World Vision Visit, Guatemala – May 12, 2011

My World Vision guide and interpreter, Angela, arrived at the hotel around 7:45 a.m.   We sat in the lobby and completed the required paper work and then set off for the district office about an hour and fifteen minutes away on good roads.  We met Cesar on his motorcycle at 9:30 a.m. and he guided us to the district office in Santa Apolonia.   He left his bike parked there and he and Sylvia, also from the district office, joined us for the final 13 kilometers to the village of Panatzan where my sponsored child lives. 

That final 13 kilometers to Panatzan took us over 45 minutes.  The first half was on a narrow paved road and the last part was on a loose gravel road.  All of it was windy and up and down the hillside with big drops on the one side which were kind of scary but the views were wonderful.  It was a sunny day but a bit hazy so the visibility wasn’t perfect.  However, the scenes were all stunning.  This time of year is just the end of dry season and rainy season is coming.  Despite that fact, everything looked very green.  The dirt right along the road was very loose and looked very dry but it was obviously very fertile.  Everywhere you looked there were small fields of vegetables and they looked very healthy.  Men were often out in the field spraying the crops and Angela assured me they were using organic materials.  She also noted that the land was probably part of a large farm owned by one family but smaller sections were rented and farmed by individual farmers.  The individual farmers just get by and are able to survive with a lot of hard work but the owner keeps getting richer.  It doesn’t sound like a very fair system but people are at least surviving.

The town or community of Panatzan is very small and sits in a valley surrounded by beautiful hillsides covered in agricultural fields and trees.  We didn’t see a lot of the town as the host family lived near the outskirts of town as we were entering from the hillside.  I know they have at least one general store though because Grandpa runs one and that’s where we sat for our visit.  When we pulled up in front of the store there were ten or twelve people in sight.  There was a lot of bustling around but no one came to the car right away.  We gathered up the presents and food and went up to the store where I was introduced to a lot, but not all, of the people who were present.

Grandpa is Manuel and he runs the store and farms a small section of land.  Grandma is Josefina and she also minds the store at times and does all of the cooking for the whole clan.  Mom is Aida and she has three children: Yury who is 9, Sheidy ( my sponsored child) who is 7 and Darlyn who is 4.  Two of Sheidy’s aunts were also present and each of them had several children, and there were some neighbourhood children around.  At one point I counted 12 children probably all under the age of ten so it was a busy place.  I did not get introduced to all of them individually.  They were simply introduced as aunts and cousins and neighbours.  At the end another older lady came in and I was not introduced to her although we did say hello to each other.  I found out later that she was the local midwife.  Several other people stopped by throughout the time we were there but they were just there to get something from the store so not part of the family.

Sheidy’s birthday is May 12^th so the visit was planned to coincide with her birthday.  With so many children around I was glad that I bought a good sized piñata.  I also bought a large bag of mixed candies that I thought would partially go into the piñata and partially remain for the adults to share.  However, the entire bag apparently went into the piñata as did some other little trinkets that I bought for the purpose such as a tiny yellow rubber ducky, balloons, bracelets, really small ball, jacks, etc.   Of course there was a great run for the candy but wouldn’t you know it that the tiny rubber ducky was the hit of the day.  That toy passed from hand to hand and squeaked continually for hours.  Too funny!

The piñata was fun to experience.  Sheidy had to go first and she had to be blindfolded and turned around 8 times (7 for her age and one more for good measure).  She then started swinging at the piñata.  They decided it was too tall for her so they had to move what I assume was the clothesline to a new location so it was lower.  Cesar was pulling the other string on the piñata, something I didn’t realize they actually did, so the piñata moved up and down the clothesline and spun around so the child had to try and find it blindfolded.  I knew they had to hit it blindfolded but I hadn’t realized that someone was moving it on them at the same time. 

Anyway, Sheidy managed to punch a few holes in the star shaped piñata and start one point breaking off.  Then it was turned over to Darlyn to take her turns and she did a bit more damage.  Eventually it was turned over to Yury.  Because she is 9, she got spun around 10 times and seemed a bit dizzy after that.  She made a number of good strikes but eventually crashed into the side of the house head first so had to leave the game.  I’m not sure why an adult didn’t catch her but I guess we all thought she was going to catch herself first.  She had a very red scratched forehead and will have quite a goose egg there for some time but she seemed okay as the day went on.  Another of the girls finished the piñata off and when the goodies poured out there was mayhem on the ground as all the kids tried to grab their share (or more).

Purchasing a piñata was interesting.  The first shop I saw in the afternoon had piñatas of every size and shape including Winnie the Pooh, Buzz Lightyear, Mickey Mouse, clowns, dogs, cats, star, etc.  They even had several Easter bunnies but I thought it was a bit too late for that.   The star was a perfect solution.  The piñatas are simply wire covered with thin coloured paper.  They are totally enclosed when you buy them so you have to punch a hole in them to put the candy in.  For some reason I thought they would have made them with the candy on the inside but that is definitely not the case.  The one we bought was 20Q or less than $8.  Some were as low as 15Q and others were as high as 45Q but none of them were very expensive.  The candy for the inside cost more than the piñata itself.   The little trinkets were 1Q each so about 12 cents each.  Perhaps that tells you just how tiny the little rubber ducky was!  I think the girls in the shop charged the wrong amounts for these things but then what do I know about piñata stuffing?

We stopped at a bakery to buy a cake on our way but they didn’t have any cake so we bought a couple dozen pastries.  We ate those as a treat in celebration of the Sheidy’s birthday and everyone sang Happy Birthday to her before we started eating.  And strange as it may seem, they actually do sing Happy Birthday in English, as opposed to Spanish.  Angela said she didn’t know why they did it that way but everybody does it.     

Sheidy opened her gifts from me but they weren’t really exciting for a seven year old.  I bought her some clothes as that’s what they requested.  I could not find the traditional skirt and blouse that was suggested but I think she was quite happy with what she received.  She changed into the blue skirt and white blouse and they both fit and looked very nice on her.  Of course Sheidy is absolutely adorable so I’m sure she would look very cute in just about anything.  She also liked her Havianna flip-flops from Brazil, although I’m sure the name and country didn’t mean a thing to her.  And she liked her jewelry – the bracelet/necklace/belt/etc. with the magnetic pieces so it can be worn anywhere in any style.   

