Costa Rica -- The Coffee Farm

It would be difficult to have to choose what was the most interesting part of our PIckleball Costa Rica tour but right at the top would be our trip to the coffee farm, Finca Edgar Fernandez. The area where we spent the last three days of our tour, San Ramon, is in the mountains. It is cooler than the area near the coast and at the beach and not nearly as humid. It is a perfect area for the abundance of coffee trees that grow there.

As we traveled through the area, we could see the shorter coffee trees growing beneath taller trees that give some shade to this variety of coffee that grows better if shaded. At the beginning of our Pickleball tour, Tony and Celeste, our hosts had given us each a bag of coffee from the area. It was giving our suitcase quite a good aroma.

I didn't know exactly what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised by a huge covered area with cloth covered tables and chairs set and ready for us to have lunch. Tony introduced the family that owns and operates the farm. Edgar and his wife did not speak much English but their daughter had taken off work in town to come and lead the tour. Her English was excellent. But first lunch!


Edgar's wife and I think it was her sister had cooked the meal for us. A typical Costa RIcan meal is called a casado and consists of a meat, a salad, rice, black beans, and fried plantains served with a fruit juice. Our hostess poured a lemonade made from their own lemons (not sweet but not tart--refreshing) and a nice pineapple juice. Our plates of food came out of the kitchen heaping with rice, beans, a salad that was like cole slaw, chicken with a delicious sauce, and my favorite, a fried plantain. Finally, a real Costa Rican meal and it was worth the wait.


After we finished our main dish, a plate of sweets was passed around. It looked a little like a fudge but tasted almost like a Bit O'Honey candy. Tony called it trapiche which has to do with the sugar cane. I think it twas made from pressing the sugar cane sometime in the process of getting the sugar. It reminded me of the pure maple sugar candy back home.



It was time to walk off some of our lunch. Before taking us into the coffee fields, our guide and her father showed us their bio-farm. I didn't understand all of the mechanics but somehow one pig was able to provide enough waste to be processed into methane to use to fuel their stove. There were also chickens and a cow and in the small barn we were shown a worm farm where the little critters were making compost.

Worms at work composting

There was a little stream from the house that somehow filtered through rocks and stones and plant roots that was able to remove cooking oils from the water and provide clean water for the ponds that they used to irrigate their garden. I wish I had taped all the explanation. It was fascinating.






We started on a path through some of the coffee fields. It's hard to call them fields when they are planted on the hillsides and under taller trees but it was a nice walk--a bit challenging for those of us with bad knees. Some of us went back down the way we came and a few others ventured on. The coffee beans were not ready for harvest yet. They turn from green to white or red depending on the variety. When it's time to harvest they hire extra help to pick the beans.

When we were all settled back at the tables, our guide began telling us about the sugar cane. Trapiche is also the word used for the process of squeezing the juice from the sugar cane. She brought stalks of sugar cane and cut them into manageable pieces and invited people to feed them through the machine that shredded them and squeezed out the juice. It didn't take long to fill a container.



As her mother strained the juice and put it into a dispenser, our guide explained that to get sugar, the juice would be put into large bins with a fire beneath them fueled by dried pressed sugar cane stalks. The juice would simmer until it was thick and then left to cool. Eventually it can be pressed into a mold and sold for use in baking and cooking. I'm sure the large refineries process a little differently to get sugar granules.

Processed sugar cane

We were invited to try the sugar cane juice. I don't know what I expected but it was pleasantly sweet--not overly sweet. Good, very good. I went back for a second taste.

Next we settled in to hear how the coffee is processed. But I'll tell you about that tomorrow.

Costa Rica -- The Butterfly Farm

There were a lot of winding narrow roads in Costa Rica. In all fairness there were some nice highways too. But this day we were on the ones that wound around, up and down, and sometimes precariously--like the creek that we crossed on a bridge that barely went over the top. We may even have been fording the stream. I was in the back and couldn't tell. I could however see the road almost disappear at a spot where it had obviously washed away. Our driver was amazing though and got us safely through. All the bouncing and swaying was worth it. We arrived at the family complex of Jardin Mariposas La Paz.



Tony, of PIckleball Costa Rica , introduced us to the owner of the butterfly farm we were about to see. He led us between a couple of homes that faced the street. I'm guessing one was his mother's as he made reference to her garden. We stopped just outside of an enclosed back patio that looked to have a lot of plants inside. He pulled out a box and set it on the table and began to talk about his butterflies.



Changing from his job in tourism to raising butterflies was a risky proposition and one that required a lot of study. He seems to be doing well as he told us that he is shipping chrysalises all over the world. But back to the stages of the butterfly.

The farmer took us through how the eggs are laid on the leaves of plants after the butterfly has tested it for poisons. The plants in their back patio were obviously good host plants--butterfly approved.



