Dream "Reality" vs. Feet On The Street Reality

"A world become one
Salads and sun
Only a fool would say that."
                                 Donald Fagan

Dreaming of endless travel in exotic lands with sunny beaches and outgoing friendly people is exactly that: dreaming.

It's a really good thing we're not naive travelers.  We're rough and tumble luggage-draggers, with years of experience in Central & South America.

The past 2 weeks we've spent on the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica: Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui, Cahuita, Bribri, and Puerto Viejo de Talamanca.

Yes, the beaches of the Caribbean Coast are lined with fruit-laden coconut palms and the dense jungle full of luscious, exotic plants, fruits and flowers grows right down to the waves washing on the shore.  And within the warm jungle greenery are howler monkeys, geckos, toucans, raucous birds, Jesus lizards, colorful (and sometimes poisonous) frogs.

Our dream has come true: The warm weather never stops, day or night.  But it seems that the rain never stops either.  Most nights involve rain. Sometimes lots of it, often continuing into the mid-morning.  Remember, this is not Seattle drizzle, it's tropical rain.  But it stops at some point in the day, usually remaining densely cloudy the rest of the day.  The dirt roads never completely de-puddle and walking around involves a great deal of muddy pant legs and shoes. It's all part of the dream.

We love the lively Rasta-Caribbean vibe happening here, and the fact that Spanish is not necessary at all.  Long ago English speaking Jamaicans landed on this coast and their descendants still make it their home.  Unfortunately they didn't have a choice.  The Costa Rican government wouldn't let them travel inland - until that policy was reversed around 1950.  However by that time the former Jamaicans didn't  want to leave here.  And around 10 years ago, when the world of tourism found this lazy little corner of the world, living off the fish in the sea and the fruits of the jungle, tourists were fully enchanted with taking a bite of paradise for themselves.

Now the area is FLOODED with tourists from all over the world.  We never know what language to use in initiating a conversation.  Today I heard more German spoken than English, Spanish, or French, the dominant languages.  Interestingly, the version of English that the locals speak is often unintelligible.  I'm told that many of the locals that were here have left for quieter, more peaceful grounds by now.

And it seems that the government has never fully adopted this part of Costa Rica, leaving many cities with dirt streets and neglecting garbage collection for WAY too long.  (It hasn't been picked up for at least 1.5 weeks so far.)

Mosquito nets are standard fare in hotels.  Prices are unthinkably high and unaffordable.  The locals do what they can to earn a living off the tourism, forgetting fishing, gardening, and previous technical skills.  Unlike the rest of Costa Rica, the tap water is NOT drinkable and the lettuce should not be consumed.

This is what's left of paradise.  Though the tourists don't seem to mind.

All this said, we did have a great time, especially working with Art Donnelly of Seachar in making biochar stoves.  We hung out for days on end at an organic cacao growing co-op in Bribri, an indigenous area.  And we attended a biochar workshop at Finca La Isla Botanical Garden and learned new, more effective horticultural applications for biochar. We're not fully armed yet but we're developing an arsenal.

Leaving tomorrow morning.  Next stop: possibly David, Panama by nightfall - unless we stumble into some other dream. 

As busy as it gets in Cahuita.

Our secret beach in the coral reef.

Put de lime in de coconut.

Nightwatch for hermit crabs in the garden.

Look dat white lady in de hay-mock agin. Sha!

Where's our Keckoldi dictionary?

Veronica gave me a shot of her special tea, made with Sorosy, of course. 

The most famous break on this side of Costa Rica is Salsa Brava. Locals call it the Cheese Grater. 

Bananas to the left of me, mangoes to the right, here we are stuck in BriBri again. 

Paradise is an illusion. Garbage is not.

Man on blue bike.

Grafting cacao fruit wood onto the best root stock.

Healthy organic cacao seedlings. The natural side of the chocolate business. 

Starr's new Facebook picture, and a shout out to Saskia & Sabrina.

Man this is living.

Now cut me a chimney hole.

Papayas on sale today.

This is a big spider.

Maracuya (passion fruit) flower.

Roque's explains Maracuya culture.

An Unexpected Tangent

Not long ago Jeff took a biochar stove-building workshop from Art Donnelly, theSeattle-based biochar guru who has extended his biochar shenanigans to Costa Rica.  

Biochar stoves are a way to reduce carbon emissions to the atmosphere while building soil fertility. Children of coffee workers grow up healthier because the stove is not smoky. The idea came from the ancient farming practices of the Amazonian rain forest natives. I saw a YouTube video about a guy who adapted the idea to run his farm truck.

We recently learned that he is currently in Costa Rica preparing to put on a workshop instructing locals how to build massive biochar stoves using 55 gallon barrels. He calls them "carboneras".

When Art told us he needs help preparing for the workshop, we turned our travels toward the Carribbean coast of Costa Rica.  

People tell us that the Carribbean coast is the "other" Costa Rica.  We're in a bus now, curious about what will unfold next - and about where we might spend the night tonight.

Some random pictures of the plants and animals of the area.

Tiny frogs hide in the leaves.

Coatimundi is a road side beggar . 

Cartoon movie on the bus.

Jefe & young friend watching cartoon movie on the bus.

Eye-catcher.

This species actually swims, drinks, and tans AT THE SAME TIME.

It's exhausting being a gator.

Unreal color scheme.

Let's play leap frog!

Blue w, orange chassis

Another eco-idea. Plastic bottle butterfly retainer door.

In the Jungle

From the tilapia farm we bounced back to the dense, wild Costa Rican jungle. El Castillo style.  And yes, we felt oddly at home in the drizzly, foggy, overgrown jungle.    A nice place to visit, but . . .

We stayed two nights at Essence Arenal (sort of a hostel). We bunked in a tent cabin overlooking a lush jungle canopy where brightly colored, often raucous birds darted about.  We saw several toucans, innumerable parrots and Oropendolas, and ever so many bright tanagers and other fantastic birds.  

In the evenings a veritable symphony ensued, with such profound musical participants as  howler monkeys, bats, coyotes, frogs, various night birds and a myriad of singing insects.  

And all this was topped off by a light show put on by Tinkerbell and all her little lightning bug clones framed by our large tent window dancing in the jungle darkness. 

Oropendolas live in colonies. They weave a nest that hangs about 4 feet long.

Leaf cutter ants are the farmer's worst enemy.

Bird watchers have good cameras and ride in nice busses.

These nests are very common around the east end of the lake.

The viewpoint hike up Volcan Arenal. Lucky we chose this side for our hike, on the other side one of our acquaintances hiked in the rain until after dark by the light of his cell phone and the mud was a foot deep.

So charming we hiked down to it.

Arenal sheds her cloud.  As blue as it got.

Jungle Jeff.

Another prehistoric looking plant.

The tree is dead but the bromeliads live on.

The bromeliads are a key jungle species. Frogs have their metamorphosis in the pool of water they catch.

He's fast. He's green.

Getting ready for a dip.

Close up of Oropendola colony.

Little brown Myotis bats.

Proud organic pioneer at Essence Arenal farm.

Tomatoes on the jungle hillside.

Reminders.

Remember those trees in Avatar?