I can't believe that I have been here for a full week already! We've been so busy that it doesn't even feel like a week.
Today, we woke up early and had breakfast at 7am. Afterwards, we piled on the van for a ride to Athica Canopy Tours. For this, I decided that a special treat was in order, and strapped Joe's GoPro onto my back and turned the video on. We suited up in the gear and headed out.
It was SO exciting! It took a little getting used to, especially when it came to braking and speeding up, but once I got the hang of it, it was so much fun. The hardest part for me was keeping my body from turning around, especially since we had to keep one (gloved) hand on the line.
It was great being able to zoom through the canopy and seeing all the animals and plants that lived in the area, but not being able to bother them. We were supposed to be there for two hours, but my GoPro said that it was about an hour and seven minutes. The first part was most likely dedicated to rules and safety regulations, and the last part was transporting everyone back to the base.
After, we headed back to La Fortuna, but on the way we stopped to see a large man-made lake. 65% of Costa Rica's electric is hydrologically powered, and this was one of the lakes responsible for helping power the country. Rhyan said that within a decade or so, they hoped to boost the percentage of hydroelectricity to 80 or 85%.
We arrived at our next destination, Don Juan Eco Farm. This is a completely sustainable, eco-friendly, and organic farm located just outside of La Fortuna. We arrived a little bit early, so while they set up, we explored what we could see. There were several ponds and inside them were tilapia fish. I had, up to that point, never seen a tilapia alive and not filleted on my plate. They were interesting little fish. The pools seemed to be organized by size - the smallest fish in one, and the next larger in another pool. It seemed to indicate which fish were ready to be eaten.
This farm is completely sustainable. They use natural plants and herbs for medicine. For example, one of the professors in our group brushed up against a plant that caused vicious itching and hives. The employees at the farm took some leaves off a noni tree and told her to rub the leaves on her skin. Currently, not even twelve hours later, there is no evidence that she even touched the plant. The noni tree bears a fruit that, when mixed in a drink, can help with a variety of sicknesses, including cancer.
The employees also demonstrated a method that natives and people in the past used for putting on makeup or paint for ceremonies or war. They used the seeds from the achiote plant. The seeds had a natural red residue that would remain on the skin. This was a method for women to make their lips appear redder before lipstick was invented.
We were able to smell fresh cilantro and eat bits of mustard leaves pulled directly from the plant. The guide showed us how to harvest yucca, and how they planted the yucca. They merely planted pieces of stick from the plant, and in time, the plant would sprout again and the root would be ready for harvesting in six months or less.
We also visited a small barn. This was dubbed Casa de Chocolate, after the resident dairy cow. She has to be constantly impregnated or have a calf at her side to produce milk. This was probably the only part I didn't like - that she had to have a calf with her, but that was the only issue I had. She looked otherwise very happy and enjoyed pats and scratches from the visitors. We arrived in time to see her get her lunch, and it was vastly different from what cattle in the States get. No evidence of grain was in her feed - it was all vegetable leftovers directly from the kitchen. The employees saved Chocolate's urine and feces and used them as biodigesters and as a method to produce methane gas for cooking.
We then took turns squeezing a stalk of cane sugar into liquor. After sampling the fresh sugary liquor, we got a dash of extremely strong alcohol that was made from the liquor. It was very reminiscent of moonshine and burned all the way down - delicious!
We enjoyed a lunch made by Don Juan's wife - fresh tilapia, yucca chips, rice, some sort of shredded meat, and salad. It was delicious! Even though I'm not a coffee person, I willingly tried a mug of Costa Rican coffee and it was much, much better than American coffee - not bitter at all. Although that might be due to the two spoonfuls of cane sugar that I added, plus a dash of Chocolate's milk.
We returned to the hotel to relax before dinner. Afterwards, a group of us headed to a chocolate shop and bought some delicacies. It was truly yummy! We then watched a few video clips of people telling stories in Lesco, and we had to decipher them and then describe the story in Lesco.
Tomorrow, we head off to the Central Pacific Coast. It'll be my second time seeing the coast (my first time was in San Francisco just a week and half ago!) and my first time dipping my toes in the Pacific ocean.
