South America, 2014: May 2014

30 March 2014

Today we moored in the waters near San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. Russ went on a 4 wheel drive and hike at the Mombacho Volcano National Reserve while I stayed on board because the stop is a tender port. The weather has become quite warm and there are a fair number of bugs buzzing about.

The view from the ship was of land that was very dry with vegetation that looked to be dead or burned. Russ said that it became very tropical (and steamy) as the bus made its way north to the nature reserve. San Juan del Sur is not large (about 15,000 residents) and it has become a tourist destination for people looking for good surfing and water sports. Back in the day, it was supposed to be the western terminus of the Nicaraguan Canal because of its location on the narrow isthmus between the Pacific Ocean and Lake Nicaragua, but the Panama Canal won out in the political process. That, plus the concern about the volatility of the active volcanoes in the area doomed the project.

The bus ride north to the nature reserve took about an hour and a half. Along the way, they passed through several small towns which looked pretty impoverished, although not as poor as what we saw in Peru. The country is trying to modernize, Russ saw several wind turbines which are being used for the electrical grid of the country.

The 4 WD drive into the reserve was rather interesting – the vehicles were actually 15 passenger type busses with cloth tops. Russ thought that our van could have easily made it up the road, even though it was rather steep. Along the way, they passed coffee plantations and family farms. After about a half hour ride, they started their hike at the tourist center, at an elevation of 3,600 feet. The Mombacho volcano, which is dormant, actually has 4 craters and the group hiked around one of the craters where they had great views of Granada which is only about 6 miles away. The volcano is unique in that it is in a tropical cloud forest which is rare in the Pacific region.

After their hike, the group traveled down to Granada and had a very nice lunch at a hotel. Since it was Sunday, the shops and attractions were closed, so they didn’t get to see much of the city. Granada is a beautiful colonial city with Moorish and Andalusian architecture. The government has done a lot to restore the city; after the political unrest of the 1970s to 80s and the tsunami of 1992, the area and city became seriously rundown.

The tour's last stop was Lake Nicaragua which is the largest lake in Central America. I found it interesting that the lake is considered to be on the Atlantic side although it is closest to the Pacific side, because it is drained by a river that travels to the Caribbean. There is a large active volcano named Concepcion on an island in the lake. This volcano is considered a perfect cone volcano, kind of like Mt Fuji in Japan.

After our stop in Costa Rica, I came away with the view that Nicaragua was poor and unstable and not necessarily a great place to visit. But after talking with Russ and some of the other passengers who had visited Nicaragua, I changed my view. Everyone felt that the country and towns were beautiful and the people very nice. Apparently, there is a mutual admiration going on; the country has decided to build a pier at San Juan del Sur to accommodate the cruise ships.

Our next to last stop on this cruise is Puerto Vallarta.

The countryside on the way north to the Mombacho Volcano Reserve.

There was several locations with wind turbines taking advantage of the big winds in the area.

Some of the village homes were in poor shape, there was a tsunami in 1992 that destroyed 60% of the homes in the area.

Mombacho, a dormant volcano.

The area is home to lots of howler monkeys, Their screams can be heard up to a quarter of a mile away. These guys were sitting in trees which lined the main road the tour took to the Volcano Reserve.

Climbing into the 4WD vehicles for the trip up the volcano.

A relief model of the volcano in the tourist center.

In the distance, you can see the city of Granada. The water is Lake Nicaragua.

This is a cloud forest. Temperatures are moderate with lots of humidity.

This channel was cut as a water channel for local coffee plantations.

Don't lean against this tree if you are looking for a rest.

This is the most difficult hike in the reserve. It is rated very difficult.

And it is apparently not well taken care of.

The hike passed some fumaroles which were steaming a bit.

The water on the left is Lake Nicaragua, the water on the right is another, smaller lake.

A beautiful wild orchid.

Look at those vivid colors!

One of the streets in Granada.

Mombacho is in the background.

The cathedral at Granada.

On the Plaza de Independencias.

Along the shores of Lake Nicaragua.

This is an active volcano on an island in the lake.

The passengers were greeted by local musicians on their return to the dock.

This is the Christ of the Mercy statue in San Juan del Sur.

I just do not understand how homes like this are allowed to be built in a country that has such severe earthquakes.

The vegetation was so dry that it looked like it had been burned. Hope this comes back when the wet season starts.

Returning to the mother ship after another successful day of touring.

29 March 2014

This is our second time at this port. We came this way two years ago when we cruised through the Panama Canal. This time we decided to do a full day tour of a coffee plantation and a botanical garden.

The last time, our tour took us along the coastline east for about an hour for a rainforest and river tour. This time we headed inland and up in elevation to the lower highlands. It was quite warm and very humid at the port. When we stopped for a rest break in the mountains, the air temperature was very pleasant and there was a nice breeze. We had passed into the cloud forest. This is the ideal climate for growing coffee.

The rest stop had a very nice souvenir store where we were given adequate time to help improve the economy of Costa Rica. I have to say though, the quality of the items for sale was very good and the prices were quite reasonable.

