Sunday, January 30, 2011

Costa Rica 2010 - Manuel Antonio

Mountain Drive Monteverde to Manuel Antonio

The trip down the mountain was easily more harrowing than the trip up. The roads in Costa Rica are just slightly less wide than the width of two vehicles, so it is common place for one vehicle to pull over to allow the other to pass. As a general rule the vehicle on the way down must pull over for the vehicle on it's way up. This does not immediately make sense as you think that a run away vehicle on a downward slope would take priority, but then you realize that it would be wholly impractical for the vehicle driving up the incline to be expected to come to a complete stop, then shift back into 1st gear to complete the trip up.


The only thing that comforted us was the knowledge that while occasionally trucks and vans run off the road and tumble down the side of the mountain, no one has ever died in such an accident.

Yes, that was the comforting part.

Once we made it down the mountain the drive was mostly uneventful, but long. Two noteworthy things did happen though.

  1. Stopping at a snack stop on the side of the road. This was nice because thus far we had done very little to experience what locals did, which was unfortunate because it is typically how I prefer to travel. Of course with a group this size it's not possible to accommodate the travel philosophy of everyone, so this was a great change of pace.


    We sat at the bar and in (very poor) Spanish I managed to order a few empanadas and a local drink called "mozote". My internet research since getting back had turned up nothing, but from what I was told it's made by soaking a type of grass in water overnight and then sweetened with tapa de dulce (the cane sugar we made in Monteverde).


    My own knowledge of food chemistry leads me to believe that water soluble fiber is leeched from these grasses, and the resulting liquid is thick and viscous with a texture not unlike mucus. Other than that peculiarity, it was quite refreshing.
  2. Further on we crossed a bridge over the Rio Tarcoles. Here, under the bridge were dozens of American Crocodiles which made the river it's home. The interesting thing was that not 100 meters away was a farm with cattle grazing by the river. When I inquired as to why the cattle we free to roam so close to an obvious predator, I learned that the crocs were frequently (illegally) feed by tourists and gawkers, so that it was rare that they ambushed the nearby cattle.

When we reached Quepos, the town near Manuel Antonio, we discovered that the 4 hour journey we just undertook was actually only 17 kilometers in total from point to point. The extra time required was devoted to traversing the mountain ranges which must have added hundreds of extra kilometers from just traveling up and down and around curves.



Manuel Antonio Park

For the most of the trip up until this point, the weather we experienced was not what I expected of a tropical country. All of the time we spend in the mountains was generally fairly cool, and on certain days we even required a jacket.


Not here. Not on the coast.

This was the weather that you'd expect from a jungle environment. Hot and humid as hell. My hydration levels took a noticeable upswing as I was easily clearing 4-5 liters of water a day, when 2-3 was the normal before. The sun that we so dearly missed in the misty mountains was now making up for lost time.







Wild life spotting in Manuel Antonio was definitely spectacular. I saw more animals here on the trails than I did in any other reserve (deer, turkey vultures, spiders, sloths, monkeys, crabs) but what was really the spectacular was the beach.


The sad part? We were so used to cool wet mountains, none of us remembered to bring our swimming wear.

Taking the opportunity to sit down and take it all in, I did the most obvious thing. Tried to get some dirt time in.


I picked up some driftwood bamboo and tried my hand at a firesaw...and got nothing but smoke. The heat and humidity sucked the energy right out of me that after 30 mins of trying, I gave in and just decided to not waste the view.

After some more exploring we headed back to prepare to go for an afternoon...









Horseback Ride to a waterfall
Believe it or not, up until this point in my life, I'd never riding a horse before. It was something I'd always liked to have done, but it was further down on the list. My first experience riding was nothing like I expected it to be.


We were assigned horses and began our trek to our destination, the based of a trail into a jungle, where we would dismount and hike into a waterfall. Having been given basic instructions on how to handle the horses, we started up the trail. And then down. And then down again. This pattern continued and with the horse trotting precariously to close to the adjacent slope down this valley, I tried my best to control him to where I wanted him to go...and he would not have any of that.

I can say with full confidence that this was the most miserable experience I had the entire trip.

As we reached the trailhead to waterfall hike, my legs were tired, my rear end was sore, my hand on the saddle was blistered from hanging on for dear life and I was in a foul mood...and I knew that I had to repeat that journey all the way back later on.

I dismounted expressed my "displeasure" to the rest of my group. Various theories were thrown out as to why I wasn't enjoying myself.