The family members pitch in and hand pick the eggs from the leaves to place in containers where they can hatch into caterpillars. The caterpillars are then placed on the host plants that they feed from.


The caterpillars will grow into the stage that forms a pupa or chrysalis. Once they have transformed and completely been encased, they can be harvested and there is about a 15 day window where they can be sent to their destination to be hatched into a beautiful butterfly.

This butterfly looks like an owl when wings are spread.
Predators are scared away.

Once we were educated about the process, we were able to explore the butterfly house where the adult butterflies joyfully flitted from plant to flower to fruit. Tony had told us to wear our bright Pickleball t-shirts for this tour and the butterflies really loved them. Those of us with the shirts on attracted dozens of butterflies. I felt my shirt tickling my back as they landed and flew off again.


As we explored someone called out that there was a large toad in the plants at one end of the house. The farmer called out his thanks for the discovery. The toad was looking for a good meal. He would be removed as soon as we were done there.

The ride in the van over the winding roads had been well rewarded. We were all in awe and left amazed.

 

Costa Rica -- The Artisan Market

When I saw Artisan Market on the itinerary for our tour with Pickleball Costa Rica the image of a straw market came to mind. What we found was far from it. The place we visited is call Fabrica de Carretas Eloy Alfaro. It is an oxcart factory that has been making the traditional carts with beautiful paintings for over 120 years.

The factory is the only one in the world still making these decorative carts on a regular basis. While farmers could choose to use a more modern convenience many would rather stick to tradition and use the beautiful carts for their work. The factory only produces about three full size carts a month. When you see all that goes into the making of one you can understand why.


"Henry" our guide talked about how the making of the wheel evolved from a flat piece of wood to the pie shaped wedges they now use. The old way was difficult first of all in finding a piece of wood large enough. Then the grain in the wood caused the wheel to wear unevenly creating an oval shape. Someone figured out that wood cut in pie wedges and placed around a metal bushing made a better wheel.

Once the wedges are set in place, a metal ring a centimeter smaller than the wheel circumference is heated and it expands to fit around the wheel wedges. As water is poured over it, it cools and shrinks until the wedges are held tightly in place to make a sturdy wheel.

All of this work is done by machinery that is powered by a water wheel whose source of power comes from a nearby river. Water was diverted to the wheel which used to be wood but has over the years been replaced by metal wheels. The latest is of iron.

When he started the water flowing over the wheel the crankshaft over our heads began turning. Henry picked up a piece of wood and used a table saw powered by the wheel to cut it. There were a half dozen other pieces of machinery (a band saw, a hack saw and a metal lathe) that were all powered from the same source.



Henry told us that they guarantee their wheels for 30 years but many last as long as 50 years. Of course they need a couple of paint jobs throughout those years. And the painting is quite an art.

There is a crew of painters painting the cart pieces and wheels as well as smaller pieces that are sold as souvenirs in the retail store that fronts the factory. There are also artisans that do wood carving and much of that is sold there as well.

There is a great explanation of the factory's work and probably better pictures than I have at this travel site if you'd like to take a look.

It was a fun place to visit and shop and we even got to have lunch on their outside upper deck.

Wordless Wednesday

Costa Rica - Animal Rescue

One morning we spent a few hours at a the Rescate Animal Zooave  Wildlife Conservation Park about 40 minutes away from San Jose. The 36 acre park was at one time a private zoo but was acquired by new owners and turned into a project of rescue and rehabilitation for many animals.

The weather was lovely and the walkways were easy to navigate. Many of the enclosures were blended in with the landscaping and seemed like a natural habitat.

Lots of colorful birds, some furry creatures as well as a steely looking crocodile were among the animals we saw.







One of the neatest rehab projects was for a toucan that had somehow lost half of its top beak. He was kind of the star of the park as someone had designed a prosthetic beak for him. He didn't have it on when we saw him so I'm not sure when he wears it. Maybe some of you with a little more Spanish than I have can figure it out from the pictures I took.





I love zoos but then if you are a reader of my blog, you know that.

Through My Lens -- More Costa Rica

Costa Rica -- Monkeying Around

One of my favorite places we visited on our Pickleball Costa Rica tour was Playa Dona Ana but it wasn't because of the beach even though it was a pretty place. It was the monkeys!!

The trees are alive with capuchin monkeys. Yes, just like the monkey in the Night At The Museum movies and others.  We had all gotten some extra bananas from breakfast and our host, Celeste, had the kitchen at the resort cut up a bit of other fruits to take along to feed to the monkeys. I'm sure everyone else was as excited as I was.

The beach was a nicely kept area and had a small open air restaurant. We arrived early in the day and there weren't a lot of people around. It didn't take long for the monkeys to see that we had food. They began to climb down the trunks of trees and get just close enough to reach a hand out for a piece of banana.



