Today we went to the market which is really a pretty cool place. It is fun to look at all of the stuff the vendors are offering and even more fun to barter for lower prices. It was about a twenty minute walk away from the school but it was worth it. The first time I went there there was a big group but today it was a smaller group. We also stopped in a gun shop on the way today and JC and Bob went ahead and purchased security gaurd hats...rediculus...kind of wish I would have gotten one though.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Vendors on the Road/Market place
One thing I have not mentioned in any blogs are the people selling things on the side of the road or even to people who are stuck in traffic. One of the main things I have seen on the carts on the side of the road are bananas of course. However there are many other fruits too. I do not see how people make a living by selling single rapped bananas or other small objects to people who are stuck in traffic. The first time one of these people came up to the window I was sitting at it kind of startled me, but now I am used to it.
Final trips
We went to the Poas volcano and La Paz waterfall yesterday. It was really interesting. The best part was all of the animals that they had in cages for us to see. It is not the same as seeing them in the wild but we saw snakes, monkeys, frogs, tons of birds, and some other stuff too. Actually the best part was the lunch. They had some North American food and we all stuffed ourself with hotdogs, pizza, and french fries. The water falls were really pretty and we got to see the crater of the volcano. It was a pretty good last day trip with everyone.
Today Sam, Beth, JC, Matt, Diane, Steph, Chase, and I went bungee jumping. Absolutly the best thing we did on the trip and probably one of the coolest things I have ever done. The drop was 265 feet and I can not even explain how fun it was. We had some really fun moments including shouting things before we jumped off, talking about how stupid we are for jumping off of a bridge on friday the 13, and even getting Diane to shout a very bad word at me which she NEVER does. We had a great time and it was the best way possible to end the trip. After the jump some of us hit up a local market for some shopping. Good day all together.
Tonight we have an oriental dinner and tomorrow we leave the school at 5.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Ecotourism guides
A final thought about all the awesome guides we have had on this trip. I still dont understand how they spot some of the stuff that they do.
The guide at the Monte Verde night hike found about ten bugs in the first two minutes and if he would not have stopped showing us every bug he saw the hike would have taken 4 hours in stead of two.
The next morning at the bird watching hike we went to two locations to see birds that were usually there but on the way our guide found about 10 birds and probably 7 or 8 of them never would have seen.
The guide at La Selva did the same thing. Before we started he asked if anyone saw any birds and when we said no he pointed out three from right where we were standing that no one had noticed and two of them were pretty big.
Finally I just want to mention the guide we had at the Osa. He was pretty good at finding things and he walked around with no shoes the whole time. He was walking by craps, through sharp rocks, through tall grass, through the woods, and even looking for snakes and spiders and never had shoes on the whole time.
These guides and many I failed to mention here made our ecotourism experience much better than it would have been had they not been around. I saw thigs that I never would have seen and even if I would have seen it I would not have known what half of it was. For example...the biggest trees we saw actually forms from a fig growing from the top of the tree down and strangling the host tree. They are pretty cool and I am glad I know what they actually are; without the guides I would have been clueless.
Quick shoutout to Roberto, Collon, and Laura for all the help they gave us.
And lets not forget Ronald...the best driver ever. He made this trip so much better than it would have been had we not had him as a driver.
And of course Luis...who planned everything for us.
Ecotourism in Costa Rica
Before May 17 the only other country I had visited was Canada and the only reason I went there was to go to the casino and have a good time with my friends.
The beauty in Costa Rica amazes me to say the least. Some of the things we have seen just make you feel like a tiny person. The rafting trip, the rain-forests, the beaches, all of it just makes a person stop and stare. I have recently found myself looking at things that would have amazed me 4 weeks ago and just not appreciating their beauty now because we have seen so many things that are that much better. A perfect example is after the bus got stuck on the Osa trip we traveled through something that looked like a palm tree farm with tons of trees that were awesome and in perfect rows and I didn't even look at them twice until someone said, "how cool would this have been to us a month ago?". Another example is the mountains in San Jose. I took tons of pictures the first week we were here of the mountains around San Jose and now that I have seen some of the other stuff we have seen, specifically the volcano, I just don't look twice at them as I walk home or to school. Even something as small as a simple rain storm is just amazing here.
The fact that we have gotten to see the country would be enough but we have gotten to take guided tours and walks just to look closer at all of the things that Costa Rica has to offer. We got to interact and live in the midst of all of the beauty in Costa Rica and it truly was the experience of a lifetime. Everyone I talk to plans on coming back here at one point in their lives. We truly have gotten the ecotourism experience during our time in Costa Rica. Pura Vida!
Why Bananas and Coffee
I would say that in Costa Rica neither banana or coffee production is really sustainable.
I always thought that bananas were native to central America but this is not the case. Bananas "the worlds largest herb" came from and is native to Asia. They first came to Costa Rica in the late 1800's and then the railways of America made it possible to export bananas all over and Costa Rica eventually started growing bananas in mass quantities.My question is why bananas. There is a good amount of sun and water here but the only way that bananas survive is by dumping tons of herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, and many other chemicals on them. It seems to me that bananas are not the most sustainable export for Costa Rica. There has to be something to grow and sell without harming the environment and the people around the banana plantations.
Coffee is not really sustainable either. How do they grow coffee. Well the first thing that is needed is clear land whether it be in a valley, a field, or on a mountain. The only way to get this clear land if it is not already clear is to cut down all of the trees and clear out all the brush and destroy the natural environment for many species of animals and bugs.
Neither plant is terrible in and of itself because the soil is rich and they don't deplete its nutrients but there are other ways they are hurting the environment and neither is very sustainable in my opinion.
Steph and Morell are dumb
the soul purpose of this blog is to show Steph and Morell how to add a label to a blog
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Puerto Viejo Part 2
The remainder of the trip went pretty quick. This could be because we were watching movies. On the entire trip from San Jose to La Selva and then to Puerto Viejo we watched the entire Bourne trilogy. A couple of interesting facts…1.) I never sleep on buses 2.) I have seen the first and third Bourne movie but not the second…on this trip I finally slept on a bus and it happened to be while the second Bourne movie was playing, oh well. When we got to Puerto Viejo we checked into our hotel immediately. I roomed with Marty and Bob. We had a pretty sweet room and the guys next to us Plump, Peter, and big John had what we called the honeymoon suite. It was amazing with a master bed then a kitchen, two bathrooms, and a second bedroom. The biggest room anyone had on the trip hands down. Several of us took time before dinner to explore town with g-money. The coolest part of town was little shops along the beach where vendors sold lots of cool souvenirs. Some people bought stuff here but I thought I would save my money for the market in San Jose which has similar stuff for cheaper. Puerto Viejo is a nice little town but I like to call it “Jamaica Jr.” There was Rastafarian stuff everywhere, and if I were counting on my fingers and toes how many times I was offered drugs I would have ran out in a few hours. My favorite encounter came in a small shop and it involved Bob, Matt, and myself. We were looking at the guys stuff and a huge “piece pipe” caught my eye so I picked it up. He said it cost 45 dollars but for us it would be 35…this is what all the vendors do to make tourists feel special…he then proceeded to tell me he had the best weed to. Then he also offered us cocaine. Then Bob in all his infinite wisdom told the man that his hats were stupid. This is a bit of an exaggeration. Bob actually said the hats would look stupid on us because we were white, but in any case I felt it was the wrong thing to say at the time. We left shortly after that and never returned to that shop. We had a so so dinner at a place in town and did some more shopping then it was time to check out the night life. We all hung out in the honey moon suite for a bit playing games and watching bad music videos then we made our way to a karaoke bar. We sang some song from a limited selection and had a few drinks then we decided to find a good reggae bar. We never found the one we were looking for but in our search we heard loud base and followed it to club roots. This was a typical bar that played lots of techno, rap, and local music and it was very fun. Once again every time someone went to the bathroom we had to fight off the drug dealers. We all some great fun drinking, dancing, and watching the late night entertainment and also watching people light every time the fog machine turned on. I have never seen so many people smoking weed in public before. One really cool thing is that the bar was on the water so some of us hung out by the water for a while. It was really cool when the lightning in the distance lit up the whole sky…even though Stephanie never seemed to see it despite me telling here when and where to look several times. We made our way back to the hotel in waves and pretty much everyone was asleep by 3 or 4 and we had some fun taking picture of certain people in their various states.
The next morning we had some serious breakfast before we left for the other place we were staying Manzanillo (spelling?). This place was amazing. The resort we stayed at was called Las Palmas and it was the best place yet hands down. I stayed with Marty and Bob again and our room was awesome. The shower was huge, we each had our own big bed, the t.v. which we rarely used was nice, and basically you had to see it to believe it. Las Palmas had a really nice pool which we utilized to the fullest and a solid beach which we also use quite a bit. The food here was amazing and everyone had an amazing time there.
Right when we got there we all hit the beach. It took a while to get everyone in the water but it happened eventually. Some people played Frisbee or swam around for a while others were hanging out on the beach then some of us took off down the beach looking for the big waves, and we found them pretty quickly. After a good body surfing session we headed back to find some people swimming and others playing volleyball so a few people decided to check out the pool. I realized how much more I like fresh water than salt water at this point. We had an amazing dinner then me and Bob rounded up a nap crew to take a nap in our room. I think there were around 9 people at one point in the nap session. We woke up to find that everyone else was doing the same thing. I myself never got a nap because I was watching the movie. We played some cards, had some drinks, and swam for the rest of the evening. Peter, Bob, JC, and myself had the longest game of hearts ever and after that Bob, Diane, Steph, and I decided it was time for night swimming in the sea. That lasted for about 10 minutes when Peter said this is when the sharks were out and we were all knocked over by a wave. We hit the pool after that. We had a fun time swimming and I tried to get everyone to stay up all night to watch the sun rise with me which was an idea many people had been throwing around. No one felt like it so we decided to play a few card games then nap and get up for the sunrise. While we were playing cards P.J. and Evan found their way to where we were because apparently everyone else was asleep. This is when the idea of staying up was brought up again and one way or another me and P.J. got them all to commit. Evan, P.J, me, Bob, Steph, Heidi, and Diane was the late night crew. We hit the beach and decided we had to do something or all of us were going to fall asleep. We played some fun games that never get old even though I usually reserve them for high schoolers and girls but they were fun none the less. We had a ton of fun that night but it was cloudy in the morning. We had a long debate over whether the sun was up or not in the morning. We are pretty sure now that the sun came up around 430 or sometime close to that and P.J. and myself were trying to convince the group that it still was not up at 515. Some of the highlights of the night were Evan falling asleep mid sentence, Evan trying to use the bathroom in the ocean (it would not let him), Bob and P.J. posing on the log, shots at four in the morning, and the hole that P.J. dug with one foot all night that no one saw until morning. Everyone went to bed at different times. P.J. was third to last but Steph and I did not get any sleep except a twenty minute nap until the next night. We were up all night and pretty much all day. The next day we did more of the same. Pool, cards, reading, pictures, beach, food, and some took a trip to town. Around three some of us decided to get a jump start on the night to come. Chase, Morell, Emily, and myself made good friends with the bar tender and after dinner everyone joined us…even g-money. We all had a good time that night but some of us more than others. The nights events included a bon fire, more swimming, beach time, bar time, and JC, Bob, and myself trying to make a wave pool in our huge shower right before bed.
The weekend was amazing and the next morning it was time to head back to San Jose. The ride home went pretty quickly and this is going to be a long week. We have to finish up our final paper, our final presentation, take our final, finish blogging, go shopping for souvenirs, and try to go bungee jumping. Should be an interesting last week.