I also gave her a lot of books and things that I had purchased before I knew she wanted clothes.  Being an educator, of course I wanted to get her something educational so I bought her some small colouring and activity books that dealt with the alphabet, numbers, shapes, colours, farm animals, jungle animals and transportation.  Most of these were in both Spanish and English so that was an added bonus.  I think they were the only seven in the store so I bought them all, and of course there had to be crayons and coloured pencils to make them complete.   I also bought two Spanish books just for reading: Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood, and two jig-saw puzzles that were sort of Cinderella-ish.  And lastly I bought a couple of games but I don’t know exactly what they were because they were in Spanish.  One appeared to be like dominoes but with alphabet and pictures instead of dots.  The other was three games in one so who knows.  She wasn’t very interested in any of the books because she really can’t read yet, but I’m sure her Mom or big sister will read them to her until she can read them on her own. 

I really needed to get Sheidy some toys to play with but that didn’t happen.  Where we bought the books there was a toy tea set and we almost bought those but didn’t.  The next day we couldn’t find anything similar at all.  She likes dolls but I couldn’t find any dolls that were appropriate, and I just didn’t see any other toys to buy.  Perhaps I just don’t understand how or what little girls in Guatemala play with or do in their spare time.  I don’t imagine they are very demanding so it should have been easy to buy something.  However, I just didn’t know what to get so that was it.  Oh, of course she did get the mandatory Canada pencils, pins and Canada flag stickers.

Sheidy was very shy when I first got there and it was hard to get her to smile.  By the end of the visit I think she was feeling more comfortable around me, the stranger from nowhere with blond hair and blue eyes.  She had so many children around to play with that I could certainly understand that she didn’t want to stay with me during the entire visit.  However, her Mom kept calling her back every time something different came up or every time a picture was being taken.  I’m sure at times she thought I was more bother than I was worth and I don’t blame her.   It was just wonderful to see her in such a full family environment and having so much fun.  There was no doubt that Grandma and Grandpa loved all their children and grandchildren, although Grandpa laughed and said he didn’t remember how many grandchildren he actually had.  And it was obvious that Mom and the two aunts were good mothers to the children.  Sheidy will certainly never be alone or lonely in such a close-knit family group and it’s nice to know that that’s the environment she will grow up in.

Grandpa and Grandma speak their native language primarily and then Spanish.  The younger generation speaks both languages and classes in the schools use both languages.  That way the language will never die.  Most also learn English so that means they speak three languages – definitely more than me and most of the people I know.  Grandma thanked me for my visit.  She did this in her Mayan dialect (the name of which I cannot remember).  Sylvia translated that into Spanish and Angela translated that into English for me.  Grandpa also thanked me but he did so in Spanish, as did Aida.  They were all very grateful for my sponsorship and support over the years and especially for my visit.  I am invited back any time I care to visit.  Their thank-you messages were all very moving and heartfelt.  When I consider how little I actually do and how much it is appreciated, it certainly makes me wonder why I don’t do more.

I didn’t actually see inside many of the buildings where they lived.  I assume the brick building off to the one side was a bedroom for at least Aida and the three girls but perhaps for Grandma and Grandpa too.  It was a plain brick building probably 10 x 20 feet in size with a door and one small window.  Some of the aunts and their children live nearby but not right on these premises.  The kitchen or cooking area was on the other side of the store.  It was a large room probably 15 x 15 feet with a dirt floor and the stove at one end and lots of open space everywhere else.  According to Aida, Grandma does the cooking.  Outside the cooking area is a sink and there is running water from the tap.  It is not drinkable as it comes from the tap but World Vision provides them with a water filter so they have clean water right at home.  The water filter is a clay pot that sits on the counter full of water and that filter will last for one year so it’s an easy way to get clean water. 

I don’t know if there is a family room anywhere or whether they simply use the covered porch in front of the store.  The porch is certainly large enough to hold about 20 people.  We proved that during our visit.  There were some chairs and stools for people to sit on and then a table came from somewhere but I’m not sure where.  It may have come from the building beside the store so that may mean that there is a living area inside that building.

All of the females were dressed in their traditional costumes which included a wrap around skirt with a belt at the top to hold it on and a loose blouse.  The material for the skirt is always very colourful.  Originally the different colours represented different tribes and that is how the Spanish distinguished them.  By that I mean that the Spanish made each different group wear a different colour so they could be distinguished.  Now the females still wear the traditional costumes but they wear just about any colour and pattern.  The blouses are also in many different colours and often embroidered.  They are very beautiful.  The men just dress like farmers everywhere.  Manuel was simply wearing a pair of slacks and a shirt – much less colourful than the ladies.

Well I think that’s all for this visit.  It was a great time and I really enjoyed myself.  The World Vision staff members were great.  The family was wonderful and Sheidy is a beautiful little girl.   I’m glad I had the chance to visit and maybe I’ll even be able to do it again sometime.  This project is expected to continue and Sheidy is young so I will probably be her sponsor for many years.  It’s certainly a great experience to see the whole family and their home situation.  It definitely helps the sponsorship take on a more personal and meaningful dimension.  I don’t write frequently but I know my letters will be very different now that I’ve met this wonderful family.   

World Vision Visit, Cali, Colombia – May 15, 2011

This day was my only reason for going to Cali, Colombia and I was really excited about the visit and even nervous.  Since 2002 I have been sponsoring a child through World Vision and I was finally going to get to meet her and her family.  World Vision office staff in Canada and in Colombia have been working on the details of the visit for several months and finally it was about to happen.

Laura is my sponsored child and she is now 13.  She lives in a rural village just south of Cali, Colombia.  I was picked up at the hotel by the World Vision driver and staff member and a translator – Jhon (yes, that’s spelled correctly), Rosalba and Antonio.  We drove for about an hour to another smaller village where we went to the World Vision office and spent about half an hour meeting the staff, going over paper work, taking pictures, etc.   Everyone seemed thrilled about my visit and they made me feel very special.

