing was reminiscent of boot camp, where, with sinking under the load of our gear and the prescribed three layers of winter clothing, we had to run in full-speed down several flights of stairs to the cramped docking room at the bottom of the ship. There we had to expeditiously put on our bulky life jackets and weighty boots (often while standing and balancing on a single foot), get our “guest cards” scanned and give our footwear a thorough “disinfecting bath” before jumping into a Zodiac rocking impatiently alongside the ship.
Our Antarctica 21 travelling party was a small group of only 73 passengers, 85% of whom were American adults of all ages. However, there were also a few travelers from Indonesia, Mexico, Singapore and Japan. Our crew & staff of around 60 strong was truly international and included several chefs and a dozen seasoned tour guides from Iceland, New Zealand, UK, Chile and USA.
The nearly 1:1 passengers to staff/crew ratio surely sets an expedition apart from a cruise. Having a unique opportunity to dine over interesting conversations with the crew and the expedition leaders makes the travel experience very personal and rewarding. Being a part of such a small group also made it impossible not to feel fully-engaged and involved into the ongoing activities, lectures and workshops on topics ranging from Antarctic natural history and environmental science to wildlife and polar landscape photography.
Land excursions (also called landings) on Zodiacs and other adventurous (if not “border-line extreme”) activities, like kayaking, camping and even “polar plunges” in the Antarctic are not possible while on a traditional cruise ship. This is not only due to the rather complicated logistics associated with these activities, but also because larger ships are not allowed to get close to the shore. Following the expedition, while staying in Punta Arenas, we met an American couple off the cruise ship touring “Patagonia and Antarctica”, who were clearly disappointed by not being able to see a single penguin during their lengthy trip.
Having an entire ship deck (and moment of solitude while watching pelagic birds on Drake Passage) or sauna (which we never had time to enjoy due to the busy schedule) to yourself are certainly not common perks of a typical cruise ship loaded with hundreds if not thousands of people.
But wait, there is more. All guests had access to the bridge of the Magellan Explorer, a brand new custom-built vessel with ice-strengthened hull ideally suited for expedition travel in the polar regions. The opportunity to observe the captain and his crew calmly navigate the open ocean and the rocky shores of the Antarctic Peninsula, while standing out of the ferocious wind and heavy mist and with the “best views of the house” was the ultimate “icing on the cake”.
Needless to say, there was little time to sleep amidst the relentless polar sunlight during those austral midsummer nights.
Osa Peninsula is the best place to see all four species of Costa Rica monkeys in the wild. By “seeing” I do not mean a theoretical possibility to get a fleeting glimpse of these fascinating creatures. I am talking about a real, almost guaranteed, opportunity to observe them in their natural habitat for hours and hours. Below are the details and photographs from our most recent trip to Costa Rica.
What Kind of Monkeys Live in Costa Rica?
There are four native monkey species to be found in Costa Rica:
Central American squirrel monkey
Mantled howler monkey
Geoffroy’s spider monkey
White-faced capuchin
All of them have different, but partially overlapping habitats, dietary preferences and travel patterns. They also display a variety of interesting types of locomotion and behaviors when interacting with their “peers” and other animal species. Some monkeys are rather common throughout the country and the Central Ameraca, others are rare and near-endemic. Certain monkey species are especially shy and elusive, whereas, at least one group of Costa Rican primates, would “stalk” and even “harass” the humans when encountering them in the wild.
A Monkey Heaven of Osa Peninsula
Osa Peninsula, located in the remote south of Costa Rica, is the only single place in the country where all extant primate species still naturally co-exist. In fact, one of our nature guides from the local Lapa Rios ecolodge told us, that all four may be seen as they forage peacefully on the fruits of a single large tree.
While this tale might be a bit of an exaggeration, it is not too far from the reality. To enjoy multiple close and casual encounters with the monkeys, all you would need is sufficient time (5-7 days, is my estimate), patience and a good local travel base on the peninsula. Matapalo Beach became such a place for us on our most recent trip to Costa Rica.
