Editor's Note: Walt and Honoree Cooper, who lived in Moore County and still call this area home, have been residing on their boat, Will O' the Wisp, for several years. They occasionally send The Pilot an update on their experiences.

BY HONOREE COOPER

Special to The Pilot

Have you ever seen a glass-winged butterfly? It's a small butterfly, perhaps two inches in size, with clear wings that look like stained glass windows.

Or how about a Hercules beetle? Neither had I until taking a night trek through a rain forest. The Hercules beetle is the most famous and the largest of the rhinoceros beetles. Said to be the strongest creature on Earth for its size, the beetle is able to carry 850 times its own body weight. Now that I've done the math, which means a large 120-gram (1/4 pound) beetle can carry 224 pounds, he's definitely a Hercules. If we had its strength, we could lift a 65-ton object.

Have you ever seen a violet saber-winged hummingbird? They are the largest hummingbird in Costa Rica, between five and six inches in size. Imagine 40 feeders, the bulbous ones with red bottoms, hanging about chest high and perhaps four feet apart. Now imagine standing among them with hundreds of hummingbirds darting all over. There are probably 20 different species, the violet saber-wing, king of them all, flying by with ease. That's the scene at LaPaz Waterfall Gardens, Poaz, Costa Rica.

Rainbows, I know you've seen one of those. But how about a rainbow eucalyptus tree or a rainbow-billed toucan. They are both something to behold.

National Geographic has dubbed Costa Rica the most biodiversified ecosystem on the planet. Hiking through Cahuita (cow-hee-ta) National Park on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, we spotted a baby sloth, three bright yellow Eyelash Viper snakes, and a Jesus Walks-on-Water lizard.

At the Jaguar Rescue Center we even got to hold a baby sloth. They are cute, cuddly creatures. Then over on the Pacific Coast on the Osa Peninsula, we hiked to another national park - Corcovado. There we listened to the squawking scarlet macaws. They sounded like they were fighting, but were probably mating. At least 50 brightly colored birds lined the beach trail. Walt spotted a family of spider monkeys jumping from tree to tree; it was a busy day in the rain forest.

Onward we went to Chirripo (cheer-ree-poe), the highest peak in Costa Rica at 12,540 feet. Our first mistake was opting to carry 23 pounds each for the nine-mile trail. The second mistake was assuming there would be switchbacks. The trail was virtually straight up, and if there were switchbacks they were ever so slight, hardly enough to catch your breath and rest your weary bones.

Porters carried the food and cooking supplies for the two-night, three-day trek. We saw the porters running back down the trail. The record, for there is a contest each year for ascent and decent, is 3 hours and 14 minutes In the women's category, the record last year was by a woman who later realized she was pregnant, for 3 hours and 40 minutes. Our time was 8 hours up, and for us the descent was more difficult, taking us equally as long. Everyone was on the lookout for the resplendent Quetzal, the national bird and treasure of Costa Rica. We heard its call several times but never did see it. However, we did see a broad billed mot-mot, which is equally as brilliant.

Upon arriving at the base camp, just missing a downpour and totally exhausted, people were talking about getting up at 3 a.m. to tackle the summit in order to see the sunrise should it be clear. Well, we decided we had seen enough sunrises to last a lifetime and opted for the 8 a.m. version. It was another three-hour hike to the summit, where we could view the Pacific and the Caribbean at the same time. We were on top of the world. The hike to the summit was also difficult, for the night had been freezing cold and the bunk beds hard as rocks. But we survived, and the memory will stay with us always.

Costa Rica is alive with volcanoes. Poaz, another national park, has the remains of one. But even more dynamic is Arenal (r-n-l), which periodically spews off gas. That is something to witness. There hot springs abound to visit in order to rest those sore muscles. At night one can watch the hot rocks exploding down the mountain, giving off an effect of lava cascading down the sides. But in order to view this spectacle the weather has to be clear, no cloud cover, which is difficult sometimes, for you are in a cloud forest.

We tried to go zip-lining but got rained out, or rather it was canceled because of lightning. Oh well, next time. Actually they are building one here at Red Frog Marina, Panama. So perhaps we'll get to do it someday soon after all.