The next morning we had some serious breakfast before we left for the other place we were staying Manzanillo (spelling?). This place was amazing. The resort we stayed at was called Las Palmas and it was the best place yet hands down. I stayed with Marty and Bob again and our room was awesome. The shower was huge, we each had our own big bed, the t.v. which we rarely used was nice, and basically you had to see it to believe it. Las Palmas had a really nice pool which we utilized to the fullest and a solid beach which we also use quite a bit. The food here was amazing and everyone had an amazing time there.
Right when we got there we all hit the beach. It took a while to get everyone in the water but it happened eventually. Some people played Frisbee or swam around for a while others were hanging out on the beach then some of us took off down the beach looking for the big waves, and we found them pretty quickly. After a good body surfing session we headed back to find some people swimming and others playing volleyball so a few people decided to check out the pool. I realized how much more I like fresh water than salt water at this point. We had an amazing dinner then me and Bob rounded up a nap crew to take a nap in our room. I think there were around 9 people at one point in the nap session. We woke up to find that everyone else was doing the same thing. I myself never got a nap because I was watching the movie. We played some cards, had some drinks, and swam for the rest of the evening. Peter, Bob, JC, and myself had the longest game of hearts ever and after that Bob, Diane, Steph, and I decided it was time for night swimming in the sea. That lasted for about 10 minutes when Peter said this is when the sharks were out and we were all knocked over by a wave. We hit the pool after that. We had a fun time swimming and I tried to get everyone to stay up all night to watch the sun rise with me which was an idea many people had been throwing around. No one felt like it so we decided to play a few card games then nap and get up for the sunrise. While we were playing cards P.J. and Evan found their way to where we were because apparently everyone else was asleep. This is when the idea of staying up was brought up again and one way or another me and P.J. got them all to commit. Evan, P.J, me, Bob, Steph, Heidi, and Diane was the late night crew. We hit the beach and decided we had to do something or all of us were going to fall asleep. We played some fun games that never get old even though I usually reserve them for high schoolers and girls but they were fun none the less. We had a ton of fun that night but it was cloudy in the morning. We had a long debate over whether the sun was up or not in the morning. We are pretty sure now that the sun came up around 430 or sometime close to that and P.J. and myself were trying to convince the group that it still was not up at 515. Some of the highlights of the night were Evan falling asleep mid sentence, Evan trying to use the bathroom in the ocean (it would not let him), Bob and P.J. posing on the log, shots at four in the morning, and the hole that P.J. dug with one foot all night that no one saw until morning. Everyone went to bed at different times. P.J. was third to last but Steph and I did not get any sleep except a twenty minute nap until the next night. We were up all night and pretty much all day. The next day we did more of the same. Pool, cards, reading, pictures, beach, food, and some took a trip to town. Around three some of us decided to get a jump start on the night to come. Chase, Morell, Emily, and myself made good friends with the bar tender and after dinner everyone joined us…even g-money. We all had a good time that night but some of us more than others. The nights events included a bon fire, more swimming, beach time, bar time, and JC, Bob, and myself trying to make a wave pool in our huge shower right before bed.
The weekend was amazing and the next morning it was time to head back to San Jose. The ride home went pretty quickly and this is going to be a long week. We have to finish up our final paper, our final presentation, take our final, finish blogging, go shopping for souvenirs, and try to go bungee jumping. Should be an interesting last week.
Mas Bananas
When we went to the Chiquita banana plantation we learned quite a bit about bananas. They showed us their facilities, and gave us a show about the history of bananas and how bananas are grown and harvested. Although the show was in English it was still entertaining and we had a translator for part of it so we got some good information about bananas in general and Chiquita specifically.
Chiquita has farms in Costa Rica, Panama, Honduras, and Guatemala. Central America is the ideal place to grow bananas because they have the right amount of rainfall and are close to the equator. The guide said that there are around five or six farms in Costa Rica alone she was not sure of the exact number. The farm that we were at she estimated to have around 400 workers and each of them makes at least the Costa Rican minimum wage and most of their employees make 50% over the minimum wage. According to the pamphlet we received at Chiquita the average worker makes around 13 dollars a day with social benefits as well. With Chiquita employing so many people and the banana industry being the second biggest industry in Costa Rica I am left wondering how some people survive off of the salaries they are paid. In its entirety Chiquita employs over 25000 people on over 35000 acres of land.
I noticed that all of the bunches of bananas at every banana plantation we have passed has a bag over them. The bag is to keep the direct sunlight off of the bananas and to keep insects off too. Chiquita used plastic bags that they claim to recycle but I saw several lying at the feet of the banana trees. I am curious as to whether they pick them up later or if some of them are biodegradable which is a possibility but I did not get a chance to ask. I also noticed that most farms we pass have the wires hanging to transport the bananas to the processing plants or areas. I have not gotten to see this device in action except in videos but it looks pretty legit. When the bananas get to the processing area they are checked randomly for imperfections and if they are bad they are sent down the road to be used in baby food and other things of this nature. The bunches that banana farms use are from 4 to 10 bananas on a bunch but we have also seen single bananas being made and apparently these bananas go to high dollar coffee shops and places where people can pay a lot of money for a single banana. It seems to me that it would make much more sense if the shops just bought a bunch of bananas and then sold them separately.
Apparently the banana trees are always growing. They have multiple shoots that grow out of the top and the banana workers pick the healthiest shoot to let grow and cut the other one down so it can grow again stronger and also to not take nutrients from the branch they want the bananas to grow on. There is no substantial trunk of the tree it is just leaves that are wrapped tightly and they are very strong. If a bunch of bananas does get too big the workers tie it up with twine for extra support.
Chiquita is not an organic plantation although they claim to use the safest chemicals and processes available. I am not sure how spraying toxic chemicals that are proven to cause cancer and other health problems is ever safe but they do it the safest way possible. They said that the harshest chemical they use is only sprayed twice a year although some chemicals are used almost daily. The workers that are in harm have so wear safety equipment but that only consists of long sleeves and a mask over the face. As far as banana production goes Chiquita is good for the environment because some plantations operate in completely unsustainable ways. Some farms require no safety equipment, do not use safe chemicals, and show no remorse for what they are doing to the environment and the people living around the farm.
Chiquita moves it products using the great white fleet which are huge white boats that were initiated right before the turn of the 20th century. Costa Rican bananas go to Europe, Central America, North America, and virtually all over the world. It is also interesting to note that the average American eats 25 pounds of bananas a year. I come in way under this figure but I know people that eat bananas every day so I definitely believe this stat.
The bottom line is there are lots of bananas being produced in this country and lots of people eating bananas all over the world. If bananas stop being demanded this country would be in some serious trouble but that will not happen any time soon if ever.
Chiquita has farms in Costa Rica, Panama, Honduras, and Guatemala. Central America is the ideal place to grow bananas because they have the right amount of rainfall and are close to the equator. The guide said that there are around five or six farms in Costa Rica alone she was not sure of the exact number. The farm that we were at she estimated to have around 400 workers and each of them makes at least the Costa Rican minimum wage and most of their employees make 50% over the minimum wage. According to the pamphlet we received at Chiquita the average worker makes around 13 dollars a day with social benefits as well. With Chiquita employing so many people and the banana industry being the second biggest industry in Costa Rica I am left wondering how some people survive off of the salaries they are paid. In its entirety Chiquita employs over 25000 people on over 35000 acres of land.
I noticed that all of the bunches of bananas at every banana plantation we have passed has a bag over them. The bag is to keep the direct sunlight off of the bananas and to keep insects off too. Chiquita used plastic bags that they claim to recycle but I saw several lying at the feet of the banana trees. I am curious as to whether they pick them up later or if some of them are biodegradable which is a possibility but I did not get a chance to ask. I also noticed that most farms we pass have the wires hanging to transport the bananas to the processing plants or areas. I have not gotten to see this device in action except in videos but it looks pretty legit. When the bananas get to the processing area they are checked randomly for imperfections and if they are bad they are sent down the road to be used in baby food and other things of this nature. The bunches that banana farms use are from 4 to 10 bananas on a bunch but we have also seen single bananas being made and apparently these bananas go to high dollar coffee shops and places where people can pay a lot of money for a single banana. It seems to me that it would make much more sense if the shops just bought a bunch of bananas and then sold them separately.
Apparently the banana trees are always growing. They have multiple shoots that grow out of the top and the banana workers pick the healthiest shoot to let grow and cut the other one down so it can grow again stronger and also to not take nutrients from the branch they want the bananas to grow on. There is no substantial trunk of the tree it is just leaves that are wrapped tightly and they are very strong. If a bunch of bananas does get too big the workers tie it up with twine for extra support.
Chiquita is not an organic plantation although they claim to use the safest chemicals and processes available. I am not sure how spraying toxic chemicals that are proven to cause cancer and other health problems is ever safe but they do it the safest way possible. They said that the harshest chemical they use is only sprayed twice a year although some chemicals are used almost daily. The workers that are in harm have so wear safety equipment but that only consists of long sleeves and a mask over the face. As far as banana production goes Chiquita is good for the environment because some plantations operate in completely unsustainable ways. Some farms require no safety equipment, do not use safe chemicals, and show no remorse for what they are doing to the environment and the people living around the farm.
Chiquita moves it products using the great white fleet which are huge white boats that were initiated right before the turn of the 20th century. Costa Rican bananas go to Europe, Central America, North America, and virtually all over the world. It is also interesting to note that the average American eats 25 pounds of bananas a year. I come in way under this figure but I know people that eat bananas every day so I definitely believe this stat.
The bottom line is there are lots of bananas being produced in this country and lots of people eating bananas all over the world. If bananas stop being demanded this country would be in some serious trouble but that will not happen any time soon if ever.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Brief Coffee Thoughts
Coffee is consumed religiously here. It is not abnormal to see people with coffee at any time of the day. It is served with breakfast and offered after every meal usually. I still have not developed a taste for coffee and I do not think I ever will even though my host family offers it every day and so do the waiters at every restaraunt.
I have noticed that many of the coffee plants in Costa Rica are grown out in the sun. It is a real rarety to see coffee grown under shade trees and this is supposed to be better for the environmentand and the taste of the coffee. It seems like that is a good enough reason for people to grow it that way so there must be a major downside. It must be a slower process and or more expensive to use shade trees.
I have also noticed that Cafe Britt coffee is everywhere. It is in every shop that we stop in, every tourist place that offers souviners offers Cafe Britt coffee, most restaraunts have it, my host family drinks it, and I even saw a bag at the local bar. They really move quite a bit of coffee and it is obvious that they make profits not only on tourists coming to the farm but also by moving a huge volume of coffee. I can not name any other type of coffee that I have seen but Cafe Britt is everywhere...almost literally.
I have noticed that many of the coffee plants in Costa Rica are grown out in the sun. It is a real rarety to see coffee grown under shade trees and this is supposed to be better for the environmentand and the taste of the coffee. It seems like that is a good enough reason for people to grow it that way so there must be a major downside. It must be a slower process and or more expensive to use shade trees.
I have also noticed that Cafe Britt coffee is everywhere. It is in every shop that we stop in, every tourist place that offers souviners offers Cafe Britt coffee, most restaraunts have it, my host family drinks it, and I even saw a bag at the local bar. They really move quite a bit of coffee and it is obvious that they make profits not only on tourists coming to the farm but also by moving a huge volume of coffee. I can not name any other type of coffee that I have seen but Cafe Britt is everywhere...almost literally.
Puerto Viejo Weekend Part One
The trip to Puerto Viejo is describable only as unreal. Probably the most fun I have had on this trip and that is really not easy to say.
