paul & jes: adventures in CR!

[ariscott]

later there were cheerios for everyone!

I can't believe you eat cheerios in CR. Don't they have their version of bubur ayam for breakfast?? Yuummmm.... I can't wait till I go back home....

Regards, Ari

[amazondk]

spiny palm.

its latin.

Paul,

The spiny palm looks like one of the Astrocaryums I saw there. There are similar to the Astrocaryum aculeatum found around here, but I do not think they are the same.

dk

[paulgila]

thanks don for the info.

[paulgila]

later there were cheerios for everyone!

I can't believe you eat cheerios in CR. Don't they have their version of bubur ayam for breakfast?? Yuummmm.... I can't wait till I go back home....

Regards, Ari

cheerios for breakfast? thats weird. i eat em at night.

pix of what we really ate for breakfast are coming up.

[ariscott]

No... you ARE weird, Paul...

Regards, Ari

[paulgila]

and so begins the spice tour.

here is our hostess introducing herself to all 4 of us on the tour.

drying tables with pepper(they have 2 kinds,now!) & cacao beans.

cacao pod.

cut-open pods.

[paulgila]

cinnamon.it tasted just like "big red" gum only "barkier."

cacao beans.

cacao pod on the tree.

cicada that has molted.

i scared the crap out of jes with it.

[paulgila]

vanilla flower.

anthurium.

banana.

ginger flower.

collect em all!

[paulgila]

jeez,did i really take this many pix of stupid flowers?

yep.

optimal illusion.

[paulgila]

we dont have trees here that do this.

do we?

tons of orchids.

i never wanna see another one again.

smallish cacao tree showing pink new leaves.

heres a sheep with scoliosis.

i didnt believe it either.

[paulgila]

some quotes from me on the hike through the spice ranch:

"are we there yet?"

"bromeliads are cool...i guess."

"finally! a freakin palm!"

"ok,i've seen the view,lets go back to the beach & get a beer."

actually it was very interesting & i had a great time,especially when we got to sample the wares!

[paulgila]

we finally came to a small hut on stilts where the view was really nice(see prev.post)& our hostess

doled out the goods.

first it was a beverage made with cinnamon.

then a mango "cheesecake" with no dairy--this was incredibly tasty.

then a chocolate cookie with hand-made vanilla ice cream,also delicious.

and lastly we had coffee samples.

heres jes looking saucy with fresh costa rican coffee.

[paulgila]

coffee trio.

some cool ti plants on the walk back.

heliconias never cease to impress.

[paulgila]

crotons were everywhere!

here i am admiring the local cesspool.

artsy shot by jes.

[paulgila]

coincidentally a friend of jeffs live right across the street from the spice tour!his name is alexander. he & his wife,merle,are in the business of raising tropical flowers & his ranch & gardens were amazing!

first thing you see when you enter his garden is this HUGE c.renda clump!

heres jeff & alexander enjoying the view.

impressive ravenalas at the front gate.

anthuriums under shade-cloth.

[paulgila]

nature is so busy beng perfect all the time,it makes me wanna spit.

alexander gives a brief history of the garden before we set off to explore its stygian depths.

the intrepid explorer steels himself for the coming ordeal.

alexander swears that we will not be possibly eaten by wild animals on the hike.

[Walter John]

They get spice from cicadas ? Did I read that right ?

Great shots Paul, I really like the spice tour.

Now Jes, that's the way to render a renda.

As for Alexander, I'd believe anything he'd say.

[ariscott]

Interesting that shadehouse made of bamboo.... giving it a very 'natural' look... I think I like it....

Regards, Ari

[paulgila]

wal the cicada was just a stow-away.

[Jeff in St Pete]

After talking with Alexander for a little while, we hiked down the hill towards the Naranjo River.

On the way we stopped to take a photo of this Desmoncus sp.

and this huge entire-leaf Bactris sp.

