Meet Abraham - Come on Up
When you look down you can see how isolated we are - it's real jungle below
The jungle as Christopher Columbus encountered
Getting to Abraham is itself a remarkable experience. Only Volare has private access to this isolated primary forest, so no disturbance from tourists. We enter through several locked gates. No improved trail, just your Volare guide with machete in hand. You could easily get lost in this dense growth, and appreciate how difficult jungle exploration would have been for our forefathers.
We're all thanking the rugged 4x4 that navigates the primitive entry way
Once aloft, you forget where you are as nature around you grabs your attention
Ever Wanted to See the World from a Bird's Point of View?
Abraham is a tallest of the trees in this ancient primary forest. Indomitable, unassailable, this tree has stood for more than 150 years towering over one of the few remaining primary flatland forests in Costa Rica.
Primary Forest? means not brought down at the hands of man in recorded time. In the case of Abraham an important added reason is the flat terrain. Trees simply cannot grow this tall on sloped terrain. Excessive rain, erosion, and gravity are the enemy of tall trees. Flatlands which have extremes of dry and wet -- like the northwest and central coastal areas of Costa Rica (and most of South America away from the Amazon basin) -- cannot supply needed nourishment year round. Add wind and lightening strikes, and you'll begin to appreciate how rare this forest is.
Look at the nature all around you, below you . The primary forest abounds with animals and plants not seen in secondary forests, or mountain slope forest.
Lunch in Abraham, fresh fruits, hearty salad, plenty to drink.
Lunch in the tree tops
It's remarkably comfortable up on top... once you get there. There's plenty of fresh fruit and cold drinks, and hearty main dishes to keep you happy until dinner time.
It's a lot more than climbing steps. Equal to 13 floors of a skyscraper, it's a challenge for arms and legs.
Ascend Under Your Own Steam!
It looks simple while you are standing below watching. The first foot is the hardest. About 20 feet up it gets hard. At 40 feet you are exhausted. But, truthfully, no one has gotten that high without climbing the rest of the way.
What a sense of victory! The youngest so far has been 7 years old, the oldest CLIMBER was 78 (my brother in law, of course)
Ascend in comfort with Beto, above, doing all the work to get you up
Ascend and enjoy the ever-changing view around you
Not everyone wants to climb a rope. Many sensible people prefer being hoisted up in the chair - there's no shame in this! Our oldest tree-hugger is 94.
Abraham's platform is even accessible for people with a sense of adventure and a wheelchair. Volare has developed a sled to get through the jungle, and the "mule team" is an assortment of Volare guides.
Nature's Cathedral
Once you reach the platform it becomes a shrine. People stop talking. Eyes open. Ears wait.
It is almost a religious experience.
It's time to call us.