We started off the weekend in the morning by going to a public health care providing company and saw and heard just what goes on in the industry. They work on an all or nothing basis because they have to put their offers to the government in by a certain time and then if the offer is excepted they are stuck in a deal for 5 years if the government so chooses. It seems like a lose-lose but the company we saw seems to be doing really well. They have about 15 employees that do about 1.5 million a year in sales and they have very little inventory at their facility. I got the feeling that they sometimes do not even see the inventory they move because they are a middle man. We learned quite a bit from the lady giving us the presentation and it was not a bad way to spend some class time.
We came back to Veritas for lunch then it was off to La Selva research station. This was a biological research station in the middle of the forest that was right next to a national park. We took a guided hike when we got there and a guided hike in the morning. Some of us opted for the non guided night hike. There was nine of us I believe Chase, Morell, Nate, Stephanie, Evan, Heidi, Diane, Bob and myself. The point was to find a snake which we finally saw two or three days later but the night hike was really quite the experience. We were pretty much all terrified of finding a snake but we wanted to anyway…never happened. Although we did find a stick that looked pretty much exactly like a snake ready to strike hanging from a tree, Diane let us all know when she saw it, here scream probably scared off the rest of the animals. My tradition of having bats fly directly at my face continues as it has now happened three times. The best part of the hike was talking about the hostile natives that were hiding in the trees waiting to attack us, but the girls did not seem to like this topic of conversation. Also we were all viciously attacked by ants almost every minute of the hike.
The next morning we had breakfast and a hike then it was off to Chiquita. We learned how Chiquita is trying to help the environment in a special program they partake in, got a good lunch, then went to see some of their operations. We saw things such as cleaning, selecting, packaging, sorting, and the list goes on. It was really neat to watch the people work and they filled up two trucks of reject bananas virtually right in front of our eyes; apparently these go down the road to be made into things such as baby food. We saw a banana show that included dancing, a history, and loads of information about bananas. Then we thanked the people and it was off to Puerto Viejo.
We started off the weekend in the morning by going to a public health care providing company and saw and heard just what goes on in the industry. They work on an all or nothing basis because they have to put their offers to the government in by a certain time and then if the offer is excepted they are stuck in a deal for 5 years if the government so chooses. It seems like a lose-lose but the company we saw seems to be doing really well. They have about 15 employees that do about 1.5 million a year in sales and they have very little inventory at their facility. I got the feeling that they sometimes do not even see the inventory they move because they are a middle man. We learned quite a bit from the lady giving us the presentation and it was not a bad way to spend some class time.
We came back to Veritas for lunch then it was off to La Selva research station. This was a biological research station in the middle of the forest that was right next to a national park. We took a guided hike when we got there and a guided hike in the morning. Some of us opted for the non guided night hike. There was nine of us I believe Chase, Morell, Nate, Stephanie, Evan, Heidi, Diane, Bob and myself. The point was to find a snake which we finally saw two or three days later but the night hike was really quite the experience. We were pretty much all terrified of finding a snake but we wanted to anyway…never happened. Although we did find a stick that looked pretty much exactly like a snake ready to strike hanging from a tree, Diane let us all know when she saw it, here scream probably scared off the rest of the animals. My tradition of having bats fly directly at my face continues as it has now happened three times. The best part of the hike was talking about the hostile natives that were hiding in the trees waiting to attack us, but the girls did not seem to like this topic of conversation. Also we were all viciously attacked by ants almost every minute of the hike.
The next morning we had breakfast and a hike then it was off to Chiquita. We learned how Chiquita is trying to help the environment in a special program they partake in, got a good lunch, then went to see some of their operations. We saw things such as cleaning, selecting, packaging, sorting, and the list goes on. It was really neat to watch the people work and they filled up two trucks of reject bananas virtually right in front of our eyes; apparently these go down the road to be made into things such as baby food. We saw a banana show that included dancing, a history, and loads of information about bananas. Then we thanked the people and it was off to Puerto Viejo.
Osa Trip
We left for the Osa peninsula Friday at around 6 a.m. I was distraught when I showed up and realized that Ronald was not driving us; in fact we did not even have the same bus. The drive was quite the experience in and of itself. We had an older bus, and the air went out once or twice. Emily did not fell good and we had to stop for her several times. There was a random hole in a road so we had to find a new way which consisted of crossing a questionable bridge. This bridge could barely hold the bus and it was at an impossible angle. We all had to get off the bus and it took about a half hour to get across the bridge. The bus bottomed out and we had to push it eventually to get it out and over the bridge and to complicate the whole issue there was a drunk Tico trying to help out. This dude was insane and im pretty sure he did not speak any kind of language he just rambled on making up complete gibberish. Once we were over the bridge the ride was pretty smooth. However before the bridge we were on a dirt highway. Yeah that’s right a dirt highway. The roads are one thing I will definitely not miss about Costa Rica. This highway made it impossible to sleep so we all watched friends for pretty much the whole trip. When the bus ride was over it was time to get on the boats. It was raining for the first part of the boat ride and I think we were all nervous because last year a boat capsized. We made it in one piece though. The ride was pretty insane especially when we went through this path that was cut through the trees that the boat could barely make it through. I hope someone has a picture of that because once again I did not have my camera. When we got to the end of the river it was out into the ocean for a little ways. This is where the ride got choppy but it did not compare to a later ride we would take. We were picked up when we got off the boat and taken to our living quarters. It was a mile or two up the mountain and we were the first people to ever stay at this place. There were beds inside of tents on raised platforms. It was pretty sweet. I shared a tent with Matt and big John and we shared the platform with P.J. Paul and Chase. It was a fun group for the three day trip. The lodge is where we all stayed most of the time and this place was beautiful. All the meals there were pretty good except the night we had fish. I did not like anything on the plate so I had a ham sandwich. Fernado, the owner, was such a nice guy. When he first met us he told us never to be hungry. He said if we wanted food just ask….I don’t think he knew what he was getting into. I am pretty sure they did not have enough ham and cheese to last us but we made due by pacing ourselves.
We played a lot of cards at the lodge because there was not much to do in the downtime. We have been playing lots of cards lately. We played a lot of Mafia…which is getting old…, some hearts, crazy eights, rummy, euchre, kemps, and the list goes on and on. As far as kemps goes me and Beth are pretty much the shit and have yet to be beaten in a game. And I did not lose a game of Egyptian rat screw all weekend. 5 for 5 to this point. They tell me Lindsay has some game but we were never at the same table. The night life at the Osa was pretty much us at the bar in the lodge staying up late into the night hanging out and playing cards. On the last night we had what I would classify as a pseudo-party and some of the locals stopped by. This is where we met Dave who I have mentioned in a previous blog. We had some pretty good times at night but then again we always do. G-money even played some games and stayed up for a while on this trip.
The first day we woke up early and had hiking pretty much all day. It was raining nice out and we walked down the mountain to the boats and went to a national park. We started out taking a morning hike through the jungle. My group was Chase, Matt, Heidi, Abby, Bob, Peter, Diane and sorry if I missed anyone else. We saw some pretty cool stuff including spiders, bugs, scarlet macaws, monkeys, lots of other animals of the jungle, a jaguars footprint and a half eaten otter. That was pretty sick. We had to cross the ocean/river when the tide came up and there was a half eaten otter floating in the ocean. The best part of the morning hike was the fresh water pool that we got to swim it. Hard to explain if you were not there but it was really fun and relaxing and it was a nice break from hiking.
We went back to the beach for lunch which was basically brown bagging it with some fruit, sandwiches, and pasta then we relaxed on the beach for a while. Then we took a second hike to a small water fall. The water fall was small compared to La Fortuna but it was nice to sit in and swim and it was small enough to jump off of. It was really fun and a good way to end the afternoon. Then it was pack to the boats, back to the tents, and back to the cards.
The next morning we went snorkeling. Very cool. It was my first time and I did not know what to expect. At the Osa we were about 10-20 feet above the bottom the whole time and we could dive down to the reef if we wanted to. We had to keep lifejackets with us and it was a pain to go back and get it if you went under. The flippers were too small for pretty much everyone and my feet kept cramping up that is probably also from the lack of drinking water in this country. Snorkeling was really cool for me because it was my first time but other people thought it was not that good if they have been snorkeling before. The boat ride to the island was ridiculous. It was pouring when we started and the ocean was really choppy. It took over an hour to get there because we were crawling through the ocean. The waves were huge to the captain had to go slow and at times I am pretty sure we were going backwards. The ride back was really cool because we saw brown boobies. For those who don’t know these birds usually follow dolphins around the ocean. We got to see a few white spotted dolphins which I have always wanted to see. I really wanted to jump in and see them under water but we did not have our equipment anymore. The ride back was much faster and then it was back to the lodge, the cards, and a good time that night.
The next morning it was time to leave. We got up kind of early and headed down the mountain, and up the river. It was sunny and the ride was really nice and smooth. We saw a crocodile which is becoming pretty routine around here which is not something I expected to see at all in Costa Rica. The bus ride back was more of the same and once again there was not much down time in San Jose until we loaded up on the bus and left again for another trip which was one of the best yet.
Quote of the trip would have to be
"we have a bathroom up there"
if you know who siad it and why they said it this will be hilarious and if you have no clue....ask
We played a lot of cards at the lodge because there was not much to do in the downtime. We have been playing lots of cards lately. We played a lot of Mafia…which is getting old…, some hearts, crazy eights, rummy, euchre, kemps, and the list goes on and on. As far as kemps goes me and Beth are pretty much the shit and have yet to be beaten in a game. And I did not lose a game of Egyptian rat screw all weekend. 5 for 5 to this point. They tell me Lindsay has some game but we were never at the same table. The night life at the Osa was pretty much us at the bar in the lodge staying up late into the night hanging out and playing cards. On the last night we had what I would classify as a pseudo-party and some of the locals stopped by. This is where we met Dave who I have mentioned in a previous blog. We had some pretty good times at night but then again we always do. G-money even played some games and stayed up for a while on this trip.
The first day we woke up early and had hiking pretty much all day. It was raining nice out and we walked down the mountain to the boats and went to a national park. We started out taking a morning hike through the jungle. My group was Chase, Matt, Heidi, Abby, Bob, Peter, Diane and sorry if I missed anyone else. We saw some pretty cool stuff including spiders, bugs, scarlet macaws, monkeys, lots of other animals of the jungle, a jaguars footprint and a half eaten otter. That was pretty sick. We had to cross the ocean/river when the tide came up and there was a half eaten otter floating in the ocean. The best part of the morning hike was the fresh water pool that we got to swim it. Hard to explain if you were not there but it was really fun and relaxing and it was a nice break from hiking.
We went back to the beach for lunch which was basically brown bagging it with some fruit, sandwiches, and pasta then we relaxed on the beach for a while. Then we took a second hike to a small water fall. The water fall was small compared to La Fortuna but it was nice to sit in and swim and it was small enough to jump off of. It was really fun and a good way to end the afternoon. Then it was pack to the boats, back to the tents, and back to the cards.