Matapalo, the less-traveled Gateway to Corcovado
In fact, you even do not have to venture out inside the Corcovado National Park itself to see all 4 Costa Rican monkey species up close. Wildlife does not recognize the boarders created by humans. A recent study conducted around the Carate Gate of the national park by a group of Frontier’s volunteers demonstrated that quite convincingly. The staff at the local ecolodges, which use camera-trapping as a non-invasive assessment of the movement and abundance of larger animals, have also told us about the “wildlife spillover” they were witnessing in the recent years. According to them, many mammals, including those still considered endangered, were moving in and out of the Corcovado National Park in search on new mates and territories. On our most recent trip to Costa Rican jungle, we made a similar conclusion about the country’s primates: the chances to spot all species of wild monkeys are very good around Cabo Matapalo, just outside of the Corcovado National Park.
Costa Rican Monkeys Under Pressure
The fact that all four monkey species of Costa Rica can successfully co-exist on Osa Peninsula is not unusual for the New World Neotropics. Interestingly, scientists estimated the average number of Central and South American monkey species sharing territory as 6 +/-3.6 (Peres and Janson, 1999).
Across Americas, the monkey populations have been declining, threatened by habitat fragmentation and loss to agriculture and infrastructure development, increased tourism and illegal pet trade. Although, such trends have been largely reversed in Costa Rica, two monkey species remain significantly affected by the previous and more recent negative ecological changes. In case of dietary overlap and during periods of decreased availability of food sources and suitable habitat, the pressure of competition might increase. But these loss of resources does not affect all four Costa Rican monkey species equally. Whereas the Capuchins and the Howlers have been relatively successful surviving and thriving under the environmental pressure, the Spider and the Squirrel monkeys have remained particularly vulnerable.
Why Howler Monkeys Roar and Grunt?
These are the primates, which you will hear more often than see. Despite their terrifyingly loud grunts and roar at dawn and dusk, Costa Rican Golden Manteled Howler Monkey (Alouatta palliata) are actually non-aggressive primates. In fact, they tend to be dominated both by spider and capuchin monkeys when they sometimes meet in the forest. During encounters with humans, they largely ignore them. Sometimes, however, howlers might express their displeasure by urinating (or worse) down on people from the canopy. You better watch out!
Howler monkeys mostly eat leaves (folivores) and sometimes fruits. Because of their nutritionally poor diet, these monkeys are low-energy slow-moving primates, who spend most of their time sleeping and resting. Even their loud acoustic system is believed to enable them to avoid confrontation with other groups without having to move around and spend too much energy. Unlike other Costa Rican monkeys, howlers almost never leap between branches. However, they display some unique forms of quadrupedal (using all 4 limbs) locomotion. A controlled head-first vertical descent along tree branches and lianas is one of them (watch it here). The animal will face the ground and walk down with both hands and feet grasping the support and the prehensile tail helping to control the movements. Only in a few species of non-claw animals have developed this rather uncommon type of locomotion. It is an adaptation for more energy-effective foraging at various levels of the forest canopy
Spider Monkey of Costa Rica
The Geoffroy’s Spider Monkey (Ateles geoffroyi) is among the largest of the New World primates and is native to Costa Rica. Like all other monkeys of Costa Rica, they are active during the day (diurnal) and live in the trees (arboreal species). They prefer spending time within high upper canopy of primary forests. Being large ripe fruit specialists (frugivores), they also eat leaves and occasionally seeds, flowers and even insects. Substantial amount of their water needs is covered by eating fruits and young leaves. However, spider monkeys also drink water from tree holes, epiphytes in trees and water sources on the ground. Their diet does not rely on extractive foraging techniques and does not require any significant manual dexterity. However, some anecdotal evidence of spontaneous tool use by wild spider monkeys (e.g. “females used detached sticks to scratch themselves”) has been reported.
Spider monkeys have developed curious locomotion adaptations of their arms, hands and prehensile (able to grasp) tail. These make them able to arm-swing in addition to leap from tree to tree. This combinatorial type of arboreal locomotion (leaping and brachiation) and prehensile tail places them into the “semibrachiator” or “tail-assisted brachiator” categories by primatologists.
