Costa Rica Days 13 - 15: Snorkeling in Cahuita and Pacuare Whitewater Rafting

A post without photos . If I *had* any readers, I'm sure they've now given up on today's post

Activities over the last two days mostly occurred in and around water, so consequently my amateur, non-waterproof camera got sidelined. Fortunately for me, many of the students have GoPros and/or waterproof cameras, so in exchange for the dozens of photos they've lifted from my Facebook :) I'll eventually borrow a few of theirs to supplement this post.

Thursday morning, we drove out to Cahuita for a few hours of snorkeling just off of Cahuita Point (about 20 minutes north-ish of where we were staying in Puerto Viejo). The weather was lovely and the water was warm. I know less about fish identification than I do about bird identification (so...nothing and slightly-more-than-nothing-but-not-by-much), so I'll just have to settle for having seen purple fish, yellow fish, blue fish, a nurse shark, brain coral, a bunch of other coral, and a cute little white-faced capuchin monkey that came to visit us during our snack break (on land).

After snorkeling, the students had a few hours of free time before GEO class, so a small group of us walked over to the beach to rent some surf boards to try out our newfound surfing skills. Unfortunately, on this particular day our skills were nowhere to be found. We returned to the hotel humbled with bellies full of saltwater, but we had fun nonetheless.

We closed out our time in Puerto Viejo with a lovely dinner at Stashu's, a Caribbean-fusion restaurant. Junior joined us. Lance, if you're reading this, I'm supposed to tell you "hello" from him. Junior is truly one-of-a-kind. And that kind is awesome. I sincerely hope I get to see him again someday.

Okay, onto Day 14. Actually, I have no idea if it was Day 14. My days are totally out of whack. Anyway, moving on.

Yesterday we left Puerto Viejo shortly after sunrise (well, no, not really. The sun rises at 5AM here. We left at 6:30AM) to embark on our next adventure: rafting the Pacuare River. I didn't really have any expectations for this leg of the trip. My whitewater rafting experience is limited to the southeastern US, and although the rivers are really nice in the Southeast, I've never really been overwhelmed by the experience of whitewater rafting. Well, I can stand before you as a changed person after rafting the Pacuare.

The Pacuare River is touted as being one of the top 10 rivers in the world for commercial rafting. (along with the Zambezi, the White Nile, etc.) Other judges put it in the top 5. Go run the river and decide for yourself. I thought it was pretty incredible. In addition to having loads of class 3/4 rapids, the surrounding scenery was breathtaking.

We rafted with Costa Rica Extreme, and if any of my outdoor colleagues are planning a trip to CR, I cannot recommend this company more highly. The owner of the company and one of our guides, Manuel, has a vision for his company to eventually exclusively work with student groups (rather than general tourists) because of the educational component of their company's mission. The guides would occasionally stop our rafts on the river to let us swim and also teach us about the local ecosystem (plants, rocks, animals, etc. Ecosystem-y things).

We did a 2-day/1-night expedition with an overnight stay at their ecolodge. The ecolodge was awesome. I wish I had a better word to describe it. Rustic, clean, picturesque, comfortable, natural. It was kind of like glamor camping in paradise. The guides (5 total) cooked some of the best meals we've had on this trip, the groups stayed in beautiful wooden bunkhouses with screened windows, and the common area was a pavilion with hammocks overlooking a beautiful view of the river. The company is working on creating a nursery where groups can plant trees if they are interested in completing a service project. Additionally, there a several trails leading in and out of basecamp for hiking--one of which leads to an indigenous community that lives near the river.

Y'all. I just reread that paragraph and I don't think anything I wrote would constitute a properly formed sentence. I'm sorry. Take my word for it, the rafting and the ecolodge were both great. The students clearly expressed that this was among their favorite activities (and food)--if not THE favorite activity of the entire trip. And I love that it didn't feel like a contrived tourist experience. We really got to spend meaningful time conversing and getting to know our guides and the time spent at basecamp made us feel like a part of the CR Extreme family.

And at the conclusion of our river trip, we are once again back on the bus...

...A few hours later, we have officially arrived in San José for the last leg of our trip. We are staying in Hotel Don Carlos, which seems to be pretty centrally located to the downtown (shopping) area and is close to many interesting-looking restaurants. Tomorrow is a free day for everyone, so I will spend my morning trying every empanada I can find before meeting up with my old pals from the University of Costa Rica for an early dinner tomorrow night. I cannot wait to see them!

