News from the Jungle

Okay, I know it’s been a long time since we last sent an update from the jungle.  Wondering if we were still here in the jungle?  Yep, you bet!  Let’s say we’ve been up to our coconuts keeping busy.  Finishing the bodega I had written about previously, getting our container shipment here, unloaded, and organized (a really good feeling), tearing down Henry’s old bathroom and building a new, much improved one, going through a successful permit process to cut some of the downed trees on the property, working with a couple small communities to help them get recycle programs in place, visiting future tour group destinations (including Panama), happily playing tour guides to our good friends Doug and Tina from Roseburg, looking for the Bushmaster, all along with the day-to-day challenges like keeping the dirt/mud from eroding away with the rains.     

As I write, or punch it out on the computer, it is Thursday of Easter week, one of Costa Rica’s major holidays.  Virtually the entire country shuts down for Thursday and Friday.  Our neighbors across the street, the Molina family, have been welcoming family and friends for two days and there must be about 30 people by now, all seemingly talking at once.  The matron, Marijelos is frantic with cooking duties, the men have gone off to fish, the young to the beach, and I’m sure there’s a futbol (soccer) game scheduled for the afternoon, weather permitting.  Gary and I are enjoying a very relaxing and peaceful day, totally amused by the comings and goings of the Molinas.

Well friends, Gary and I are realizing this is gonna take awhile.  In prime Costa Rican fashion, everything is taking much longer than expected, even though we had pretty low expectations to begin with.  Our plans to build a cabina are delayed, we’re still waiting for the house in Roseburg to sell to help fund construction, and the rains are making an appearance almost daily (a shower a day complete with thunder and lightening).  But, we’re learning valuable lessons that will serve us well, things we could only learn about by being here.  It’s good we got here and started when we did.  Costa Rica has always been a place where things happen ‘when’ they’re supposed to and not necessarily when you want them to.  Everyone we interact with who has done similar or even grander projects than we are planning has shared that same cosmic experience.  And all are glad they stuck it out.  Our bumpy little path is part of a grander plan that we have little control over and I am often reminded that “Happiness is in the journey, not at the destination.”   

That bumpy little path of ours still has a Bushmaster snake somewhere around it.  Two visits by our reptile expert friend (along with a curator from Miami Zoo and wildlife guy from Florida) proved fruitless (or snakeless).  So, we are on the lookout for him and still hope to relocate it.

Bushmasters notwithstanding, the animal life that surrounds us is truly remarkable and we are blessed to live where we experience its bounty daily. Monkeys and numerous other mammals make quick, sometimes fleeting appearances, orchids, bushes, and trees put on showy and perfumed-filled blooms, and though we don’t have the distinct seasons of northern climates, things change noticeably.  As noticeable as when the first hummingbirds or vultures appear in the spring in Oregon.  The locals are tuned into these ‘seasons’ and marvel at our excitement of newfound observations. 

This part of Costa Rica, the Osa Peninsula, has the most plant and animal diversity in the country and according to National Geographic, is one of the most diverse places on earth.  We’re in flora and fauna heaven! 

(Photo-A Red-capped Manakin peeks out at us).  Birds are a constant joy and some of the most remarkable species live here; noisy toucans, the goofy Aracari, shy curassows, spoonbills, king vultures, brilliantly colored honeycreepers, and so many more.  One of the pleasures of being here for an extended period, more than our month vacations allowed, is the opportunity to witness the changing migration of birds as the food sources and weather change.  As trees and bushes flower, fruit and go to seed, different birds appear, sampling their favorites only to be replaced by others looking for the next bountiful food item.  We already have a number of plants that attract birds and are planting even more in hopes they will reward our attempts with their presence.   

Gary found exciting evidence the other day on our property.  It was a pile of distinctive scat (that’s animal poop for the zoologically challenged) from a Baird’s Tapir (a 500 lb. relative of the elephant that looks like a cross between that and a pig).  This is a significant citing because tapir had been found only in the neighboring National Park, Corcovado, and until very recently were being severely hunted.  A few wealthy and powerful Costa Rican and American donors (ie. owners of Intel) have formed a non-profit foundation to provide Corcovado with the means to protect its resources from poaching.  They’ve hired the park rangers and bought vehicles and equipment that the country couldn’t afford.  They provide vigilant watch over the park and it has been successful to-date.  There is now pressure on the existing tapir population, so some are forced to move outside the park into neighboring private property adjacent to the park.  This area, owned by many different people including us, is in a forest reserve.  There are many restrictions on activities allowed in order to enhance wildlife habitat and provide the additional habitat for just this scenario with the tapir.

The forest reserve is fairly restrictive but we wanted to live in a place where we could also help maintain suitable wildlife habitat and are thrilled to see signs of our forest dwellers.  We are learning of and abiding by the demands required by our presence here.  We recently went through a process to obtain permission to cut-up the downed trees on our property and received the okay to cut 13.  These include some wonderful species to use in building our home, hard woods that hold up well in the tropics and against termites.  (Photo-The jungle sawmill at work).  One is a beautiful purple wood called Nazareno or Purple Heart and will become our flooring.  All are dense, heavy woods and getting them out of the property is requiring some very strong, young ‘macho’ men.  We don’t have a road into the property (one of those forest reserve rules) and oxen, though available, can’t traverse the up and down trail.  One plank 6” x 6” x 12” takes two guys about ½ hour to pack out by foot.  Hard work but a source of macho Tico pride and worthy of our gratitude and respect.  They’re paid by the number and sizes of the pieces they carry and fed substantial amounts of food and cold water.  A cold beer at the end of the day doesn’t hurt either.       

The dichotomy of the biological richness and lack of environmental awareness in this 3^rd world country is striking.  I’ve had some interesting conversations with Henry and local Ticos about the efforts to protect their still very wild places and am struck by the lack of awareness they have about their own human impact.  Some of the elder Ticos relay stories of “how it used to be,” something all children should hear.  The local recycling program efforts are a wonderful way to open that dialog and it’s rewarding being a little part of that.  There will even be an Earth Day celebration on the Osa this year in Puerto Jimenez.  “Dia de la Tierra”

Ticos support of their National Parks is legendary, and those who work in tourism are well aware of the unique biodiversity their parks hold.  (Photo-howler monkey ambling through a tree).However, they generally don’t learn this in the home or in school.  Those who live in the midst of it, our neighbors in the country, probably know the least, are provided the least resources, and continue to live their difficult lives with little regard to human impact.  It’s easy to understand why, but hard to watch garbage openly burned, wastewater flowing, overfishing, taking or hunting wildlife for gain, corrupt local agencies, and ignoring valid protections in the name of development and progress.  Any of this sound familiar Americanos?  

So, we’ll quiet the beating drums for now with a promise of more stories from the jungle.  Interesting or not, they are a true interpretation of our experiences, good and not-so-good.

Waiting to see where this journey takes us next, not so worried about the destination, and still looking for that Bushmaster,

Your friends from the jungle,

Gary and Terri, and Sydney too