Sorry for the delay on this week’s blog, I’ve been under the weather with sometimes limited wifi access. This week was pretty hectic, but in an exciting way. We’ve been traveling a lot more than we did in the first week! For this week, the course has mainly been focused on studying ecotourism. Ecotourism can be summarized as tourism of natural environments in areas that promote nature conservation and education.
First, we kicked off the week with tours of a couple of farms. On Monday, we went to a certified 100% organic pineapple farm. This farm seemed to be locally owned and operated, but it was certainly not small. Not as large as a corporate farm or field (like the corn fields back home) but still a decent size with hundreds of pineapple plants being grown. At the farm, they focused on only growing pineapples, a monoculture. I learned a lot of interesting facts about the weird fruit. The pineapple plant itself is a bruleiad and won’t grow fruit unless it is under stress. As a result, the farmers have to put some sort of stress on the pineapple plant for it to grow fruit. The organic farmers said they use a natural mix of compounds to promote the fruits to grow. On larger corporate farms, the pineapples are sprayed with chemicals that make them grow as quickly and efficiently as possible. You know that classic golden-yellow color that is synonymous with pineapples? According to a worker at the farm, that color is artificial! He claimed that they naturally have a greener tone. We were fed plenty of pineapples pulled straight from the field. They were so much sweeter than store-bought, and way less acidic too. I will never be able to enjoy any store-bought pineapples the same way again! It was a fun and informative excursion for sure.
The following day we visited a banana farm. This place was in stark contrast to the pineapple farm. They only had a few dozen banana plants, but also grew other plants as well. I don’t think this place could be considered a monoculture. Our host explained that multiple generations of her family lived on the farm. The host’s mother and aunt cooked us delicious banana and plantain based products after our tour! It turns out that banana plants are pretty interesting too. I’m not sure if you can summon an image of a banana plant to your mind, but I always thought they were trees…they’re not! They’re plants that just happen to look like trees. As a banana plant grows, it starts to grow miniature clones of itself underneath its trunk. The woman leading the tour said they call them the “babies.” The plants are also full of sticky liquid that can stain clothes. I think I got some on my shoes! Afterwards, our hosts cooked us some seriously delicious banana and plantain based food. We had a couple types of banana based breads, and a patacones (twice-fried plantain patties). I definitely want to try to make patacones when I get back to Indiana.
The next day we went to Tortuguero. It’s on a peninsula between the Caribbean and a wide river, and it can only be reached by boat. The permanent population is pretty small at about 1200 people. It took a pretty lengthy boat ride along a river to reach our destination. On our boat, we had a designated guide to point out the wildlife. He pointed out a lot of caymans and baby crocodiles during our ride, and we stopped on occasion to observe them. We even saw some spider-monkeys up close, so that was pretty neat. Once we reached our destination, the class boarded another boat for a tour of more nature along the river. I saw pretty much the same animals this time, but it was still fun! Afterwards, our group explored the town of Tortuguero a bit. It was interesting seeing the juxtaposition of tourists with people going on with their normal lives. On one end of the island was the docking area, and the other a vast beach. There is a street near the docking end that has countless tourist attractions on it. Just next to it are houses and even a school. As we walked to the beach, we walked next to a school with kids at recess. It’s interesting to think that having strangers touring their home is a regular part of their lives.
On our final day at La Selva, we traveled to Tirimbina after student-led group research presentations. Tirimbina is a relatively small nature preserve with an impressive diversity of bat species. We came to Tirimbina for two reasons: chocolate and bats. Our first activity was an interactive chocolate presentation. We were taught about the history of chocolate. When the fruit from the cacao tree is opened, the beans are covered in a slimy white substance. The fleshy substance is actually pretty tasty. To me, it tasted similar to a grape. It’s thought that sucking on the outside of the bean and spitting them out was the earliest use of the bean. To get anything close to resembling chocolate, the beans have to be fermented, roasted, and grinded. When grinded, they can be put into water to create a traditional Central American drink known as cocagua. This was the primary use for the beans before the discovery of chocolate. We got to try the beans every step of the way. I thought that the beans tasted pretty bitter until sugar was added, especially in the cocagua! I really liked this part of Tirimbina, the presenters were very nice and fed us lots of chocolate! Next up at Tirimbina was the bat presentation. First we were shown a specialized net that Is used to catch bats. The material it’s made of can’t be sensed by bat sonar, so they fly right into it. If they’re not removed from the net soon after, they can actually die. In Costa Rica, it’s illegal to own one of these nets unless granted direct permission from the government. Afterwards, we were given a presentation on bats! Bats are the most diverse mammal group on the planet, as they have the most identified species. They’re usually identified by their diets and corresponding physical features. Depending on the species, bats can eat insects, fish, nectar, and more! Out of the hundreds of bat species, only 3 consume blood! They don’t actually suck the blood like the vampires they’ve inspired. They land on the ground, waddle up to their prey, and bite them. Once blood starts to flow, they lick, not suck, the blood. There’s an anticoagulant in their blood to prevent the wound from clotting! Blood bats are the only species of bats that can take flight from the ground, all the rest need to be elevated to do so. I hope you enjoyed reading some of the interesting things I learned this week. I’ll see you soon for the next one!
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