Costa Rica 10/30/09

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ello again,

Sorry about the hiatus yesterday. Myles and i were both really tired by the time we got done cooking. We also had to get up early so we wanted to get to bed. Yesterday afternoon we signed up for a tour. We were going to have a local guide take us to the iguana reserve, then to a local cocoa farmer who makes organic chocolate, then to a shaman of the local BriBri tribe to see some local medicinal plants, and last but not least to a waterfall (finally).

We woke up around 6:45 to Myles' cell phone alarm. We both slowly got out of bed and went to get dressed. Just shorts, our bathing suits, hiking boots, some sunglasses, a shirt, and we were ready to go. We had to meet our guide, Ricky, at the front desk of Rockin Js. They were the ones who set up the tour for us, which we are really grateful for since we aren't even staying there. We left our house at about 7:15 am for the loooong trek to Rockin Js. Since neither of us own a watch we were just kind guessing how long it would take (we had to be there at 8am) . It turns about we were about right on time once we got there. Ricky met us, and we set off for the bus stop. Since we were going with a local guide and not a tour company, we had to arrange for all of our own transport. In the end the local guide ended up being about the same price as if we had booked with a big company, but with a local guide, they have more time and knowledge to share with you. We arrived off the bus to our first destination which was to be the iguana farm. We had a short walk along the original road from Limon to Puerto Viejo. This road is no longer used because there is a newer paved road bypassing it.

When we arrived at the farm Ricky showed us a lot of interesting plants and some of the local farm animals. There were a gaggle of turkeys, and two HUGE pigs. Just as we were entering the iguana reserve we saw a huge male iguana lounging in a tree. It was really neat to see one in the wild because we have only seen them at pet stores or at peoples houses. As we approached a small set of houses a little old lady came out and greeted us. She is the lady who runs the iguana reintroduction program (this sounds a lot more high tech then it is.). She began taking us around her home and showing us the different stages of iguanas that they keep there. The program is in place to ensure that the young iguanas reach an age where they can be released in to the wild and they are large enough to fend off predators. She showed us the hatchery, which was a large box of sand where they put the iguana eggs in wire baskets to incubate in the hot sand. Then she showed us her youngest iguanas, they were about 2 months old. Next she showed us her sick bay. There were only a few iguanas here that she was trying to help get healthy. One had a lot of black stripes. Because of translation problems (she only spoke Spanish, and our guide didn't really clarify.) i still do not understand what was wrong with that one. Last she showed us her mating pens. She has constructed large metal pens underneath lower hanging trees. She puts her mature females in the pens and allows all of the free mature males to climb the trees and drop into the pens to mate. When they are all done she collects the eggs and sets them free. Some of the males were huge, one measured about 6 feet from face to tale. It was cool to look around periodically, while glancing up into a tree you might spot an iguana lounging in the sun, or if you looked in the bushes you might see one staring you down. It was really neat, and not at all what i was expecting. As we were getting ready to leave the mating area, our guide told me to look up in the trees, and what did he see? A sloth, finally. That was the one animal i really wanted to see while visiting Costa Rica. It was a younger female three toed sloth. She was so cute, just hanging out in the tree sleeping. Our guide made the sound of the male sloths mating call and she turned to look at us. I got some pictures, they aren't very good, but you'll get the idea when you see them. We watched her climb around for a while, and when she finally turned her butt to us, we decided it was time to go.

We headed out onto the dirt road again. Ricky showed us a cool plant that can be used as a natural sunblock, or made into a cup or a wrap for food. He is also an avid bird watcher, so any time we would hear a call he would tell what it was, and we would pause to see if we could find it through his binoculars. Not soon after we arrived at the local cocoa farmer. This again was a nice little old lady, who did not know very much English. She first showed us the life cycle of the cocoa seed. Did you know that it takes 6 months from the time the flower sprouts from a branch until you harvest the seeds. Next time you eat a chocolate bar think about that. The seeds start out as small pink flowers, The grow into small green pods about an inch long, and then slowly ripen to a large yellow pod about 8 inches long. Sadly Costa Rica was hit with a fungus that loves cocoa plants. It gets inside the pod and turns everything to sour brown mush so cocoa is not a very big export anymore. Next she gave a demonstration of how they harvest and prepare the seeds to be eaten. When the cocoa pods are ripe, you can cut them open and suck on the seeds. They are covered in a white slimy sweet mucus that actually tastes really good. After they are free of the mucus, they are put out in the sun to dry. The seeds must be turned ever 2 hours for the next 3 days. Then they are roasted and put in the sun again to ferment. After this they are broken open and the stuff inside is what you make chocolate with. When this is all done the chocolate is very bitter. It kinda tastes like coffee and dirt. Lol. Not appetizing. Then the seed is ground to a fine powder and that is when you add the sugar or whatever flavors you prefer. We were given samples of the chocolate at every stage. It was educational and fun. In the end we got to eat a little organic home made chocolate and we ended up purchasing some to eat later after dinner.

