Mount Totumas Cloud Forest

The Rio Colorado flows along the border of Mount Totumas Cloud Forest and at the Los Pozos Hot Springs it picks up the small tributary of the Los Pozos stream. This photo was taken just below the merger of these two watersheds. American Dippers, Torrent Tyrannulet, Black Phoebe, and Buff-Rumped Warbler are associated with these streams. The Los Pozos hike is increasingly popular with our guests who take a forest trail to the hot springs in the late afternoon. We often drive down to pick folks up after a long soak avoiding the steep 2km climb back up to the lodge on rubbery legs.

We bagged the last of the dried coffee today and so our 2014-2015 coffee growing season comes to an end. Here are the totals of dried coffee (still with parchment)

Type Weight (lbs)

Caturra 15.8
Cataui 41.7
Tipica 81.0
Geisha 10.0
Mixed 11.0

Total 159 lbs (with parchment)

Final amount roasted should be around 115 lbs. With this years harvest we have enough for our own consumption and serving guests. The coffee is premium high elevation shade grown coffee and it is superb.

Joy was looking at the lichen on the tree, the wind was blowing but there was a movement that disrupted the pattern of wind blowing on the lichen. This caught her eye. She looked more closely and was able to resolve a katydid.

Closer up

And real close.

Anyone know what species this is?

Julie and Jay, both marine biologists, visited Mount Totumas in December 2014 and they just sent us some highlight photos of their visit. Being marine biologists they focused right in on our cloud forest crab and coral looking flora.

This is a parasitic angiosperm that no longer produces chlorophyll. Julie did some research and found the species name; Helosis sp.
Here is a link for more info on this bizarre plant

http://botany.org/Parasitic_Plants/Helosis.php

Julie and Jay

Reinaldo with frog

Scintallint Hummingvird

Slaty Flower-Piercer

Mushroom with pronounced gills

Acanthes sp. ?

Blue Mushroom. Probably a Blue Milky Cap Lactarius indigo. This is an edible mushroom.

Bellbird Lodge and La Amistad NP in the background with Bajareque mist.

A 12km hike into the upper reaches of the Rio Colorado Valley inside La Amistad National Park. We started at The Bellbird Lodge and took the La Amistad Trail that merged with the main trail of the national park in the upper headwaters of the Rio Colorado.

An hour into the hike we left MTCF and entered into PILA (Parque Internacional La Amistad)

Trail slipping into old growth cloud forest

The old abandoned car covered with epiphytes is slowly returning to minerals.

Sabine would rather drive than hike

Crossing the Rio Colorado on our way to the old cabin way up at 2400m

Approaching the old cabin.

Up on the balcony overlooking cloud forest

Jeffrey

Joyful Joy

Yours truly inspecting an orchid off a fallen tree.

Goetz

Reinaldo

Composite flower in cloud forest

Bromeliad

Beautiful lady slipper flowers. Anyone know what species this is?

New small micro orchid close up

Leaf of giant Gunnera sp.

Gunnera sp. along the river bank.

Gesneriaceae family, genus Campanea, maybe sp. is grandiflora.

Flower cluster at end of vine

Amazing new orchids seen today

Gage and Dylan are spending a great year with their parents Jacqueline and Dylan being home schooled while living on the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica. They took a break from the coastal heat to visit Mount Totumas Cloud Forest where they enjoyed a real up close encounter with hummingbirds.

It was great to host this family and it awakened memories for Alma and me of the year we home schooled Lyra and Karin back in 2005 as we travelled through central Asia.