We left the office and made the final journey to Laura’s village.  Another of the WV staff members was with us now and I’m so sorry but I can’t remember her name. (Isn’t that awful!?!   I really do need to write these blogs in a more timely manner.)  We stopped at the school just after 11 and went in to meet Laura there.  This was the last day of school and they were getting out early because the next week is a holiday for them, Easter Week or Semana Santa. 

Laura looked exactly like her last picture.  She is a beautiful young lady and was all smiles.  I think I was more nervous that she was.  With the help of the translator I saw the school, which only held a few rooms, and talked to a couple of Laura’s teachers.  They both said she was an excellent student and I believe them.  The classrooms looked like typical school rooms with individual desks and chairs and chalk boards at the front.  The rooms had walls and doors and also large windows along the length of the room on both sides and these were open to let the air in.  There was a covered cement area on our side of the building and that’s where most people were gathered, including the teachers who were all gathering their marking to take home.  I guess that part of a teacher’s job doesn’t change anywhere.

Laura joined us in the truck and we drove to her place.  Her home is at the top of a hill so we had to park at the bottom just off the road, which seemed to be hard for the driver I guess because the road and the gateway were so narrow and the road was gravel and rather wet so the sharp turn angling upwards was difficult.  He made it though and we all climbed up the hill to the home where the rest of the family was waiting for us.  I had been told that I was only going to meet Laura and her grandmother and it wasn’t going to be at their home but in fact I met everyone.  They were all smiling and very welcoming and there were lots of hugs as introductions were made.   They are a very warm and beautiful family and made me feel right at home.

Julio and Lucretia are Laura’s grandparents.  Julio built the home they live in and it was a beautiful home with a wonderful location and view.   Alexandra is Laura’s mother and she was very emotional throughout the day.  She had taken the day off work just to be home when I arrived.  She was very quiet but obviously very grateful for my support over the years and for my visit.  Brian is Laura’s little brother and he is six.  He was still in school when I first arrived so I think he was a bit overwhelmed by all the people at the start.  By the end he was enjoying himself and loved having his picture taken and looking at it after.   Laura’s aunt was also there and her two children.  I don’t remember being introduced to any of them so I can’t give you their names.  For the first while I thought the aunt was Laura’s mother and the little boy was her brother so I was rather confused.   They apparently live nearby and just came by for the visit.    Laura’s best friend, Jenifer, also came over for a while during my visit.

The home has a covered patio all along the front surrounded by a white picket fence.  There were several chairs on the patio and this is where we first stopped for some pictures and to talk.  When you stepped inside the house there was a large living room with cushioned couches and chairs and a TV.  It looked to be a very comfortable family room.  To the right there was a room with a curtain over the door and I believe that was Julio and Lucretia’s bedroom.  There was a white sheer curtain pulled back on the passageway between the living room and the dining room.  The dining room table and chairs would probably have sat eight for dinner.  To the right of the dining area was the kitchen area with sink, stove, fridge and cupboards.  To the left of the dining area was another bedroom with curtains in the door and windows.  There was a single and double bed in there and that was Alexandra’s, Laura’s and Brian’s room.  There were framed pictures of the children on the wall of that room and I think those were just about the only pictures I saw. 

Outside the back door there was another cooking area and Lucretia was cooking lunch out there.  The fireplace was three or four bricks high and the same wide.  Three sides were enclosed but not sealed so the air could get in between the bricks.  The fourth side was open and that’s where they put in the fuel.  It was small branches at the time and the unburned end was sticking out on the cooking area.  As needed, Lucretia would push the sticks in further to keep a hot fire going.  The pot she had sitting on the bricks was well blackened and I imagine it had cooked every kind of meal.  Today it was cooking a soup and the broth smelled delicious.  This area was also covered so Lucretia did not have to cook in the rain.   

The whole area around the house is fenced off and then other fences line the larger fields.  The dog or dogs were kept in the dog house while I was there because I guess they get really friendly.  There were chickens around the yard.  In the immediate yard there were also many fruit trees: papaya, lemon, lime, orange?  I don’t remember all of them but Julio looks after the trees and takes the fruit to market when it’s picked.  Lucretia wanted to send some lemons back with me but I wasn’t sure I’d get to use them.  I finally agreed I’d take a few and make some lemonade but in the end we both forgot about them so hopefully they enjoyed some lemonade instead.

The home was nothing new or modern but it was very comfortable.  The furniture was sparse and very old fashioned by North American standards but it worked just the same.  The house was immaculately clean and I certainly could have lived there.  I’m not sure I would have mastered the outdoor stove technique but otherwise it was just fine.  And of course they had a cell phone so they did have access to the outside world.  I never actually saw or asked about bathroom facilities but I assume there was some kind of toilet nearby, perhaps in one of the smaller nearby buildings.  I might have a little difficulty getting used to that arrangement.

At one point we took a walk outside and went further up behind the house to see more of the countryside.  The area is beautiful and very fertile.  The rolling hillsides are very green and lush looking.  It’s rainy season now so I’m not sure if it’s always this green.  The soil itself is very red and looks like a very loose loam.  Sugar cane is a major crop here and there is a sugar cane processing plant nearby where some of the locals work.  Fields are distinguishable by the trees that normally line the way.  There are numerous streams or rivers nearby and right now a number of them are flooded but not too seriously.  Throughout the landscape are small homes similar to Julio’s.    

It started to rain while we were out walking so we quickly made it back to the house and got Lucretia’s clean floor all dirty.  And as I write that I have to say that I don’t really know whether the floor was a dirt floor or a concrete floor.  If it was dirt, it was well packed and really clean.  I’m thinking it was something other than dirt because I remember thinking we shouldn’t be walking on it with our wet feet.  I probably wouldn’t have thought that if it was dirt.  Anyway, as in all homes when people get together, we seemed to congregate in the kitchen area and it was very comfortable there with everyone in one room – 8 family members, 1 friend, 4 World Vision staff members and me.  You certainly wouldn’t get that many people around my kitchen table or in my kitchen!

