We stayed at the tropical station La Gamba, which is part of the University of Vienna, for ten days—and a lot happened during that time! I’ve already shared some of it with you, but here’s the main part. 😉
On the first day, we took a walk through a large garden filled with all sorts of plants—it’s incredible what nature hides and how many highly useful species we’ve known about for centuries.
Around the station, several marked trails lead through the forest and along rivers. Walking outside of them is difficult due to dense undergrowth, mud, thorny plants, and even dangerous animals. If you want to find out more about that last part, stay tuned for this and the next few posts. 😉
We started on a beautiful private estate…
…with a colourful garden…
The air was already filled with biting insects and the deafening sounds of cicadas (talking on the phone here is nearly impossible—the person on the other end can barely hear you).
And finally—the tropical rainforest, just as I had imagined it. Unfortunately, this also meant tropical temperatures—about 33°C in the shade with 80% humidity.
We saw many elusive anoles throughout our stay.
From mid-November to April, it’s summer in Costa Rica—the dry season. That’s why the water levels were low. If we had visited during the rainy season, this waterfall would have looked very different.
We saw a species of acacia—those horn-like pods are home to tiny ants that protect the tree from being eaten by other creatures in exchange for food and shelter.
So many different shapes, sizes, colours of leaves.
Only one kilometre from the previous trail, but the forest looked completely different.
An incredible plant: Psychotria elata, also known as “Kissing lips”.
#1: Many leaves in the tropical rainforest have pointed, downward-curving tips, which help rainwater drip off efficiently, ensuring the plant gets properly watered.
#2: One of the few noticeable fungi in this forest.
At one point, I filmed a short section of our forest walk (yes, on my phone—oops) and put together a video. You can watch it here:
Out of our ten-day stay, three days were free, which we could use for independent exploration. A classmate and I went birdwatching—a perfect excuse to soak in the stunning landscape.
One day, we accidentally hiked far beyond this hill—which resulted in an hour-and-a-half-long trek back under the scorching midday sun, with zero shade. Our survival kit? Long sleeves, a hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, water, and a towel draped over our heads:
From afar, this forest seemed to be covered in morning mist, lit by the rising sun. But the truth was quite different…
This wasn’t natural mist. It was smoke—rising from burning dead palm fronds in a plantation of African oil palms.
Costa Rica produces only 0.2% of the world’s palm oil. In Germany alone, 50% of palm oil is used for biodiesel. By 2050, global consumption—and production—is expected to double.
One hectare of land can hold 400 trees, which must be spaced apart. The harvest is done manually, using long poles with blades at the end. This happens four to five times a year.
A single fruit bunch weighs around 30 kg. When the trees reach 20 metres in height, they become too tall to harvest—so they are ‘killed’, making room for new growth.
The palms are ready for harvesting after about three years, and the fruits must be delivered to the factory within a day—otherwise, they start to rot. A hectare of palm oil plantations brings in around $10,000 per year.
Back to Birdwatching…
On one side of the path: palm oil plantations.
On the other: tall forest trees, filled with chirping and fluttering birds.
We also saw…
A Northern jacana (Jacana spinosa)—a wading bird.
Everything we saw and experienced came and went in a flash. Departure day arrived far too soon.
I wanted to include everything from La Gamba in this post, which is why it turned out so long. If you made it to the end—congratulations!
There’s still so much more I want to share with you…
The best is yet to come. 😉
<3, Alenka