Cloudbridge Nature Reserve
The Cloudbridge Nature Reserve is a huge tract of forest painstakingly regrown from grazing land into thick and lush rainforest. It struck me as incredible just how tall the trees are, how nature seems to grow upward and on top of every other thing, crowding so thick that the trees form a metropolis which is supplemented by the echoing bird calls bouncing across from one mountainous peak to the other. Our guide, who had been working at Cloudbridge since 2016, walked us up the wide path towards the trails. As we made our way through the forest, she pointed out all the different types of flora and fauna, some of which were native to Costa Rica, and some of them not. We learned about how Cloudbridge had, in about 20 years, been able to grow what was previously deforested back into an incredibly healthy environment. In fact, our guide said that she had several times seen quetzals flitting through the cloud forest, an endangered species many people travel to Costa Rica to see.
The thing that I loved most about the trip were the waterfalls. Throughout the property that is part of Cloudbridge Reserve, there are waterfalls of enormous size, water cascading from heights to foam up into ridiculously blue pools. Our group’s stops at the waterfalls were long and lingering. The sound of the water, and the constant churning of it almost hypnotizes people, and it feels easy to spend huge amounts of time there, just staring. It feels like some form of meditation–and it makes me feel grateful. How wonderful, to be fortunate enough to travel to a place in which scenes like this are possible–How wonderful, to be able to enjoy a nature which is constantly under siege. The Costa Rican government had at one point made a practice of giving the ownership of land to whoever cleared it. This caused huge amounts of deforestation and loss of natural habitats for many plants and animals. However, this practice has recently ended, and instead people are now paid to leave their large tracts of land alone–a tactic which Costa Rica has pioneered.
It all makes so much sense that I am left almost stupefied that other countries haven’t followed in the path that Costa Rica has so clearly blazed. But then, Costa Rica seems to be a country of extraordinary decisions. One of the few countries on Earth which doesn’t have an army, Costa Rica stands at the front of issues of climate change. Maybe thanks to places like this, created by people who simply cared deeply about human lives, about the quality of them and about what they could give to others. It seems to be a characteristic of the country–people care. Like our tour guide, who so graciously answered every single question we had about the trees and the leaves and the animals and much, much more.
The trees loom, the air is crisp and slightly foggy. Even being rained on seems like a new adventure. Not a bad way to spend a Wednesday.
La Reserva Natural de Cloudbridge es una enorme extensión de bosque que ha pasado de ser tierra de pastoreo a convertirse en una espesa y exuberante selva tropical. Me pareció increíble lo altos que son los árboles, cómo la naturaleza parece crecer hacia arriba y por encima de todo lo demás, tan densamente que los árboles forman una metrópolis que se complementa con el eco de los cantos de los pájaros que rebotan de un pico montañoso a otro. Nuestro guía, que trabajaba en Cloudbridge desde 2016, nos acompañó por el ancho camino hacia los senderos. A medida que avanzábamos por el bosque, nos iba señalando los diferentes tipos de flora y fauna, algunos de los cuales eran autóctonos de Costa Rica y otros no. Aprendimos cómo Cloudbridge había conseguido, en unos 20 años, que lo que antes estaba deforestado volviera a convertirse en un entorno increíblemente sano. De hecho, nuestra guía dijo que había visto varias veces quetzales revoloteando por el bosque nuboso, una especie en peligro de extinción que mucha gente viaja a Costa Rica para ver.
Lo que más me gustó del viaje fueron las cataratas. En toda la propiedad que forma parte de la Reserva Cloudbridge hay cascadas de enorme tamaño, agua que cae en cascada desde las alturas hasta formar espuma en piscinas de un azul hermoso. Las paradas de nuestro grupo en las cascadas fueron largas y prolongadas. El sonido del agua casi hipnotiza a la gente, y es fácil pasar mucho tiempo allí, simplemente mirando. Es como una especie de meditación, y eso me hace sentir agradecida.
Todo tiene tanto sentido que me deja casi estupefacta que otros países no hayan seguido el camino que Costa Rica ha abierto con tanta claridad. Pero es que Costa Rica parece ser un país de decisiones extraordinarias. Uno de los pocos países de la Tierra que no tiene ejército, Costa Rica se sitúa al frente de las cuestiones relacionadas con el cambio climático. Quizá gracias a lugares como éste, creados por personas que simplemente se preocupaban profundamente por las vidas humanas, por la calidad de las mismas y por lo que podían dar a los demás. Parece ser una característica del país: la gente se preocupa. Como nuestro guía, que respondió amablemente a todas nuestras preguntas sobre los árboles, las hojas, los animales y mucho más.
Los árboles se mueven, el aire es fresco y ligeramente brumoso. Incluso la lluvia parece una nueva aventura. No es mala manera de pasar un miércoles.
—Narges