Costa Rica Day 11 - Caribbean Dance Lessons, Jaguar Rescue Center, Surf Lessons

I was a bit loquacious in yesterday's post so I'll try and keep this one short, which is difficult to do when we keep doing AWESOME THINGS ALL DAY.

Afro-Caribbean Dance Lessons

We started the morning off at Salsa Brava, a dance studio/Reggae beach bar. Miss Wanda, the owner, led us through a series of dances, including bachata, salsa, and one of the Afro-Caribbean dance styles (don't remember the name...) that is typically danced for carnival. My loyal readers reader (thanks, Mom) might remember that we learned bachata and salsa while we were in Monteverde. The Afro-Caribbean style of both of these dances is slightly different. More hips and hands. The class was great fun due largely to Miss Wanda's infectious positive energy. We were all drenched in sweat by the end of it. Like...my sweat had sweat.

Getting physically and mentally psyched for the morning's dance session.

This was as coordinated as we ever looked.

Salsa Brava/Reggae Nights is right on the beach--very cool setup!

The woman standing next to me is Miss Wanda. The woman can dance! 

El Centro de Rescate Jaguar (Jaguar Rescue Center)

From Salsa Brava, we ventured down the road to El Centro de Rescate Jaguar. Started in 2004, the CRJ is a rehabilitation center for animals who have been injured, illegally kept as pets, abused, abandoned by their parents (due to death or other unforeseen circumstances), hit by cars, electrocuted, shot, etc. Learn all about the history and mission of the CRJ here. Our guide, Sky, along with the other volunteers oversee the care, rehabilitation, and (in most cases) eventual release of the various animals that find their way to the Center. We saw many different types of birds, monkeys (including lil' baby monkeys), reptiles, jungle cats, and a few other odds and ends. The very sequenced process by which the Center builds their animals capacities to function in the wild was really fascinating.

Our tour guide, Sky, is giving us an overview of the CRJ. 

If you look closely, you can see the eyes and tails of little tadpoles. These frog eggs are days away from hatching.

Tammy the Anteater may not ever be able to return to the wild, but he has a good life at the CRJ.

Some volunteers just have to hold baby monkeys all day.

I mean...does it need a caption?

Surf Lessons

After the CRJ, we broke for lunch and then quickly headed out to Playa Coeles for a 2-hour surf lesson. Y'all. Surfing is harder than it looks. I wish that I would have taken pictures during the second half of the class instead of the first half. We all eventually got up on the board and many of us definitely got the hang of it by the end of class, but the first 20-minutes was wipeout after wipeout. Our primary surf instructor, Herschel, is Miss Veronica's son (our cook/hostess from last night).

Lessons on the land.

Started like this...

Got better...

...Total pro.

As promised, cutting myself off for the night!

Costa Rica Days 9 - 10: Puerto Viejo

We made it to the Caribbean side!

After leaving Rancho Margot yesterday morning, we made a quick stop to Arenal National Park to walk on some lava flows (and I stupidly left my camera battery in my suitcase in the back of the bus, so no photos) and then set out for our cross-country drive. Here's a map:

We arrived in Puerto Viejo shortly after dinner. Puerto Viejo reminds me of time spent in Jamaica on account of the Afro-Caribbean influence found in the dialect, food, Rastafarian style, etc. Very different atmosphere from the northwest part of the country, but as with anywhere we go in Costa Rica, the east coast Ticos are incredibly warm and accommodating.

At dinner, we were met by three representatives from ATEC. ATEC is a local non-profit dedicated to promoting tourism of the Talamanca region through LOCAL guides and businesses. Read about ATEC here. ATEC is responsible for coordinating our activities while we are in Puerto Viejo. One of the representatives, Junior, is this funky Rastafarian with a great sense of humor and laid-back attitude. He has and will continue to accompany our group on all of our excursions while we are in the region.

Oh, I should mention that our hotel accommodations in Puerto Viejo are pretty baller. We are staying in La Costa de Papito, which is a local restaurant, spa, and hotel. But really, it's not a hotel. It's a bunch of beautiful bungalows.

Okay, onto Day 10.

We woke up and ate breakfast, met Junior, and set out for the Manzanillo Wildlife Reserve. We were met by our two local guides, Omar and Tino, who split the students into two groups (one guide per group). Marta and Junior went with Omar, and I went with Tino.

