La Selva
La Selva the Spanish word for Jungle. While both Jungles and Forests are green and full of trees, one of the main factors that determines the difference between a forest and a jungle is the type of vegetation found around the trees. In a forest, the tree tops (forest canopy) tend to absorb the suns rays, while the leaves form somewhat of a blanket of shade for the ground below. This lack of sunshine on the forest floor combined with seasonal defoliation prevents a lot of vegetation from growing on the ground. This makes it fairly easy to move around quickly in the forest.
A Jungle, on the other hand, does not develop a uniform canopy. The sun rays reach the jungle floor, and the vegetation in the jungle is lush, green, and almost impossible to navigate without the aid of a good sharp machete. We have a bit of Jungle at Etlingera Farms. Not a lot. But, enough to get lost in and play around in for a few hours. We refer to this Jungle as the Tarzan Jungle because of the hanging vines that we're tempted to want to swing around on.
The Jungle fascinates us. Our workers think that's funny. The refer to it as "tacotal" I have no idea what that means. They also refer to it as "Monte" which in this case, means bush. When we sit still and quiet in the monte for a while, the monte comes alive with nature.