Day 75 Puntarenas, Costa Rica
Iguanas, sloth, dazzling butterflies, squirrels, exotic tropical fruit, lush tropical rainforests, coffee plantations, elaborate and colourful oxcarts, AND the best EVER tour guide….Eduard Rey (Rey) from Okeydokey Tours. Everyone on the bus were amused listening to Paul, joking and bantering with Rey.
Well, we were certainly spoilt today in Puntarenas with not only one of the best tours we have had for a while BUT the BEST Tour guide; ever.
Costa Rica has certainly surprised me with its up and coming standard of living for this area. It stands out as a beacon of neutral democratic ideals alongside its turbulent neighbours. The Spanish settled the region after Christopher Columbus' discovery. As a result the language, culture and religion have a Spanish influence.
The DP docked alongside a Red Cross Ship on the pier of Puntarenas. The ship is to sail through the Panama Canal to Haiti in its quest to bring humanitarian aid to the tsunami damaged country. We walked along the bus-lined pier to the township and beach. The beach is dark volcanic sand covered with large amounts of drift wood washed up from the sea. This morning as we walked along the pier we could see a bobcat clearing the beach of the latest full tide. When we returned to the ship, the beach had been cleared and we could see many people using the area.
There were ten of us on the tour organised by Brian, which meant we had a double seat to ourselves. Oh so comfortable. We headed off to the butterfly farm to see the huge blue winged insects. Paul had a butterfly, which looked to be in its last few hours of life, land on his Panama hat! Next stop was the town centre of De Palmares where the main Catholic Church faced out to the town's park and bandstand. We looked through the church then walked into the little park to find sloths, iguanas, and squirrels in the overhead trees. We left the small highland township for Espiritu Santo Coffee plantation to explore the coffee making process from bean to cup. The clouds and rain kept away all day so the views around the area were stunning. The coffee grown here is organically grown in the rich volcanic soil and Starbucks Coffee shops are one of their main buyers. The planation is a co-op., supported by small local farms in the area. We had lunch in another hilltop town called Griece
The national dish is Gallo pinto, (rice and black beans) and it is served with meat or fish, salad and fired plantains (cooking bananas). All together is called 'casado'. We ate this accompanied by a tropical fruit smoothie….Oh Yum! Rob and Loz, you would both love this place. It is still developing but has come a long way from being a third world country.
Just around the corner from the little restaurant where we had lunch, we saw the one of only two churches in the world, constructed of iron. It was made in Belgium and transported to Costa Rica in the 1880's where it wasn't consecrated till 1985. I don't know what happened there, obviously something political within the church to prevent the delay. Paul and I had our photos taken in the steps, outside the front of the church, can you see there someone else standing behind, giving us the bunny ears? Anne….!
Sarchi was one of the last stops before heading home. The home of the famous giant wooden oxcarts used to cart coffee to the coast. Traditionally, owners had competed with each other to paint them in the most elaborate and colourful designs.
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