Lunch was delicious and reminded me of many of the lunches we had in Peru and Ecuador which are of course right next to Colombia.  The soup was delicious and it was very filling.  I can’t remember what the root stock is but it’s always delicious and then spices, potatoes, vegetables and chicken pieces are added.  The only strange thing about it is that they add the whole chicken piece bones and all.  It certainly makes it easier to cook and prepare but it makes it a bit hard to eat with a spoon.  The chicken is always very tender though so it’s worth the hassle of eating it out of a broth.  Along with that we had a plate of rice and salad and both of those were also very tasty.  I was definitely full when finished and I seemed to be the last one finished.  Only the World Visions staff, Julio and I actually sat at the table and ate the meal.  Some of the children had already eaten earlier and some were eating later I guess.  There was lots of room at the table but only the six of us ate at that time.   

I think it was after Brian got back from school and before lunch time that we exchanged gifts.  I wasn’t sure what to take but was thinking of school supplies and books.  I asked World Vision Colombia what would be most appropriate for Laura and the family and said I was open to anything: school supplies, food, clothes, live chickens or whatever.  They replied and said that the family wanted clothes and gave me sizes for Lucretia, Alexandra, Laura and Brian.  I thought I was only meeting Lucretia and Laura but decided to buy for all four since they had given me all the details.  I did the shopping in Panama City before I flew out, at the huge department store at the corner (as described in a different blog).  Luckily the young clerk had some ideas on what to buy because I certainly didn’t have much of a clue.

Anyway, I presented their gifts and I think they were pleased with them.  Only Brian seemed rather bored with the whole thing but then what six year really wants to get more clothes as a present.  Besides, they had told me size 8 for him so everything was way too big.  They didn’t take any time to model the clothes so I hope they fit.  And if they don’t fit I hope they feel free to trade them or sell them so they can get something else.  I felt bad that I didn’t have anything for Julio so I just gave him a big hug and everyone thought that was pretty funny.  Of course I also didn’t have anything for the aunt or cousins or friend but they seemed to understand.  Laura gave me a hand-made card and picture frame, which I’m now trying to protect in my backpack so I can put her picture in it when I get home.  Hopefully it survives the trip okay.

 

After lunch we went to hear a band practice.  World Vision organizes this and helps to provide the instruments and the band leader and then three different groups from three different communities practice and perform.  Laura is not in the program but would like to be.  However, I’m not sure she will ever be in the band because some of them have been playing for several years and she has never had the chance to try an instrument so probably wouldn’t be at the same level as the other people.  They were late starting so we sat around and waited for a while.  They all have to walk to practice so with the rain they were a bit slower in arriving.  We listened to several songs and they were pretty good.  They definitely needed more work but that’s what practice is for.  I think they were going to be playing for one of the events during next week’s Semana Santa.

The World Vision staff member suddenly asked me to say a few words to the group so it was kind of a spontaneous talk about how much music means to me and how singing or playing the piano always takes my mind off other things.  I congratulated them for being there and encouraged them to continue with their music as I believed music was very beneficial and it would be something they would have with them forever.   The staff member wanted me to sing something for them but I didn’t.  I wasn’t sure I could do that but now I wish I had.  I’m sure they would have been a very understanding and accepting group but I was there to hear them play not to have them listen to me sing.  At the end the staff member asked the group if one of them wanted to say anything about what the band meant to them and one of the guys stood up and gave a short talk about how he used to be very frustrated and angry and was getting into trouble but now the music calms him down and he has learned to deal better with other things in his life.  It was a good talk on one of the benefits of the program.

Following that we went back to Laura’s house to say our goodbyes and head back to Cali.  Once again there were lots of smiles and hugs from everyone.  I should also mention that when we left for the concert Brian started crying but I didn’t know why.  He was apparently upset because he couldn’t go because we didn’t have any more room in the truck.  So eventually we took just about everyone with the adults in the truck cab and the kids and Julio in the back.  Julio is of course the oldest one in the whole group but he was up and in the back of the truck with no trouble at all.  According to World Vision he is around 80 years old but it’s hard to believe as he seems much younger.

We arrived at Laura’s school about 11 a.m. and probably arrived at her home around 11:30.  We went to the band practice at 3:00 p.m. but it was running late so by the time we got back and said our goodbyes and departed for Cali it was probably 4:30 p.m.  What I thought was going to be a short meeting turned out to be a full-day event and it was wonderful.

I don’t know what else I can say about the visit except that it was truly wonderful and the family made me feel very welcome.  I wish now that I had said so much more while I was there.  In fact I’m not even sure what I did say and what I didn’t, and working through a translator always makes it even more complicated.  The family treated me as someone very special and they were all dressed for the occasion.  I can’t forget Julio when we left for the band practice.  He went to get his hat and it was a beautiful white or light straw Panama-style hat and he looked quite dapper in it.   Julio was the most talkative of the family and kept a lot of the conversation going.  He also said grace and a lengthy prayer as we were leaving.  I have to confess that I didn’t get much of it because Julio was on my right (the good ear) and the translator was to my left (the bad ear) so I didn’t hear much of the translation.  I do think I got the gist of it though and it was clear to see why Julio is the rock that holds the family together.   Lucretia is just as dedicated to the home and family but definitely much quieter.  Alexandra is your typical working mom who is grateful for all the help and support she gets, and the children are beautiful children, very well mannered and obviously eager to learn.  Laura is learning English and if there is any way I can help her do that I will certainly do so.  I’m quite sure she will learn English long before I learn Spanish.

Laura is a real gem.  She is so grown up now and so different than the little four-year old I first started sponsoring years ago.  She is very slim and beautiful and has a lovely smile.  She had her hair braided in many tiny braids and all twisted up at the back of her head.  When I asked how long it took to braid her hair she said all day and that her aunt did it.  Laura thought it was funny that I didn’t realize that it wasn’t all her hair but just extensions.  She was very friendly throughout the visit and often tried to speak English to me.   When she didn’t know the English she was very comfortable working through the translator.  Throughout the day she was actually more outgoing than me or her mother or her grandmother.  When I asked her what she wanted to be she said police or lawyer and I think she would be great at either job.  I always send her a card and letter and some small gift at Christmas so I asked what she’d really like since I was always just guessing.  She said a computer.  I’m not sure I can manage that but I’ll definitely have to come up with something special for her the next time I write.   