We learned to just give a very small piece in order to keep them from climbing back up in the tree to eat a larger chunk. Before long there were plenty to feed and we enjoyed the interaction. But, we were warned, do not put anything on the tables or the monkeys will snatch it up in a second.


The capuchins live in trees and are active during the day, seeking a safe hideaway at night from predators. They are considered the most intelligent of the monkeys although I think the chimps may disagree and are often used in lab experiments--and star in movies.

Their bodies can be as long as 22 inches with a tail almost as long and they only weigh about 2 pounds fully grown. The capuchins socialize in small groups with the males being dominant and often fighting for leadership positions.

The monkeys consume a variety of foods and often use rocks to break open fruit to get to the nut or core. Those that live close to water may even eat crabs, again breaking open the crab shell with a rock showing that they have the ability to problem solve. Just a side note: Wonder how many smart phones they've stolen and if they've cracked the pass code?

I'm not coming down. You come up here.

There is no set mating season and the young stay with the mother for a few years. The average life span is 25 years in the wild or 45 in captivity.






It amazed me how gentle they were with us. Very carefully they would remove the banana from our fingers or hand. While they enjoyed some of the other fruits (mango, papaya, even watermelon) they didn't touch the lettuce Celeste brought. Just like kids. Didn't want to eat their vegetables.

Through My Lens - Horses On The Beach

Wordless Wednesday

Costa RIca -- A Beautiful Beach Afternoon

One afternoon, after a good morning of Pickleball, our hosts for our Pickleball Costa Rica tour, Celeste and Tony, took those who were interested in an adventure to the Playa Esterillos Este. We accessed the beach through the kindness of the Pelicano Hotel, a small boutique hotel and restaurant on the beach.


The restaurant was prepared for our visit with a large cloth covered table with flowers in vases and menus that included all sorts of snacks and drinks and even meals if we were hungry.





The beach is one of the longest in Costa Rica and is a favorite for surfers. A couple showed up later in the afternoon probably when they got off work. June is a slow season for tourism so the beach was definitely not crowded at all.





Several of our group wanted to go horseback riding and our hosts arranged for them to be picked up shortly after our arrival. They went off for quite an adventure and eventually ended their ride in front of the hotel on the beach.


Bob and I relaxed and went for a long walk on the beach and enjoyed the marine life as well as the scenery.


We ran across a blue crab who immediately dug himself back into a hole when we released him.





And Bob found a sand dollar which was a dark color, I guess because the sand was a darker color. It was the first one we'd ever found that was still alive. We watched its little hairs bristle on its back for a little bit and then saw it opening the slits in the top to breath. We quickly put it back in the water.




The sunset which was not quite as spectacular as the pictures Tony had shown us (you can't always control the conditions) was still quite beautiful and serene. It was a lovely afternoon and we were delighted to have had the opportunity to see it all.

Costa Rica -- The Industrious Leaf Cutter Ants

On our way to the Pickleball courts each day we would be on a sidewalk that was very busy. No matter what time of day, a long stream of leaf cutter ants would be busily making there way to wherever their nest was carrying their pieces of leaves cut from a tree that we soon discovered as we walked. I am always fascinated by these critters. They made a big impression on me the first time I saw them years ago in Costa Rica.

Leaf cutter ants have large jaws (but still too tiny to see) that cut the leaves and while some of the information I read said that it was like pruning, when we visited a small butterfly farm behind the family's homes, the complaint was, "They get into my mother's garden and ruin the plants." Guess the ants are better gardeners in the forest.

The ants can carry pieces of leaves up to 50 times their own weight which reminded me of that song High Hopes. These pieces of leaf are then put in the nest where they cultivate a fungus to feed the colony and the larvae. The fungus is unique to the leaf cutter nest. It is not found anywhere else.

The nest houses thousands to millions of ants and has multiple tunnels and channels. In the colony are various jobs including workers, guards, soldiers and reproducers. Workers vary in size. Larger ones carry the leaves and smaller ones tend to the fungal garden. Like a hive of bees, there is one large queen who can lay up to 50 million eggs in her lifetime.

One unusual fact about the ants is that they have been dealing with diseases that attack their fungal garden for millions of years. They actually somehow create an antibiotic to deal with the disease and develop new ones as time goes on. Researching the ants could lead us to some new antibiotic discoveries.

Leaf Cutter Queen Ant

Other research could lead to some discoveries about our energy resources. It's all mentioned in an interesting article at the National Science Foundation site.

Another article talked about the ants kind of being a predictor of rain. They move faster when they sense rain approaching. The leaves are a lot heavier when wet. That could explain the piles of leaves we saw where the usual column of ants were after we experienced a downpour one day. I could just hear them yelling "Drop it and run!"