What is a Bromeliad?

Hanging Bridges in the cloud-forest

If you have been on a  Costa Rica Adventure or you plan on coming chances are you will see many more Bromeliads than you do monkeys. Although chances are you will see quite a few monkeys also so don't worry I know they are a bit more exciting than a bromeliad. But one way to make a bromeliad very exciting to see is to LEARN something about it! So that is today's topic the bromeliad.

A bromeliad is actually a member of the pineapple family. The pineapple is one of the few bromeliads that grows on the ground. Most bromeliads grow up in the trees (which makes these type of bromeliads "epiphytes"). One of the most interesting things about bromeliads is that for some just one bromeliad is like a small little planet.

A bromeliad is crown-shaped which allows it to hold gallons of water just one small plant about the size of a large house plant. This water along with debris forms a home for many different insects and probably most interesting to us frogs such as the poisonous dart frog tadpoles. The plant itself feeds off the different types of debri and ecosystem that is formed by the instects allowing the plant to stay alive and in exchange be a host for many different creatures. This also means the plant is not parasytic which means it does not rely on the larger tree it is attached to for survival.  It is sort of like our planet how the larger trees send off oxigen and the Earth survives. Or on the contrary like us humans who pump CO2 into the atmosphere and the Earth struggles for survival. (Although our human CO2 production is very small to what the forest and oceans produce it throws off the natural cycle.. read more) Just another reason why we should follow natures examples.

Bromeliad

A very strong fiber can be extracted from the bromeliad. This fiber is known as cabuya and has been used to make rope, baskets, and even hammocks. Another interesting use of the leaf of the bromeliad is for medicinal use. Many natives from areas where you find bromeliads have taken the leaves and pounded them with salt to use on wounds.

You will find bromeliads all over Costa Rica and some of the most spectacular places to see the bromeliads are the cloud-forest areas.

Scientific Name: Bromeliaceae

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Nauyaca Falls Costa Rica

Nauyaca Falls Costa Rica

When it comes to waterfalls Costa Rica is full of them.  You always have the option of visiting the beautiful but touristy La Fortuna Falls.  But many look for the not so touristy waterfalls and what many people don't realize when they are touring Costa Rica is that most of the waterfalls no tourist will ever see. For example some of the most spectacular waterfalls are found in Braulio Carrillo National Park which would take you just a week hiking, climbing, and camping to get to the waterfall so your week long Costa Rica family vacation would be finshed before it even started.

Although if you want to visit a waterfall that is off the touristy path, hidden in the jungle, and absolutely breath-taking then there is one that comes to mind. The waterfall on the commerical level and guide books is called Nauyaca Falls. We like to call it Baru Falls which was the name given by the Indians.

How to get to Nauyaca Falls

There are few different ways to get to this double-decker 300ft waterfall. The first being to hike to the falls. This is a beutiful hike. You can begin from the main road between San Isidro and Dominical. The hike depending upon where you begin from can take around 1 1/2 hours. The second way to get to the falls is by horseback. There are a couple of tour operators that do the horseback ride to the falls the most common being Don Lulu's ride which has an amazing lunch but this is often crowded.

The third option which happens to be the option of our company CRR is to arrive to the top of the falls in an SUV and then rappel down the waterfall. It is quite exciting to get to the top of the 300ft and tell the tourist  OK now we throw the ropes and hook on to this tree and rappel down. All they hear is the thundering sound of rushing water. This is a more intense experience than the canyoneering trips that they operate in La Fortuna Arenal Volcano area. The waterfall is literally 20 times the size of the waterfalls that you rappel in a canyoneering trip. Take a look at the videos on this entry so you can see the difference and also experience the amazing rappel and beauty of Nauyaca (Baru) Falls Southern Zone Costa Rica.

RAPPELING NAUYACA FALL W/CRR



NOW WATCH CANYONEERING (SEE THE DIFFERENCE)



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