"You're trying to control him too much, just sit back and enjoy the ride"

"You're nervous, he can probably sense that from the way you handle him"

"What's his name?"
Huh? His name? I didn't know. Turns out everyone knew the name of their horse but me.

We headed up the trail to the waterfall, and during this time I felt like me again. There's nothing like hiking a trail and soaking it all up to rejuvenate you.



When we reached the waterfall we decided against taking a swim, as it was getting dark and the last thing we wanted was to be cold and wet in the jungle. I did however take the opportunity to soak my bandana and clean up a bit.

Returning to the horses it was near dark now, and as I was mounting up asked the guide

"What's his name?"

"Is Apaloosa"

"Apaloosa? How come?"

"Is cause he looks like an Apaloosa but is not that kind"
Ok Apaloosa, lets get this over with.

As the sun set, the trail got dark. Not even the stars were out and so all I saw in front of me was the white mane of Apaloosa's head bobbing up and down. To my left and right was pitch darkness and I suddenly became aware of the noises of the jungle waking up. Suddenly I had no idea where I was in relation to the trail, but Apaloosa did. It was at this point that I realized that this was his turf, just let go and trust him. It was strange, suddenly he because really easy going. Without knowing how close to the edge I was, I couldn't be afraid of falling off the side of a mountain. With the horse in control, he could now gallop when he needed to and trot when he needed to. Without me interfering he became very relaxed, and I was enjoying myself. What seemed before like an eternity of agony now ended so quickly, and when we reached the ranch I was actually upset that it was over.


Reptile Pond / Butterfly Garden
The original plan was to finish up horseback riding and met up with another half of our group at the trail-head of a night walk. This was a hike I was especially looking forward too, as we hadn't yet had a chance to explore the jungles at night, when the nocturnal animals came out. Unfortunately the horse ride ran late and we missed out on the night walk. In its stead, those of us who missed it were still able to head to the reserve the next day and tour the reptile holding area and the butterfly conservatory.






Final day in Manuel AntonioWith our adventures behind us, we had lunch over a cliff-side view of the Pacific, before the bus back to San Jose arrived to pick us up. The bus ended up being 3 hours late, so we had plenty of time to drink, reminisce and enjoy our last day in Costa Rica.





View the whole trip by checking the landing post

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Costa Rica 2010 - Monteverde

Arenal to Monteverde (boat ride / mountain drive)

We left Arenal early in the morning and headed by van to Laguna de Arenal. We boarded a river boat and crossed the lake for approximately 1 hour before reaching land. From there we boarded 4x4s and traveled up mountain sides towards Monteverde. At some point I realized how high in elevation we were when the driver pointed out the Arenal volcano off in the distance and we had to look slightly below the horizon to find it.


An interesting thing is that the angles of the hills are so steep, it was not uncommon to find tourist vans overloaded with people and luggage that couldn't make it up the incline. Often the hapless tourists had to exist the vehicle and either allow it to drive well over a mile to the top and walk up, or help to push it up themselves.



El Trapiche Coffee and Sugar Cane Plantation

Arriving late in the afternoon we chose to spend our time by touring a local coffee and sugarcane plantation. For two items we so often take for granted, there a lot that goes on behind the scenes in order to produce it.


The growth and harvest of the coffee cherries whose pits are harvested is an extremely labour intensive process. Each cherry must be hand picked by a worker, and only if it is completely ripe. This is a real danger for workers as it does not pay much (they are paid per filled barrel) and the is a very real chance of being bitten by vipers that sun themselves on the branches of the trees. Very often if a worker is bitten, they immediately cut off the finger that was struck, as hospitals with anti-venom are so far from the remote village that death would otherwise be a certainty.



We were also shown the traditional methods for processing sugarcane into juice and subsequently into usable sugar.


The process involves boiling the juice along with sap from a local tree to remove impurities. The sap binds to the impurities creating a scum that can be scooped off. From here the juice is reduced into a concentrated syrup and transferred to a large trough. Air is then worked into the mixture and poured into molds, which is traditionally how sugar would be stored. When sugar is required, is it shaved of as needed.


To demonstrate this process on a smaller scale we were given a workspace with hot syrup and told to work the air into the mixture. The end result was our own sugar cane fudge.


With the tour complete we were taken into the home of the plantation owner where she brewed us coffee using the tradition method. By far this was some of the best coffee I've had, which is saying quite since from what we were told the 1st quality and "p-berry" coffee gets sold internationally and only the 2nd grade and below is kept for local consumption.


Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve

Early the next day we headed out to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. A rainforest that exist solely due to the elevation of mountain.


