May 27th - Chiriqui

Today, we embarked on an adventure through the volcano Baru National Park. A hike that would soon become our favorite on this entire journey. There we would find an abundance of life, colors, sounds and waters that will forever remain blissful memories. Among the harmonic orchestra of the jungle were the Blackface solitaires. These beautiful birds sound like a swing set in full swing. 

We stumbled upon many Ortencia in the beginning of our hike, even put some in our hair because they were so pretty. Depending on the acidity of the soil, the color of the flower will change. This is a direct result of phenotypic plasticity. The more acidic the soil, the more yellow the flower.

Sunflower vines, also known as melacolum vivadicathum is a prolific species used as an oral anethsteric. Biting on the flower causes the tongue and gums to become numb.

Sonenasia is part of the tomatoe family, we found these growing along the moss of many stones along the way.

Cowboy spurs- centro fogum

This Black fungus we found towards the end of our hike grew along with black pepper. It is used for garnishing  but is rarely used for cooking due to its absence of smell and taste.

This Dracula mushroom or vampire mushroom is named so because of its appearance. 

This trail is named Quetzal, due to its abundance of the Quetzal bird that are found flying around the jungle. Most of them stay pretty close to the top of the trees. Although we didn't see any, here's a picture of what they look like:

We found many leaves coiled up, and we're pleased to find out they were being used as a cocoon by many a caterpillar. 

After many slips and falls and muddy mishaps, we made our way back to the bottom. Our calves were burning but we all had a big smile plastered on our faces. We headed back to the hotel to enjoy a couple beers and good conversation.