Canopy Bridge Hike

Today we went to Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges near the Arenal Volcano. It was really cloudy around the volcano, so we couldn't see it. There were 14 bridges in total, and some of them were swinging while others were in place. The whole walk was 2 miles long, and the bridges crossed over rivers, some 48 meters below. The longest bridge was 97 meters long, and it was a swinging bridge. Some of the bridges were so long and high that they were scary to look down from. There was also a short pass off of the trail that led to a waterfall which was really pretty. There was a lookout platform that was perfect for taking pictures from. There were many animals along the path. We saw lots of birds, an eyelash pit viper, spider monkeys(a mother, father, and baby), and a colorful bird, possibly the rare Quetzal. The pit viper was an orangey-red color, and was all curled up on a twig, sleeping. There are supposedly lots of snakes in the rainforest, so we were told to stay on the path and not touch any plants. We only saw the one pit viper though. There were so many different plants that we saw walking on the path. There is this one tree that is everywhere in Costa Rica. It is nicknamed the "Walking Tree" because it has really long roots that slowly grow downward and outward over time, moving the tree. There were a lot of those trees on the hike. There are also lots of vines and moss growing from trees because of the humidity. It rains almost everyday, sometimes more than once. After taking showers, we hang out towels under the porch to dry, and they get wetter than when we hung them out in the first place! After the bridges, William showed us an old sugar cane press that extracts the juice from a sugar cane stalk. First, he gave us a little piece to suck on, and it was so sweet. Then, he had Lincoln hold a can under the shoot for when the juice came out. He took a thick sugar cane stalk and pressed it through the machine a few times. The juice went through the press and into the can. It was really sweet and had a great flavor. He sent a little bit of juice home with us to drink, but it was so sweet that we couldn't finish it. It was really cool to see how people long ago used to make sweetener for their foods.

An eyelash pit viper that we wouldn't have found without the help of a tour group.

William, Lincoln, and Mac pressing the sugar can and turning it into juice.