It was a great day despite the rain and the visit is something I will always remember.  World Vision figures the project in this area will likely be completed within a year or two so that will mean Laura no longer needs a sponsor and I will lose touch with her.  I’m glad I took the time to go visit her while on this trip but now I will certainly miss her more when we’re no longer corresponding.  Oh well, I guess that’s the secret of success with World Vision.  If they can support a community long enough to get it on its feet and be self sufficient then they have done their job well.  From what I saw, I think the community and the people in it are well on their way to independence and that is to be celebrated.  Maybe I’ll touch base with Laura again later when she becomes a great lawyer or even President of Colombia.  You never know.

Flamingo Beach, Costa Rica – April 30 – May 7, 2011

We took an early morning transfer from La Fortuna and arrived in Flamingo Beach around noon.  The transfer over was a private van and very comfortable.  The first hour and a half was very hilly and windy as we went around Lake Arenal.  Some of the views were fantastic but the winding road was making me a bit queasy.  The weather was cloudy again so we could not see the top of the volcano but the lake was beautiful anyway.  There are many wind turbines on the ridge behind the lake and they were turning continually.  Costa Rica is definitely trying to use green energy.  The wind is quite strong in this area all of the time and wind surfing is very popular at the end of the lake.  The breeze definitely keeps the area cool, which is nice. 

The last half of the trip was totally different.  We suddenly left the rainforest and green area and entered a very dry flat area of the county, almost like the South Okanagan in a dry summer.  We crossed canals on several occasions and these bring water from Lake Arenal to the drier area for irrigation.  Strangely enough, one of the main crops in this dry area is rice, which grows in fields of water.  Go figure.  Another important crop is watermelon and I can attest to the fact that the watermelon is good here.  The cattle industry is also very strong in this area.  The river beds are quite deep and wide in some cases but there is literally no water running in the basin.  One really good thing about this part of the trip was that you actually got almost straight roads – something that’s very unusual in Costa Rica!

We went through many small towns.  I didn’t know most of the names and have forgotten most of those that I did know.  I remember going through Nuevo Arenal, which is the new town that was established after the eruption of the volcano destroyed the old town – the one now at the bottom of Lake Arenal.  That was pretty early in the journey.  And I remember Liberia, which is close to the end of the journey.  Liberia is a much larger centre and has an airport.  Next week we fly back to San Jose from here and it is about an hour’s drive from where we are staying.  Just before arriving at our hotel we hit some of the famous beaches on the Pacific Coast and they really did look very nice and not very busy. 

The Flamingo Beach Resort is right on the beach.  Well, technically it is across the road from the beach but it’s not a very busy road so it almost seems like you’re right on the beach.  All of the beaches in Costa Rica are public so the resorts cannot claim any private piece of beach.  Flamingo Beach is about 2 km in length and it has soft white sand.  The beach slopes gently into the water and, depending on the tide, sometimes you have to walk quite a distance before it gets deep.  The waves are very irregular and not very large.  The water is refreshing but certainly not very cold. 

There are animals right at the resort so we shouldn’t have to pay to go on a tour to see them.  Last night coming back to the room there were four raccoons by the steps.  At lunch there were several birds hanging around looking for scraps and one of them was a beautiful blue bird with a white belly, a black head crest like a quail’s and a long blue tail feather.  He was pretty bold and it was no surprise to learn he was of the jay family.  There are lizards and iguanas around the grounds and some of the iguanas are really large.  There was one down by the pool trying to get someone’s food today and he was probably four feet long from nose to end of tail.  And when he opened his mouth to snap at the container his mouth opened at least five inches.  You definitely wouldn’t want to argue with him if he was trying to get your dinner.  The employees do try to move them away so they don’t bother people but most people seem to find them interesting.  I thought the young guy today was going to try feeding the iguana but he was just trying to get the food away and off to the garbage. 

The guard one morning at breakfast was trying to scare away squirrels.  What caught our attention was a coconut falling to the ground.  The guard came over and picked it up and it had a hole in one end and was virtually empty.  Then we saw the guard trying to chase away a squirrel.  It didn’t work and we later saw at the top of the tree a squirrel hang upside down by its back legs and grab a coconut with its front legs and then start biting into the bottom of the coconut.  Pretty soon the liquid was running out of the coconut so the squirrel just hung upside down and drank it.  Then he started pulling out the inside flesh of the coconut and started eating that – all while hanging upside down.  

For the first afternoon at the resort I simply sat on the beach and read a book.  I went in the water a couple of times to get cooled off but basically I just sat in the shade and relaxed.  Around 6 p.m.  I was rewarded with a beautiful sunset out over the Pacific.  They say their sunsets here are always beautiful so I guess I’ll have to check it out every night and see if it’s true.  The weather here is very hot at close to 40 degrees Celsius but it’s quite bearable as there is always a breeze and the humidity is quite low because it’s dry season.  They will soon be entering rainy season and there are indeed clouds in the sky in the afternoon and it look like it could rain anytime.  The clouds are actually really nice just to cut the heat from the sun.

On the second day I went for a walk from one end of the beach to the other between 7 and 8 a.m.   The sun was already hot and I should have had sun screen on but I didn’t.  I guess my tan will just get darker.  Of course it couldn’t get much lighter as I’m still pretty white.  After breakfast I sat around the pool in the shade until about 2 p.m. when it got just a bit too hot for my comfort despite several dips in the pool.  I then went to the room and had some lunch and tried to get caught up on some blogging and travel planning.  That actually became my routine for several days the week.  It’s just too hot to do anything else.  The humidity is still low, which is a blessing, but the temperature is always in the high 30’s and feels like the low 40’s.  That’s about 100 degrees Fahrenheit in case you’re wondering and it is hot.

Lunch and dinner on arrival day were at the resort and the food was good.  Breakfast the next morning was also very good.  We have a fridge and toaster and blender but no stone so will be buying some specific groceries so we can at least have toast and peanut butter for breakfast and sandwiches for lunch to save a little money.  There are other restaurants around the area so we may also have to go out and try some of them for dinners. 

