Volcanoes, Gringeros, and Earthquakes, oh my!

Overall, I am not really sure how we managed to jam as much stuff as we did into one single weekend.

         In short, Friday we had class in the morning, left straight from class for the Reserva Santa Elena, from there hiked for about 3 hours down to the San Gerardo research station (the station is only accessible on foot, by horse, or by four-wheeler!) deep within the Bosque Eterno de los Niños and stayed at the station until lunchtime the next day, at which point some of us hauled it back up the steepest, muddiest trail known to man in order to embark on the 2 hour trek to Puntarenas for Carnaval! Sunday, meant solely for relaxation, resulted in a trip with my host family to my host father's family farm in La Cruz, where I will hopefully be returning soon to ride his father's Spanish horses! The evening also marked my first EVER earthquake experience! WOOHOOOOOO!

Well here it goes! I’ll try to be as unscattered brained as possible!

        The San Gerardo research station is located within the Bosque Eterno de los Niños, the largest private research in all of Costa Rica, encompassing some 25,000 hectares. However, part of the station’s beauty is due to the fact that it boasts a magnificent view of the Arenal Volcano and Arenal Lake. We were lucky enough that the clouds cleared right before our eyes to grant us a view of all but the volcano’s very tippy top!

A cloud-ridden view of the Bosque Eterno de Los Niños.
I wish this picture did justice to how huge it really is.

A Piglet Litter Frog that we found along our hike to the station!

Our first view of the station. Very primitive, but very lovely.

        

           

           Following our day’s worth of hiking and a lecture by Mark Wainwright on the disappearing (and reappearing!) frog populations within Monteverde, we went on our first ever night hike. Unfortunately, I was too busy hiding from spiders within my raincoat to take any pictures (a situation brought on by the fact that I spent all of dinner cowering beneath the glare of a giant, way-to-close-for-comfort spider), but we did managed to see bioluminescent fungus, a lovely snake, and some very adorable little froggies!

The next morning involved a second hike, which concluded with about 20 minutes of alone time out in the forest. I was lucky enough to end up alone literally in the middle of a beautiful, pure, cascading mountain stream. I have never seen water that looked purer and more refreshing, and really couldn’t resist splashing around and enjoying its lovely coolness. Surrounded by fern trees, which are quite literally living fossils, I also found myself fighting the feeling that a dinosaur might pop out for a drink (or an Allison-sized snack) at any given moment.

View of the rainforest/Lake Arenal from the station's balcony.

All but the top of the Arenal Volcano!

The view from my bedroom.

My loft bunk bed. I was fortunate enough to not encounter
too many bugs--except the spider that I had to shoo off
of my butt in the middle of the night.

        

         The tranquility of the moment, however, was definitely broken when it came time to hike back up the mountain to the Santa Elena Reserve—on a very tight schedule I might add—so that we could make it to our taxi to Puntarenas for the last Saturday night of Carnaval! Again, I must apologize for the lack of pictures, as I was told by numerous Ticos that taking a camera to carnaval was pretty much like giving it away. Alas, while the experience was worth it –it was my first chance to put my feet into the Atlantic Ocean!—I am not sure it is one that I would repeat. Being surrounded by Ticos, not tourists, in an atmosphere filled with music and dancing was awesome for a good while, but eventually, the gringeros (Ticos known for trying to schmooze gringas, or white girls) got old.  Alas, the vistas were beautiful, and I really and truly do love the vivacity and friendliness of the Costarricenses.

     Sunday, as I mentioned, was devoted to family time, which really was wonderful. For those of you who I haven't talked to lately, I haven't been able to bond very much with my host family due to the crazy busy-ness of all of our schedules. Yesterday, however, I really felt, even if only for a minute, like a part of my Tico family. Overall, life is good all around.

Until the next adventure dawns,

La gringa que está viviendo como una Tica

Children's books are inspiring things...

So, in order to continuing practicing my Spanish, I have been reading this lovely little book, called "Ping" about a little frog who must learn what it means to really live life to the fullest extent possible. Thus, I wish to share this one little tidbit of his learning with you all, as we, like the frog, learn to live as well:

"Más allá de las palabras, más allá de conceptos y opiniones, más allá de todo, existe un sitio donde los conflictos de la mente son silenciados por el auténtico llamado del corazón. Con el tiempo, llegarás a comprender que el verdadero viaje de la vida es la vuelta del corazón a su hogar."

In English, essentially:

Beyond words, beyond concepts and opinions, beyond all, there is a place where the conflicts of the mind are silenced by the authentic call of the heart. With time,  you will come to understand that the true journey of life is the return of the heart back home.


Ping, I couldn't agree more.




**As an aside, the following is the best CentroAmericano rock out song ever. Enjoy its ridiculousness.


Danza Kuduro

The weekend: part 2

The view from the top! That steep hill is actually used for farming/
raising cattle!

