Bamboozled in the Jungle!

After spending a couple of hours earlier this week sawing down huge bamboo stalks in the jungle with no ill effects, this morning I pull a muscle in my back making up the bed! Go figure. But with Layne’s devoted care - ice and ibuprofen - I am recovered enough to sit here at the computer and bring my faithful readers up to date on our latest adventure: bamboo harvesting! Through one of the Costa Rica online groups, I had seen a call for volunteers to help in cutting bamboo on Finca Amanecer in the tiny pueblo of Londres a few miles outside of Quepos, a beach town on the Pacific Coast. The vision and dream of Elena Ross, Finca Amanecer is part of the Intentional Conscious Communities of Costa Rica or ICCCR. ICCCR bills itself as a “work in progress,” established to create “our own online, open-source directory, Costa Rica specific, that seeks to educate (inform and empower), promote and market, match conscious investors and stewards with progressive communities, and most importantly, protect Costa Rica’s natural resources and its people from being bought out by BIG developers. The ICCCR seeks to enable ‘conscious people’ and their communities in making their eco-sustainable programs, permaculture and green communities, eco-tours and holistic communities, centers, and small businesses economically sustainable.”

Quite an ambitious goal, needless to say, but one that appeals to Layne and me with our belief in organic foods, sustainable agricultural practices, humane and free-range animal husbandry and pro-active efforts to preserve and protect the environment. And since we’re always on the lookout for another adventure that will introduce us to new people, places and projects, we decided to volunteer. After a pleasant phone call with Elena, being sure to forewarn her that our senior status meant a measured approach to chopping down bamboo, we made a plan to join her and other volunteers for a morning of harvesting and a couple of nights of socializing and good food.

Elena is a vivacious and creative woman who has lived in Costa Rica some twenty years and who claims that in the late 1990’s, she had what she calls “a Noah experience” -- referring to Bill Cosby’s comic bit where “God” calls down to Noah, saying “Noah, this is God! Go build an ark!” In Elena’s case, the heavenly voice that spoke to her declared, “You are supposed to manifest an intentional community.” Since 2002, when she bought her beautiful seven or so acres, absolutely bursting with bamboo forest, she has been working to do just that. Her vision includes a “longevity center” helping residents to “live younger, longer,” sharing a community van, building housing from the property’s bamboo, an apartment complex with a library, pool, gym, art studio and much more. Currently, she runs a bed-and-breakfast eco-lodge from January to April then works on developing the property in the “green season” months.

Which is where we came in. With all the gorgeous, gigantic bamboo available on her land, Elena had hoped that with some volunteer laborers who would benefit from the educational experience, she could harvest and cure a supply of bamboo with which to build experimental housing later this year.

Rio Naranjo

The Londres Bridge

So on Monday, we hopped on the early bus to San Jose in order to catch a “directo” bus to Quepos, where Elena had said we could get a bus to Londres, which would drop us off right at her driveway. All we needed to bring were beach clothes and a saw, which we borrowed from our landlord. Aided by the excellent directions on her website, all went according to plan, even the “shake, rattle and roll” of the Londres bus -- definitely not the comfortable modern buses we are used to here in Atenas. But as we approached the final bridge across the Rio Naranjo, the bus stopped and all the passengers began to disembark. We sat there, looking befuddled. The kind bus driver tried hard to explain to us, the only Gringos onboard, that we needed to get off, but then as we finally picked up our bags to exit, he shook his head no, indicating we should leave our bags on the bus. Finally, we remembered that Elena had warned us we might have to get off the bus and walk across the bridge due to worries about its safety after suffering damage last fall from the heavy rains of Hurricane Tomas. Smiling sheepishly at the patient Ticos when we arrived on the other side of the bridge, we re-boarded and were soon at the entrance to Finca Amanecer.

Nancy says Hasta Luego to Sashi

We had half-expected to meet up with Elena on the bus trip from Quepos where she said she would be buying more saws but it was a half hour after we arrived at the lodge when Elena drove up with Nancy, an old friend she’d happened upon in town. Nancy was facing some personal difficulties, which forced her to find a home for her beloved dog Sashi, and lucky for her, Elena had agreed to keep the pup for a month or so while Nancy went to the States to work out her problems.

Rich, Layne and Gabriel on the patio

What Nancy needed right then, Elena declared, was a margarita, which sounded good to us as well. We were soon joined by two more volunteers, Rich, another retired Gringo who arrived on his motorcycle, and Gabriel, a charming 22-year-old Tico, who turned out to be invaluable on the project, putting in much longer hours and more muscle power than any of the rest of us.

The Crew

Tuesday morning, in spite of a too-festive evening of beer and margaritas, nachos and salsa, we headed down the trail, saws in hand, muck boots on to protect against snakes (yikes!) and gloves and other heavy-duty “finca clothes” provided by Elena. Of course, Layne and I were working with our dull and rusty borrowed saw, which proved to be our undoing. After thirty or forty minutes of backbreaking work, hardly making a dent in the massive bamboo shaft, we changed to one of Elena’s new saws and lo and behold -- we were cutting bamboo!

Ready to Go! 

Layne hard at work

Kat hard at work

Now these things are tall, perhaps 70 feet or so, and very heavy so it was hard work and somewhat dangerous as well. Elena managed to brace our cuts by tying our target trunk to another standing bamboo but even then, it was dicey business. After a couple of hours Layne and I had managed to sever two stalks, each about ten inches in diameter. Our fellow workers managed more like three or four with their sharper tools, but since each bamboo stalk should yield eight or ten sections of “lumber,” Elena has a good start on her construction project.