Spider monkeys adhere to “fission-fusion” social system, in which smaller or larger “feeding parties” form and dissolve, depending on fruit availability. In the rainforest ecosystem, spider monkeys are important seed dispersers and as such play an important role in tropical forest regeneration.
Geoffroy’s spider monkeys have been reported to sometimes interact (even engage in mutual grooming!) with the Capuchins. However, we did not have an opportunity to see them interact with other monkeys.
While walking along a trail in the primary forest, we encountered a group of four male spider monkeys. They were not pleased to see us at all, swaying their arms and violently shaking the tree branches. By the King Louis Waterfall, however, we could peacefully observe two females with their young at a relatively close distance over a longer period. Read about the waterfall hike and wildlife viewing therein this blog post “King Louis Waterfall-Hike, Rappel, Monkey Watch”.
Due to their slow reproduction, frugivorous diet, and large territory requirement, spider monkeys are particularly vulnerable to disturbances. Currently, they are listed as endangered, with a decreasing population (IUCN, 2014).
Costa Rica’s Smallest Primates
The Central American Squirrel Monkey (Saimiri oerstedii) is the smallest and the most isolated of the five existing species of squirrel monkeys. Living predominantly in the Pacific lowland rainforests of Costa Rica and Panama, they travel in larger troops and often announce their presence with cheerful whistling and chirping. Squirrel monkey’s main diet consists of fruits and insects, but it also includes small vertebrates (frogs, lizards, even birds and bats). Currently, their conservation status is “Vulnerable, with decreasing population” (IUCN).
Interesting facts about Squirrel Monkeys:
Synchronized birth. In a group, all females give birth within a single week! This is to reduce infant losses to predators, which are many and include raptors, such as Grey hawks and Roadside hawks and even Chestnut-mandibled toucans. During our visit to Costa Rica in late January, we did not observe the young of Squirrel monkeys. Reportedly, February through April is the best time of the year to see them due to better food availability.
Association between Squirrel monkeys and birds. Certain kite, tanager and woodcreeper species were reported to follow troops of foraging Squirrel monkeys and take advantage of their feeding behavior. These clever birds have learned to pick up the insects and invertebrates exposed by the monkeys during the feeding sessions.
The “Little Aggressor” and “Great Innovator”
White-headed Capuchin Monkey (also known as the White-faced or White-throated Capuchins (Cebus capucinus)) is one of the most common monkey species in Central America. Unlike other Costa Rican primates, which predominantly feed on tree leaves, fruits and insects, capuchins also hunt squirrels, coati pups and other mammals. They represent a group of so called “omnivorous extractive foragers”. Many species of mammals and birds from this ecological niche are known for their “cleaver approaches”, not only in feeding, but also in other aspects of their lives. Scientists believe that the relative abundance and survival success of Capuchins are attributed to their remarkable adaptability and great variability in behavior. See this short video of their social interactions.
A group of UCLA scientists, who studied “innovative behavior” in Costa Rican Cebus capucinus, reported, that “capuchins, relative to other ape species, devote a higher proportion of their creative energy to investigation of their environment and devising new social behaviors and a lower proportion to comfort-related behaviors and foraging”. “Capuchins devoted about 42% of their innovation repertoire to the investigative domain compared with chimpanzees (31%) and orangutans (14%)”! The older animals appeared to be more inventive within social behaviors, whereas younger monkeys were innovative in other contexts.
Interesting facts about Capuchin Monkeys:
Encounters between groups of capuchins are mostly hostile in nature and bloody male takeovers, followed by infanticides, are common.
A group of Capuchins would easily displace Howler monkeys, despite profound difference in size. However, a group of spider monkeys (who have larger dietary overlap with the capuchins in fruit consumption) seem often have the upper hand.
Capuchins are known for frequently interacting with and investigating other species (potential predators, prey, and feeding competitors). They often mob their predators, no matter how large (including Caymans, raptors and big cats!). Do not get surprised by being “stalked” by capuchins while in the woods! These monkeys do harass so-called “neutral species” (non-threatening and non-competing), including humans. Why are they doing that? Primatologists do not have many solid explanations, other than the underlying aggressive temperament, innate curiosity and investigative nature of Capuchins as a species.
