Alicia and I caught an early morning taxi from Maria's house to El Establo to meet the rest of our non-home-stay group members for
breakfast before the buses loaded up again. They tried not to rub in how lovely
their rooms were, and how comfortable the beds, and how great the view. They failed. We were none too disappointed after the lovely evening with our
host family. So, a bit of fruit and hot water, breakfast of champions, and we
were gone again.
This morning we were off to the Reserva Monteverde, the Cloud Forest
Biological Reserve. The group split into gaggles of 10 with forest guides for each. Our guide, Ricardo, was born of Quaker parents but raised in Monteverde playing in this forest as a child. He knew the paths inside and out from
lifelong memories and almost 10 years of leading tours. He explained that land area of Monteverde was purchased in 1950 by a group of Quakers who first tried to farm the
land for coffee and other prevalent Costa Rican crops. After failed farming attempts they began raising dairy cattle and eventually preserved the forests they once cleared for farming which are now a rich example of
biodiversity and popular tourist destination.
We strolled along the path from new growth
forests which contain fast growing softwoods that grow up to 3 meters a year into old growth forests which dawn more hearty trees with an average age of 150 years. The route was filled with caterpillar, wasps, coate, bugs, fighting birds, and, or course, some giant trees. The trail ended at a cascade of waterfalls where we rested briefly and then turned back toward the entrance with light rain showers and the mist rolling in to greet us. At the end of our tour we all gathered around our guides and thanked them by singing Ariko. The forest absorbed the sound as did our smiling guides.
Back on the buses I snacked on the new supply of nuts and
fruit as we made the short trip to a nearly empty shopping mall. It was
largely unoccupied because local residents felt the building was a blight on
the landscape and refused to lease spaces. But the building did house at least one remarkable source of beauty, the Far Corners Musical Theatre company. We entered a top floor, industrial looking space with unpainted walls with a semicircle of youth who greeted us with shy smiles. This was the rehearsal space for the theater company which was founded in 2005 to provide a creative learning environment for local youth who would not otherwise have the opportunity to participate in theater arts in a rural mountain town. The youth had been in rehearsal for just a week on a new
play, In the Heights, which was to run the first weekend of August where they expected sold out shows each night. The not-for-profit brings volunteers from all over the world to help
direct, choreograph, and provide technical elements for the production and also
receive donations of costumes, materials, and funds to support their work. This
provides opportunities for youth to participate in these aspects of production
and learn from new mentors. Some students present today has been working with
Far Corners for 5 years and it was clear how much it meant to them.
The youth performed two songs which they had been working on from their upcoming show. For only a week of practice they sounded amazing! We then performed three songs in return. Where there is smoke there is fire and where there is music there is bound to be dancing - so it was as Kulshaners and youth chacha'd and two-stepped around the mass of singers. They joined us for rousing chorus of This Little Light of Mine which brought me to tears. This was, so far, my favourite experience on this trip and was sadly short lived as we needed to quickly depart for another round of local tours.
My bus (Bus #2) started our next tour at Monteverde Cheese Factory. We learned a bit more about the
city’s Quaker roots as a group of Alabama draft dodgers in the 1940’s during the Korean War in honor of their
pacifist and peaceful principles. Many has been jailed for one year and decided to leave
the county after their release. When looking for another place to settle they dismissed Canada for
the weather and forewent Mexico for the nation’s policy at the time against
foreigners owning land. In their search for a new home they heard of a warm,
humid country in the tropics that had abolished their military – a seemingly
perfect fit. They made the long voyage south and eventually purchased the land
now called Monteverde. Their decision to begin producing cheese as a source of
income was made despite no member of the original 9 founding families having
any experience making cheese. In fact, they made their first batches from a
brochure the ordered from United States Department of Agriculture. The original families owned the dairy until
just 3 months ago when it was sold to a Mexican conglomerate due to increasing
financial difficulties with market competition.
The tour was brief with only a few small windows looking down onto
the production floor from a second story hallway. We sat for a slideshow on the
history of the factory where I may have nodding off to sleep once or twice. To
be honest, if it wasn't for the samples, I would not recommend the tour.
