Yesterday, we ventured down elevation towards San Luis. The pastures we were going to were down an exciting road in which we needed 4WD. We also had the added excitement of driving over a very neat bridge with a beautiful waterfall.
We explored these beautiful pastures, saw many bromeliads, and collected many samples. We got some pretty amazing views of San Luis and Monteverde too!
I still find it incredibly amazing the number of epiphytes you can find in a single tree in this area. Even in these drier pastures with isolated trees, we can see the branches covered in many different species of epiphytes.
Today, we explored pastures in Monteverde, which are my favorites. These pastures are so nicely maintained and have the most beautiful trees loaded with lush epiphtyes, from ferns and orchids to lichens and bromelaids. Noelia and I also gained a few four-legged field assistants, though them trying to eat the samples means we may not consider re-hiring them in the future. Today was also a pretty special day because I saw my first Werauhia in bloom! It has a white hanging flower, which is understood to be bat and bee pollinated. We also collected many samples, so it was a pretty successful day. We also saw a number of beautiful orchids blooming. Another jem from today was a four-legged strangler fig tree, which made the most spectacular archway I have ever seen.