It was a hot morning waking up in a tent on top of our vehicle. The ocean slowly crept up on the truck that we had parked right on the beach. Soon enough, the tide splashed right next to the truck’s tires. We opened the zipper of our tent to the hot, humid atmosphere of this foreign country. Costa Rica was unlike anything we have seen here in the U.S. Everything was more vivid and clear, almost like looking through a new pair of glasses. We stepped down from our tent and waited for the tide to recede to its home again.

After another long drive down the dusty, pothole-filled dirt road, we entered the Corcovado National Park. It is one of the most biologically diverse rainforests in the world. Our guide had animal-like senses and was able to point out flora and fauna that we would have never noticed. We posed for a picture in front of a 300-year-old Banyan tree that was as wide as a car and had above-ground roots that looked like elephant legs. Along the trail, we almost walked into a Globe Orb Spider Web that was as thick as a net. An “ant city” made up of millions of soldier ants make their way alongside us in a single file line as they serve their Queen Ant under this dusty trail. The air was so humid that we sweat profusely, but with a quick swipe of the machete, we had fresh coconut water to drink. What a privilege to walk on this amazing and remote Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica, where only a handful of humans have been!