Pura Vida!

2007-03-02T14:00:00.000-08:00

It all began with Ann Becker, a mild-mannered consultant from the Windy City who went to Costa Rica a few years ago and fell in love -- with the country, its people, the food, the birds, the plants -- in short, everything about the place.

"I must introduce other women to this amazing country," said Ann. And so was born Wonderful Women adventures, Ann's effort to bring her women friends -- and friends-of-friends -- to Costa Rica.

Ann invited Janet, a fellow Chicago-based consultant. Janet and I used to work together in Philadelphia, and we both happened to be there in June 2006, visiting our friend Margaret.

"I'm thinking about going to Costa Rica with a group of Wonderful Women next year," said Janet, "but I can't decide if I should go or not." Hmmm...Costa Rica in February...with 15 interesting women...beach...rainforest...volcanoes... "If you go, I'll go," I cried.

Fast forward to February 2007, and San Jose, Costa Rica. Janet and I met up in Miami and flew down together (I love my frequent flyer miles), and spent a relaxing few days at the Orquideas Inn as the rest of the women trickled in from around the country -- Chicago, Boston, L.A., Pasadena, Tempe.

Once everyone arrived, we met our driver, Minor, and our guide, Alex (unrelated Alvarezes)...

...and Marvi, our bright orange bus...

...and off we went, to explore Costa Rica!

A Day at the Beach

2007-03-02T13:39:00.000-08:00

OK, it was really three days at the beach, but who's counting? We stayed at a resort on the central Pacific coast, Punta Leona. As was true for the entire trip, we had fabulous weather -- sunny, dry, and breezy.

We spent one morning at Playa Blanca, where Janet and Jill kayaked; Ann, Debbie, and Edwenna snorkeled; Pam went boogie-boarding; and Francine and I took a stroll.

We also saw trees full of scarlet macaws -- what gorgeous birds they are! It was hard to believe that they were real, the colors were so amazing.

Topiary Gardens

2007-03-02T13:29:00.000-08:00

Within a short drive of San Jose, we went through the town of Zacero. Looming over the town square was the main church, and in the town square is an amazing topiary garden. It's about the size of a typical U.S. city block, and on this Sunday morning was full of Costa Rican families enjoying the sunshine.

The topiary themselves varied -- from a corridor of green arches to a dinosaur and a giant mask.

Hanging Bridges

2007-03-02T12:49:00.000-08:00

Near La Fortuna, we spent a morning at Hanging Bridges park. The 15 metal suspension bridges throughout the park provide a fabulous way to view the rainforest canopy.

Janet and Ann posed for me on the first bridge; the next shot is from one of the highest bridges; and I'm on the second or third bridge (blur caused by bridge swaying!).

See that thing that looks like a giant green bean hanging off the tree, below? It's about 4-5 feet long, and is a seed pod.

Here's a great shot (Ann's, not mine) of the tree with the pod in all 4 stages of development, from fully closed to withering and dead.

We all cracked up when we saw this sign, directing us to our next bridge, as well as the nearby waterfall. Given that there was only one trail, heading up, the sign was a bit superfluous.

The park also had an amazing view of Arenal, from a completely different perspective than from our hotel.

Francine -- no Luddite she -- used her auto setting to take a great group photo right before lunch, with Arenal smoking away in the background, then snapped a lunchtime shot as well.

Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge

2007-03-02T11:49:00.000-08:00

The Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge is one of the most biologically diverse areas in Costa Rica. A wide variety of birds, animals and fish inhabit this tropical lowland of 24,620 acres. The best way to visit the refuge is by boat, which is exactly what we did. We traveled up the Río Frío, which flows through the heart of the preserve, in an open cockpit boat with a sun awning. (This is a stock photo, not one of mine, but it gives you a sense of the size of the boat.)

Our captain was great at spotting wildife, then maneuvering the boat as close to the riverbank as possible so that we could get a close-up view. We saw many caiman, some small, some quite large -- swimming, sunning, or just chilling on a log.

