San Ramon p i

And so the trip began... with a bus ride up the incredible rocky, muddy road to san ramon biological research center. i didn't think a bus could traverse such a road - but it did. the plan - to drive as far as we could go, then unload and hike the rest of the way up.

On the way up we say a bright yellow eyelash viper along the side of the road. amazing - one of the most venemous snakes in the area - just chillin. we stopped - took picts. unfortunately my photography skillz leave something to be desired. what a start to the trip though!


These hanging spikes were also common throughout. believe it or not, this is not a flower! the flower grows from these red stalks! beautiful!

The flora and fauna were so different. On the left - leaf cutter ants - prolific in the area and always identifiable by their enormous mounds and trails of tiny leaf cuttings chewed off by their tiny mandibles.

The hike up was wet and muddy! We split up into groups walking at different paces. I enjoy exploring and taking photos so i ended up towards the back.

The mist in this picture characterizes the cool humidity of this place. Enormous leaves!!! i kid you not... these alocasia and monstera families grew leaves that were half my heigh

The orchids on the other hand were tiny delicate treasures only discovered by the most careful eyes. Miruna and I sought them out. the trees were full of them yet only some were in bloom. We were lucky to find a bunch.



In addition to orchids, ferns and bromeliads were abundant. Frogs are often housed in the center of bromeliads were water is held however i wasn´t lucky enough to find any in the lower parts of the canopy that were in my view.

mist and more mist... rocky headwater streams of the san lorencito.

finally we are close. and then we arrive. ready to eat!!!


Once again everything is wide open ' hence the evening bed checks for scorpions and snakes. boots stay at the front door... they never dried there due to the extreme humidity. clothes ¨drying¨... yea right... most like decoration. nothing dried here.

our room wreaked of mildew after a day ' my soaked pants and towel are on the right ¨drying¨.


the waterfall! what a hike. it was a fast paced, traversing the streams kinda afternoon. but worth the end reward!!

heliconia trees have a special mutualistic relationship with ants! check it out ' they live inside the branches and also protect the tree from invaders and predators.

The insects here were abundant, colorful... and yes quite large!!! check this guy out!

once again the green goblin was with me everywhere i went... but of course..
more to come still!!! we´re only covering days 2 to 4 here!!!