Paul and Jessie next to Geonoma congesta

[Jeff in St Pete]

After crossing over a small stream, we arrived at an undisturbed area along the river. There are many native palms growing here including Chamaedorea, Neonicholsonia, Bactris, Socratea, Geonoma, Desmoncus, Cryosophila, and Asterogyne. For some reason Paul and Jes kept asking me "are you SURE this is a path? Do you know where we are?"

Looking up into the canopy of Socratea

As usual, it started to rain. Almost everytime I hike down to this area, it rains!

Paul and Jes came prepared, I did not. I forgot my rain pancho...

Notice the nicely colored Socratea crownshaft above Paul

Socratea exorrhiza

Geonoma interrupta

pay no attention to the hooded man in the corner...

[Jeff in St Pete]

Paul in the jungle

Heading back the clearly marked path....

Since it was raining, I put away my camera and didn't take any other photos that day except for this one.

After we got back to Quepos, we stopped at Chicken Bros for a snack.

[ariscott]

There is a path... I can see it clearly. What are they complaining about??

[paulgila]

there were so many amazing plants in alexanders garden!

aiphanes hedge along the fenceline/road.

we started working our way down-slope,deep into the garden,jeff leading the way.

every corner we turned revealed a new group of plants in neat rows.

[paulgila]

at first it was mostly ti's & heliconias.

this one is called "king kong." for obvious reasons.

walking along a huge croton hedge!

an intrepid explorer must not get over-come with emotion

cool shed as we reach the bottom of the hill.

more palm species now & we can hear rushing water.

[paulgila]

jes & i & palm pal.

amazing leaf-arrangement.

we can hear the river but cant see it.

there is not much of a trail so we just keep followong jeff as the forest gets thicker.

its almost too much to try & take in all at once.

[paulgila]

palms everywhere you look!

we had to cross a small stream.

the crownshaft on this had that "soft-porn focus" when you looked at it.

& of course it rained.hard.

[Jeff in St Pete]

Paul, nice photo of those entire-leaf Bactris leaves!

The palm in this pic is Neonicholsonia watsonii

[paulgila]

this one scares me.

alot.

chameadorea sp.

no idea.

i was enthralled with the idea of crotons as a backdrop.

[paulgila]

"look at me...i like crotons!"

jeff & jes with huge ginger plant.

cool mix of colors in the garden near the main house.

[Jeff in St Pete]

Paul, that was a fun afternoon!

If anyone is interested, an article about Alexander, Merle, and their farm was published in our local magazine. It's an interesting history.

The Duke and Duchess of Londres

[ariscott]

I like that last photo... so colourful!! That is what tropical garden all about... lots of colour, textures & layers.

Regards, Ari

[paulgila]

then we got a tour of the flower operation.

alexander explains how it works.

the flower arrangement in our room at jeffs was made here by merle,if i'm not mistaken.

some palms alexander was trying to give away.

[paulgila]

begin the begonia.

palms rise above the garden.

alexander walks us thru the garden near the house.

[paulgila]

then we sat on the veranda & cool drinks were offered.

birds were abundant.

[paulgila]

finally we had to bid them farewell & a heart-felt thanks for the warm hospitality.

back to the beach in mauel antonio to relax & watch the sun set.

later that evening jes & i went to a local restaurant while the rain

came down in buckets.

[paulgila]

i was getting quite used to imperial beer.

rustic furniture & bright colors.

after dinner we walked to a bar called "el avion" for the obvious reason that it was in an

old cargo plane.

too many dials for me.

[paulgila]

the planes main cargo nowadays is american tourists.

"this is not so great,we have lots of bars made out of planes at home."

coming in for a landing!

on the run from immigration.

[sur4z]

they dont look that threatening from above--then we saw 2 get into a little spat & they can move FAST!

it was a popular stop for tourists & locals alike.

The last time I crossed this bridge there were three guys that caught one of the crocs and were sitting on it...I don't know why they did that...maybe for tips?

[paulgila]

that sounds incredibly ill-advised.