The next morning we went snorkeling. Very cool. It was my first time and I did not know what to expect. At the Osa we were about 10-20 feet above the bottom the whole time and we could dive down to the reef if we wanted to. We had to keep lifejackets with us and it was a pain to go back and get it if you went under. The flippers were too small for pretty much everyone and my feet kept cramping up that is probably also from the lack of drinking water in this country. Snorkeling was really cool for me because it was my first time but other people thought it was not that good if they have been snorkeling before. The boat ride to the island was ridiculous. It was pouring when we started and the ocean was really choppy. It took over an hour to get there because we were crawling through the ocean. The waves were huge to the captain had to go slow and at times I am pretty sure we were going backwards. The ride back was really cool because we saw brown boobies. For those who don’t know these birds usually follow dolphins around the ocean. We got to see a few white spotted dolphins which I have always wanted to see. I really wanted to jump in and see them under water but we did not have our equipment anymore. The ride back was much faster and then it was back to the lodge, the cards, and a good time that night.
The next morning it was time to leave. We got up kind of early and headed down the mountain, and up the river. It was sunny and the ride was really nice and smooth. We saw a crocodile which is becoming pretty routine around here which is not something I expected to see at all in Costa Rica. The bus ride back was more of the same and once again there was not much down time in San Jose until we loaded up on the bus and left again for another trip which was one of the best yet.
Quote of the trip would have to be
"we have a bathroom up there"
if you know who siad it and why they said it this will be hilarious and if you have no clue....ask
White Water Rafting
After the trip to Manuel Antonio there was not much down time as always; on Thursday it was off to the river for some white water rafting. This was once again the experience of a lifetime. I had never been rafting before and was not really nervous until we hit the first rapid. Luckily it was a small one and it was not too rough but our boat did get stuck briefly and had to paddle back into the rapid and almost flipped. That was the most trouble we had all day. After a while I got used to rafting and hitting the rapids and it was one of the coolest things I have ever done. I know that there is rafting in the United States but not like this. The scenery was amazing. This country is truly beautiful and pictures do the landscape no justice whatsoever. The rafting trip offered some of the most beautiful landscape I have seen since we arrived in Costa Rica and that is really saying something. I am disappointed that I did not have my camera for the trip but I will never forget it. It seems that I always find myself without my camera when I really want it.
P.J. and I sat in the front of the boat, then Matt and Heidi were behind us and Steph sat in the back with some guy that we did not know, but he was not there for long. He switched boats after two boat flipped; we picked up one lady was terrified and stopped paddling so she just sat in our boat until the lunch break. Our tour guides name was Ricky and he was awesome. We went on class four rapids which were kind of weak in my mind but they were really fun though. I would not mind checking out some class fives at some point in the not too distant future. Our raft was awesome and no one fell out all day….o wait someone ruined that for us….no names here Laser :) We had a really good lunch about halfway through the trip with tortillas and sandwich meat, fruit, salad, chips…..it really hit the spot. The only bad part about the trip was the sunburn. I was really good about putting sunscreen on before the trip but completely forgot the knee and lower thigh. It was pretty burnt and still has a little color today.
Some of the other boats had people falling out all the time. Once again not to name names but apparently abs do not keep you in a raft…I think we all know who I am referring to. I did feel bad for Paul because he fell out once and got trapped between the boat and a rock, he was fine though. No one got hurt on the trip other than some bumps and bruises which is a plus.
The white water rafting was really fun and a great experience, as is everything on this trip, and I hope to go again soon.
P.J. and I sat in the front of the boat, then Matt and Heidi were behind us and Steph sat in the back with some guy that we did not know, but he was not there for long. He switched boats after two boat flipped; we picked up one lady was terrified and stopped paddling so she just sat in our boat until the lunch break. Our tour guides name was Ricky and he was awesome. We went on class four rapids which were kind of weak in my mind but they were really fun though. I would not mind checking out some class fives at some point in the not too distant future. Our raft was awesome and no one fell out all day….o wait someone ruined that for us….no names here Laser :) We had a really good lunch about halfway through the trip with tortillas and sandwich meat, fruit, salad, chips…..it really hit the spot. The only bad part about the trip was the sunburn. I was really good about putting sunscreen on before the trip but completely forgot the knee and lower thigh. It was pretty burnt and still has a little color today.
Some of the other boats had people falling out all the time. Once again not to name names but apparently abs do not keep you in a raft…I think we all know who I am referring to. I did feel bad for Paul because he fell out once and got trapped between the boat and a rock, he was fine though. No one got hurt on the trip other than some bumps and bruises which is a plus.
The white water rafting was really fun and a great experience, as is everything on this trip, and I hope to go again soon.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Tourists of Costa Rica
In 2007 around 1.9 million tourists visited Costa Rica raising the the number of tourists from 2006 by around 12%.
What draws people to Costa Rica? The beauty of the country is probably the main attraction. There are many varieties of landscape in the country and many activities to partake in no matter where in the country a person is visiting. The rainforest and the beaches are the main attractions but there are also other varieties of forests such as cloud forests, volcanoes, lakes, swamps, rolling hills, mountains, and the list continues as you might imagine from one of the most ecologically diverse countries on the planet. The virtually endless activities include but are definitely not limited to hiking, camping, boating, snorkeling, horseback riding, sightseeing, bird watching, touring the forests, laying on the beach, white water rafting, and the list continue. It is hard to believe that such a small country has tourism as its main revenue generator.
As a personal note to anyone who is planning on visiting Costa Rica I would suggest that they spend as little time in San Jose as possible. It is interesting for a day or maybe a week but after that it is just another city which has people waiting to take advantage of tourists whether it be the cops trying to make a quick buck, or a robber looking to do the same. My roommate Nestor has been robbed multiple times in his short time here, and the other night Matt, Nestor, and I had to stand around with the cops for about an hour because they wanted a bribe but we were lucky enough to talk our way out of the situation. Once outside the city, I am convinced that Costa Rica is one of the most beautiful places in the world. Once tourists get used to the rain, this country is amazing.
The typical Costa Rican meal consists of rice, beans, salad, and either fish, chicken, or carne (beef usually but sometimes steak). For some people the food takes some getting used to and some people like it right away. Luckily I am of the latter variety plus my meals do vary due to my host family trying to accommodate the students that they provide housing for. Before coming to Costa Rica I was a picky eater but I find myself eating anything that is put in front of me. i.e. I ate fish for pretty much the first time in my life tonight and it was not too bad. One thing that is hard to get used to is the lack of water. This seems like a paradox since it rains daily even in the dry season, but meals are rarely served with water unless you ask for it, there are no water fountains anywhere, and in certain places outside of the city it is really hard to obtain water at all.
Another thing tourists should be prepared for is the poor transportation. First off, especially in the city, there is always an abundance of traffic. Traffic jams are not uncommon all day as I have found out through personal experience. The drivers here is Costa Rica are terrible especially the cab drivers. The roads are in horrible condition and often times outside of the city there is not even blacktop, just dirt or gravel (on our last trip we traveled on a ¨highway¨ that was worse than any dirt road you would find in the U.S.). Some bridges are nonexistent, and the ones that are still up are in terrible condition and usually one lane. There is nothing worse than looking out of the bus window and seeing loose wooden planks and the tires of the bus sticking off the edge by an inch on both sides. There are no addresses so taxis can’t even take you where you need to go sometimes. There are some taxis that are not properly licensed so tourists should always look for the red cabs with yellow triangles on them. There is lots of pollution due to cars, especially in San Jose. The drivers do not yield to pedestrians which is very hard to get used too. People can park pretty much anywhere no matter which way their car is pointing or if they feel like parking on the sidewalk. I have yet to see a traffic cop doing anything but standing around.
One final thing that tourists should be ready for is Tico Time. Everything in Costa Rica is laid back and nothing is ever done efficiently and for that matter things are rarely done on time. Meal service is slow, and don’t tip because 23% is included in the bill, tourists should never expect transportation to be timely, tourists should never expect to arrive anywhere on time because of the traffic, and many more things of this nature. This is a really chill country. One of the most surreal moments of the trip and maybe my life came to me this past weekend when I was sitting in a lodge in the middle of the rainforest at night sipping a drink with two people that I consider very good friends of mine that I met about two weeks ago. This trip to Costa Rica is one of the best experiences of my life hands down and I attribute that to the relaxed atmosphere everywhere on top of the beauty of the country and the activities we have been doing.
Despite some minor problems with crime in the cities, daily rain fall, and terrible roads, Costa Rica is absolutely the coolest, most fun, and most beautiful country I have ever been to. I hope to come back again at some point in my life after this trip is over. I do miss some things in the United States and I will be happy to be home but I feel that after about three days in the U.S. I will be wishing I were back in Costa Rica.
As a final personal thought about entrepreneurship in Costa Rica, it seems that tourism would be the only place to cash in. The local markets are pretty much run by the locals and I dont see how anyone could come in and open a small business unless they had help getting the word out about their business (this is part of what Cinde, a company we visited, did), but with the rising level of tourism, there are many opportunities. People need places to stay and there is lots of land available. People need things to do because there are limitations on how many tourists each company can accomodate. It seems like it would be easy to start a business for tourists whether is be a hotel or a company specializing in a tourist attraction. Take Dave, a man from Miami Florida that we met at the lodge this past week, he came down to Costa Rica to start a small business 5 years ago and now he owns a sushi bar, a tattoo parlor, and a atv touring company. He seems to be doing pretty well for coming down here with vertually nothing...although I get the feeling he also had some elicit business going on too. I guess my point is tourism is huge in Costa Rica and is only going to continue to grow...just something to think about.
What draws people to Costa Rica? The beauty of the country is probably the main attraction. There are many varieties of landscape in the country and many activities to partake in no matter where in the country a person is visiting. The rainforest and the beaches are the main attractions but there are also other varieties of forests such as cloud forests, volcanoes, lakes, swamps, rolling hills, mountains, and the list continues as you might imagine from one of the most ecologically diverse countries on the planet. The virtually endless activities include but are definitely not limited to hiking, camping, boating, snorkeling, horseback riding, sightseeing, bird watching, touring the forests, laying on the beach, white water rafting, and the list continue. It is hard to believe that such a small country has tourism as its main revenue generator.
As a personal note to anyone who is planning on visiting Costa Rica I would suggest that they spend as little time in San Jose as possible. It is interesting for a day or maybe a week but after that it is just another city which has people waiting to take advantage of tourists whether it be the cops trying to make a quick buck, or a robber looking to do the same. My roommate Nestor has been robbed multiple times in his short time here, and the other night Matt, Nestor, and I had to stand around with the cops for about an hour because they wanted a bribe but we were lucky enough to talk our way out of the situation. Once outside the city, I am convinced that Costa Rica is one of the most beautiful places in the world. Once tourists get used to the rain, this country is amazing.
The typical Costa Rican meal consists of rice, beans, salad, and either fish, chicken, or carne (beef usually but sometimes steak). For some people the food takes some getting used to and some people like it right away. Luckily I am of the latter variety plus my meals do vary due to my host family trying to accommodate the students that they provide housing for. Before coming to Costa Rica I was a picky eater but I find myself eating anything that is put in front of me. i.e. I ate fish for pretty much the first time in my life tonight and it was not too bad. One thing that is hard to get used to is the lack of water. This seems like a paradox since it rains daily even in the dry season, but meals are rarely served with water unless you ask for it, there are no water fountains anywhere, and in certain places outside of the city it is really hard to obtain water at all.
Another thing tourists should be prepared for is the poor transportation. First off, especially in the city, there is always an abundance of traffic. Traffic jams are not uncommon all day as I have found out through personal experience. The drivers here is Costa Rica are terrible especially the cab drivers. The roads are in horrible condition and often times outside of the city there is not even blacktop, just dirt or gravel (on our last trip we traveled on a ¨highway¨ that was worse than any dirt road you would find in the U.S.). Some bridges are nonexistent, and the ones that are still up are in terrible condition and usually one lane. There is nothing worse than looking out of the bus window and seeing loose wooden planks and the tires of the bus sticking off the edge by an inch on both sides. There are no addresses so taxis can’t even take you where you need to go sometimes. There are some taxis that are not properly licensed so tourists should always look for the red cabs with yellow triangles on them. There is lots of pollution due to cars, especially in San Jose. The drivers do not yield to pedestrians which is very hard to get used too. People can park pretty much anywhere no matter which way their car is pointing or if they feel like parking on the sidewalk. I have yet to see a traffic cop doing anything but standing around.