As promised, here is the continuation of this past weekend's happenings. On Saturday, we ventured down an hour and half of unpaved, windy, mountainous roads to Las Juntas in order to tour the now defunct gold mine (at it's peak, the mine produced about 90 pounds of gold each day!), followed by an evening of relaxation in the nearby volcanic hot springs. With over 100 volcanoes, most of which are now considered inactive, dotting Costa Rica's landscapes, hot springs are one of the AMAZING benefits. 

Unfortunately, I have no pictures to share of the hot springs, since I was wayyyyy too busy relaxing to take any photos.

 Alas, enjoy what I did take! : ) And expect more after this coming weekend's zip-lining/canyon rappelling adventure!

A stunning view of the Gulf of Nicoya as taken from the bus
whilst descending the mountain to Las Juntas.

An unique, bat-pollinated vine called "Monkey Ladder." I think I would die of joy if I actually saw a monkey using one.

A partial view of the ruins from below. Let me tell you, that
hike is not for the faint of heart! Our guide actually asked us if anyone had a heart condition before we commenced.

The view of the ruins from the first level. The ruins are of the
smelting plant, in which they separated the gold out of the stone.

About to ascend to the top of the ruins, we encountered this
lovely tree, trying its darnedest to defy gravity.

I wish this picture did justice to just how steep this staircase to
the top really was. We had to use our hands to pull ourselves up the precipice!

The steep view down towards the lower levels of the tiered ruins.

Month One: Completed

 I absolutely CANNOT believe that, as of today, I have now been living in Costa Rica for exactly one entire month. In all actuality, it feels like I just arrived in San José yesterday, and that the entire semester lay before me, but that simply isn't so. Of course, there are things, mostly people, that I miss about home. I can honestly say that I spend most nights falling asleep thinking about plans for this summer, or what I should bring home for which friend. Yet there is no denying that I love it here. I never would have guessed that jetting off to Latin America was what it would take to get me to slow down and just enjoy a breeze, or a walk, or the present company, but that's exactly what seems to have happened.

I think the most painful, difficult transition may actually be returning to the culture back home, rather than fusing into this one.

On a less sentimental note, so what happened this past weekend? 

Well, Friday began with a trip to a dairy farm in nearby La Cruz that supplies some of the milk used by the cheese factory next to the institute. The farmer was lovely, and his operation seemed nearly ideal in more ways than one. 

Stay tuned for what happened on Saturday!

A close-up of the busy little worms turning manure into
beautiful compost!

One of our gorgeous, awesome professors, Pati,
explaining the necessity of windbreaks between
livestock pastures.

All of the manure generated by the cows while they are
in the milking shed is converted into vermi-compost with the
help of HUGE numbers of worms. The worms were so efficient
at their job that there was literally no odor emanating from the manure
whatsoever.

Seriously, who wouldn't want to work in this office?

One of the fat and happy cows on the farm. Despite the fact that
the cows will be butchered for meat at the end of their 10 year productive life,
the farmer names each and every one. (There are about 15 cows on the farm
at any given time.)

The healthiest, organic tomato field I have ever seen in my entire life.
There wasn't a single bug or blight to be found here... and the
lovely banana trees in the background don't hurt either!

Hairless dogs take over the world!!

...and by that I mean I saw one here in Monteverde the other day.

AND HERE HE IS, in all his naked glory. Behold, and be amazed. Or terrified. Maybe both.

Profile shot. He had absolutely no desire to cooperate with
my enthusiastic picture taking.

His little tufted head. He reminds me of a baby bird.

Somehow he manages to have even less hair than my dog, Tiki. They should
probably be best, bald friends.

Fábrica de Queso/La Chanchera

This past Monday, our Sustainability class visited the nearby Monteverde Cheese Factory, owned and operated by the Quakers since the 1950's. The factory itself is lovely-- por ejemplo, they only accept milk from local farmers who do not use antibiotics or growth hormones, and all of the cows are grass-fed. It doesn't hurt that the cheese is also amazingly delicious.
However, all of the excess whey that is created in the cheese production is sent to a local chanchera, or pig farm, to feed the pigs. Sounds like a good idea in theory, right? Yes, it is. And I must admit that the pigs are treated far better than they would be in a comparable facility in the States. Nonetheless, I am totally not a fan of confining animals that are far more intelligent than dogs, cats, or other livestock.

There were also a few beef steers on the property, that are kept indoors and fed the pig waste (aka undigested corn). Their enclosure was far dirtier than that of the pigs, and they all just looked sad. I didn't even take any pictures, since it was just upsetting.

Alas, here are a few pictures of the pigs so that you all may judge for yourselves.

The sows waiting to be inseminated live in cages in which they
can move forward and backward, but cannot turn around.

A lot of the sows could be seen chewing on the bars, probably out of boredom.

Sows who have recently given birth are kept in cages as well, although the babies do have a little bit of space to move. (Note the slatted floors. Not a fan.)

Poor little baby pig. I want it.

The overall look of the barn where the sows/babies are kept.

Another view of the sows/piglets.

Outer view of the main sow barn.

Pregnant sow in the delivery barn.

Slightly older piglets being trained to eat whey/corn, which
will be their diet for the rest of their lives.

More pregnant sows.