04/01/2018 - Mistico Parque and the Leafcutter Ants

Today it was the turn of Mistico Park, a private park with suspension bridges through the jungle. Sounds very touristy, and it is, but it was still worth it. We were lucky and got the last 2 spots on the tour led by Bernardo at 10:00, and we went with 8 other people in the group through the forest. Bernardo's knowledge was excellent, especially since he sees or knows things that the average person doesn't see.

The 4 km long trail took about 3 hours with many stops, explanations, and suspension bridges. I was probably the only one who was also interested in their construction because of the views....

After the obligatory 13:00 cake in La Fortuna, we headed back with a brief stop at 'Pequena Helvecia', a small settlement that Swiss people (of whom there are many here for well-known reasons) have created, the pictures speak for themselves...

Dinner was once again at Costa Rica Restaurant with Pescado con Salsa de Mango y Avocado and Casado (which always includes beans and rice, the main dish of the locals) con Pescado

Leafcutter Ants:

You can see them everywhere. They live in colonies of up to 10 million insects. They can completely defoliate a medium-sized tree within 24 hours.

They do this because one caste transports the cut leaves to their colony, with a weight up to three times their own weight, where another caste cleans and chews the pieces. Yet another caste adds a special fungus to them, which the colony feeds on.... Muy interesante