On the Trail With Dayle: Other Countries, New Trails
Uniformity is not nature's way, diversity is nature's way.”
“La uniformidad no es la forma de la naturaleza, la diversidad es la forma de la naturaleza.”
-Vandana Shiva
Walking the trails of Bozeman and Montana is one of my favorite pastimes—for my physical health and my mental serenity. When I travel to other countries, walking is my preferred way to explore a new city or to learn about the flora and fauna of a new-to-me environment.
A recent two-week trip to Costa Rica with my brother and his wife gave me plenty of time to appreciate the richness of jungle environments and to reflect on my love of walking. It also reinforced how incredibly lucky we are to have the diversity of the Main Street to the Mountains trail system at our “toe tips” in and around Bozeman.
Our morning hike on the medium-length trail in Cabo Blanco Reserva—at the tip of the Nicoya Peninsula—was about the same length as a trip up and down Triple Tree from the Sourdough Road parking lot. It is currently the dry season in Costa Rica, but the trail bore plenty of evidence from muddier seasons and problems with erosion control. The concrete blocks in the photo were common on all the country’s trails in both wetter and drier areas.
The number of cars in the parking lot and the number of hikers on the trail were also about the same as on a typical day on Triple Tree. A major difference in Cabo Blanco was the international flavor of the conversations with other hikers—from a Costa Rican mother and son to small parties from Sweden, Denmark, Brazil, and Germany. It made me wonder about how many Yellowstone Park visitors might stop in Bozeman for some time on one of Bozeman’s trails.
Costa Rica is famous for the diversity of its flora and fauna, especially for its over 800 bird species. My Merlin Bird ID app got a real workout every day. I turned it on as soon as I woke up in the morning, and at times it recorded a different bird every minute for as long as half an hour. At our three overnight locations, we were treated to toucans, hummingbirds, migratory songbirds, and the famous Scarlet Macaws. I am eager to visit my beloved Story Mill Community Park Bird-Feeding Station in Bozeman this spring and meet up with some of the same species that winter in Central America.
We were also lucky enough to see several examples of local fauna in Cabo Blanco, including a troop of capuchin monkeys with babies swinging through the jungle from tree to tree—just like in a nature video! The howler monkeys were a constant presence with their guttural roars. The first howl of the day was truly spine-tingling and literally made me jump. We were also treated to a sighting of the “mascot” of Cabo Blanco—the Northern Tamandua, a type of anteater, foraging in the trees. These “ant bears” (Osos Hormigueros) consume thousands of ants and termites daily and are reputed to be hard to spot. As in Montana, white-tailed deer are a common sight and have been declared a national symbol of biodiversity in Costa Rica.
I do love exploring trails in other countries and celebrating the diversity of other environments. However, as they say, there is no place like home, and I am looking forward to resuming my springtime travels on Bozeman’s Main Street to the Mountain trails.