When we first boarded our boat, this Nicaraguan boat was unloading hardwood planks at the pier. It passed us later on its way back to Nicaragua.

The trees along the riverside were beautiful -- very tall, and teeming with animal and plant-life. The many different "air plants" were fascinating -- dropped as seeds onto branches by birds, they start to grow and draw sustenance from the air and from the host tree. The tree below had a whole colony of bromeliads growing on its lower branches (dead center in this pic).

We saw several groups of howler monkeys swinging through the trees. Alas, they tended to be very high up, and moved very quickly, so photographing them was difficult. Here's a close-up of one, hanging from its tail as it swung from branch to branch.

We were much luckier when it came to the white-faced capuchin monkeys -- we came upon a group fo them scampering right along the shoreline, not up in the trees. It was as if they were posing just for us!

Although I'm not a birder at heart, even I was interested in the birdlife we saw. Below, the anhinga, of which we saw many ("Oh look, another anhinga...yawn.") The male birds were larger and more magnificent than their female counterparts.

Alex, our guide, was an incredible naturalist and pointed out something we would have all missed: about 8 bats, sleeping on the side of a tree. They're lined up vertically in the crease that runs down the front of the tree:

Our captain took us as far as the Nicaraguan border, where we stopped for a photo op then turned around and headed back.

Arenal Volcano

2007-03-02T11:22:00.000-08:00

One of the coolest things I saw in Costa Rica was the Arenal Volcano, an active volcano that was spewing red-hot rocks both day and night. We were incredibly lucky -- apparently, the volcano is only visible about 10% of the time, given heavy cloud cover in the area. We had three beautifully clear days and nights, which made for amazing views.

Our base was Los Lagos resort, which provided views of Arenal from a variety of vantage points. (My personal favorite was from the swim-up bar in the naturally-heated pool.)

These photos were taken from my hotel room. It was incredible to walk outside and see the volcano, whether it was partially hidden by clouds or completely clear against a bright blue sky.

As impressive as Arenal was during the day, the real show was at night. What look like streaks of red lightning travel down the side of the volcano. It's actually red hot boulders bouncing down, leaving a trail of sparks behind. With binoculars, you can actually see the boulders as they bounce along -- it was so cool! Sadly, my little camera wasn't really up to the task of night-time volcano photography.

Proyecto Asis

2007-03-02T09:49:00.000-08:00

P royecto Asis was our home base for two days, after we left San Jose. A not-for-profit organization, Asis is located in a rural area of the province of Alajuela on its own private ecological reserve. The staff and volunteers have been working on social and ecological projects in rural communities in the San Carlos area for ten years, and also offer Spanish instruction and volunteer programs. They also work as a rescue center for injured wild animals and participate in rural construction projects.

Alvaro del Castillo Vega is the Director of Proyecto Asis, which operates on land that his family owns and has donated to the organization. Alvaro is pictured below along with Perla, a white-lipped peccary who was rescued by the organization.

Alvaro organized our homestays with families in the local community, as well as our volunteer day with Amureci, a women-owned business. We also spent a day doing volunteer work at Asis -- working in the greenhouse on a rainforest reforestation effort, building a new cement walkway, and clearing an area for a new classroom. Here are some shots of the Womderful Women in action. (My job was to haul buckets of water to water the saplings growing in the greenhouse -- great bicep workout!)

We also spent some time walking around the grounds, learning about the plants and animals on site. We made special friends with Nena, a rescued baby howler monkey. Nena accompanied us on our walk around the grounds, sitting on my shoulder with her tail wrapped around my neck. My "necklace" was a bit warm for a hot day!

Janet and Betsey also took turns befriending Nena -- though only Betsey provoked a yawn!

Asis was my first real experience in the rainforest. I was fascinated by the animals, plants and flowers we saw. The red banana plants were everywhere, and well over six feet tall. Alvaro explained that they arn't for human consumption; once the bananas ripen, they split open and provide food for the birds.

