We are too, crazy for the Costa Rican forest
It’s been already a couple of years ago that we found these monkey signs and a name we never heard before in a more than familiar place, our “backyard” in Monserrat de Vázquez de Coronado. The town, so small you couldn’t even tell it apart if it wasn’t for the tiny church and small rancho next to it, is one of our favorite places to hike and one of the students’ favorite activities while studying Spanish at Academia Tica.
That name was “Locos por el Bosque” or: “crazy for the forest”!
Oddly enough, an old truck stopped next to us in the middle of nowhere and someone told us: “Hey, you like hikes? We have trails and waterfalls!”. Later on, we found out this was Randall, the owner and the only one crazy enough to start an adventure and ecotourism project in the mountains of Coronado, a place that although very close to San José city, it is still hugely undeveloped and quiet.
The forests of Monserrat are set between two national parks which make it a biological corridor. It is just South of Braulio Carrillo National Park at the very center of Costa Rica. It is home to an outstanding number of flora and fauna species, one of the most famous might be the Resplendent Quetzal, but also sloths, amphibians, wild cats, monkeys and other interesting endemic birds of the cloud forest can be found here.
Nowadays, Locos is run as an ecotourism and protection project for hikers, trekkers, birdwatchers, nature lovers and adventure enthusiasts. The property has beautiful waterfalls and the rivers that flow from Volcano Irazú National Park bring lots of minerals and waters of interesting colors.
Randall tells us the story about the project which is a sum of misfortunes and lack of support turned into a successful private protection project. The idea started after the death of his father who owned some properties in Monserrat. He noticed that the area was besieged by hunters and by a hydroelectric plant project. Neighbor owners and other members of the community felt the area should be wiped clean and that the forest had no use or benefit. His acquaintances, family and friends told him he was crazy, and that it was best to sell the properties. But Randall had a strong conviction that this beautiful biological corridor had to be protected. Many local entities and authorities rejected the idea, but he continued, ever so stubborn!
After a big investment and attempt at marketing it as “Tronco Adventures”, the international economic crisis steered tourists away from this unknown destination to more standard options. The project had to go to sleep and many repeated: “I told you so”.
It was almost three years ago in 2014, that Randall wanted to revamp the project. Once again, he only heard: “crazy, dreamer, etc.”, Randall explains:
“This time I decided to listen to them, and change the name to something according to the situation I was facing and what I felt. This is the story of a crazy man taking care of a precious forest but now I see that people are getting the message too, they come here and join the dream of conservation”.
That’s how Locos por el Bosque was named.
After a couple dozen visits and a few hours worth of talking to Randall about this dream, we’re well sold on it. Locos por el Bosque is not only a place for our students to “take tours”, it is something we feel part of. Also, starting in 2015, the school started a symbolic sponsorship program with them. But the reality is that it’s nothing compared to the value that this project brings to Coronado and to Costa Rica.
Now, Locos por el Bosque is much better known that what Tronco Adventures could have ever been, although it still remains as an “underground” name, retaining the wild and untamed feel. Mostly Costa Ricans visit it, looking for a bit of adventure close to San José. It’s also a highly regarded spot for birdwatchers. What is really important and what we really appreciate about Locos is the spirit of the project: that nature should be as little disturbed and as much respected as possible.
On the near horizon are research projects that will let us understand a bit more about what we’re really looking at.
In future posts we will talk a bit about the nature we’ve found at Locos and what has been registered to date. For now, it’s impossible emphasize enough how much you should make Locos por el Bosque a part of your next adventure!
