On Monday morning, we were going down to the Orosi Valley to meet up with a friend of mine and to spend a few days at his place, the Adventure Lodge Al Paraiso. Chad had arranged for us to go on a horseback tour of the forests in the area as well as an afternoon hike in the Tapanti National Park so we needed to get started early. We left Marcela sleeping and took off from San Jose around 6:00 am. Since Costa Rica is so close to the equator, the periods of light and dark are pretty consistent. There's no such thing as daylight savings time since the period of daylight and darkness is basically equal throughout the year. That said, sunrise in the country is usually around 5:00 am so the Costa Ricans get up and going earlier than we do in the US. Driving around at 6:30, you can see that the folks are all up and starting their day. We noticed that there were schoolkids out either walking to school or waiting for the bus. In Costa Rica, school begins at 7:00 am and ends around noon. All of the kids wear uniforms to school and it was not uncommon to see a mother or father out at 6:30 walking down the road with their children all in neatly pressed skirts or slacks on their way to school.
We made our way out of San Jose and south to Cartago, we were running a little ahead of schedule and stopped at a bakery for breakfast. In addition to sodas, bakeries are found throughout the country. They all serve a variety of breakfast and lunch pastries as well as fresh bread and coffee. I struggled through enough spanish to order us breakfast and we sat down to eat. I had a chocolate eclair that was the size of a sub sandwich, Connor had a chocolate donut about twice the size of those in the US filled with sweetened condensed milk that had been caramelized and Hunter had a ham filled pastry. We all stuffed ourselves and watched the town wake up.
Arriving in Orosi around 7:00, we passed by the oldest Catholic Church in Costa Rica. Iglesia San Jose de Orosi was built in 1743 by the Spanish and still stands today. I called the lodge to get some further directions and Chad rattled off a few different things about turning here and there, passing through a coffee plantation and, finally, a red fox (not the comedian). Ordinarily, I would have slowed down, grabbed a pen and started writing down the specifics but, after having driven around the country for a couple of days, I'd gotten used to the vaguary of driving directions. Intuition plays a big part in driving in Costa Rica. If you think you're going the wrong way, you probably are. We passed out of Orosi, over a one lane bridge and into a coffee plantation. Bridges in the country are almost universally one way only. On one side of the bridge there is a yield sign (Ceda). If you approach the bridge from that side, you're supposed to stop and make sure there's no traffic approaching the bridge. If there is, you wait until the oncoming cars have gotten off the bridge before driving across. This takes a little getting used to since it appears that some drivers just tear across the bridges without looking. Once you get used to the yield on one side deal, it doesn't seem quite as hazardous.
We drove through a coffee plantation which was the first time I'd seen coffee plants growing naturally. They're about 5 feet tall with dark green leaves. We noticed that some of the fields had trees growing in them and others did not. Later, Chad explained to us that this is the difference between shade grown coffee and regular coffee. To make shade grown, they plant eucalyptus trees in the growing areas (often on the sides of hills). These trees grow quickly and spread out large canopies above the coffee plants. When grown in the shade, the plants mature more slowly giving the beans a richer flavor. They are also harvested less frequently so farmers typically grow a blend of shade-grown and traditional so that they've got a consistent harvest. We passed a sign with a red fox on it where a series of hot houses were placed to grow orchids. This was our cue and, just as described, the Adventure Lodge was around the next bend in the road. Chad's place is very nice. There are two buildings, each with two bedrooms and a shared bathroom upstairs. The main building has a kitchen and dining room downstairs where all of the meals are served. The grounds are landscaped very well and there are traditional hammocks under the walkway where you can relax. We met the Adventure Lodge mascot (Dolce). She's a yellow lab that Chad adopted and is very friendly. Each room has a safe where valuables can be stored and there's a fridge full of complementary juice, water and beer for visitors. When leaving on day trips, backpacks are provided with drinks and ponchos in case it rains. This was a very nice touch and made it convenient for me and the boys.
After getting situated, we were picked up by our guides and drove up the mountain to begin our horseback ride. After about a 45 minute drive, we arrived at a farm high in the mountains surrounding the Central Valley. The property was lush with plants, a trout pond and a small restaurant. We met the owner who introduced us to our horses and helped us to climb on for our trip.
We started off heading up the mountain from the ranch. Hunter stayed out in front of us and seemed to have his horse well under control. He was able to make it go where he wanted it to and it didn't seem bothered at all. My horse was a little less cooperative and would sometimes wander off the path as if he were planning on taking a shortcut. Our guide stayed with us and coaxed the horses back together when they got out of line. Eventually, they all seemed to calm down and we slowly walked through the mountains enjoying the views.
