COSTA RICA
“PURA VIDA!”
Hola--
With a week to kill, we spent half the time in Cabo San Lucas and the remainder in San Jose, Costa Rica where we picked up our Costa Rican tour. Cabo—the seaside town at the tip of the Baja peninsula, is a mecca of tacky shops and questionable restaurants. I thought I’d chance the dietary questions and ordered a vegetarian taco. The waiter looked at me and repeated, “meat or chicken”, so I settled for chicken. Turns out that in Mexico, tacos do not contain lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, etc.—only “meat or chicken” and then you top it with a salsa like sauce. They were delicious and I did not suffer any revenge from Montezuma… Fortunately our hotel, The Riu Palace, was located about 2 ½ miles outside the town—a nice walk if one is desperate for a book. Alas, no bookstores; that’s Cabo! Next time, stay in San Jose del Cabo. The two towns make up Los Cabos (The Capes).
With a population of 1.2 million, San Jose, Costa Rica (there are San Joses everywhere!) is the busy, unattractive capitol of the country. The people drive like maniacs and security is questionable. Our digs, the Intercontinental Hotel, was in a nice area on the southwest outskirts of San Jose. A modern mall was next door. The shops were straight out of the U.S. with everything from Payless Shoes to Osh Kosh B’Gosh to a Subway sandwich shop. There was one lovely shop selling CR handicrafts-woodenware, leather goods and brightly painted items.
While in San Jose, we took a trip to a Costa Rican coffee plantation (Britt). It was an entertaining learning experience with interactive participation. I played the role of a bridesmaid-my theatrical debut! Britt produces shade grown Arabica coffee in the rich volcanic soil of the Central Valley highlands. The red coffee berry goes through several stages before beans (actually seeds) are dried in the sun and then roasted. The lighter the roasted bean, the more caffeine. The darker the roast, the more flavor. So, espresso roasted beans actually have less caffeine, but more flavor-surprise. Decaf is made in Germany. There is too much red tape to do it in the U.S., a sad commentary.
Ticos, as the natives are called, are warm, delightful people-just like the weather. We had dinner with SASers, Jean and Rich Redmond, expats from Washington, DC, who have lived near San Jose for 14 years. They just built a handsome, large home and were to become CR citizens the following day. Jean and Rich didn’t put either heat or AC in their home. Solar heat panels keep their pool and domestic water to their liking. In San Jose the days were breezy with temps in the high 70’s-not sure about the rainy season, but Jean assured me that their panels would get enough sun to keep their water heated.
Mother Nature has blessed Costa Rica. Originally a jungle, the country is full of wildlife and tropical flowers. When Chris Columbus arrived in Limon in 1502, he named the place Costa Rica (rich coast) because of the precious metals worn by the indigenous people.
The frequently heard local expression is “Pura Vida” which means the pure, good life. There doesn’t seem to be much poverty. Most of the Catholic population is a part of the middle class. There is a 97% literacy rate. Life expectancy is 79.6 years. 4 ½ % if one’s salary supports free national healthcare. Another 4 ½ % is stashed into a social security retirement fund. Like the U.S., Ticos are a mixture of ethnic backgrounds, but with a black Caribbean influence; they are called Mestitos who aren’t back or white, but latte in color. Migrants from Nicaragua make up 25% of the 3.7 million population. There are similar issues with the Nicos as we have with our Mexican population.
The country is the size of West Virginia. It is located between Panama and Nicaragua. San Jose is in the central valley surrounded by volcanic mountains which run the length of the country. There are 45 large rivers to drain them. Democracy reigns, but the past 2 presidents are in “preventive prison” for playing hanky panky with influence money. In CR you are considered guilty until you are proven innocent. The current president is a shrink who is honest and has a “feel good” manner, but is having a hard time getting anything accomplished. His term is 4 years and he won’t be able to run again until there is an 8 year interval. In 1948 the army was abolished. In a pinch, the national police could provide some security. In 1985 international neutrality was declared.
There is little or no heavy industry. The economy is powered by 1-tourism, 2-high tech products and 3-pharmaceuticals. Bananas, tropical flowers and large plants, like the ones at Stop ‘n Shop, and coffee are huge exports. There is good infrastructure to move goods and services; this attracts outside investors.