Due to the position of Monteverde, the warm air from the Atlantic passes over the Continental Divide and cools. This blankets the canopy in an ever present cloud cover which provides the vegetation in the forest a constant supply of moisture. Plants and mosses found here can literally suck the moisture out of the air, growing everywhere, including the trunks, branches and exposed roots of trees. This constant bath of condensing mist has the equivalent effect of over 4 meters of rain annually in the cloud forest.


As we walked through, the poncho I wore might as well not have been there. The air was so dense with moisture that my clothes were soaked through in no time at all. This of course highlights the necessity of quick drying gear, but that's another topic for later.

Sometimes nature provides all the shelter you need
The guide took us through the trails and explained the ecosystem, the history of the park, and the role that the conservation centre had in educating visitors and locals alike the importance of preserving the area. We were encouraged to stop and ask her questions at anytime, so I took to opportunity to ask her about

  • Local plants, their usefulness both medicinally and for edibility.
  • The work Universities were doing to take samples and catalog the plants
  • What was the government doing regarding preservation of tribal knowledge of the indigenous peoples
  • How pharmaceutical were investigating isolating and synthesizing compounds derived from medicinal plants
  • How they worked with the indigenous people, learning from them rather than pushing them out rather than invading the space and
At one point during the trail we approached an old fire tower which was used as a look out point for the area. It's now free for visitor to climb in order to see a view of the area...provided the clouds actually permitted you to do so.


I have a particular grievance with towers of this type, as it was after climbing to the top of one that I discovered my paralyzing fear of heights. Of course this day, in Costa Rica I took its presence as a challenge to be overcome. This day...of all days, where the wind was blowing and rain was beating against my face, I decided to climb the tower.


I ascended the tower bravely, reaching near the top platform and feeling the rig sway I saw...FOG! Fog and mist as far as I could see. Disappointed, I started my climb down the steel structure. I made it to the final platform, and as I took a step and let my weight onto my foot, the wet steel gave out under me and I slid. As I slid down the stairs I felt each metal step drive into my back as I tightened my grip around the handrails hoping to stop my fall. No good. The wet steel let my grip fail until the moment I hit an intersection with a cross peice and manage to stop myself, but not before having almost taken the two people in front of me down as well. My shoulders hurt for 4 days straight after that jerking stop...


Insectarium /Reptile Garden
With the weather too dangerous for zip-lines, we chose instead to head indoors to dry up. The insectarium and reptile garden provided an excellent opportunity to do so.

While the insectarium was a collection of preserved specimens, it gave us a great opportunity to see the diversity of insects that live in the Costa Rican jungles.

1/10th the size of the exhibit


The Owl Butterfly, whose wings look like both the eyes of an owl, and head of a snake


Moths the size of your head


Apparently the bigger the spider, the less you have to worry about it being dangerous.
See if you can remember that the next time you run into one of the bad boys in the jungle



The Bullet Ant or "Izula", the namesake of one of my favorites knives,
and the knife of choice to carry this trip

The reptiles and amphibians was equally as interesting. The wonderful thing about exhibits such as these is that it allows you both the opportunity to see the animals, something I learned first hand would be almost impossible to do in the wild with an untrained eye.

The Coffee palm pit viper. These guys love to sun in the branches of coffee trees
making encounters a very real danger for workers in the fields


Poison dart frog. The frogs are used to tip the ends of blowgun darts but do not
produce poison themselves. In the wild, they secret formic acid
which they absorb from their usual diet of termites.


Another poison dart frog. The ones in captivity are no longer poisonous due to
their more modest diet of crickets.


Santa Elena / Coconuts

The mornings events past us, a few of us decided to explore the town of Santa Elena and get something to eat. Lunch consisted of empanadas from a local bakery and ceviche from The Tree House restaurant. On the way we stop by a few grocery stores, where I promptly bought a coconut to quench my thirst.





Zip Lines
The morning before leaving for Manuel Antonio we headed to the activity I was dreading the most. Zip Lines.

To say that I was a more than a little agitated with the prospect of being strapped to a cable and travel over a kilometer is an understatement. After being harnessed up my girlfriend could tell I was on edge. She asked me what was wrong and after voicing my nervousness she looked me dead in the eye and said

"Batman is not afraid of zip lines"

I didn't say another word after that, and ended up really enjoying the whole experience. At one point towards the last tower the wind and rain were blowing so hard I was afraid I was going to repeat the events from the day before and slip off the tower, except this one had no rail to grab onto. Luckily no such thing happened. Enjoy the pictures and videos:











Up next: Manuel Antonio National Park