31 Jan More than a green patch on a map: Osa’s biodiversity and charm must be experienced in person

Blogpost by Thomas Kao, Volunteer, Age 14

In this modern day and age, we often forget there is more on this planet than just your home. As a young student with a love for maps, I have always set my eyes on this little corner of the world, an untouched paradise: Osa Peninsula.

As I mentioned, I absolutely love maps. I have laid my eyeballs over thousands of them, hungry for locations and searching for something new. However, maps can only tell you so much, and in reality they are portals to the lands they project.

For Christmas, Santa delivered me a beautiful atlas, however, this atlas was a very recent edition. Thanks to the work of scientists in the field, preserving the ecosystem has never been more highlighted in history and this new atlas revealed every single National Park in the world. While browsing the atlas, Costa Rica really stood out. National Parks practically litered the page, and the Osa Peninsula was drowned in a sea of green labels. One minute I found myself staring at a page in a book and in the next I found myself in a plane leaving Los Angeles. Life can be hilarious sometimes.

Once at Osa Conservation, we participated in hatchery checks where we released hundreds of sea turtle babies. Everyday, I watched them crawl into the ocean with a smile on my face. Once the turtles made it home, we would trek back to the camp through a beautiful rainforest, and we could see tons of different animals that Osa provides with its limitless biodiversity.

The forest is never quiet and is always so full with life and magnificent greenery. Butterflys float around the fields and birds soar across the blue sky with grace. Monkeys of all types leap across the forest canopy whilst snakes slither across the forest floor. In the rivers and swamps you can find basoliths, lizards capable of walking on water, and small schools of fish swimming through the clear water. In California, almost none of the animals found here exist; the two enviroments are polar-opposites. If there is something I will never forget about Osa, it must be the local fauna and plantlife.

While living at the Osa Verde BioStation was at first out of my comfort zone, it quickly became a lovely and comfortable second home. The first day, I found a large spider sitting on a counter the size of my hand, that certainly give me a heart attack! However, each night the sky is covered with stars, a view I never saw in the USA. When staring at the stars, you will always hear monkeys, insects and birds, a non-stop noise but not an annoying one. It gives the surrouding forest livelihood and soul, showing you just how active Osa is.

Once in bed I fell asleep, the living quarters were extremely clean, something you definently wouldn´t expect. In fact, I have never slept better in my life; I was sound asleep like a baby. Three times a day meals were served, and all of them were delightful. All things considered, the food served here is best I´ve had in a long time.

I have been in other countries before with rainforests, but Costa Rica´s Osa Peninsula tops the list as the best one. I definently will have plenty of stories to tell my friends, I´m very glad and grateful that I had the opportunity to set foot in this foreign land.

Maps can only take you so far; there are no turtles, stars and monkeys on a map. It is only when you set foot in a new location, will you actually feel and experience an entirely new world.