One final thing that tourists should be ready for is Tico Time. Everything in Costa Rica is laid back and nothing is ever done efficiently and for that matter things are rarely done on time. Meal service is slow, and don’t tip because 23% is included in the bill, tourists should never expect transportation to be timely, tourists should never expect to arrive anywhere on time because of the traffic, and many more things of this nature. This is a really chill country. One of the most surreal moments of the trip and maybe my life came to me this past weekend when I was sitting in a lodge in the middle of the rainforest at night sipping a drink with two people that I consider very good friends of mine that I met about two weeks ago. This trip to Costa Rica is one of the best experiences of my life hands down and I attribute that to the relaxed atmosphere everywhere on top of the beauty of the country and the activities we have been doing.
Despite some minor problems with crime in the cities, daily rain fall, and terrible roads, Costa Rica is absolutely the coolest, most fun, and most beautiful country I have ever been to. I hope to come back again at some point in my life after this trip is over. I do miss some things in the United States and I will be happy to be home but I feel that after about three days in the U.S. I will be wishing I were back in Costa Rica.
As a final personal thought about entrepreneurship in Costa Rica, it seems that tourism would be the only place to cash in. The local markets are pretty much run by the locals and I dont see how anyone could come in and open a small business unless they had help getting the word out about their business (this is part of what Cinde, a company we visited, did), but with the rising level of tourism, there are many opportunities. People need places to stay and there is lots of land available. People need things to do because there are limitations on how many tourists each company can accomodate. It seems like it would be easy to start a business for tourists whether is be a hotel or a company specializing in a tourist attraction. Take Dave, a man from Miami Florida that we met at the lodge this past week, he came down to Costa Rica to start a small business 5 years ago and now he owns a sushi bar, a tattoo parlor, and a atv touring company. He seems to be doing pretty well for coming down here with vertually nothing...although I get the feeling he also had some elicit business going on too. I guess my point is tourism is huge in Costa Rica and is only going to continue to grow...just something to think about.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Ecotourism
Tourism and ecotourism are not the same thing although some people do use them interchangeably. I would say tourism is traveling for leisure or pleasure where as ecotourism is tourism that puts emphasis on the plants, animals and the environment in general. I would classify most of what we are doing as ecotourism, but I will give several examples of both varieties from the trip.
First I will start with some simple tourism we have taken part in. We have taken several walking tours of San Jose which I have mentioned before, we went to some tourist sites like the volcano, the waterfall, and Monte Verde all of which some people utilize as tourist attractions, but some like us utilize as ecotourism opportunities, and most recently we went to the beach which was strictly for pleasure, although some people took part in a nature hike which would be ecotourism.
I would like to focus on Monte Verde for a minute. Some people go there to view the forest, and maybe see some animals if they are lucky, and take part in tourist activities like 4-wheeler tours, or canopy tours. We focused on some ecotourism aspects though. On our walking tour it took my group about two hours to walk less than a mile. This was because the guide was telling us lots of information about the forest and its history plus we were stopping to look close at bugs, trees, flowers, and many other parts of the flora and fauna of the cloud forest. Some people (tourists) would be satisfied with walking through the forest and seeing nothing and if they did this our hike would have taken about 10 or 15 minutes.
I would also like to revisit the coffee plantations for a minute. Café Britt was a tourist attraction for sure. We saw very little land where they grow coffee, and we were rushed through one field and their processing and packaging plant to go see a play about coffee. It was educational but it was a tourist’s experience. At De Café Tal Daisy’s outfit, we hiked up and down the mountain to get to here location seeing many nice views and walking by or through many of her fields to get to her small mill and drying station. We got to ask her questions about her past experience and how she got to where she is today. I would call this more of an ecotourist opportunity because we got to interact with not only the owner but also the environment. I should mention that part of ecotourism is helping to sustain the environment and Daisy is not really doing all she could in that aspect because she is a traditional farmer not an organic farmer. Café Britt says they are all organic but they buy from many farmers and show the tourists very little of their operation so who is to say if they are being sustainable or not.
My point for this blog was obviously that tourism and ecotourism are not the same thing. Being that we are here to learn about sustainability it seems that we should be doing as much ecotourism as possible…and I think we are doing quite a bit. We are learning loads about the environment everywhere we go and it is a great experience. One example I will give is that I would have originally thought that coffee was bad for the soil because they never rotate crops and use the plant over and over. In actuality this might happen back in Ohio but here especially in the mountains the soil is very rich with nutrients so there coffee farmers can just keeps producing coffee without hurting the environment too much.
I think we will change gears when we go to see how bananas are produced. For example according to travbuddy.com about 1/3 of banana production cost goes to pesticides. This cannot be good for the environment at all. First the bugs obviously die. Then some other organisms are hurt from consuming the pesticides, some animal’s food is gone because the bugs die, and the chemicals can run into the water and hurt us. These are just a few things that are bad about pesticides there are many more consequences from dumping pesticides all over the ground and plants. Bananas represent a large portion of the income in Costa Rica because they are mass produced; they all have chemicals to help keep the bugs away so the environment must be paying a hefty toll.
I assume I will learn a great deal about bananas in the coming weeks when we visit the banana plantations and will be able to go into more detail about the sustainability of bananas. It will be interesting to compare and contrast bananas and coffee after we visit the banana plantations.
First I will start with some simple tourism we have taken part in. We have taken several walking tours of San Jose which I have mentioned before, we went to some tourist sites like the volcano, the waterfall, and Monte Verde all of which some people utilize as tourist attractions, but some like us utilize as ecotourism opportunities, and most recently we went to the beach which was strictly for pleasure, although some people took part in a nature hike which would be ecotourism.
I would like to focus on Monte Verde for a minute. Some people go there to view the forest, and maybe see some animals if they are lucky, and take part in tourist activities like 4-wheeler tours, or canopy tours. We focused on some ecotourism aspects though. On our walking tour it took my group about two hours to walk less than a mile. This was because the guide was telling us lots of information about the forest and its history plus we were stopping to look close at bugs, trees, flowers, and many other parts of the flora and fauna of the cloud forest. Some people (tourists) would be satisfied with walking through the forest and seeing nothing and if they did this our hike would have taken about 10 or 15 minutes.
I would also like to revisit the coffee plantations for a minute. Café Britt was a tourist attraction for sure. We saw very little land where they grow coffee, and we were rushed through one field and their processing and packaging plant to go see a play about coffee. It was educational but it was a tourist’s experience. At De Café Tal Daisy’s outfit, we hiked up and down the mountain to get to here location seeing many nice views and walking by or through many of her fields to get to her small mill and drying station. We got to ask her questions about her past experience and how she got to where she is today. I would call this more of an ecotourist opportunity because we got to interact with not only the owner but also the environment. I should mention that part of ecotourism is helping to sustain the environment and Daisy is not really doing all she could in that aspect because she is a traditional farmer not an organic farmer. Café Britt says they are all organic but they buy from many farmers and show the tourists very little of their operation so who is to say if they are being sustainable or not.
My point for this blog was obviously that tourism and ecotourism are not the same thing. Being that we are here to learn about sustainability it seems that we should be doing as much ecotourism as possible…and I think we are doing quite a bit. We are learning loads about the environment everywhere we go and it is a great experience. One example I will give is that I would have originally thought that coffee was bad for the soil because they never rotate crops and use the plant over and over. In actuality this might happen back in Ohio but here especially in the mountains the soil is very rich with nutrients so there coffee farmers can just keeps producing coffee without hurting the environment too much.
I think we will change gears when we go to see how bananas are produced. For example according to travbuddy.com about 1/3 of banana production cost goes to pesticides. This cannot be good for the environment at all. First the bugs obviously die. Then some other organisms are hurt from consuming the pesticides, some animal’s food is gone because the bugs die, and the chemicals can run into the water and hurt us. These are just a few things that are bad about pesticides there are many more consequences from dumping pesticides all over the ground and plants. Bananas represent a large portion of the income in Costa Rica because they are mass produced; they all have chemicals to help keep the bugs away so the environment must be paying a hefty toll.
I assume I will learn a great deal about bananas in the coming weeks when we visit the banana plantations and will be able to go into more detail about the sustainability of bananas. It will be interesting to compare and contrast bananas and coffee after we visit the banana plantations.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Manuel Antonio
On our free days all 27 of us decided to go to the beach at Manuel Antonio while Glenn and Saul lived it up in Cuba. We took a small bus on a four hour ride once again on some pretty crappy roads. I would like to give a shout out to Ronald our usual bus driver because he always seems to get us around while avoiding the traffic while this weekend we saw San Jose rush hour at its best.
After the bus ride through the mountains we arrived at the hotel. We immediatly headed to town to check it out. Most people ate but a few of us packed sandwiches so Peter, Matt, Paul, Bob and myself hit the water right away. O yeah...it rained for the whole trip but it did not slow us down. The group eating had slow service so we were in the water for about an hour before anyone else got in there. The ocean was amazing. I forgot how magnifisant it looks as i have not been there for many years now, and the water wsa warm. I could do without the salt though. Long story short we all had a blast at the beach in the rain for many hours then we hit up happy hour 2 for 1 on about 5 varieties of drinks. We all had a blast and then ate at the same restaraunt. Chase and I were lucky enough to get on the waiters good side so we each got two free rounds (of two drinks that is). Happy hour was the highlight of the trip for most people i think.
On a side note we have learned to barter. Some of us went to a local market where I will be buying all of my souveniers and bartered for all kinds of stuff.
Back to the weekend, I was able to haggle a 40 dollar box of cigars fdown to $15 dollars so some of us tried a cigar during happy hour. After dinner we all checked out a local dance club slash bar. Some poeople called it a night early and some people stayed out till 2 or 3. I was personally at the hotel around 1230.
The next morning (today) it was still raining so i skipped the nature hike...this was a good call according to the people that went, then we left for home around 230 after lunch.
It was a fun trip but not close to what we have been doing.
We saw our first monkey...sweet.
It never stops raining.
The bus rides are getting old but i could not be having more fun in Costa Rica.
Really quickly the beach was a tourist site for sure. Locals were trying to sell us stuff the minute we got there. All the shops and restaraunts took american currency. The hotels were cheap for tourists ...and everyone i suppose. And i saw very few people that lived at Manuel Antonio most people were from North America I think.
Fun weeks see ya later.
After the bus ride through the mountains we arrived at the hotel. We immediatly headed to town to check it out. Most people ate but a few of us packed sandwiches so Peter, Matt, Paul, Bob and myself hit the water right away. O yeah...it rained for the whole trip but it did not slow us down. The group eating had slow service so we were in the water for about an hour before anyone else got in there. The ocean was amazing. I forgot how magnifisant it looks as i have not been there for many years now, and the water wsa warm. I could do without the salt though. Long story short we all had a blast at the beach in the rain for many hours then we hit up happy hour 2 for 1 on about 5 varieties of drinks. We all had a blast and then ate at the same restaraunt. Chase and I were lucky enough to get on the waiters good side so we each got two free rounds (of two drinks that is). Happy hour was the highlight of the trip for most people i think.