On the 2^nd we went on a boat trip.  Some people went snorkeling and others went diving.  We went out to the Catalina Islands, which are just off the coast of Flamingo Beach.  There are many small islands in the area and some of them have quite unique shapes.  Hat Island, as our guide called it, looks like a low brim and then a high hat.  The other guide called it Sombrero Island and that seemed more fitting so I think something was lost in the translation from our guide.  I believe the guide said the islands were formed by volcanoes, which would seem appropriate in Costa Rica.  The shore line of all the islands is very rugged looking and there were no sandy beaches. 

The divers in the group went down in one spot and the snorkelers went around to the other side of the island.  We snorkeled for 30 minutes with a guide and he was very good.  He would dive down to the bottom and bring up different star fish for us or point out round stingrays.  I might not have noticed these things otherwise.  There were other fish swimming around but not a lot of them and not many brightly coloured ones.  There was very little coral but some tiny colourful pieces were visible.  I guess more will grow in the future.  The current was very strong and the rocks didn’t look very inviting so it was a tough snorkel for me but okay.  The other tough thing was seeing jelly fish swim by and trying not to panic as I tried to avoid them.  I have a healthy respect for jelly fish and normally like to avoid them totally.  However, the guide said these ones were basically harmless and no one got stung so I guess we didn’t have anything to worry about – despite the fact that I worried anyway.  When the snorkelers were all back on the boat it then went back to pick up the divers.  We then drove to another spot and repeated the same routine.  Their air tanks were good for an hour and we snorkeled for 30 minutes so with the change in location for divers and snorkelers it worked out well.  I should note that the divers also saw seahorses but we snorkelers did not.  Apparently there was a white seahorse and it was the first the guides had ever seen. 

Along the way out and back we did see other sights such as a beautiful dolphin that swan right alongside of us and then crossed in front of us and disappeared.  There were birds following the boat and at first I thought they were seagulls but then I saw one dive into the water so I knew it wasn’t a seagull.  I still don’t know exactly what they were but they would hit the water full speed and supposedly pick up some little fish that was swimming close to the surface.  The birds did not go very far into the water so the fish could not have been very deep.  It was actually quite funny watching these birds do a nose dive into the water and then bounce right off it because their bodies weren’t streamlined enough to continue into the water.  We also saw what looked like very turbulent water where it was rushing over rocks or something.  However, when we got closer it was obvious that it was fish jumping about.  At times there were three or four huge patches of white caps and froth and it turned out just to be tuna jumping.  They were definitely small tuna only a couple feet long, but they were really active and churning up the water.  It was quite amazing to see.

Did you know that pelicans fly in group and use a V formation much the same as Canada Geese use?  I didn’t know that but it was first noted in Chile and I’ve noticed it a few times since.  The pelicans here definitely fly in V formation and there can be twenty or thirty of them in flight at once.  Who knew?

We discovered there really isn’t much in this area to do.  However, the beach is great and the pool at the resort is great.  There are books to read in a book exchange at the resort and there are blogs to write.   And that is how I passed most of my time – sitting at the pool or beach reading until about 2 p.m. and then  moving indoors to get cleaned up and do some work, then dinner and more reading before bed.  It’s a tough life but I tried my best to survive it – at least for one week.

Food wise we definitely survived the week although the toast and peanut butter for breakfast and the cheese sandwiches for lunch were definitely getting a bit boring.  We went down the street to Marie’s Restaurant one night and I had ribs.  They were delicious.  We went back another night and I had the red snapper.  It was also delicious.  Another night we went to Angelina’s Restaurant and it was also good but more expensive.  I think I had tilapia that night.  I had red snapper again another night in Amberes Restaurant and it was also very good.  The chocolate mousse there was delicious!  And one night we went to the local pizza place where the food was good and the price was even better.  Other meals were at the resort.  We were the only people in some of these restaurants so it’s definitely low season and there aren’t many tourists around. 

I have to say that, although I didn’t see all of them, the sunsets were always very beautiful on Flamingo Beach.  The Catalina Islands are just off shore and the sun always set just between two of the islands.  I took way too many pictures of sunsets but who cares.  They can be deleted later if needed.  The last night was very windy and cloudy and I didn’t go down to see the sunset and someone said it was the best one of the week.  Oh well, I still saw some good ones.

So what else happened this week?  Well, I took a cheese sandwich down to the poolside one day and an iguana jumped up on the chair and then up on the table beside me.  I quickly grabbed my sandwich and jumped off my chaise lounge and the iguana jumped down and wandered all over my towel looking for food.   I was not impressed.  On the last day two other girls were having the same problem and the iguanas just didn’t want to leave.  Yes, they had two iguanas after them, one from each side, which was even worse than my experience.   I guess the other discovery is that there are not just little waves here on the beach.  Sometime they get quite big and look like you could surf on them except that they break really close to the shore.  I got hit by one and it was a lot of water hitting all at once and not a very nice feeling.  My bathing suit and hair and ears were totally full of sand and I’m still clearing it out.  I never went in the ocean again.  The pool looked much calmer and more inviting.

Well, I guess that’s just about it for Costa Rica.  Tomorrow we’re off for the airport in Liberia to fly to San Jose and then on to Guatemala City, Guatemala to start that adventure.  We certainly didn’t see everything there was to see but I think we did a good job at visiting a lot of places in just two weeks.  We’ve visited the capital of San Jose, toured the rainforest of Tortuguero on the east coast, visited the Arenal volcano area in the centre, and walked Flamingo Beach and went snorkeling on the west coast.  It was all interesting and beautiful, and the people were wonderful.  It would definitely be a place I would recommend to others.

Tortuguero, Costa Rica – April 23-25, 2011

The 23rd was an early one: up at 5 a.m. for 6 a.m. departure to the coast and stopped at 7:30 a.m. just at a crossroads for breakfast in a nice restaurant.  The road to this point was very good as we wound our way through the volcanic mountains that surround San Jose.  The whole area is virgin forest as it is part of Braullio Carrillo National Park, over 450 square kilometers of protected area.  We had to go through one of the passes so had some amazing views of the countryside during this part of the trip.  Eventually we arrived at a much flatter part of the country and for the last hour or so of the journey we only had very bumpy gravel roads.

