CUWinds Costa Rica

Tuesday, the Cornell Winds enjoyed a rare morning off from teaching and playing to visit the famous waterfalls of Costa Rica.

The tour bus climbed the trecherous switchbacks far into the mountains of central Costa Rica and rode up and over the continental divide. Rain lashed the windshield and Alonzo, our driver, pointed out that rain falling in this particular spot would flow to the East — into the Carribean — or West, into the Pacific.

The road was rutted and gone in spots, and we could see the evidence of last year’s serious earthquake, which shook the region and destroyed parts of the mountainside. Fog enveloped the bus as we pulled into the waterfall park.  The Winds were disappointed that the unseasonably cool weather, fog and rain would impede their ability to enjoy the park. All the same, they dispersed in groups, left the safety of the lodge and ran off to view the butterflies, tropical birds, big cats and waterfalls, which were rumbling in the distance of the aptly named cloud forest.

Two hours later, at lunch in the beautiful confines of the lodge, drenched and shivering students traded stories of what they had seen. The waterfalls were raging down the side of the mountain. The water was roiling, boiling and dark brown with mud. Last year’s earthquake pulled down part of the mountain and the environs still seemed dangerous and unstable.  A couple of students got a little too close to the big cats in the cat enclosure; Cynthia displayed her shredded plastic poncho, which a Jaguar had snatched at from its cage.

It was a relief to board the bus again. Viewing waterfalls through a driving rain seems to make the whole concept of enjoying rushing water somewhat redundant — even in a beautiful and wild landscape.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 15th, 2010 at 5:11 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.