The cayman who came crawling out of the pond with water lilies on his back was rather amusing:

We also took a half-day of Spanish lessons while at Asis, and learned some phrases that provided helpful with our hoemstay families ("May I help wash the dishes?" "You're a wonderful cook!" "Thank you for your hospitality.") Poor Fernando was conscripted to be the teacher of the beginners' class. It was his first day working at Asis, and Spanish lessons to a bunch of crazy American women weren't in his actual job description. He was a good sport, though.

Home sweet homestay!

2007-03-02T08:20:00.000-08:00

One of the best parts of the entire trip was the two-day homestay with Costa Rican families. We split up in twos and were assigned to a family in the community near Asis. I was quite anxious about this, I confess -- I speak very little Spanish, and the families spoke no English. Luckily, my homestay roomie was Edwenna, who was fearless in speaking Spanish and taking different tacks in order to have meaningful conversations with our family. She was also very kind to me and translated back and forth, so that I could participate in conversations as well. (Thanks, Edwenna!)

Edwenna and I stayed with a lovely couple named Zeila and Joaquin. They operate a small store adjacent to their home -- truly a "mom and pop" business! The store is open from 8am to 8pm every day, and sells basic foodstuffs, snacks, and other miscellaneous things in one would find in a neighborhood corner store.

The view from the backyard was fabuloso -- a wide open valley, with meandering river and grazing cattle, and Arenal looming and lost in cloud.

Joaquin wasn't very talkative, but he was very kind and went out of his way to chop down two coconuts so that Edwenna and I could have fresh pipa juice. He hacked off the top of the coconut with a small machete, then stuck straws in so that we could drink the liquid. It was delicious, and made all the more so by the view we had, sitting in the backyard on a rough-hewn wooden bench and gazing at the volcano as clouds drifted by.

Behind the store and house, there is a lovely open-air pavilion with picnic tables and chairs and benches, clearly the site of many festive dinners and family gatherings. On our first night with our homestay families, we all gathered at Zeila's to help prepare dinner, and then had a fun time eating, drinking and dancing in the pavilion. Edwenna and I worked hard that afternoon, sweeping and mopping and making ready for the evening's festivities, with close supervision from Zeila. I also got some quick Spanish lessons -- how to say chair, table, stool, and mop! And when Francine arrived, we managed to squeeze in a little knitting time.

Once she got over the shock of fifteen women invading her kitchen, Zeila was very patient in teaching us how to make corn tortillas:

Betsey, clever girl that she is, went to the bar up the street to buy a bottle of rum, which we combined with Zeila's fresh pineaple and coconut juices to make tropical "cocktails." That really got the party started!

I was a bit surprised to see an elaborate Nativity scene taking up the corner of Zeila and Joaquin's living room. Zeila explained that they had left it up longer than usual so that Edwenna and I could see it. The women of the community get together in each other's homes to help set up the displays each December, then take them down again after the feast of the Three Kings. I was especially charmed by the small stove in the far right corner of the display, which had a pot of beans "bubbling" away and a wood fire "burning" inside.

Amureci

2007-03-02T07:48:00.000-08:00

During our two days with Proyecto Asis, we did two different volunteer stints. The most interesting for me was the afternoon spent with Amureci, a women-owned business that recycles banana leaves and other natural fibers with old newspapers in order to create art papers, which are then used to create picture frames, book covers, greeting cards, journals, and other crafts.

The banana leaves are chopped up and soaked in water for a few days, then combined with cut up newspapers that have also been soaking in water. Here's the leaf pulp:

Once the two mixtures are combined in a big shallow sink, a screen is placed in the sink and the fiber settles on top.

The screen is then placed over a sink, another screen is placed on top, and the water is then squeezed out by hand. The intrepid Betsey demonstrates:

After the water has been squeezed out, a number of screens are stacked together and put into a hand press, to force out even more water. The paper -- still stuck to a thin piece of fabric -- is then hung up to dry.

The other way of making the paper involves just leaving it on the screen to dry, rather than putting it through the press. This creates a thicker, coarser paper, as shown here:

Here, Alvaro is showing me the differences between the pressed and unpressed papers.