At 8:45 we started driving past large fields of bananas and apparently this is one of the larger plantations in the country.  We stopped at a processing or packing plant (not sure what they call it) for a quick look at the operation.  It is right at the side of the road but also right in the middle of all the fields of bananas.  There are long lines of pulleys that stretch in every direction and runners come running down the line pulling hundreds of bunches of bananas behind them.  I assume someone else, like the pickers, put the large bunches of bananas on the pulleys and every so often the runners just start pulling them into the plant.  The bunches of bananas that come in this way are all 2-3 feet long and look very heavy.  Someone at some point has inserted cardboard pieces where the bunches within the bunches exist. 

The first people in the plant have the job of cutting the big bunches of bananas that were still hanging on the pulleys into smaller bunches of bananas – maybe 6-10 bananas per bunch – and throwing these smaller bunches into the pools of water behind them.  The bananas float and they are sprayed in the tanks so they get clean and they move automatically to the next station.  The next person takes the bananas from the water and puts them in a tray and puts the tray on a conveyer belt.  The next people trim the bunches of bananas and at some point after that the bananas get bagged and labeled.  That part of the operation was a bit further away from our viewing point.  The last part of the process has someone taking the bagged and labeled bunches and putting them into cardboard boxes for shipping. 

The whole process moved very quickly and it was interesting to realize that the bananas were picked, moved from the field to the plant and then packed and ready to be shipped in about half an hour.  I wonder how long it takes for them to get from there to my local grocery store.  I like my bananas firm and these looked ready for me to eat.  They weren’t really green as I’d always imagined them when picked.  And I should also mention that all of the first really large bunches of bananas are covered in blue plastic.  That’s how they grow on the tree and the bag keeps the sun from burning them and protects them from the bugs and any fertilizers or pesticides that might be used.

There were people at the plant selling fresh coconut and they had some really big beetles on sticks of sugar cane so we were taking pictures of them.  They were brown horned beetles almost four inches long.  They seemed rather stupefied and I don’t know if that’s what they are always like or whether the hot sun and all the sugar cane they were eating had affected them.  I was just glad I’d seen them there in the great outdoors and not somewhere in my room.

There were lots of banana fields as I already noted and there were also pineapple fields and palm oil fields and coffee fields.  It was a very fertile area and the crops were very healthy.  Obviously the area wasn’t rich enough to do anything about their bumpy stone roads (I’m no longer calling them gravel) but we did survive.  At one point along the way the guide got out and went into the forest and came back to the van with a big leaf with a tiny red frog on it.  We all tried to take pictures of it before it hopped away but it was a very active frog.  We also stopped twice along the way to see two different sloths.  I never really did see the first one but the second one was quite clear.  He moved around the tree quite slowly and even hung upside down for us as if posing for photos.  I no longer remember whether he was a two-toed or three-toed sloth but the guide did tell us how to tell the difference.  I just don’t remember what he said.

We eventually arrived in a small port town and boarded our boat for Tortuguero.  It was almost a two hour ride on very calm waters with lots of vegetation on both sides.  The boat was small but had a cover so it was a very relaxing ride on a hot sunny day.  Our pilot and guide were both really good at spotting animals and birds and we made several stops along the way.  We saw herons and other birds whose names I have forgotten, and caimans whose name I didn’t forget.  Caimans look like alligators or crocodiles as they are of the same family but caimans are usually smaller.  I know alligators and crocodiles are not the same but can never remember the difference except one has a pointed head and one has a more rounded head.  Just to make things more complicated, a caiman is an “alligatorid crocodilian”, which to me sounds like it is a bit of both.  I remember that caimans have stronger next muscles than the other two and can raise his head quite high, and I think he has a pointed mouth instead of a round flat one but I’m not totally sure. 

We arrived at our resort about 12:30 p.m. and had lunch at 1 p.m.  We then had a quick tour around the resort before heading out on another tour at 3 p.m.  The resort is on one of the canals that run through the area of Tortuguero National Park.  Most of these canals are natural and formed when the salt water meets the fresh water from the rivers and silt and sand start to build up until an island is formed leaving just a canal or waterway.  Some of the canals are man-made though and were used for floating timber out of the area back before the park was created.  Now that it is a national park nothing can be cut or removed from the area.  The 312 square kilometer park is on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica and includes coastal waters, sandy beaches, lagoons, swamps and rainforest.  As a result it has a great diversity of flora and fauna and that’s why everyone comes to visit even though you can’t get here other than by boat. 

Our 3 p.m. tour was to the museum and to get there we had to get in another boat and go over to the town of Tortuguero.  There are small boats full of tourists going in all different directions as tour operators pick up and drop off at various resorts around the area and take the tourists to see all the sights.  The museum is very small and our guide said we could go to the beach and he would tell us about everything that was in the museum so that’s what we did.  The island is very narrow so it probably didn’t take even five minutes to get out of the boat, walk to the museum and then beyond it to the sandy beach on the other side.  There we found a long sandy beach that was almost deserted and beautiful blue water of the Caribbean.  They discourage swimming in the water and there was no one in the water at any time we were on the beach.  I guess perhaps the caiman don’t make good swimming companions.

This beach is really important as a nesting area for green turtles and also lesser so for leatherback, loggerhead and hawksbill turtles.  Our guide explained why the area was so important, when each of the groups of turtles were active and how the park protects them.  He also talked about how the islands and canals were formed and told us about the town and the national park.  It was a short talk but it was good especially since we were on the beach and it was a beautiful day and there was a cool wind blowing off the water. 

From there we took a walking tour of the town and that didn’t take any time at all.  Because the island is so narrow there is not room for any width to the town.  At one point there might be two streets but don’t think cars or anything because there aren’t any in this little town.  Tortuguero and the surrounding area have a population of 1,500 and it takes all of ten minutes to walk from one end of the town to the other.  Yet people live here year round.  They have a school and clinic and a number of hotels, restaurants, pubs and souvenir shops for the tourists, and tourism is certainly what keeps them alive.  The buildings are all very small and basically only one storey.  Some of the ones near the water are on stilts but the tides are very low here so there is not much change in water level at any time of the day or of the year, whether it is dry or rainy season. 