Before going back to Southern Costa Rica, we investigated the local opportunities to see one of the most iconic birds of Central America, the Resplendent Quetzal. In Guatemala (where just like in Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras and other Central American countries, it has become increasingly rare), the bird is the national emblem whose name has been given to the local currency and the second largest city (Quetzaltenango). In Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, the ancient Maya treated its long tail feathers as a high-status, luxury good reserved for royals and nobility.
“The Quetzal is something more than the living representative of a beautiful country of the present era; its human associations stretch back into antiquity.”
Alexander Skutch
Where do Resplendent Quetzals Live
Resplendent Quetzal is arguably the most spectacular bird of the entire Quetzal family (all the other members of the genus are living in Panama and South America). It also stands out by its preference for high altitudehabitats (anywhere between 5,000-9,000 feet above sea level in Costa Rica and somewhat lower in Guatemala and other Latin American countries), which are notoriously difficult to get to. And this remoteness of its ideal living environment might have saved the species. With a few exceptions, such as the Jalapa Trogon and Mexican Trogon, very few trogon species live in areas with similar temperate and subtropical climates.
Best Places to see Quetzal in Costa Rica
Although the Monteverde and Braulio Carrillo National Parks north of San Jose are more easily accessible from the capital and have more facilities and accommodations in close proximity, they have definitely suffered from the “crowd-forest” image lately. If you do decide to go there, hiring an experienced local guide with an intimate knowledge of the area and the best sighting trails might be a far better option than signing up for a group “Quetzal Tour”.
The Quetzal National Park, and the cloud forest of San Gerardo de Dota Valley along Route 2 (just 50 miles south of San Juan), for example, are good options for “resplendent quetzal- watching”. Apparently, this flamboyantly feathered relative of trogons is most commonly seen there between October and January.
When in the Best Time to go Quetzal Birding
It is widely believed that the best time to view resplendent quetzal is during the breeding season spanning February-May, when the males become bolder and more visible during their aerial displays and loud calls. However, in certain areas, the earlier months October through January might be the best quetzal watching season. This is because these birds, as many other Costa Rican avian species, are altitudinal migrants, which spend significant amount of time outside of their breeding/nesting season in premontane forests at lower altitudes
Private Quetzal Watching with Desafios Tours
We opted for a “less popular” birding time in mid-January in a more remote place call Las Tablas Protected Area on the border with Panama and were not disappointed. Aside from a better rate, a tour earlier in the year seemed to offer a more “intimate” experience. And the promise of almost guaranteed sightings of Resplendent Quetzal offered by Desafios Tours based in San Vito got our attention.
After a string of emails with the tour operator, the owner and our guide Henry Barrantes, we settled on January 23rd as a date for our Quetzal adventure. Since we planned to rent a 4×4 SUV during our road vacation in Southern Costa Rica, we opted to use our own vehicle for the road trip to Las Tablas instead of hiring Henry’s 4WD car (the decision we came to regret in the retrospect).
The Road to Las Tablas
We met Henry at San Vito Park just before the sunrise (shortly after 5 am). He briefly inspected our brand-new rental SUV, kicked a couple of tires a couple of times. The area we were going to was located on the border with La Amistad near the Panamanian boarder was notoriously difficult to get to, he told us. And ,although, the dirt road leading to Las Tables had been improved by a local water supply company in the recent years, it remained largely impassible during the rainy season. Had we decided to hire Henry’s car, we would have chains and gas-powered chainsaw at out disposal. Only later on, the way up the mountain did we realize how handy (if not absolutely necessary) both of those tools would be to make an adventure like this one possible.
The first 40 km covered a reasonably good stretch of the road (paved too!) and the remaining 15 km – on a dirt clay and gravel road. We also had to cross the river twice. The water was muddy with no bottom in sight (this is where we sustained light damage to the car). Fortunately, the road was dry overall (it did not rain for over a month, according to Henry). When the road is wet, everything changes and Henry had several “horror” stories to share with us in this regard. We highly recommend hiring Henry’s robust 4WD for an additional fee and avoid the headaches of potential rental car breakdowns.