About 30 minutes into the trip, Hunter had gotten out in front of us and we were spread out a little bit. Connor was behind me and I could see the guide behind him but I lost sight of Chad and his horse. We stopped and waited for a few minutes and didn't hear anything so the guide turned and went back to find him. After being gone for a couple of minutes, Connor's horse started getting antsy and obviously wanted to go join his friends. He stomped his feet a few times and turned in circles which made Connor a little nervous. He finally turned back up the hill and started trotting back. Connor couldn't stop him so I followed along. We rode for a few minutes until we caught up with Chad and the guide. Evidently, Chad's horse had decided that he was going to knock off early and had turned around on his own and headed back to the stable. Nothing Chad did could slow him down. He was simply finished with the tour and that was that. We all laughed as Chad's horse ignored his commands and kept walking. Both Connor's horse and mine decided that if Chad's horse was going back then they were too and pretty soon, we were all being carried back to the stable whether we liked it or not. The guide turned around and went back down the mountain to get Hunter while we walked back to the stable. We arrived back at the property, turned our horses back in and waited for Hunter and the guide. After about 10 minutes they came walking back down the hill with Hunter in total control of his horse. He looked at us and said "What happened?" so we explained that Chad's horse had changed his mind and gone home. Chad made explained to the caballero in the stable that he thought maybe the horse was made for smaller folks and didn't like having to carry Chad who is a big guy. The caballero said "No, no... this horse can carry men much bigger than you!". Either way, it looked funny, both the horse and the saddle seemed too small for Chad. He looked like he was riding a pony!
We relaxed in the restaurant for a few minutes and the property owner asked the boys if they wanted to go fishing. They jumped at the chance so he dug up a few worms and we walked over to the trout pond. Raising trout is very common in this part of the country and signs for rout (trucha) farms are all over the place. They're pretty easy to raise so many folks have small trout ponds on their property. The boys caught several fish and the owner cleaned them and carried them into the kitchen to be cooked for lunch. We all sat down to another casado but this one included fresh cooked trout which was very good. Seeing how simply these folks live was very relaxing. Sitting down to a lunch made of fresh ingredients that were all locally grown made me think about how we eat in the US.
After lunch, we got back in the jeep and headed down the mountain to begin our hike. We stopped at Tapanti national park and picked a walking stick from the container at the entrance. Our guide took us on a path and described many of the flowers and plants we passed. Many of the plants that grow in the wild here are sought after as landscape features in the US. We passed large groups of impatiens and hydrangea. I remember how my grandmother would get out in her yard and baby her hydrangea plants. Here, they grow like weeds. She would have been very happy to see how beautifully they grew naturally. We eventually arrived at a waterfall and stopped to take some photos. The water coming down out of the mountains was clear, cold and safe to drink so we all took the opportunity to have some directly from the stream. Moving on, we hiked up through the forest (the walking sticks came in very handy) and, eventually, came out on to a beautiful vista overlooking the entire valley. The view was spectacular and we all took some time to relax. There were bromeliads growing everywhere along with heliconia that looked like
works of art. Different varieties of them grow throughout the country. There were many times where you'd see a small bromeliad growing in the crevace of some rock with a fantastic heliconia hanging from it.
After taking a break, we walked back the way we'd come and arrived back at the entrance. We returned our walking sticks, our guide said a quick thanks to the forest and we jumped back in the jeep and drove back to the lodge. We had some time in the afternoon to relax so the boys layed in the hammocks and I relaxed with a beer and read for a while.
One of the benefits of the Adventure Lodge is the staff. Mariza is the cook and is at the lodge every day preparing meals. As a change from the traditional casado meals, Chad asked her to make lasagna. It was very good and was made with Costa Rican beef which is pasture fed instead of grain fed like cattle in the US. This gives it more flavor and made for a
great dinner.
After dinner, the boys noticed the chicken tree next door. Chad's neighbors have chickens in the yard and, each night, the roost up in the same tree where you can see them all sleeping from the balcony at the lodge. They boys had a laugh watching all of the chickens flying up into the tree and getting ready for bed. They were exhausted as well after our day so they crashed. Chad introduced me to guaro, it's a local drink made from sugar cane like rum but it's a little more like rocket fuel! A litre bottle of guaro in Costa Rica will cost you about 8 bucks US so it's a cheap drink. I managed a couple before heading to bed as well.
Here's a slideshow of photos from Day Three.
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