On a side note we have learned to barter. Some of us went to a local market where I will be buying all of my souveniers and bartered for all kinds of stuff.
Back to the weekend, I was able to haggle a 40 dollar box of cigars fdown to $15 dollars so some of us tried a cigar during happy hour. After dinner we all checked out a local dance club slash bar. Some poeople called it a night early and some people stayed out till 2 or 3. I was personally at the hotel around 1230.
The next morning (today) it was still raining so i skipped the nature hike...this was a good call according to the people that went, then we left for home around 230 after lunch.
It was a fun trip but not close to what we have been doing.
We saw our first monkey...sweet.
It never stops raining.
The bus rides are getting old but i could not be having more fun in Costa Rica.
Really quickly the beach was a tourist site for sure. Locals were trying to sell us stuff the minute we got there. All the shops and restaraunts took american currency. The hotels were cheap for tourists ...and everyone i suppose. And i saw very few people that lived at Manuel Antonio most people were from North America I think.
Fun weeks see ya later.
Exporting Coffee
Costa Rica grows a ton of coffee and most of it is for exporting. There are some stats from coffesearch.org below the first number being 60 kg bags harvested and the second being 60 kg bags exported. So it is obvious that coffee is a big deal as far as exports go down here in ticoville.
Costa Rica
Atlantic coast: August-November. Pacific coast: September-December
2,467,000
2,196,000
As mentioned in a previous blog not a lot of the fruit goes into the finished product. According to the same source about 12-20 kg of export ready coffee will be produced from every 100 kg of coffee cherries harvested. That seems like a lot of work to sell coffee especially when lots of the work is done by hand. It really seems to me like coffee harvesters are getting a raw deal even with the Fair Trade Coffee emerging. But then I have also noticed that the standard of living is much lower here in Costa Rica. Not a lot of people are making a lot of money. In 2006 the average income was $12500 and with about 4.4 million legal citizens and with what I have seen, I am lead to believe that this average is very skewed. I think there are a few people making tons of money and lots of people making very little. For example our tour bus that we have for the whole trip costs hundreds of dollars a day (this is hear say but I believe it to be true) and Ronald the driver makes about $20 a day (also hear say that I believe to be true). I do not see how some of the people get by living here and coffee farmers would fall into that group. They do lots of work for little pay and it does not seem right to me.
Costa Rica
Atlantic coast: August-November. Pacific coast: September-December
2,467,000
2,196,000
As mentioned in a previous blog not a lot of the fruit goes into the finished product. According to the same source about 12-20 kg of export ready coffee will be produced from every 100 kg of coffee cherries harvested. That seems like a lot of work to sell coffee especially when lots of the work is done by hand. It really seems to me like coffee harvesters are getting a raw deal even with the Fair Trade Coffee emerging. But then I have also noticed that the standard of living is much lower here in Costa Rica. Not a lot of people are making a lot of money. In 2006 the average income was $12500 and with about 4.4 million legal citizens and with what I have seen, I am lead to believe that this average is very skewed. I think there are a few people making tons of money and lots of people making very little. For example our tour bus that we have for the whole trip costs hundreds of dollars a day (this is hear say but I believe it to be true) and Ronald the driver makes about $20 a day (also hear say that I believe to be true). I do not see how some of the people get by living here and coffee farmers would fall into that group. They do lots of work for little pay and it does not seem right to me.
Monte Verde
So just to write about some stuff I left out…we did go and find the hottest hot spring and it was 152 degrees. It was pretty much unbearable to be in but most of us went in anyway. I started slow and found out that the feet were the worst part. Once you got used to the heat it was not that bad. I fully submerged myself in it and then had to get out. Everyone’s heart was beating so fast when they got out of the hottest one; it kind of made me think it is not good for the body.
When I left off I believe it was time to walk up the mountain. Not fun. I used to hike a lot more and I do not remember a mountain being so steep with such uneven steps. I think it would have been better if there were no steps at all. It was not a fun walk enough said. I think I would have spent 10 dollars for a bottle of water at the top but luckily they were regular price.
After the water fall everyone was beat but we had an evening hike near the volcano. We went to the place that had the best view of the volcano but unluckily the clouds had moved in and we could not see it that night. We could hear it though. It kind of sounded like popcorn popping from where we were. We took a hike to an old lava field and it was pretty unreal. This was our best look at some forest to this point and it was tight but we did not see any animals. The lava field was also cool. There were tons of rocks from the volcano and there is no way to describe it; it is just something you have to see.
We had a free night that night after dinner. We ate at a steak house that did not offer us steak…but it was good food none the less. When we got back to the hotel the power was out so we all legged it to the market for ice cream and other goodies. After the power came back some of us decided to check out a local discoteca….sketchiest place I have ever been to. There was like four people there besides us and one of them was a crazy guy that used to live in Arizona that is a Tico now. He had some negative things to say about the U.S. and some of its citizens and administers and he was just really creepy. We left that place pretty soon after we got there.
The next morning we took off for Monte Verde. The first leg of the trip was by bus. It drove us to the lake where we got on a boat for about an hour. Then we got in four small vans for tourists and traveled on some of the worst roads I have ever seen to Monte Verde. Apparently they like the small town so they keep the roads bad on purpose to keep people from moving there. Good strategy. The ride was miserable to say the least but we got to see some serious views traveling through the mountains and rolling hills. Pictures do not do justice for the things we have seen, this country is beautiful.
We ate at the hotel which could not be more different than the hotel at the volcano; there were 6 – 8 people per room with one bathroom for the guys and one bathroom for the girls at the end of the hall. I do not think anyone showered due to lack of water pressure and the bugs in the bathroom. The food was typical Costa Rican with some sort of meat, rice, fruit, and what Evan likes to call bean paste. We left shortly after for the zip line. UNBELIEVABLE. This was so much fun. There were 14 lines, one repel, and a Tarzan swing. The Tarzan swing was interesting because it was more of a drop straight towards the ground and then a jerky swing and I thought it was going to be one fluid motion. That was one of the coolest things we have done to date, as I said I think that will become a theme for everything we do on the trip, and the last line was about a half mile long. Sometime I could not even see the ground due to the clouds and it was raining so the visibility was even worse.
After the zip line we had dinner at a pizza shop. I think everyone needed that. The pizza was a nice change of pace from what we have been eating. My table had a blast and we do not even know why. Jamie, Chase, Morell, Stephanie, Paul and myself were responsible for one of the best hours I have had on the trip so far you had to be there though. After pizza we had a night hike. Surprise it was raining. My guide was really knowledgeable though so it was fun. We saw some cool bugs and plants and then we went off the trail with him which is a big no no, then we all killed the lights and walked in the pitch dark for a while, then we went to see bats and a tarantula. The hike was a little long and very wet but fun none the less.
Everything is always wet. The rain was cute for a week now it is just a huge hassle to deal with it.
The next morning we went on a morning hike to see birds mostly. I got some awesome pictures of quetzals which are pretty rare but they have a nest for viewing at Monte Verde. I am glad we visited the cloud forest but I think the best forest experiences will come this weekend at the Osa peninsula. Then it was back on the bus for a long ride home after we dropped la professoras at the airport so they could go to Cuba. We all went to the beach with our free days…because we cannot afford another $1000 to go to Cuba…but I will write about that tomorrow.
Hopefully Saul and Glenn make it back from Cuba alright.
I guess we will find out in the morning about the trip.
When I left off I believe it was time to walk up the mountain. Not fun. I used to hike a lot more and I do not remember a mountain being so steep with such uneven steps. I think it would have been better if there were no steps at all. It was not a fun walk enough said. I think I would have spent 10 dollars for a bottle of water at the top but luckily they were regular price.
After the water fall everyone was beat but we had an evening hike near the volcano. We went to the place that had the best view of the volcano but unluckily the clouds had moved in and we could not see it that night. We could hear it though. It kind of sounded like popcorn popping from where we were. We took a hike to an old lava field and it was pretty unreal. This was our best look at some forest to this point and it was tight but we did not see any animals. The lava field was also cool. There were tons of rocks from the volcano and there is no way to describe it; it is just something you have to see.
We had a free night that night after dinner. We ate at a steak house that did not offer us steak…but it was good food none the less. When we got back to the hotel the power was out so we all legged it to the market for ice cream and other goodies. After the power came back some of us decided to check out a local discoteca….sketchiest place I have ever been to. There was like four people there besides us and one of them was a crazy guy that used to live in Arizona that is a Tico now. He had some negative things to say about the U.S. and some of its citizens and administers and he was just really creepy. We left that place pretty soon after we got there.
The next morning we took off for Monte Verde. The first leg of the trip was by bus. It drove us to the lake where we got on a boat for about an hour. Then we got in four small vans for tourists and traveled on some of the worst roads I have ever seen to Monte Verde. Apparently they like the small town so they keep the roads bad on purpose to keep people from moving there. Good strategy. The ride was miserable to say the least but we got to see some serious views traveling through the mountains and rolling hills. Pictures do not do justice for the things we have seen, this country is beautiful.
We ate at the hotel which could not be more different than the hotel at the volcano; there were 6 – 8 people per room with one bathroom for the guys and one bathroom for the girls at the end of the hall. I do not think anyone showered due to lack of water pressure and the bugs in the bathroom. The food was typical Costa Rican with some sort of meat, rice, fruit, and what Evan likes to call bean paste. We left shortly after for the zip line. UNBELIEVABLE. This was so much fun. There were 14 lines, one repel, and a Tarzan swing. The Tarzan swing was interesting because it was more of a drop straight towards the ground and then a jerky swing and I thought it was going to be one fluid motion. That was one of the coolest things we have done to date, as I said I think that will become a theme for everything we do on the trip, and the last line was about a half mile long. Sometime I could not even see the ground due to the clouds and it was raining so the visibility was even worse.
After the zip line we had dinner at a pizza shop. I think everyone needed that. The pizza was a nice change of pace from what we have been eating. My table had a blast and we do not even know why. Jamie, Chase, Morell, Stephanie, Paul and myself were responsible for one of the best hours I have had on the trip so far you had to be there though. After pizza we had a night hike. Surprise it was raining. My guide was really knowledgeable though so it was fun. We saw some cool bugs and plants and then we went off the trail with him which is a big no no, then we all killed the lights and walked in the pitch dark for a while, then we went to see bats and a tarantula. The hike was a little long and very wet but fun none the less.
Everything is always wet. The rain was cute for a week now it is just a huge hassle to deal with it.
The next morning we went on a morning hike to see birds mostly. I got some awesome pictures of quetzals which are pretty rare but they have a nest for viewing at Monte Verde. I am glad we visited the cloud forest but I think the best forest experiences will come this weekend at the Osa peninsula. Then it was back on the bus for a long ride home after we dropped la professoras at the airport so they could go to Cuba. We all went to the beach with our free days…because we cannot afford another $1000 to go to Cuba…but I will write about that tomorrow.
Hopefully Saul and Glenn make it back from Cuba alright.
I guess we will find out in the morning about the trip.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Arenal
So we left Friday for a long weekend full of fun and a little bit of education. We took a pretty long bus ride to the Arenal volcano. I have found that it is physically impossible for me to sleep on a bus or a plane so for most of the trip I listened to my ipod or kibitzed with the people around me. We could see the volcano from pretty far off and the first time Roberto (the tour guide for the weekend) pointed it out I was not terribly impressed but then we kept getting closer and it kept getting bigger. Words cannot describe the view we had of this thing. It is one of the coolest things I have seen in my life.