Halfway to our destination, we met a couple of local schoolteachers (both of whom were Henry’s colleagues), who had to turn around due to a fallen tree blocking the road. Following a brief conversation, we all were on our way up to mountain again ready to tackle the unexpected obstacle together.
Road to Las Tablas
Upon our arrival at top of the mountain, we made a brief stop at the ‘frontier farm’, which Don Miguel (Miguel Sandi) has run off-the-grid for almost half a century (you can read more about the Las Tablas Ranch in this blog). After Henry paid a small fee for the “property access”, we headed out to the forest across the pasture .
Forest Around Las Tablas
In the forest surrounding the farm, the oaks and alders were standing tall, densely covered with mosses and epiphytes, such as ferns, herbs, shrubs, and even trees of fair size. The resplendent quetzals thrive in the subtropical forests at these high altitudes. The laurel family (Lauraceae) trees, including aguacatillo (which means “little avocado” in Spanish), the wild relatives of the avocado (Persea spp.) and a variety of Nectandra and Ocotea species (which local people call ira or quizzara) are also common here. For the Quetzals, which are fruit-specialists (or frugivores), the fruits from these plants are the most important food sources and are essential for their existence.
Interesting fact: Quetzals, who just like trogons are aerial feeders, have flexible mandibles and clavicles, which enable them to swallow large fruits whole. From “FRUITS AND THE ECOLOGY OF RESPLENDENT QUETZALS”
Life History of the Quetzal
In his early work “Life History of the Quetzal”,Alexander Skutch (learn more about this legendary botanist-turned-ornithologist here) created a thorough description of natural history of the bird, including its feeding, nesting and other behaviors. His work never got old and remains one of the most comprehensive accounts on this subject. As noted by Skutch, outside of the breeding season, quetzals rarely vocalize. However, to an observant and trained eye and ear, their presence can be quickly revealed by the bird’s noisy flight, its large size, and the sound of the bulky seed regurgitation.
Resplendent Quetzal at Las Tablas
After 2 hours of searching and listening attentively, we were able to finally see a gorgeous male flying along the edge of the pasture plucking its favorite wild avocado fruits on the wing from some of the lower branches. While keeping an eye on the bird, all three of us made a dash to the spot through the edge of the forest. There it was a glamorous bird in iridescent green and crimson plumage perched elegantly on a lower branch with its long train feathers blazing in the wind.
Other Birds, Animals and Flowers at Las Tablas
White at Las Tablas, we spotted several other bird species. A small group of Emerald toucanets feeding on fruits of a gigantic ficus tree towering over the pasture was a specially interesting to watch. Wildflowers (including wild begonia) and primary cloud forest all around us. But a real treat was spotting a Two-toedsloth who was feeding in the canopy of the tall trees on the edge of the pasture.
Two-toed sloth at Las Tablas
Whereas the Monteverde quetzal population is relatively well studied, there are still many unanswered questions and gaps in our understanding of life cycle in the southern Costa Rica. This might soon change, however. According to our tour guide and other local sources, the land ownership of the Las Tablas Ranch is currently “in limbo” and this remote area is increasingly seen as the next up and coming spot for more in depth studies of this charismatic bird in Southern Costa Rica. As for many regional migrants, Quetzals are particularly susceptible to local extinction because their life cycle is dependent on availability of all seasonal habitats due to seasonal variation in food supply at low and high altitudes.
Lunch Costa Rican Style
In the middle of our “excursion”, Henry treated us to a traditional Tico lunch cooked by his wife early the same morning: pork, rice, black beans, onions wrapped in a banana leaf constituted our first proper meal that day and tasted heavenly.
Tico lunch al fresco
On the way back we also stopped at a local bakery in Sabalito to buy pastries before heading for our last stop on this tour, a small coffee cooperative sourced and run by four local farmers.