We then went back to our resort by boat and had two hours to explore before dinner.  The area is very isolated and the Evergreen Resort is very rustic, as they all are in this area.  There is no internet so we didn’t bring laptops with us so we just had to enjoy our surroundings.  The rooms are individual bungalows or cabins and they are all on stilts about ten feet off the ground.  There is a pathway about six feet off the ground that joins all the units.  Supposedly the raised walkway protects people from the water level in the really rainy season and from the snakes in the area.  Luckily I didn’t see any of them around the resort area.  The resort is actually quite large and I think there were 50 or 60 units.  There were restaurants at both ends but we were assigned the one specifically.  I don’t know whether the other was different or the same.  There was a bar area that had a TV in it and mainly played sports.  There was a small zip line through part of the rain forest but we never did see anyone on that, and there was a 2 km walkway into the rainforest but it seemed to be closed except for the first quarter mile or so.  Reception was just a small cubicle with room for a couple people and not much more.  There was a large room full of rain ponchos and rubber boots and kayak paddles, and best of all there was a pool area.  It was very refreshing as the days were very hot and very humid.

The rooms were very simple with just beds and shelves on the inside and a bathroom that sometimes had hot water and sometimes didn’t.  There was a porch out front and out back so you could watch the wildlife around the area.  The two side walls were screens the upper half of the wall so there was lots of fresh air in the room.  Unfortunately it was also very humid air so everything seemed wet.  The ceiling fan was the only thing that kept the place cool so it was really appreciated.  It also helped to dry out any wet clothes we had. 

There were monkeys up in the trees in the area.  The howler monkeys were incredibly noisy and made a great racket around bed time and again really early in the morning.  The capuchin or white-faced monkeys were much quieter and friendlier so I liked them much better.  I never did see or hear the spider monkeys so I think they must have been off on holidays while we were there.  There were also many really noisy birds up in the trees but you seldom saw them at any point.  I guess they just like to be heard and not seen.  And of course there were supposed to be lots of tiny red frogs but they were almost impossible to find.  One thing I enjoyed around the resort was all the beautiful flowers.  I had to keep my camera with me the whole time because I never knew when another beautiful flower would appear – or a monkey or a lizard or whatever.

After dinner we had some more free time and then went off on another tour.  We got back in the boat at 9 p.m. and went over to the town and walked into the national park.  We wandered around the beach area in the dark until almost midnight but didn’t see anything.  We were hoping to see a turtle coming out of the water and going up on to the sand to lay some eggs but we did not see anything.  It was not the season for them but we thought we might be lucky anyway.  I guess not.  However we did see some tracks from the night before so the walk wasn’t a total waste of time.  The walk itself was very hard as the sand was very deep in places.  It was also a cloudy night so you really could not see anything.  I had my head lamp with me but we weren’t allowed to use the white lights on the beach as it would discourage the turtles from coming ashore.  The night was hot and there wasn’t much wind so I was absolutely soaked by the time I got back.  I had a shower and went to bed right away as it had indeed been a long day from 5 a.m. to midnight.

On the 24^th we were up for breakfast at 7 a.m. and a two-hour boat cruise at 8 a.m.  It was very relaxing riding up and down the canals and we saw more caimans, birds, monkeys and lizards.  The Jesus Christ lizard is very hard to find but our guides did that part for us.  It is green and looks like green leaves so a great camouflage.  It is called the Jesus Christ lizard because it walks, or rather runs, across the water but we never saw it doing that.  The herons were small and beautiful and they don’t seem to mind humans or boats being in the area.  I guess they are used to it and feel quite safe in the protected area.  We heard more monkeys but they were too distant in the trees to really see. 

Once we were back at the resort I did a short walk down the trail, which turned out to be a really short trail.  It was a really good walk, again on a raised walkway so safe from snakes, and I actually saw more birds and monkeys and even a red frog.  The monkeys were the white faced ones and they were really fun to watch.  There were about six of them and they were eating seed pods and jumping from tree to tree.  Actually some of the time I think they were watching me as much as I was watching them.  I wonder if they enjoyed the show as much as I did. 

After that we went for a kayak ride down some of the smaller canals.  It was very relaxing and nice but we didn’t see much of anything in the line of wildlife.  It did take us up to lunch time so that was good.  The food at the resort was good.  It was buffet style and there weren’t many choices but it was still good.  After lunch we spent the afternoon at the pool and that was really refreshing.  About 4 p.m. the white-faced monkeys put on quite a show behind the pool flying from tree to tree eating fruit and it was fun to watch.  At times they weren’t even ten feet away from those of us trying to take pictures and they didn’t seem to care at all.  They just kept eating and jumping around.  All in all it was a very relaxing way to spend Easter. 

On our last day we were up early and had breakfast and ready for an 8 a.m. boat ride through the canals and a one- hour walk through the park.  After that we went back to the resort at 11:30, had a quick dip in the pool followed by lunch and then our journey back to San Jose started at 1:30.  That of course involved a two-hour boat ride back to the mainland and then a three-hour drive so we arrived back in San Jose around 6:30 in time for dinner.

On the morning boat ride we went through some of the smaller channels and there was more vegetation overhead so at times we were under a total canopy and had only spotty sunlight shining through.  It was quite neat.  We saw more iguanas, caimans, birds and monkeys but nothing new or astonishing.  The best sight was the baby caiman sunning themselves on a log.  There must have been a dozen or so of them and they were very cute. 

Our one-hour walk was through the forest and on to the beach but there was nothing exciting to see there either.  We mainly looked at smaller insects and bugs on the ground level.  Oh, we did see some spider monkeys at one point but they were quite a distance away.  There were leaves with repetitive designs in them and that was very confusing.  Why would a leaf have small holes in, all in arrow and all equidistance apart?  Well, it seems that the caterpillars start eating through the leaves as the leaves are still rolled up and not yet out in the open.  When the do open up, they have evenly placed holes across them and it looks quite unique.

Well, I guess that’s it for Tortuguero but I don’t feel like I’ve done it justice.  It really was quite a remarkable place and it would be even better during the period when turtles are coming up on the beach to lay eggs or when the baby turtles are hatching and hurrying back to sea.  That would be an amazing sight to see.  I guess that means another return visit.