However, if you are a cheese lover, you’ll want to taste the Monte Rico, a soft
white cheese with a buttery flavor. Or, perhaps you would like the aged
cheddar, emmental, or Parmesan better? Or maybe you will take to the cheese
smoked with coffee wood – a stronger smoky flavour than I have tasted in any
other cheese. If none of those items suite your fancy just wait for the final
stop on the tour where you can sample or purchase the ice cream flavors (dairy
free options for those in need). I bought Alicia and I small cup of the coconut
ice cream which tasted as fresh as a chuck of coconut and a cup of cream. What
I really wanted to purchase was the caramel that ate like a piece of soft
chocolate with a deep, rich taste. We waited out a rainstorm in the tasting
room and, then, off again.
Our next tour took us to El Trapiche where wandered the
gift shop until our tour began. Nancy Wolf played the marimba in the lobby
which attracted a young passerby who decided to join in the music-making. My
sweetest moments on this trip always seem to involve kids.
Our guide for the afternoon, Jorge, met us outside and encouraged
us to grab our rain gear before we continued (smart man). We started up the
hill through fields of sugar cane and descended to the first of a series of
outbuildings: a greenhouse used for drying coffee beans. Later stops showed the
steps of hulling, sorting, and roasting the beans which actually provided new
detail about the process building on our last coffee tour. We then made our way
to the cocoa building where we sucked the fruit off of fresh beans, watched
them drying, and ate fresh cocoa nibs (the center of the dry bean – 100% cocoa
with a soft crunch). Jorge ground the nibs into ribbons of chocolate paste and
then mixed it with icing sugar under a rounded stone on a flat plate to create.
We ate the sweet powder by the spoonful and went back for seconds. At the next
stop he provided us a fresh banana off the bunch and a couple shots of guaro, a moonshine made from sugar
cane that comes at, oh, 150 proof (75% alcohol by volume). Did I mention that I
am a bit of a lightweight? We sang a happy birthday to another chorus member,
Katie, who turned 20 today (18 is the legal drinking age in Costa Rica) and
raised our glasses to both she and our tour guide.
What more could one want? How about some
more sugar? The next stop on out tour included a water mill that powered the
machine used to press sugar cane for its juice. But the next room was where the
magic happened. Cane juice was slowly boiling in two large pits one of which
was now foaming and emitting the dark and intoxicating scent of molasses. Jorge
scooped a large portion of the thick substance and poured it along a flat,
bar-height board and asked for two volunteers to stir it furiously. I jumped at
the opportunity as proximity to sugar was the only incentive I needed at this
point in the day. The aromatic mass mixed with air as we whipped it and then
suddenly cooled to fudge-like consistency which was warm to the touch and
melted on contact with my tongue. This was heaven in a cloud forest. Our tour
concluded with an oxcart ride to a small café to sample their brewed coffee
alongside a traditional snack of tapas sized beef tacos. While we rested and
awaited our departure, Jorge enjoyed his first encounter with acupuncture
provided by our chorus member, Liz, to relieve his headache. Reported time to
successful treatment: 30 seconds.
Our bus left behind the small plantation and took us back toward
town where Alicia and I stopped briefly at the Tree
House Restaurant and Cafe then ran errands before walking ourselves
home. We thought we were lost on the journey but it turns out we just didn't
have enough confidence in our good sense of direction. Back home we enjoyed our
final evening with our host family. We ate a fine dinner of beef soup with
plantains and yucca with a side of rice. I took photos of the family, a
disproportionate number which were spent on baby Alexandra. We exchanged email
and Facebook contact (again with my appreciation for technology) and I promised
to send photos along and notes from later travels. I also shared photos of
friends and family back home and found great pleasure in showing them off.
Alicia having gone to bed I was left to fend for myself with Española. I did ok
in spite of myself.
Keilor and I sat on the couch watching a
bad Owen Wilson movie dubbed in Spanish which doesn't,
unfortunately, hide the quality of the dialogue. It was a great way to relax
together without the pressure to talk. I felt as relaxed in this moment as I
have in any of my other homes this past year. I will be sad to leave Monteverde
tomorrow.
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