When this was all over it was nearing 2pm and we were getting tired. As we were waiting for the bus we suggest to Ricky that we go straight to the waterfall and skip the medicine man. He said that was a good idea. Myles and i were least interested in the medicine man portion of the trip and we were getting tired. Again the big bus pulled up and away we went. We got off on the Indian reserve of BriBri. Maybe because where we come from the native americans are very ethnic, i expected the BriBri to be this way as well, but boy was i wrong. It looked like any other small town along the road in Costa Rica. Shops, bus stop, schools. Some times i get these ideas in my head and i am totally incorrect. Anyways, we caught a taxi down a dirt road. During our wild and crazy taxi ride we crossed over two rivers. It was cool to drive through the water and amongst the rocks. Near the end of the road we got out and began to hike. The hike was very nice. We headed through an old growth tropical rainforest. Everything was so green, and very slippery. Ricky showed us some neat rock formations, including one that looks like a face. As we neared the waterfall it began to rain. Earlier in the day it was very sunny and hot so the rain was welcome. It really allowed me to see the true meaning of "rainforest". Our first sight of the waterfall was stunning. It was breathtaking. The waterfall was close to 100 feet, dropping in to a large clear cool. We immediately took off our shoes and changed into our bathing suits, then slowly made our way over the slipper rocks to a place where we could enter the water. Seeing that waterfall today was my second favorite moment while in Costa Rica (the first being my initial zipline run.). As we made our way out into the deeper water, all i could think was "this is it, this is what Costa Rica is about. This is what we came here for." The water wasn't cold but it was raining, so it probably wasn't as refreshing as it would have been had it been sunny, but it was still awesome. For the next hour we floated in the water, or sat under the waterfalls with the water pounding on our backs like a massage. It was so much fun, and such a reward after a long day of walking. After we were done soaking, we got out to head back. Our guide suggested we wait to put on our shoes until we reached the road. Myles and i gladly agreed seeing that the rocks and mud were very slippery. At one point during our hike back Myles looked at me and said "i bet you didn't think you would be hiking barefoot through the rainforest today." No Myles, i did not, but i am sure glad i did. It was an experience of a life time and i loved every squishy toed minute of it. As we approached the road Ricky showed us some red poison dark frogs and pointed out all the bird calls we were hearing. He also finally solved the mystery of the noise in our roof (remember a couple of blogs ago i mentioned the weird noise that was driving Myles crazy?) Upon hearing the noise in the forest Ricky told us it was the geckos that make it. This makes sense because when ever we hear the noise it comes from an area where we see geckos, but we just assumed they were too small to make such a loud noise.

When we got back to the road we put on our shoes and began the walk to BriBri town. Along the way it began to rain, and we heard howler monkeys, and a toucan. It had been lightly raining for quite some time, but all of a sudden it began to pour. We didn't think we had an umbrella so Myles and i enjoyed the rain and watched the mist recede over the mountains to our left. When we were almost soaked through i remembered that i DID have an umbrella, (yeah that's me.) and promptly took it out. We were already dipping wet, but we had fun walking in the rain so it was no big deal. At the bus stop we bought tickets and began to wait. It did not take that long for the bus to arrive and in that time Myles and i just snuggled under the umbrella. Finally after the long (only like 20 minutes but it felt like forever.) bus ride we got back to our street and eventually walked back to our cabina. We still had to pay Ricky, so he came along, and hung out for a few minutes telling us about the different birds that live around our area of Puerto Viejo. He gave us his phone number and told us that if we want to go on any other hikes he will give us a deal. After he left we took off our hiking boots ( i have a huge swollen ant bite on my ankle that had been driving me crazy all day, and Myles has some blisters), changed into some dry cloths, and heated up left overs from last night. Red beans and rice. Last night it was kind of bland, but after soaking in its own juices over night, (and a little soy sauce) it was much better today. We ravishly scarfed it down.

It was an amazing experience today. I had such a good time and got some good pictures to remember it by. Maybe when Cindy and George get here we will take a trip with Ricky to some new adventure. Good night all. We love and miss you.

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Comments

[Pam]

IGUANAS
Don't bring any IGUANAS back here. They are a BIG problem here in Florida, especially on the islands. I have seen them and some aee huge.