After about another half hour of driving, we stopped at a town named Palmares to walk through the plaza and tour a church. This church was destroyed in an earthquake and the locals rebuilt it using stone which is rare in Costa Rica and using a plaster which included chicken egg shells. The walk was pleasant and we got some exposure to what life in a small town on a Saturday morning is like. All along, the tour guide has been giving us a sense of the people, economy, history and geography of his country.

Then the giant bus continued its climb to the coffee plantation. Every turn he made seemed to be to a smaller steeper road, until finally he was on a one lane road that led to the plantation entrance. This plantation has been run by three generations of the Doka family. TresGenerationes is one of the largest coffee producers in Costa Rica. We were given a nice tour of the plantation where we learned about how the coffee plant grows and how the beans are harvested, dried and exported. They grow Arabica beans which have high caffeine content. I was most surprised at how the beans are dried; they are laid out on a concrete pad and an employee walks along them turning them with a rake every 15 minutes for 3 days. Then they go into bags and placed in the roasting room (which smelled wonderful) where they get roasted to various degrees and then packaged for sale. We also learned that there is a lot of recycling of the byproducts of the harvesting and drying process with much being turned into fertilizer which is returned to the land.

We had a nice buffet lunch of beef, rice and beans and fried plantains and then were given the opportunity to buy some of the coffee. Then it was off to the botanical garden. Along the way, we saw lots of coffee plants with banana trees appearing periodically. The banana trees use potassium from the soil, which if left there, is a problem for the coffee plant. A nice, symbiotic, growing plan.

The tour guide laughed when he explained that the locals are a little puzzled by the presence of a botanical garden, when it seems that Costa Rica itself is a botanical garden. And he was right – Costa Rica is absolutely beautiful. We are in the tail end of the dry season and the grasses were dead and the rivers were low. But in visiting with a fellow passenger who had previously been there during the wet season and talked about rain coming down in buckets, I am glad we are here when we are. Would not have wanted to take some of those roads in the mountains when they are wet and slippery.

The botanical garden was nice, but not as well taken care of as, say, the Arboretum here in Los Angeles. We saw lots of colorful plants and many palms along with a nice collection of orchids. There were some captive macaws also, in particular the Blue Macaw which is endangered in Costa Rica. There are over 800 species of birds in Costa Rica, more than in the U.S and Canada combined! The walk through the botanical garden was very pleasant.

Then it was back to Puntarenas and the ship. We are moored right across the pier from a local cruise ship and it was a bit crowded. I was so impressed with the tour busses – they had to back down the pier after they dropped off their passengers, all while looking out for wandering people.

The rivers are very low this time of year.

Hillsides are very dry. The wet season starts in April.

A nice central plaza.

This plaza included iguanas snoozing in the trees.

This church was rebuilt using funds and local volunteer labor after it was totally destroyed in an earthquake.

The mortar includes chicken eggshells.

In this climate zone, every hillside seems to be filled with rows of coffee plants.

Don’t know what these flowering trees are but the yellow blooms are beautiful.

The tour guide explained that houses have high fences and barbed wire as a status symbol. It started with the rich people protecting their property with the fences and then as others became upwardly mobile, they wanted their homes to look like the wealthy ones. Now it is part of the culture. In fact, we saw this in lots of places throughout South America.

This is one of the poor neighborhoods. Although Costa Rica’s economy is very strong and healthy, they still have lots of poor folks, particularly lots of illegal immigrants. Nicaraguans cross the border illegally to work the plantations for very low wages.

A view of the central valley of Costa Rica. 60 percent of the population lives in this valley.

On the road to the coffee plantation.

This coffee plantation is one of largest producers in the country.

Coffee is the 3^rd largest export in the country and has been grown in Costa Rica since the 1700s.

Our tour guide explaining the coffee bean. We have found the Costa Rican tour guides to be well educated, articulate and truly interested in educating the tourists about their country.

The tour included examples of the coffee plant in its various stages of growth. It takes 4 years for a plant to get to the point where it produces beans. It will produce for 25 years, but large plantations replace them after 12 years to keep the yield up.

The plants are starting to bud. In another few weeks, the plants will bloom and there will be a beautiful jasmine like smell throughout the area.

Banana trees are scattered about in the coffee fields. The banana trees provide shade and provide nutrients to the soil and the bark self-mulching reduces weeds. The coffee beans also are less potassium deficient.

Beans are handpicked when they are ripe. Workers earn $2 per basket and typically can get 8-10 baskets picked in a day. You don’t get rich being a plantation worker.

The beans are air dried for 3 days. Workers turn the beans using a rake every 15 minutes.

The light color beans are the highest quality. The darker ones get sorted out and sold for lower quality use (like instant coffee.)

Beans awaiting roasting.

The grounds of the coffee plantation had beautiful plants everywhere.

They even had a bonsai garden.

Costa Rica is known for their beautiful oxcarts and teams. We took advantage of the photo opportunity.

In the botanical garden, the tour guide was explaining about the need to be on the lookout for snakes in the plants. I didn’t get too close to them after that talk.