Before we entered the Reserve, Tino had us stop by his house so he could change into shoes that were suitable for trekking through the jungle. En route to his house, he gave us a tour of his INCREDIBLE garden. For about half an hour, we played "guess what plant this is" using our senses of taste, smell, sight, and touch. We got to see/try/taste/touch cinnamon, ginger, all-spice, starfruit, breadfruit, cashew, turmeric, lemongrass, citronella, tattoo ferns, mimosa, and probably 3-4 other things that have slipped my mind already.

Oh, and pipa (green coconut).

Our tour through the Reserve was incredible. Interestingly enough, each tour group got a very different tour experience. Marta/Omar's group carried a theme of "Nature is kind! Look at all the wonderful things nature wants to share with you!" They got to try all sorts of wild plants (cacao, banana) and see cute, cuddly sloths up-close on the beach.

Our group, on the other hand, got the "Everything in nature wants to kill you" tour. Don't get me wrong, we LOVED it. But I just found it funny that our tours were so different.

Things that we saw/did on our tour:

1) Lots of plants with barbs sticking out of them--nature will defend itself by any means possible!
2) The bullet ant. According to the Schmidt Sting Pain Index (a real thing--read about it here), the bullet ant has the most painful sting of any insect in the world. Schmidt, the entomologist who came up with the pain index, actually allowed himself to be stung by all of the animals included on the scale. Yowzers.
3) Red poison-arrow frog.
4) Spectacled caiman.
5) Tiger ant. Not as bad as the bullet ant, but still looks pretty gnarly.
6) 2 eyelash pit vipers. Surprisingly enough, the Gerbers kids have always been interested in learning about snakes, and this was probably *the* animal that I wanted to see the most while in Costa Rica. Eyelash vipers are arboreal venomous snakes that are known for their distinct superciliary scales over their eyes (hence the name) and for their color variations. We saw a bright yellow viper and a brownish one that really, REALLY blended in with its surroundings.
7) Some big-ass spiders. And I let one CRAWL ALL OVER MY FACE.
8) The most adorable red-eye leaf frog.
8) Howler monkeys, sloths, birds, butterflies--you know--the boring stuff (I kid, I kid...).

Everything in Costa Rica wants to kill you. Except the cute little red-eyed leaf frog.

After the Reserve, we stopped for lunch at a local family's house (the Caribbean chicken was delicious), and with with beach-ready-food-bellies, we went to Punta Uva for a service project and a few hours of beach time. In half an hour, we picked up approximately 45 lbs of trash that had either washed down the mountains during heavy rains or washed up on shore from careless tourists and locals. The students were all very enthusiastic and worked hard during the clean-up. After the morning's trek through the jungle and beach-clean-up, we were ready for a swim.

After a short break at the hotel, we headed to Miss Veronica's Place, a local B&B where Miss Veronica and her family offer cooking classes and a bunch of other historical/cultural activities for visitors.

Miss Veronica is of Afro-Caribbean descent. She wanted to prove that not all Afro-Caribbean dishes involve rice and beans, so we cooked an absolutely-mouthwatering-jaw-on-the-floor-it-was-so-good-I-would-have-bathed-in-the-sauce fried mackerel with boiled yuca and a salad. Miss Veronica was lovely--such a kind, hospitable woman...and a hell of a good cook.

I am going do to my best to recreate the recipe here, but I have no measurements (because, like all real cooks, Miss Veronica doesn't need to measure) and I'm trying to piece ingredients back from memory--students, help me out!

Fish:

Dry rub:

3-4 cloves fresh garlic

turmeric

black pepper

salt

oregano

Batter:

Corn flour or brown flour (we used corn --gluten free!)

Salt

Pepper

??

Coat fish in dry rub, dip in corn flour mixture, fry in oil until cooked

Serve with onion/pepper mixture:

1 LARGE onion (white or yellow, but it needs to be big) cut into very thin slices

1 scotch bonnet pepper thinly chopped (CAUTION: this sucker is really, REALLY spicy. It gives the dish a great Caribbean flavor, but scotch bonnet peppers are not for the faint of heart)

Organic vinegar (she used banana vinegar...not sure what a banana vinegar substitute would be)

Sauté the onion/pepper in the vinegar until the onions are soft. Serve over fried fish.

Yuca --we boiled the yuca and she served it in some sort of secret vegetable sauce. The sauce was tasty but too complicated to learn during the duration of our class.

Salad dressing A.K.A. Best Dressing in MY LIFE:

juice of 4-5 mandarin limes

2 heaping tablespoons of honey

1 clove garlic

turmeric

salt

pepper

olive oil (a splash)

...what am I missing??

Okay, that's as good as I can do to recall the recipe for tonight. In short, it was delicious and we had a great time making it!