Taking care of the environment is a way of life for the Ticos. Kids are educated about its importance. Former poor custodians of the land have learned that there is more money in ecotourism than in trashing the environment. The government provides tax incentives as encouragement. Pastures for cattle (you see lots of brahma cows, like those in India) are rotated to avoid compaction, soil erosion, deforestation and nutrient depletion. Banana producers, who get $5.00 for a 48 pound box of bananas (are we getting robbed or are they getting taken??) are trying to improve their bad habits to earn an ECO-OK seal of approval. Coffee growers must recycle their waste into compost. Bean hulls are used as an attractive mulch. Deforestation is slowing. Land is being turned into protective preserves; 29.4% of the country is under preservation, the greatest percentage of any country in the world.
We left San Jose and traveled on a Tauck tour to Monteverde. Most of the trip was on the comfortable Pan American Highway, but when we reached Sardinal the road up the mountain became a tortuous, gravel/dirt road with precipitous, unfenced drop offs. Thanks, Maureen, for the warning. Since I freak out when I’m near “the edge”, I sat mid bus on the driver’s side and had no problem. The area is 6000-7000 feet up, in a tropical cloud forest. There is the wet season and the not so wet season. The mountain top is continuously bathed in moisture laden clouds. A forest can regenerate in 70-80 years compared to 150 years for our woodlands. Trees have no growth rings as they don’t ever stop growing. The trees are covered with epiphytes. They are just looking for a place to settle and don’t harm or help the tree. Orchids, mosses and ferns, with tremendous surface area, and bromeliads grow with abandon. These latter guys can hold 2 quarts of water and support a Lilliputian environment for tiny frogs; for example, the ¾ inch, orange and blue poison dart frog. The cloud forest leaves are configured to take in lots of water, but also to allow large amounts of moisture to reach the forest floor which then flows into the many rivers. These rivers flood and leave behind fertile sediment in the agricultural areas. Extra water flow is used for hydroelectric power.
A couple of interesting stories about the Monteverde area. 1- A group of Quakers from Alabama left the U.S. after the mandatory draft law was enacted in the 1950’s. They found a home in MV and started a dairy farm to produce cheese. Today it is an extremely successful venture. They also make a very rich ice cream that puts Ben and Jerry in a dietary dust bowl. One of the original 11 Quaker pioneers, now 84 years old, told us his story. 2- A group of kids in Sweden heard about Costa Rica’s attempts to save the rain forest and collected zillions of kronas to support the purchase of land. Today, with the help of students from the U.S., Canada and Costa Rica, 122,500 acres of The Children’s Rain Forest are being protected. The land is contiguous with another 26,750 acres of preserve—HUGE forest! We had a chance to walk across the top of the forest canopy on suspended bridges—with high sides. It was a long way down to the forest floor.
East of Monteverde, we crossed man made, 33 square mile Lake Arenal which supplies hydroelectric power to San Jose and even exports some electricity. In the evening we sat beneath the stars and watched the active Arenal Volcano put on a fireworks show-WOW! Next morning we clamored into inflatables and floated down the Penas Blancas River, hearing and seeing howler moneys, viewing crocodiles, myriads of water birds and finally stopping at a farm. The 2 patriarchs (91 and 93 years old) greeted us. They’d always lived there, raised their families and had no electricity. The outside bathrooms were mysteriously plumbed, however.
Now we’ve crossed the Continental Divide and are on the tropical Caribbean side which receives 235 inches of rain/year. Stuff grows like wild fire in this agricultural area. Stick branches of gumbo limbo trees into the fertile volcanic soil and watch them sprout and become living fences. Epiphytes, usually bromeliads, settle in the baskets of the sprouted branches. The land produces prodigious amounts of cassava (yuca), papayas, coffee, sugar cane, pineapples, bananas, tropical plants-all for export.
We moved east to Tortuquero National Park on the western Caribbean. For millennia, green turtles and other large ocean turtles have nested along the 22 mile black volcanic sand beach. The Caribbean Conservation Corporation, to protect the turtles, was founded in the 1950’s by an American, Archie Carr. I think this is where Debi Stambaugh (SAS S ’01) tagged turtles. Getting there was an experience. After bussing our way past miles of banana plantations, we boarded boats that resembled The African Queen on steroids. We motored 40 miles north at mach 1 on an interlacing canal system, much of it built during the bad, old days of logging and deforestation in the 1950’s and ‘60’s. A couple weeks ago, the area was flooded by torrential rains. Not only did it do in acres of banana trees and flood homes, but it also changed the navigation. Now there were silted in shallow spots and snags of flotsam and jetsam to negotiate. We passed pigs wallowing in the muck, cows on sandbars, buzzards eating the final morsels off the bones of an unfortunate cow carcass, and spider monkeys swinging in the trees. The shores were lined with palms, fig trees, vines and other greenery. The vegetation reminded us of parts of The Intracoastal Waterway.
