By Paige Blankenbuehler
SANTA ROSA NATIONAL PARK, Costa Rica — By January 13, the gang of Missouri School of Journalism students found themselves part of a hiking buffet for the ravenous black flies of the region.
We were trekking through Rincón de la Viejá National Park within Costa Rica’s broader Área de Conservación Guanacaste. The Costa Rican section of the “Ring of Fire” is here and home to the country’s most active volcano, Rincón. Amongst a backdrop of beautiful views and gurgling, hot sulphur waters, a steady swarm of the flies seemed to follow us along the way.
We swatted and shooed, but even our best efforts to abate them were fruitless. Some of us — as you can see from the graphic above — were especially fruitful for the bloodthirsty flies.
It took a day for the devastation to truly settle in; though bitten, we had no realization of the coming fierceness of the itching. Now, we’re at the Santa Rosa National Park field station and have formally assessed the damage: 319 bug bites in all. Thanks to our field guide, Bethany, and copious amounts of itch cream and antihistamine pills, we’re hanging in there!