Saturday, February 22 Bananas, La Fortuna, Hanging Bridges

 Saturday, Feb 22

Up early this morning to have breakfast while watching the birds. Then we head to a local Conservation and Learning Center/Banana farm.

Our hostesses are Francine and her mother Hazel.  This center serves about 500 local people and began with just 3 families.  They provide school for children and some income for local farmers who grow organic bananas.  Francine's family grows bananas and is beginning to make and market banana flour.  The young man is her son.

Bananas are not native to Costa Rica, but have been grown here for a long time.  They were first grown to feed the workers building the railroad for coffee transportation, but in 1872 they began exporting them to the US. There are 1,000 varieties globally, 18 here in Costa Rica.   They have been cross pollinated to come up with the larger size but still tasty bananas we see in our stores.  Other varieties are available here. 

The female flower is on top of the plant, the male on the bottom. 

 Francine has a small processing plant to make the flour and a few other products.  It takes 30 kilos of banana to make 2 kilos of flour.  They used to dry them with the sun, but recently purchased a huge machine from China to dry them much more quickly. 

We then learn how to make paticona from plantains. Plantains are in the same family as bananas, but a little larger and have more starch.  A few volunteers, including Rick and Charline below,  peel plantains which are then deep fried for about 5 minutes to soften them.  Then our volunteers smash the plantains slices into small discs, which are fried again till crispy.  These are topped with beans or eaten as is.  We also sample some small pancakes made with banana flour and topped with honey.  Quite tasty!

We leave around 10:30 for a 90 minute ride to La Fortuna for lunch.  We pass farms growing sugar cane, bananas, pineapple and cassava (a root similar to potatoes that they call yuca).  Some of the crops are covered - Andrey thinks it may be to protect them from flies.

This is a typical home we pass.

Andrey tells us that 100% of electricity in Costa Rica is from clean sources including hydroelectric, wind, and in the Arenal volcano area, thermal.  Over production is sold to other countries.  

As we near La Fortuna, there are many signs advertising restaurants, sloth tours, rafting and other tourism.  Arenal Volcano is the big draw.  We stop in town and Greg and I and several others drop off laundry, to be picked up tomorrow.  And then we head to Rana Roja (Red Frog) for  a tasty lunch.  Fruit juices are often served with meals - this one a delicious pineapple-mango.  We've had pineapple, orange, mango, guava, something called sour sop, and even a hibiscus juice - plus various combinations.  Rice is served in a volcano shape with a nod to Arenal.  Grilled chicken is very good - we've had a lot of it and it is always cooked perfectly imho.

As we continue the drive, Andrey talks more about his country.  With Conservation, he says big money influence is infrequent but does occur. Beaches are all public in Costa Rica but this is being challenged.  Many good laws exist to protect the land and animals, but there is inadequate enforcement.  Hunting is outlawed but still exists to a small degree. 

  Education in Costa Rica, he says,  is important but it is inconsistent, where student/teacher ratios are sometimes bad and facilities vary from excellent to very poor.  There are some drug problems, but most of the hard drugs pass through Costa Rica on their way to the US - the biggest consumer.  Marijuana is gaining some acceptance, as it is in much of the world.

Next stop is Mistico Hanging Bridges, a private conservation area.   The road in is quite steep, with hairpin turns that Diego handles beautifully.  We take a 2 mile walk here, that passes over 7 hanging bridges.  This takes us above the forest floor and in some cases into the canopy - a world all its own!  Thankfully the rain holds off, though the humidity is surely in the 95% range. Temperature probably near mid 70's.

                                                             a pink and green heliconia

Along the way we learn about things like tarantula wasps, leaf cutter ants, army ants,  stingless bees and more. 

                                                       A home for bees and other pollinators.

This little tube is an entry for bees which make their nest inside the tree.

 We  (Andrey) spot 2 different eyelash pit viper juveniles which can get up to 3 feet long.  These are about a foot or so.   They come in several colors. All hospitals in Costa Rica carry a great deal of anti-venom,  some of which has been invented in Costa Rica. 

 The most venomous snake here is the fer-de-lance, pictured above, which accounts for most bites because it blends into the leaf litter on the ground and has an irritable nature.  (Each of the bridges is named for an animal with accompanying sign.)  The jaguar is the largest predator, but they are rarely spotted.

Some of us take a short detour to this lovely waterfall, then finish the trail in the rain.  The railings here and elsewhere are interesting - they look like wood but are made of concrete.

 Greg spots this lone white-nosed coati near the parking area.  Must be a male, says Andrey, because females travel in groups.  About the size of a large raccoon.

Back towards La Fortuna, we arrive at the lovely Arenal Paraiso Resort & Spa where we each have a small cabin on the property.   Each building has a solar hot water heater, but ours must not be working (but is fixed by this evening)!  Nice birdsong and this bright young green iguana outside the dining area.

                                            Little bird (a kind of wren I think) with a huge song.

At 6:20  most meet for a lecture entitled Forces of Nature, with Willie Pineda . 

 (Beth passes for some R&R.)  Greg reports that it is well done.  The speaker states that considering its size, Costa Rica is the richest country on the planet because of its location and ecological resilience. Adaptability and resilience are words we often hear applied to Costa Rican wildlife.  A hopeful sign is that the bird population which had been decreasing has rebounded quite a bit.

Dinner is served, not buffet style, and we have quite a choice from several appetizers, main entrees and desserts.  Possibly the best food yet!

There are quite a few amenities here including natural thermal pools, but few, if any, have time to try them. The rooms are spread over a wide area, so there is a shuttle if needed, though our cabin is in easy walking distance.  Quite a few different languages heard in the dining area!