FLORA: The volcanic soil is fertile gold-vegetation flourishes. We saw wild begonias, fields of ageratum, orchids being browsed by cows (and be think we have trouble with deer..), lantana that changes from yellow to red after the butterflies sip on the nectar, heliconia most everywhere, impatiens of all colors (variegated hybrids, too), black eyed Susan vine, and Mexican heather thriving along river banks. Large stands of non invasive bamboo sounded like clicking castanets as the wind rustled through. Bananas are huge exports. Back in the 1870’s Minor Keith, an American, went to Costa Rica to build a railroad from Limon on the Caribbean Sea to San Jose in the middle of the country. It took 20 years and cost 4,000 lives-their Panama Canal story. When money ran out to pay him, he took land in exchange. Banana production and United Fruit was the result and Mr. Keith became a multi millionaire. He died in 1929 just before the stock market crashed. His heirs ended up with nothing, but the banana plantations he started flourished. It takes 6-9 months for a plant to produce a 60 lb. bunch. This is bagged in blue plastic to help it ripen evenly on the tree. After it is harvested, the tree is cut, new shoots form and it’s on to producing another mother lode. The trees can live for 20 years. Chiquita, Dole and DelMonte are all in CR today.
FAUNA: Costa Rica is endowed with generous supplies of fauna as well. Butterflies galore! I especially liked the huge blue morphos with brown camouflaged exteriors and the postman and Fed X butterflies that stop at the same flowers for their sugary energy supply. Costa Rica is a birder’s paradise with brightly colored hummingbirds, tanagers, orioles, herons, egrets and on and on. The national bird is the rather boring clay colored robin. And if you like lizards, there’s the Jesus Christ lizard that walks on water and 3 foot long green male iguanas that turn orange during the mating season (now). Brightly colored frogs and spiders of all sizes abound. The female tarantula eats her suitor after mating. The sloths of the NY Times crossword puzzle are in CR-both the tan 2 toed and the brown 3 toed sloth. Sloths are walking ecosystems with algae and 200-300 species of bugs living amongst their fur—ICK! Along the river banks are hungry crocs and smaller caiman. My favorite animals were the little monkeys-white faced Capuchin, spider and best of all, the howler monkeys. The howlers are well named. The alpha male lets out a loud, low, barking, guttural noise to warn predators (people, airplanes and potential male suitors) to stay away from his harem. On our last morning, we had a farewell 5 AM wake up call at the Tortuga Lodge from one of these guys. They weigh only 25-30 lbs., but sound like gorillas. You have to love the green turtles. The females have been coming to CR for eons. Mom reaches maturity at 30 years when she lays 3-4 clutches of eggs--100-110 per nest. The nest temperature determines the sex of the offspring, as with all reptiles. About 1 from each nest survives to adulthood, is imprinted with its birth location and returns to repeat the cycle. Turtles live to the ripe old age of 150-200 years. The CCC has been tagging turtles since 1954. A couple years ago Chica Tia and Flora received their tags and were monitored with updates on www.cccturtles.com. And who can forget the coatis begging for food from passing motorists.
ET CETERA: Memories of the gorgeous wood interiors (they’d be made of something else today)of the Monteverde Lodge, Tilahari Resort and Tortuga Lodge; swimming in the oh so relaxing hot thermal pools at La Fortuna Hot Springs; the heliconas at Costa Flores Tropical Gardens; being locked in a cranky van at Lake Arenal and needing lots of muscle power to let us out; the colorful toucanet that was stunned from flying into a window at the MV Lodge; the moderate temps and almost no annoying bugs; the CR cleanliness personified by the daily sweepings everywhere we went. And best of all, don’t forget the human element-our intrepid Tauck leader, Ray Shattuck who looked like a short Derek Lowe (former RS pitcher) and naturalists Chris, Gustavo, Sebastian and Eduardo and fellow travelers, Ike and Bev Brumfield from Mississippi, (she was a vocal clone of Mary Ann Jones) and Mary Ellen and Jim (who worked at Scott Paper with Bob’s brother) Holden and all the other fun people. And then there were the KJWs-oh, well.
Hasta luego, amigos. See you soon and don’t forget, Pura Vida!
Mom/Anne