Cloudforest Bathing
I seem to have three gears when it comes to venturing into the cloudforest out my Monteverde back door. On fitness days I jog, straight up those steep paths that have me winded within 2 steps and gasping and burning within 2 minutes. This is the run I did two or three times a week with Snug, up through the Crandall Reserve and down the other side for a cool mountain-stream dip.
On these runs I notice the ground - roots, mud, steep path edges, obstacles to avoid - especially on barefoot days. I often have an arm up in front to advance-warn or brush away any new branch or bat-research-net in the path. I register the degree of incline, the passing of branches (wish I could say it was a blur, but no such speed illusions), the startled guans squawking onto higher branches, the wet sharpness of a hungry air intake. Nature is my challenge, my invigorator, my spirit twin drawing out the raw, primitive fugitive in me.
I Walk With My Eyes Lifted
Other days, usually with Sarah, we walk at a pace that allows me to look up for inspiration instead of down at the ground for safety. Up into the massive, towering canopy. Following the upward path of twisted vines and nestled orchids and looming heavy branches mottling the sun.
Nature on these days is an arching ecosystem, sweeping and powerful in its grandeur and complexity. I delight in feeling small and impermanent and even irrelevant - the wisdom and longevity of a cloudforest is beyond my clever self-importance.
Cloudforest Bathing
And some expansive days, like this morning, I can see the trees for the forest. And the leaves for the trees, and the eggs and webs and bugs and debris on those leaves. I remember to focus on small miracles, zoom my eyes in to details and tiny beauties. The small curled sprout that will unfold into a leaf is no less magnificent than the giant tree it will photosynthetically feed. The flower about to bloom and the flower fading and dying are equally beautiful.
We slow our shuffle to a pregnant stand-still in the meadow. With the help of a passing guided tour and Sarah’s Merlin app, we see, hear and identify a dozen bird species in just a few minutes. Dusky-capped Flycatcher, Lesser Violetear, Southern House Wren, Long-tailed Manakin. I’m not a birder keeping a Life list, but it’s healthy to sometimes slow down this far to appreciate just how abundant life is all around; a richness I miss on those days when I’m crashing through the trails like a startled agouti, or looking up in wonder like a slack-jawed New York tourist.
All three modes of cloudforest communion feed me. I feel free and powerful and alive on my jogs. I am small and wondrous and capable of Awe on the look-up walks. And on a cloudforest-bathing amble like this morning, I inhale the intricate design and delicate ingenuity of the whole web of life. Physical, mental, spiritual - the cloudforest nurtures all of me.
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Thanks, Rick, for this beautiful meditation on the cloud forrest of Monteverde. Unlike you I’m at an age and condition where jogging through the forrest is an option. My walk alone among the life of the cloud forrest is filled with amazement of the life surrounding me. Nothing leaves the forrest. It just changes state. The dead trees give life to the living to continually restore the forrest. It’s a reminder of no matter what we do in this life there will be a time when only the memory of us exists. So we need to make those memories impactful for those who come after us.
Well said, friend>
All so beautiful! Thanks for sharing Rick!
I love how we were on the same walk but saw very different things. Your eyes saw the beauty in the detail. I left, wishing I’d slowed down more for the little observations and appreciate that I can revisit them through your thoughtful images.
Thank you for sharing your beautiful photos and thoughts.
They awaken precious memories…
Heidi
Aunque me rodea ese bosque me siento, como la primera vez, muy afortunada de estar rodeada por él. Su relato me inspiró a amarlo y observarlo mucho mejor, y me hace sentir cada emoción de lo observado, tocado…vivido.
Que más ratos de café o agua nos estén esperando para disfrutarlos rodeados de esta maravilla.¡Que la fiesta del alma, los sentidos, el corazón y la emoción no paren…junto con su querida Sarah!
I love your descriptions, and wish you and Sarah lived here all the time!