New Country, New Love

A new day dawns

Along the western coast of Central America, just eleven degrees off the Equator in a country wedged between Nicaragua and Panama, lies one of world's richest ecosystems -- the tropical dry forest. Tropical dry forests make up the majority of tropical forests on Earth, and collectively, they contain 4.5 per cent of the world's biodiversity. During the dry season, their beauty is like no other.  Let's walk.

At the height of the dry season, the forest is a sea of brown

 

In the woods -- an impossible view during the rainy season

       At water's edge, a cacti grove in silhouette                         Stalwarts of the forest: deciduous trees and cacti 

 

 

 

The forest canopy

 

 

 

 

 

Unusual warty bark of an endemic tree

 

 

 

 

Forest dwelling Howler monkey; its eerie

cry can be heard at dawn and dusk

 

 

The peeling bark of the Indio Desnuda tree

allows photosynthesis to occur during

the dry season when the tree has lost its leaves

 

 

Paper wasps create a home

 

 

 

                                           Twisted tangles...                                                                 create a dense canopy

 

 

 

Due to their tough skin and hard-shelled eggs,

the forest supports a large number of reptiles

 

 

 

At the top, a view from the ridge

 

 

 

Back at the water's edge, a flush of green at low tide...

 

 

 

 

and pretty blooms

 

 

 

Hiking in...

Photos D. Sleziak