Creative Writing Field Seminars
Costa Rice: May 1-16
Nature's Imagination: Costa Rica
Instructor: Sheryl St. Germain
If San Salvador were hosed down, all the shacks cleared and the people rehoused in tidy bungalows, the buildings painted,the stray dogs collared and fed, the children given shoes, the trash picked up in the parks, the soldiers pensioned off--there is no army in Costa Rica--and all the political prisoners released, those cities would, I think, begin to look a little
bit like San Jose. Paul Theroux
This field seminar will explore the diverse ecosystems and culture of Costa Rica with an emphasis on the rich and varied natural world.
Dominated by mountain ranges, rich forests and fertile valleys, and flanked by beaches and oceans, Costa Rica has been called one of most beautiful places on earth. Located at the juncture of North and South America, the country possesses an astonishing wealth of flora and fauna, including over 190 biological reserves and wildlife refuges. Mountain cloud forests, dense rainforests, towering volcanoes, sugarcane fields, coffee and banana plantations, lagoons, esturaries and swamps teem with wildlife. There are more butterfly species in Costa Rica than in the whole of Africa, and more than twice the number of bird species in the whole of North America.
The trip will be centered in the city capital of San Jose. From our home base we will investigate the culture of the city, then take trips to various areas of the country (see below for specifics).
What will you see? Monkeys, giant iguanas, toucans, scarlet macaws, the green sea turtle, quetzals, basilisk lizards, caimans, butterflies and bulldog bats, for a start. Volcanoes, rainforests, cloudforest, thundering waterfalls and beautiful beaches.
Experts will provide lectures on Mayan culture, rainforest ecology and wildlife, and you'll be given time to write. Below are some of the highlights of the field seminar:
- San Jose. Set in the lush central valley of the Costa Rican highlands lies the capital city of San José (1,000,000). As the cultural center of Costa Rica, San José is home to many well-established universities. Open-air cafés abound in the city. With Costa Rica's reputation for wonderful coffee these are great places to have a café con leche while writing or relaxing. Downtown San José has many good museums and manicured plazas. On weekends, these become the stage for street performers, bands, and other cultural presentations. The capital city also has a vibrant nightlife. San José cuisine includes everything from Thai, Italian, and Lebanese to the traditional Costa Rican dish of gallo pinto.
- Guayabo National Monument. Ancient stone carvings of alligator and jaguar gods engineered Pre-Columbian aqueducts where water still flows, and paved roads recede into a lush rainforest. The ruins of Guayabo National Monument, hidden in a rainforest about two hour's drive from San José, showcase a mysterious "lost city" that was home to about 10,000 people from 1,000 B.C. until the arrival of Columbus off the Caribbean coast in 1502. Who built this lost city? Why did its inhabitants vanish just before the Spanish landed and colonized the area around what is now Puerto Limón on the Caribbean coast?
- LaPaz Waterfalls and Poas Volcano. At La Paz Waterfall Gardens you will find lush rainforests, waterfalls, butterflies and hummingbirds. Nearby is the Poas Volcano, which has a long history of eruptions, going back as much as 11 million years. On January 25, 1910, the volcano spewed out 640,000 tons of ash, and in the period of 1952-1954, it bombarded nearby areas with ash and rocks. Its geyser-like eruptions of muddy water and steam, have given it the reputation as the world's largest geyser. Apart from its volcanic activity, this national park offers four different habitats: areas with scarce vegetation, a stunted forest, a cloud forest, and an area of arrayans. There are 79 species of birds in this park, including the spectacular quetzal. If you see a green-yellow squirrel, take a good look at it, because it's the Poas green-yellow squirrel, and as its name suggests, it's only found in this park, and nowhere else in the whole world.
- Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. Wind-sculptured elfin woodlands on the exposed ridges are spectacularly dwarfed, whereas protected cove Monteverde rainforests showcase tall trees replete with orchids, bromeliads, ferns, vines, and mosses. The variable climate and large altitudinal gradient has helped produce an extremely high biodiversity in the reserve. Wildlife includes the jaguar, ocelot, Baird´s tapir, Three-wattled Bellbird, and the famous, elusive Resplendent Quetzal.
- Tortuguero. Parque Nacional Tortuguero is a mosaic of deltas on an alluvial plain nestled between the Caribbean coast on the east and the low-lying volcanic hills of Coronel, Caño Moreno, and the Sierpe Peaks on the west. The park protects the nesting beach of the green turtle, the offshore waters, and wetland forests. The park has 11 ecological habitats, from high rainforest to herbaceous marsh communities. Fronting the sea is the seemingly endless expanse of beach. Behind that is a narrow lagoon, connected to the sea at one end and fed by a river at the other, which parallels the beach. Back of the lagoon is a coastal rainforest threaded by a maze of serpentine channels and streams fed by rivers flowing from the central mountain ranges and by the rains that fall in the area. On the periphery of the forest lies a complex of swamps. Tortuguero shelters a fabulous array of wildlife, including more than 300 bird species, among them the great green macaw; 57 species of amphibians and 111 of reptiles, including three species of marine turtles; 60 mammal species, including jaguars, tapirs, ocelots, cougars, river otters, and manatees. The wide-open canals make viewing easier than at many other parks--superb for spotting crocodiles, giant iguanas, and basilisk lizards basking atop the branches, swallow-tailed hawks and vultures swooping over the treetops, and caimans luxuriating on the fallen raffia palm branches at the side of the river.
- Also: Braulio Carrillo National Park, Quepos/Manuel Antonio, coffee, pineapple and banana tours, Reserva Los Campesinos, Manuel Antonio Park.
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