Entry 9 - Our free day - a visit to Costa...

San Marcos de Tarrazú, 19 August 2007, 8:30 pm

Today was our free day so we got to sleep in super late. Till 6 am. We got up and got ready to go to a national park about an hour’s drive from here in San Marcos.

We stopped for lunch at a great diner alongside the highway and then made a brief stop at the office of Los Quetzales National Park. This park opened in April 2006 and was the final of 27 national parks and preserves that Costa Rica plans to open. Arsenio Agüero, manager of the park, who also works in the Ministry of Environment and Energy, told us that they are currently in the process of establishing all the trails and preserves.

We learned that Costa Rica is trying to connect all of the national parks either directly, or through buffer zones. At these parks, there is no development of the land; they are to be preserved as they are. He told us that there was a vast variety of biodiversity in their park, including a 450-year-old oak forest and wild pumas. Some ideas for future tours include early-morning bird watching and late-night stargazing tours.

Afterward, we drove on the highway to the where we were to spend the rest of our day. We drove along the Pan-American Highway, which connects Tijuana, Mexico, all the way to the tip of Panama. Originally, it was intended to go farther south, but some people say the official end is still Panama (others say it goes as far north as Alaska). When the highway was built during World War II, it was built up and over steep mountain ranges called Cerro de la Muerte, or Mountain of Death. Natalia explained to us that the reason it was built through the mountain range was because the Americans, who built the highway, did not want to be easily conspicuous to potential enemy planes, so they chose to build through cloudforests. Also, they built away from the coast so as to be less vulnerable to invasion.

The park was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. There were hummingbirds everywhere. We were able to spot to quetzals. And the variety of flora was overwhelming. We received a private tour of the recently built, elegant but comfortable, eco-conscious hotel on the property (www.savegre.co.cr). Efrain Chacon owns the hotel – he is part of the first family to settle in the area that is now the park.

Natalia’s cousin David Ureña works at the restaurant on the property so we stopped for coffee and souvenir shopping there. Afterward, we enjoyed a nice lunch at a restaurant owned by some others of the family of the first people to settle in the park. They farm trout at the restaurant, and after lunch Natalia and Nancy caught trout to take back to Natalia’s family. While the fish flopped around in the sink, Tami from Oregon decided to put her childhood fishing skills to good use and grabbed a knife. Unfortunately, it was harder than she thought, so one of the men who works at the restaurant had to finish the job.

Tami is a very kind woman from Oregon. She has been married to her husband Darrell for 30 years. She works for the USDA in the loan department, and has provided great insight on what small-scale farmers have to go through in the US and how it applies to what we are learning in Costa Rica. She has even offered to share some resources with Earthwatch in an effort to help the farmers of Tarrazú. It’s funny how this trip has brought together so many people from so many backgrounds. I might never have met Tami, and am so glad I did.

While we were eating lunch, a big storm came in, so we decided to head back to San Marcos. It was a tricky ride since the roads were wet, but we made it back safe and sound.

On the way back, Natalia asked us what we wanted to do for dinner. Some people wanted to eat on their own, but when we realized how short the rest of our time together was, most of us decided we wanted to do something together. One quick phone call and Natalia’s mother Alba, whom we had met our first day in San Marcos, agreed to make a light dinner of soup and rice for us.

We gathered back at Natalia’s house and this time got to meet her sister Ivannia. Victor (whose nickname is Compita, or Little Buddy), was also there. He had asked to come with us to the park that day after having met us during the tour of Coopetarrazú last week. He’s a really nice guy and loved taking pictures of the girls. He also helped prepare and serve dinner to us. It really is amazing how hospitable everyone here is.

Gabriel and I enjoyed a beer at the hotel bar before saying good night, which has become our custom. We laugh a lot together and have a great time, and I’m really glad to have made such a good friend on this trip. Plus we can do a little harmless gossiping before going to bed. Nothing wrong with that, right?

Tomorrow morning, back to work on a farm bright and early.