Our Guide: Benito Guindon, (uncle Benny) our newfound friend, square dance caller, dairy farmer extraordinaire.
Our route: Unknown to all but Benny.
The legality of said trek: cloudy, at best.
Weather Forecast: same as above.
As we set out comfortably within the confines of the touristy reserve, I spoke to Benito and discovered that the only times people use this trail are when he takes them on it. Benito is the son of Wolf Guindon, who was instrumental in the reservations founding, and cut most of the trails himself. This trail gets hiked maybe twice a year.
For the first few hours, we followed defunct cattle paths and passed the occasional park sign, but ultimately this was a trek through a land absent of human intervention. It gave me the same feeling that snorkeling gave me the one time I did it: we were passing through a wilderness that was utterly indifferent to our presence. This whole world that we know so little about was growing, composting, flying & squawking around us, at the same pace & volume it had been before we knew about it.
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| "Hot Lips" |
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| A purple crab in the cloud forest |
This reserve is so well protected, so little studied, and so unique. Benito told us the story of a fern specialist who came on the trek with him once, sent some samples back to a lab, and discovered 7 never-before recorded species of fern.
Our experience spanned the spectrum of comfort and enjoyment, all in three days. Rough terrain and slippery conditions forced three of our fellowship to turn back on the first day. It rained non-stop during all of day one, and we just barely made it to 'camp' before nightfall.
On day two, as Benito hacked through the forest with his machete and we all struggled behind, the rain lightened, the sun came out, and we rejoiced to see blue skies, and incredible stars. Day three led us out of the forest, crossing paths with a few snakes, and eventually, to a volcano.
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| Us and Kathy Hooke |
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| Atop Cerro Chato, an extinct volcano with a lovely swimming pool |
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| Us with Jessica and Ahren Klasen-Wright, our new best friends from Saskatoon |
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| Bad Hair day at the Volcan Arenal |