We got our room assignments and I was put with Marty so he and I got to know each other a little bit better this weekend. The place we stayed was not bad at all, even though there were some little bugs in some peoples room, I think that most people were pretty happy with the place. The beds were pretty nice but not quite as nice as mine at the apartment…some people said they were nicer than their host families so I am starting to like my living arrangement more and more. Shortly after we checked in we put on our bathing suits and went to the Baldi Hot Springs.
This place was amazing. It is a hot spring that is naturally heated by the volcano. Once we got there about half the group went to the highest pool because we were under the impression that that is where the hottest pool would be…this was not the case but we found it later. After the highest spring we all went to the water slide. This thing was rough to say the least. After two turns in the slide, you would catch air and then hit the slide again before the water…and when you did hit the water it was like being punched in the face. I went down it four times and it got worse every time. I smoked my head on the slide the last time and could have had a concussion but I don’t think so, it just hurt really bad. After we stayed at the springs for a few hours we had dinner at the resort…best we have had yet hands down. After the springs we just had a free night so we had a little room party but it was nothing too serious.
The next morning we went to see a hydro-electric plant. This was actually pretty cool. It did take a while to get in because they had lost our email with the plans for the visit so G-money Saul and Roberto had to talk with the people there while we all sat on the bus. Once we got it all straightened out we went to the dam and that was cool but just like any other dam. Then we got inside the plant and saw some things that I have never seen before. We had to wear hard hats the whole time and they probably not sanitary. We got to see two turbines in action and they were spinning really fast but it is hard to believe that these things provide power for most of Costa Rica. I got some descent pictures and videos of the turbines but other than that there was not much to the tour and it was hard to hear the guide so I did not learn as much as I thought I was going too but it was a good experience none the less.
After the hydroelectric plant the real fun started. We headed to La Fortuna water fall but we did not go by bus…he rode horses. These are not the typical horse you would find in North America either. My horses name was Camarillo and it was not the biggest or the fastest but it was fun to ride anyway. We all settled up one at a time and when we went into the arena that we waited in all the horses automatically went to the gate that lead to the field. It was as if they were getting ready for a race and they knew it. We started out kind of slow going up and down hills and though small streams but when the horses got out into the open they could fly and they did. If they were going slow the guides would whip them to make them go faster; of they could just whistle to make them go faster. I did not believe it the first time it happened; Diane, Matt, and myself were riding along and the guide whistled from a couple hundred feet back and all of a sudden our horse took off galloping, it was one of the coolest things I have experiences….this might become a theme for all the stuff we do on this trip.
When we got to the water fall I was amazed. It was beautiful and all I wanted to do was jump in the cool water falling to the bottom…but we had to walk down the mountain first. This was not that bad but I did not take into account how many stairs there were and how steep they were on the way down. I got some sweet pics of the water and then we jumped in. It was unreal. No matter how hard we would swim we could not get close to this thing. We did swim around it and apparently we missed the big sign that said danger, do not go beyond this point. After a nice swim it was time to head up the hill………………getting kicked out of the lab more to come very soon.
We got our room assignments and I was put with Marty so he and I got to know each other a little bit better this weekend. The place we stayed was not bad at all, even though there were some little bugs in some peoples room, I think that most people were pretty happy with the place. The beds were pretty nice but not quite as nice as mine at the apartment…some people said they were nicer than their host families so I am starting to like my living arrangement more and more. Shortly after we checked in we put on our bathing suits and went to the Baldi Hot Springs.
This place was amazing. It is a hot spring that is naturally heated by the volcano. Once we got there about half the group went to the highest pool because we were under the impression that that is where the hottest pool would be…this was not the case but we found it later. After the highest spring we all went to the water slide. This thing was rough to say the least. After two turns in the slide, you would catch air and then hit the slide again before the water…and when you did hit the water it was like being punched in the face. I went down it four times and it got worse every time. I smoked my head on the slide the last time and could have had a concussion but I don’t think so, it just hurt really bad. After we stayed at the springs for a few hours we had dinner at the resort…best we have had yet hands down. After the springs we just had a free night so we had a little room party but it was nothing too serious.
The next morning we went to see a hydro-electric plant. This was actually pretty cool. It did take a while to get in because they had lost our email with the plans for the visit so G-money Saul and Roberto had to talk with the people there while we all sat on the bus. Once we got it all straightened out we went to the dam and that was cool but just like any other dam. Then we got inside the plant and saw some things that I have never seen before. We had to wear hard hats the whole time and they probably not sanitary. We got to see two turbines in action and they were spinning really fast but it is hard to believe that these things provide power for most of Costa Rica. I got some descent pictures and videos of the turbines but other than that there was not much to the tour and it was hard to hear the guide so I did not learn as much as I thought I was going too but it was a good experience none the less.
After the hydroelectric plant the real fun started. We headed to La Fortuna water fall but we did not go by bus…he rode horses. These are not the typical horse you would find in North America either. My horses name was Camarillo and it was not the biggest or the fastest but it was fun to ride anyway. We all settled up one at a time and when we went into the arena that we waited in all the horses automatically went to the gate that lead to the field. It was as if they were getting ready for a race and they knew it. We started out kind of slow going up and down hills and though small streams but when the horses got out into the open they could fly and they did. If they were going slow the guides would whip them to make them go faster; of they could just whistle to make them go faster. I did not believe it the first time it happened; Diane, Matt, and myself were riding along and the guide whistled from a couple hundred feet back and all of a sudden our horse took off galloping, it was one of the coolest things I have experiences….this might become a theme for all the stuff we do on this trip.
When we got to the water fall I was amazed. It was beautiful and all I wanted to do was jump in the cool water falling to the bottom…but we had to walk down the mountain first. This was not that bad but I did not take into account how many stairs there were and how steep they were on the way down. I got some sweet pics of the water and then we jumped in. It was unreal. No matter how hard we would swim we could not get close to this thing. We did swim around it and apparently we missed the big sign that said danger, do not go beyond this point. After a nice swim it was time to head up the hill………………getting kicked out of the lab more to come very soon.
Friday, May 23, 2008
TO THE HOT SPRINGS
We are leaving and will not be back till Tuesday
going to the hot springs and a volcano, and a water fall, and horseback riding, and a cloud forrest
getting kicked out of lab gtg
Brief Bananas
Bananas used to be the greatest revenue generator in Costa Rica but they have recently been overtaken by tourism. In Costa Rica bananas take up over 50000 hectors which is quite a substantial amount of land relative to the size of the country. From personal experience bananas are always available and often served with meals (and if there are no bananas there are usually fried plantains). They can do lots with bananas
i.e. my host family has had juice with banana in it at least once a day since we have been here. My favorite banana so far had a small amount of honey on it or something similar to honey and it was very tasty.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Cafe Britt
Today we went to another coffee company called Café Britt. It was also very fun but very different from the trip to Daisy´s farm yesterday. The purpose of this post will be to compare and contrast the two companies.
I will briefly review La Café Tal (Daisy´s Company). She ran her own farm that took care of every step necessary to create the finished product. She grows her plants, pays 7 workers year round and many more during the picking season to harvest the coffee, she dries the coffee, she has her own small mill, and she packages her coffee all at her farm which was up on the mountain. I get the idea she sells a good amount throughout the year although I am not sure how big her farm was.
Today we went to Café Britt and it was completely different. They are an organic company but they seemed very commercial in the way they conducted business. Where as Daisy just showed us her farm and told us about her personal experiences Café Britt put on a production for us and other tourists. We saw all elements of their processes (or at least what they claim their processes to be). They grow some coffee at the company all under shade trees but they buy lots of coffee from local coffee farms too (this leads me to believe they are not part of the Fair Trade Coffee because they seem like they probably buy coffee cheap, so the farmers do not get much profits unless they have huge farms, and then jack up the price to sell to the consumers). They use the sum to dry the plants some but it looked like they also air dried and used heat to dry their coffee. Then they roast the coffee, grind it, package it, and sell it all from their location.
Café Britt was a tourist attraction too and it was easy to tell. They have a walking tour for tourists and locals if they can afford it. The tour starts by walking through a small amount of coffee plants, then they showed how to pick them, then how they are processed to the final product. I believe the man said a basket weighing 25 pounds would yield three cups or three packages of coffee. Most of the plant is not used I believe they use less than 20% of the ¨fruit¨ and the rest is waste but I´m sure it can be used for other things like fertilizer or something. The roaster made the building where it was located very hot and it did not seem like a desirable place for the packagers to work but it made for an interesting tour and I have a pretty cool video of the roaster and I believe an air dryer.
At the end of the tour they lead us right to the gift shop but this was not until after the theatrical performance put on by three people. They showed us a history video of where coffee was discovered (Africa) how it made its way to be revealed in France and finally how it came to Costa Rica. Throughout the whole video they would stop it and come out dressed in costumes and act out little skits about what they video was talking about. It was pretty funny. Then they had two people from the audience go to the front and show us how to make a cup, and properly taste it and all sorts of jazz. It was a pretty fun experience but much different than Daisy´s farm. We also had lunch at Café Britt which was good Costa Rican food but the meat was fish…y me no tengo pescada
Just a little I have learned about Café…most of the ¨fruit¨ of the plant is not used as I mentioned before. The crops are never ripe at the same time so they have to be hand picked. They take a few years to fully develop (café brit kept them under special tables to take care of them for a year before they planted them with the rest). A plant is harvested once a year but produces many berries (which have the seed inside). And the plant can produce for about 40 years. Arabica or mountain coffee is the best type of coffee. Since the soil is very fertile the crops do not harm it and they do not have to be rotated like in the United States with our crops.
I enjoyed both trips very much but I think the better experience was Daisy´s farm just because I feel like Café Britt was an artificial tourist attraction but it was still fun and a good learning experience. I have learned a lot about coffee in the past few days from first hand experience and that is a good way to learn. It is nice not to read or be told about coffee but actually to see it first hand.
I will briefly review La Café Tal (Daisy´s Company). She ran her own farm that took care of every step necessary to create the finished product. She grows her plants, pays 7 workers year round and many more during the picking season to harvest the coffee, she dries the coffee, she has her own small mill, and she packages her coffee all at her farm which was up on the mountain. I get the idea she sells a good amount throughout the year although I am not sure how big her farm was.
Today we went to Café Britt and it was completely different. They are an organic company but they seemed very commercial in the way they conducted business. Where as Daisy just showed us her farm and told us about her personal experiences Café Britt put on a production for us and other tourists. We saw all elements of their processes (or at least what they claim their processes to be). They grow some coffee at the company all under shade trees but they buy lots of coffee from local coffee farms too (this leads me to believe they are not part of the Fair Trade Coffee because they seem like they probably buy coffee cheap, so the farmers do not get much profits unless they have huge farms, and then jack up the price to sell to the consumers). They use the sum to dry the plants some but it looked like they also air dried and used heat to dry their coffee. Then they roast the coffee, grind it, package it, and sell it all from their location.
Café Britt was a tourist attraction too and it was easy to tell. They have a walking tour for tourists and locals if they can afford it. The tour starts by walking through a small amount of coffee plants, then they showed how to pick them, then how they are processed to the final product. I believe the man said a basket weighing 25 pounds would yield three cups or three packages of coffee. Most of the plant is not used I believe they use less than 20% of the ¨fruit¨ and the rest is waste but I´m sure it can be used for other things like fertilizer or something. The roaster made the building where it was located very hot and it did not seem like a desirable place for the packagers to work but it made for an interesting tour and I have a pretty cool video of the roaster and I believe an air dryer.
