{"id":70,"date":"2024-09-17T18:44:22","date_gmt":"2024-09-17T23:44:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/globalsemester2024\/?p=70"},"modified":"2024-09-17T18:44:22","modified_gmt":"2024-09-17T23:44:22","slug":"settling-into-la-selva","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/globalsemester2024\/2024\/09\/17\/settling-into-la-selva\/","title":{"rendered":"Settling Into La Selva"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
By: Sofie Hamilton<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Hola from Costa Rica, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This week we have been settling into a calmer pace at La Selva Research Station<\/a> and embracing the \u201cPura Vida\u201d lifestyle. The isolated research station is located on 1536 hectares (3795 acres) of conserved lowland rainforest that has shown to be a perfect location for us to all get to know one another better. Here, we have been enjoying Costa Rican coffee, impromptu soccer games, late-night card games, and the welcoming greetings and lectures of biologists and staff members. Sloths have been spotted climbing trees on our way to class, and caimans (an<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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alligator-like reptile) rest upon the shoreline under the wire bridge. Costa Rica is one of the world’s most biologically diverse countries with 775 species living in La Selva alone, and the group has really bonded over our shared excitement for the exotic animals living around us.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Although seeing animals on our way to class is always exciting, we saw firsthand how the sunset showcases even more biodiversity during our night hike. We had just finished celebrating Grace\u2019s 21st birthday when Emi, our Environmental Sustainability professor here in Costa Rica, split us into small groups, told us to grab our headlamps, and began the journey into the rainforest. We then met our tour guides – locals with decades of rainforest experience equipped with telescopes and laser pointers. For the next couple of hours, we re-explored the trail systems through a night-time lens and saw the rainforest, which we previously thought hosted profound biodiversity, boom with life. Eyelash pit vipers, bullet ants, banana spiders, and a surprise boa constrictor appearance made us appreciate just how much life flourishes here. Furthermore, less scary animals like pauraques, the classic red-eyed tree frog, and too many insects to count truly made the hike memorable. The tour guides had an almost sixth sense for spotting animals we would have walked right past and pointed out camouflaged parts of the forest like puma scratch marks up a six-foot tall tree. Although we did not walk very far, we were constantly entertained by the tour guide\u2019s explanations and everyone\u2019s discoveries allowed us to hike for multiple hours.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n