The women of Amureci were incrediby nice, and so excited to have us there with them. They are justifiably proud of what they have created, and of the example they are setting for their daughters and other young Costa Rican women -- that women can work outside the home and have their own businesses. They've been successful enough that they were recently able to buy the building in which they work, and are now trying to increase the business in order to pay off the mortgage.

We spent the afternoon working with them on their building -- power-washing the outside walls, painting one of the rooms, scrubbing down the walls and shelves in the retail store, and creating a mural in the main workshop. Francine was the artist behind our design:

And here's a shot of us all together -- the women of Amureci and the Wonderful Women -- at the end of our day together.

Subtle beauty

2007-03-01T13:44:00.000-08:00

Not all the flowers I saw in Costa Rica were exploding with color; some were quite pale -- soft pink, white, lavender, pale yellow -- with tiny buds or delicate petals that beckoned one closer.

And there was much to admire beside the flowers -- fish-fin ferns, palm fronds, odd stalks and colorful leaves, even striking fungi in shades from oyster to rust.

And this oddity -- an albino fern? Pure white leaves and stems, growing right next to its bright green brethren.

Color Riot!

2007-03-01T13:19:00.000-08:00

Flowers are everywhere in Costa Rica -- popping up along the sides of the road, spilling down hillsides, carefully placed in landscaped gardens, and hiding along paths in the rainforest. Some are found in the warmer climes of the U.S. -- canna lilies, hibiscus, wild ginger, bird of paradise.

Others were startlingly exotic, or just plain weird looking.

Orchids, orchids everywhere

2007-03-01T13:12:00.000-08:00

One of the striking things about Costa Rica was seeing orchids in the wild. Not in a greenhouse, not in a potted plant on someone's desk, but growing in a garden, or along the side of the road, or in the rainforest. I didn't take enough orchid photos, but here are the ones I did take.

Los Mariposas

2007-03-01T12:49:00.000-08:00

Costa Rica has over 1,000 varieties of butterfly -- large and small, drab and colorful, striped, polka-dotted, and everything in between.

Although I saw few butterflies in the rainforest, two of the resorts at which we stayed had butterfly gardens -- Mariposaria -- that were filled with plants, flowers, and many many varieties of the lovely winged creatures.

Some weren't at all shy, and sat on my hand.

Most, however, were photographed on the fly, or while briefly alight on a leaf or flower.

Morpho Madness

2007-03-01T12:00:00.000-08:00

The most dramatic butterfly I saw in Costa Rica was the blue Morpho -- a very large butterfly with beautiful periwinkle blue wings. We first saw the morpho in the rainforest at Proyecto Asis. Alas, when the morpho alights, it closes its wings immediately -- and the outside of its wings are not blue. While strikingly patterned, the colors are quite drab -- tans and browns and a bit of grey.

In the butterfly garden at Los Lagos, we encountered the morpho again, and all darted around trying to get a photo. No such luck.

A few days later, at Punta Leona, the Mariposarium presented another chance to bag this elusive butterfly...and I was determined to do so. After two hours of observation and stalking ...success!

Hotel Don Carlos

2007-02-28T10:01:00.000-08:00

Our last night in Costa Rica, we stayed in San Jose, the capital, at the Hotel Don Carlos. The hotel is centrally located, yet small and quite charming. I loved how filled with light and art it was!

Wrought-iron railings galore.

Detail of a hammered copper artwork.

On the wall outside my room...looks like a Putamayo record label.

Elaborate tiled fountain in the central courtyard.

"The Conversation" in the breakfast courtyard.

Beautifully-painted old cart wheels, re-purposed as tables.

The fountain in the breakfast courtyard.

Interesting use for pre-Columbian statue.

Pre-Columbian figure and mask, in the lobby area.

Also in the lobby area, a statue I affectionately dubbed "Big Guy, Little Guy."

Interior stained-glass windows.

Two examples of tile art found throughout the hotel.

And a close-up for Stefanie!