Layne and I learned a bit about bamboo and still more about our stamina for such physical labor. Elena learned something as well. Next time, she says, she will hire a crew of knowledgeable Ticos and let the volunteers learn more by watching. Sounds like a good idea to us. As grand as her vision is, the dream is a long way from realization, but as Elena says, “Believe in miracles!” We do - we consider it a miracle that we survived our bamboo adventure!

A Chicken of the Tree and some Happy Hogs!

Sunday, April 11, 2010

(Note: click on photos to enlarge)

What a week! Our friends Penny and Joel returned from Guanacaste on Monday night and the next morning we left for our trip to Finca Luna Nueva Lodge (FLN), a sustainable rainforest estate and eco-lodge up the road near Arenal Volcano and Lake Arenal. I’d been told that the Arenal area was quite beautiful but I was unprepared for the magnificent landscapes and jungle-scapes that we encountered along the way. Talk about the tropics! This had it all: dense, lush, verdant woodlands covering sheer mountainsides in every color of green imaginable; coconut palms, banana trees, orchids and bromeliads of every size and description; huge ferns, impenetrable bamboo groves, hanging vines and ivy, one-lane bridges that traversed rivers flowing over tumbled rocks and boulders; rolling emerald pastures high in the cloud forest, dotted with white humped-back cattle with enormous drooping ears and gentle eyes. We passed through occasional towns with colorful Tico houses and small schoolyards full of kids in their navy and white uniforms playing soccer or having sack races. We also drove past areas of agriculture with fields of yucca plants, coffee plantations or rows of pineapple with their jade and yellow spiked leaves.

         The last 2.5 kilometers of our journey to FLN was over an extremely rugged rock-filled road but our 4-wheel drive Mitsubishi was up to the task, bouncing us along in relative comfort. We arrived before check-in time but fortunately the friendly staff had our 2-bedroom family bungalow ready for us. The large comfortable cottage overlooked a broad gulch filled with banana plants and ferns interspersed among tall vine-covered trees. Soon after our arrival, Penny commented that she didn’t want to leave until she had seen a Toucan, the large and colorful birds for which Costa Rica is known. Although Layne and I have enjoyed a few visits from the big-beaked flyers at our house, none had come around while Penny and Joel were there. But within minutes of her comment, we looked up to see not one, but two of the gorgeous creatures landing in the branches above our patio, then dropping down into the banana foliage. And indeed, for the rest of our visit, we had front-row seats at Toucan Theater, as the beautiful birds flew from branch to branch and glided across the open space in front of our terrace.

         FLN Lodge is situated on a 200-acre certified organic, biodynamic farm producing ginger and turmeric along with hundreds of tropical fruits, herbs and vegetables. Some 90% of the food they offer guests comes directly from what they grow, so we had high expectations for some delicious meals during our stay and we were not disappointed. The salads were amazing with leafy greens of all descriptions, ripe red tomatoes, cucumbers, beets and other goodies. Plus, the fresh salad dressings were superb, one using their organic turmeric and another based on balsamic vinegar and herbs. Our lunch that first day was a baked yucca pie with black beans and cheese topping along with sautéed veggies. Delicious! The yucca was so smooth and creamy it reminded me of perfect mashed potatoes. Our other meals were equally tasty and healthy, other than one night when the sushi was poorly done and the miso soup had no taste. We later decided the primary chef was off that night because the next day when he was in charge, our lunch of smothered pork chops, rice, mustard greens and guacamole was outstanding and the Corvina (fish) that evening for dinner was also excellent. Breakfast was consistently first-rate, with homemade bread, gallo pinto, scrambled eggs and plates of tropical fruits from the farm.

         The FLN website describes a number of tours, most of them arranged through outside tour companies, but the “farm tour” is free to guests and it is truly an extraordinary experience. We had expressed particular interest in their organic farming systems so we were fortunate to have the Farm Manager Harold join our small group to give us a detailed account of the complex soil preparations and meticulous timing involved in their organic processes, which they even gear to certain mystical elements such as the position of the moon or stars. Harold assured us that such considerations actually play a big part in a successful crop.

         As we walked through the vast estate following our guide Roy, we found ourselves in a tropical paradise filled with exotic plants and animals. At one point, Roy stopped us and pointed way up a tall tree to a dark blob on a branch. “There’s a three-toed sloth!” he exclaimed. “It’s the laziest animal in the jungle!” Using his binoculars against our cameras, Roy managed to get a few shots of the creature, which watched us with scant interest from his perch. At another point, some workers called to Roy that there was a “chicken of the tree” resting nearby. We all walked over quickly to see what this was but there was no bird around. Then Roy pointed to an Iguana sunning itself on a log and laughingly told us it’s called a “chicken” partly for the taste of the meat. That’s one dish I think I’ll pass on!

         Further along, we observed aspects of their crop rotation system in practice. First, they let the land revive itself naturally with free-growing native plants, then they introduce goats to eat down that foliage; chickens are then put in to fertilize and stir up the soil and finally, they allow hogs to root and loosen the earth in preparation for the next planting. Those were some happy hogs, a wonderful contrast to the evils of factory farms where the pigs are caged and mistreated.

         In my next post, I’ll tell you about the Hanging Bridges Tour, the wonderful FLN swimming pool and what ever happened to those two little puppies we rescued. For now, contemplate the enormous benefits of organic farming and sustainable agriculture, both to your health and to the health of our planet. And when you have some time, I encourage you to plan a trip to Finca Luna Nueva Lodge where you can learn first-hand why organic really does matter.