Under huge tents, different quality grades coffee beans were baking in the afternoon sun. Henry’s proudly showed us his favorites, so called “unwashed coffee” beans, coated with berry pulp (“honey”) for additional flavor.
Our tour that day was concluded by washing down the tres leches cakes (we brought with us from the Sabalito bakery) by freshly brewed coffee in the nearby degustation room with a few pieces of coffee-inspired local art.
There are many hiking opportunities around the small community of San Vito in Southern Costa Rica, but we had difficulty finding any information about local forest access and hiking trails before our visit to the Wilson Botanical Garden. As a result, we ended up not having sufficient time to walk all the trails in the area. The purpose of this blog is to share what we learned about the forest trails during our recent trip to Las Cruces Biological Station, so you can take a full advantage of its excellent hiking opportunities while in San Vito. The table at the end of this post lists all the trails open to visitors of the Wilson Botanical Garden with distances, approximate hiking time, difficulty level and other useful details about the terrain and hiking trailselevation profiles.
Las Cruces Biological Station maintains a sizable network of trails, which provide access to the forest reserve for its scientific staff, researchers and visitors
The Canopy Tower
Ever since its inauguration in May 2011, birding from Canopy Towerbecame a popular recreational activity of local naturalists at the San Vito Birding Club (which was instrumental in raising funds for this “landmark” at Las Cruces). The 4-story tower has multiple observation platforms with a breath-taking view opening in all directions from its very top.
Get up there, if only to get a sense of the place and to catch a glimpse of the iconic Pigafetta palms. Early in the morning, there is a good chance to spot birds and other wildlife in the surrounding forest.
View of Pigafetta Palm Trees from the Canopy Tower
Rio Java trail
This 1 km (0.7 miles) long trail will bring you to the Java River, which has been the water source for the town of San Vito for many years. The trail goes through selectively logged and advanced second growth forest, along a well maintained path with a few interpretive displays. Besides magnificent native vegetation, one might observe some local birds (such as manakins, forest wrens and falcons) and other animals (White-faced Capuchin monkeys, squirrels, coati-mundis, agutis).
Walking along the Rio Java trail, it’s hard to miss the Beehive ginger or Honeycomb ginger (Zingiber spectabile) with its bright-colored inflorescences. Unfortunately, this is one of the most problematic invasive species, which originated from the Botanical Garden and spread throughout the understory of the secondary forest. It has been out-competing some native gingers such as Renealmia cernua.
Rio Java forest trail
Melissa Trail
Back in 1998, “Melissa’s meadow” was purchased by Las Cruses from the neighboring Rojas family using a generous donation and was named in honor of the donor family’s daughter. This is a former pasture land that has now been essentially reforested and restored to secondary forest of local native tree species. This is the area of the forest where J. Berton C. Harris and J. Leighton Reid made their sound recordings of 135 bird species (early-successional birds as well as the mature forest avian species), which are now available (as a download) through Las Cruces Biological Station’s website.
Water Trails
The Water trail runs through the most recently acquired piece of land and, as the name suggests, crosses several creeks and offers a view of a smaller waterfall (a short hike off the main path).
Wilson Trail
Wilson trail is a short and easy trail, which cuts across primary rain forest and connects the Melissa Trail and the Ridge Trail.
Ridge Trail and Loop Trail
These trails are the most remote network of more demanding trails in the primary rain forest, which require significant amount of time and planning. The reward is the absolute solitude and close to pristine primary forest habitat. The shortest way to this trio of trails would also be the steepest, via the er Ridge trail and over the Rio Java.
Rio Java and Ridge trails connection
The Loop trail, true to its name, provides a more moderate alternative and loops back to the steeper Ridge trail. Depending on your pace, both of these trails (~3 km) can be covered in 2-4 hours. The best way to explore this hidden corner of the Las Cruces Biological Station is to join the growing number of the overnight visitors.
Gamboa Trail
Gamboa trail is the longest (~3km) and one of the most rugged forest trails in Las Cruces. The area has been a part of the forest reserve since the mid-90s and served as research. Some of the rarest resident species of mature forests, such as an elusive puma, or the white-ruffed manakin, have been observed here.