Pura vida!
Today, we woke up early and had breakfast at 7am. Afterwards, we piled on the van for a ride to Athica Canopy Tours. For this, I decided that a special treat was in order, and strapped Joe's GoPro onto my back and turned the video on. We suited up in the gear and headed out.
It was SO exciting! It took a little getting used to, especially when it came to braking and speeding up, but once I got the hang of it, it was so much fun. The hardest part for me was keeping my body from turning around, especially since we had to keep one (gloved) hand on the line.
It was great being able to zoom through the canopy and seeing all the animals and plants that lived in the area, but not being able to bother them. We were supposed to be there for two hours, but my GoPro said that it was about an hour and seven minutes. The first part was most likely dedicated to rules and safety regulations, and the last part was transporting everyone back to the base.
After, we headed back to La Fortuna, but on the way we stopped to see a large man-made lake. 65% of Costa Rica's electric is hydrologically powered, and this was one of the lakes responsible for helping power the country. Rhyan said that within a decade or so, they hoped to boost the percentage of hydroelectricity to 80 or 85%.
We arrived at our next destination, Don Juan Eco Farm. This is a completely sustainable, eco-friendly, and organic farm located just outside of La Fortuna. We arrived a little bit early, so while they set up, we explored what we could see. There were several ponds and inside them were tilapia fish. I had, up to that point, never seen a tilapia alive and not filleted on my plate. They were interesting little fish. The pools seemed to be organized by size - the smallest fish in one, and the next larger in another pool. It seemed to indicate which fish were ready to be eaten.
This farm is completely sustainable. They use natural plants and herbs for medicine. For example, one of the professors in our group brushed up against a plant that caused vicious itching and hives. The employees at the farm took some leaves off a noni tree and told her to rub the leaves on her skin. Currently, not even twelve hours later, there is no evidence that she even touched the plant. The noni tree bears a fruit that, when mixed in a drink, can help with a variety of sicknesses, including cancer.
The employees also demonstrated a method that natives and people in the past used for putting on makeup or paint for ceremonies or war. They used the seeds from the achiote plant. The seeds had a natural red residue that would remain on the skin. This was a method for women to make their lips appear redder before lipstick was invented.
We were able to smell fresh cilantro and eat bits of mustard leaves pulled directly from the plant. The guide showed us how to harvest yucca, and how they planted the yucca. They merely planted pieces of stick from the plant, and in time, the plant would sprout again and the root would be ready for harvesting in six months or less.
We also visited a small barn. This was dubbed Casa de Chocolate, after the resident dairy cow. She has to be constantly impregnated or have a calf at her side to produce milk. This was probably the only part I didn't like - that she had to have a calf with her, but that was the only issue I had. She looked otherwise very happy and enjoyed pats and scratches from the visitors. We arrived in time to see her get her lunch, and it was vastly different from what cattle in the States get. No evidence of grain was in her feed - it was all vegetable leftovers directly from the kitchen. The employees saved Chocolate's urine and feces and used them as biodigesters and as a method to produce methane gas for cooking.
We then took turns squeezing a stalk of cane sugar into liquor. After sampling the fresh sugary liquor, we got a dash of extremely strong alcohol that was made from the liquor. It was very reminiscent of moonshine and burned all the way down - delicious!
We enjoyed a lunch made by Don Juan's wife - fresh tilapia, yucca chips, rice, some sort of shredded meat, and salad. It was delicious! Even though I'm not a coffee person, I willingly tried a mug of Costa Rican coffee and it was much, much better than American coffee - not bitter at all. Although that might be due to the two spoonfuls of cane sugar that I added, plus a dash of Chocolate's milk.
We returned to the hotel to relax before dinner. Afterwards, a group of us headed to a chocolate shop and bought some delicacies. It was truly yummy! We then watched a few video clips of people telling stories in Lesco, and we had to decipher them and then describe the story in Lesco.
Tomorrow, we head off to the Central Pacific Coast. It'll be my second time seeing the coast (my first time was in San Francisco just a week and half ago!) and my first time dipping my toes in the Pacific ocean.
Pura vida!
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