The scene was hot and humid, as one would expect from the jungles of Costa Rica. I was following a stream of leaf cutter ants, watching them carry their massive load across the rugged jungle terrain, when I looked up to find my path blocked by this mess of strangler fig vines. While trying to climb over them, I brushed against a stinging plant that left dime-sized welts on my arm. I tried to move away quickly, but just became tangled in the vines myself. Moral: Corcovado is wilder than you.