At the end of the tour they lead us right to the gift shop but this was not until after the theatrical performance put on by three people. They showed us a history video of where coffee was discovered (Africa) how it made its way to be revealed in France and finally how it came to Costa Rica. Throughout the whole video they would stop it and come out dressed in costumes and act out little skits about what they video was talking about. It was pretty funny. Then they had two people from the audience go to the front and show us how to make a cup, and properly taste it and all sorts of jazz. It was a pretty fun experience but much different than Daisy´s farm. We also had lunch at Café Britt which was good Costa Rican food but the meat was fish…y me no tengo pescada
Just a little I have learned about Café…most of the ¨fruit¨ of the plant is not used as I mentioned before. The crops are never ripe at the same time so they have to be hand picked. They take a few years to fully develop (café brit kept them under special tables to take care of them for a year before they planted them with the rest). A plant is harvested once a year but produces many berries (which have the seed inside). And the plant can produce for about 40 years. Arabica or mountain coffee is the best type of coffee. Since the soil is very fertile the crops do not harm it and they do not have to be rotated like in the United States with our crops.
I enjoyed both trips very much but I think the better experience was Daisy´s farm just because I feel like Café Britt was an artificial tourist attraction but it was still fun and a good learning experience. I have learned a lot about coffee in the past few days from first hand experience and that is a good way to learn. It is nice not to read or be told about coffee but actually to see it first hand.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Just for fun...
Everyone tells us that San Jose is safe as long as you are smart...but there is a chance we could get robbed at any point i guess.
Nestor was robbed at gun point two nights ago and he lost forty dollars. As a result i have decided never to have over 10,000 colones (20 dollars) with me at any time unless i am on a weekend trip or with the whole group. Also we always travel together in group of at least 2 unless we are just walking home from school...and even then we try to stay together. I am pretty sure the people that rob other people around here never have loaded guns but i imagine it would be terrifying anyway. I think knives are much more common but I am not really worried about being robbed because we are always in a group and Matt and I have decided to always take a cab home because last night (woo Sultans) we took a cab home that was safe, saved us a twenty minute walk, and only cost a dollar.
Ive heard that Costa Rica has a low crime rate....maybe that is because the police never do anything. I have rarely seen a cop doing anything except talking to locals and tourists. I have seen no one pulled over on the road, despite running red lights and things of this nature (the driving is terrible here) and one student from the States told me the cops made him pay 40 dollars because his paper work was not legit even though it was
I guess in short I hope I have no run ins with criminals or the policia
Many people say the country is clean but I personally see more trash here (on the streets and such) than I have ever seen before. It does not seem very clean to me.
Hopefully I can get some pictures up soon when Heidi lets me borrow her cord...thank ya in advanced Heidi
and
Happy birthday Bob
This is a fun place to visit
Tourism is one of the main sources of income for Costa Rica and once your are here it is not hard to see why. The country is beautiful as we got our first real glimpse of the country side today on our trip to the coffee farm and I cannot wait until we get out of San Jose this weekend to see more of the country. San Jose is nice but as I mentioned in a previous post it is not that exciting and could just be another city in the U.S. where everyone speaks spanish and some people speak english.
As far as tourism goes we are obviously getting some first hand experience with it on our trip.
I am not sure if i have mentioned all this before so here is a brief list of what we have done to this point.
We have taken several bus tours of different parts of San Jose
We have taken a walking tour of part of down town San Jose and eaten at a local restaurant ( es muy bien)
We have checked out some of the local bars (Sultans being the best by far so far as it attracts locals and tourists)
We have visited the coffee farm in Alejula
We will be partaking in tourism a lot on this trip so there will be much more to come but for now my basic knowledge is that tourism is a main source of revenue for the country and I am enjoying the tourism to this point.
First Coffee Trip
Today we visited a local coffee farm owned by Daisy Rodriguez in Alejula. This was a very interesting experience. We were supposed to go to another farm called Monte Cristo but for some reason unknown to me we went to Daisys farm instead. It was up on a mountain and the bus could only take us so far so we had to hike up the rest of the mountain and we saw some really nice scenery but I forgot my camera...boo. Apparently this farm produces the best coffee in Costa Rica. I got to taste it but i am not much of a coffee drinker so i do not know if it was good or bad..I assume it was pretty good though based on everyone elses reactions. Due to the fact that she was voted the best coffee in Costa Rica Daisy can sell her coffee for 15 dollars a pound as opposed to the average $1.5 (according to her), on the internet it siad that at one point prices were around 50 cents per pound, so she is doing pretty well. Due to the fact that coffee farmers usually get so little profit ($1.5/pound) a new trend is the Fair Trade Coffee. Some places that offer coffee recently started buying and selling fair trade coffee which is an attempt to give more money back to the coffee farmers instead of the intermediaries and distributors. This was started because coffee is one of the 3 most traded goods in the world and the people producing it get paid very little. According to my resources one big issue with the Fair Trade Coffee is how it is grown. Apparently the best way to grow coffee is to use shade trees which is slower but makes the coffee taste better and is better for the environment. One might think that by providing more money to the farmer the price of coffee would go up...as if it is not high enough already in some places...i think we are all familiar with starbucks, but the prices do not go up because the farmer gets more money but the middlemen are cut out. Daisy previously tried to grow organic coffee but gave it up three years ago because it was not working out. As i said before she is doing pretty well because after her award for the best coffee in Costa Rica people started paying more money for her coffee.
As a side note after the trip we had a survival spanish lesson which helped me a little to remember some spanish.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Pre coffee trip thoughts
From what i understand coffe first came to costa rica from france...i recall that they used to call it the golden bean because it was Costa Ricas main export
according to our guest speaker they main forms of revenue for the country now are ecotourism (which we are partaking in right now), bananas, pineapple, and intel (which i assume is smiconductors or something of that nature)
coffee is no longer one of the main exports of the country and i thik this is because many people around the world can produce it cheaply
i feel that maybe the coffee stays local now and is not a big export but still a large industry in the country for jobs
i am not sure if the harvesting of the coffee bean is bad for the environment but i imagine by the end of the week the answer will be evident to me because we are visiting two coffee companies
more to come later on coffee
pura vida
according to our guest speaker they main forms of revenue for the country now are ecotourism (which we are partaking in right now), bananas, pineapple, and intel (which i assume is smiconductors or something of that nature)
coffee is no longer one of the main exports of the country and i thik this is because many people around the world can produce it cheaply
i feel that maybe the coffee stays local now and is not a big export but still a large industry in the country for jobs
i am not sure if the harvesting of the coffee bean is bad for the environment but i imagine by the end of the week the answer will be evident to me because we are visiting two coffee companies
more to come later on coffee
pura vida
Monday, May 19, 2008
pescadido....good time
we just got back from the local bar that the Miami students hang out at every year and it was a good time. we will be hanging out there a lot i think.
the real reason for this post is it only rained for about an hour today and i would clasify it as a ¨sprinkle¨
i imagine it will pour again tomorrow....we shall see
pura vida amigos
I wanna go home....
just kidding! this is amazing! i have only been here for a few days but i am loving it. The family does not speak any english which is hard to deal with but luckily Nestro a student from venezuela lives with us too and he is a great translater and my roommate speaks some spanish.
Mama Eugenia and Papa Alfredo are very nice people as near as i can tell one of them is a vet or they jsut own a dog grooming shop or pet shop. they have 3 kids ..Maria 14..Alfredo 10 (i think).. and Luiz 2 and a half.....plus four dogs that go to the bathroom at the bottom of the stairs to our apartment every night.
thats right we (matt myself and nestro) have our own 3 bedroom apartment which is tight
alfredo(the kid) trys hard at basketball but is not very good. he was amazed at mine and matts skills in the sport. all we have played is horse and as of now matt is king of the 7 1\2 foot basketball goal but not for long..........he only wins by positioning himself behind alfredo so he gets to the end of the game with no letters.
the native cuziene (sorry no spell check on the spanish computers) is all i expected it to be..............but at the house we do not eat much of it. My homestay food is really americanized We had pancakes for breakfast and cut up hotdogs and mashed potatoes for dinner on our first day. im not complaining it is just not what i expected.
They do not lie about the rain. So far it seems to be all afternoon and into the night sometimes.
And the clothes do not dry after the rain...im glad i do have the wicking and fast drying clothes
The sun rises mucho earlier here in the land of the tico and i found that out the hard way. I woke up at 530 the first morning to a room full of sunshine and looked at my alarm clock only to see 532 and thought for sure that it broke and i was late for the first day of activities but then i found my watch and it said 532 too and i was dumbfounded by the early sunrise...........then i went back to bed for 2 hours
The frist day we took a tour of san jose and i wish i had a bigger memory card for my camera hopefully i can find one here so i can take many more pictures the 600. the city is different than what i am used to and it hit me walking through san jose that i am actually in a different country but just a little. i could easily mistake san jose for a city in the U.S. that i have never been to....but i feel that once we get out of san jose this weekend it will really hit me
the group is really fun. i like everyone so far and know pretty much every one pretty well know.we are going to be a tight knit group by the end of the trip and when we go back we will propabaly all be good friends. we had a good time at one of the local bars last night and we plan to find another tonight
class starts tomorrow officially...we went to a business today that i will write about at a later time because now i am going home to start readign before dinner and a good time tonight.......until next time
Mama Eugenia and Papa Alfredo are very nice people as near as i can tell one of them is a vet or they jsut own a dog grooming shop or pet shop. they have 3 kids ..Maria 14..Alfredo 10 (i think).. and Luiz 2 and a half.....plus four dogs that go to the bathroom at the bottom of the stairs to our apartment every night.
thats right we (matt myself and nestro) have our own 3 bedroom apartment which is tight
alfredo(the kid) trys hard at basketball but is not very good. he was amazed at mine and matts skills in the sport. all we have played is horse and as of now matt is king of the 7 1\2 foot basketball goal but not for long..........he only wins by positioning himself behind alfredo so he gets to the end of the game with no letters.
the native cuziene (sorry no spell check on the spanish computers) is all i expected it to be..............but at the house we do not eat much of it. My homestay food is really americanized We had pancakes for breakfast and cut up hotdogs and mashed potatoes for dinner on our first day. im not complaining it is just not what i expected.
They do not lie about the rain. So far it seems to be all afternoon and into the night sometimes.
And the clothes do not dry after the rain...im glad i do have the wicking and fast drying clothes
The sun rises mucho earlier here in the land of the tico and i found that out the hard way. I woke up at 530 the first morning to a room full of sunshine and looked at my alarm clock only to see 532 and thought for sure that it broke and i was late for the first day of activities but then i found my watch and it said 532 too and i was dumbfounded by the early sunrise...........then i went back to bed for 2 hours
The frist day we took a tour of san jose and i wish i had a bigger memory card for my camera hopefully i can find one here so i can take many more pictures the 600. the city is different than what i am used to and it hit me walking through san jose that i am actually in a different country but just a little. i could easily mistake san jose for a city in the U.S. that i have never been to....but i feel that once we get out of san jose this weekend it will really hit me
the group is really fun. i like everyone so far and know pretty much every one pretty well know.we are going to be a tight knit group by the end of the trip and when we go back we will propabaly all be good friends. we had a good time at one of the local bars last night and we plan to find another tonight
class starts tomorrow officially...we went to a business today that i will write about at a later time because now i am going home to start readign before dinner and a good time tonight.......until next time
Friday, May 16, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Virgin Blog Voyage
This is my first blog post ever.
I'm going to Costa Rica this summer hopefully i am not attacked by a vicious animal that is 1/1000 my size...like a spider
I'm going to Costa Rica this summer hopefully i am not attacked by a vicious animal that is 1/1000 my size...like a spider
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