Dos Giras
From the jungle to a volcano
In the past week, our group went on two awesome field trips … check out photos and stories below!
Tirimbina & Cacao
Our first trip was this past weekend, to the Caribbean side of Costa Rica to visit a cacao farm, a banana sorting “factory”, and a beautiful nature reserve and lodge … Tirimbina. Our first stop was at Finmac, one of the largest organic cacao farms in Costa Rica. A worker at the farm told us all about how chocolate is grown, and then another worker showed us all of the processing machinery for refining the cacao beans enough to be sold to chocolate makers in other coutries, like Belgium and the U.S. We also got to try a lot — the sour pulp that surrounds cacao beans, water directly from a coconut (which I did not like very much) and of course, liquified chocolate, drank straight from brilliant green leaves.
From Finmac, we got back into our van and headed to Tirimbina, in Las Palmitas. The lodge itself that we stayed in was pretty touristy. And actually, that was kind of a nice break from the total opposite end of the spectrum that we’ve experienced so far in San José. For example, I got to take a really nice hot shower, and we had AC in the room — definitely not necessities but for a night, it was nice to live in a bit of luxury. We also bonded as a group more, playing cards at the lodge and walking around the beautiful grounds in the pouring rain. Early in the morning on Saturday, we ate breakfast and then immediately headed into the forest for another chocolate tour.
Although Finmac felt more authentic, Tirimbina’s chocolate tour was completely amazing. First of all, we had to walk through the jungle, including over one of the longest suspension bridges in the country to get to a tiny little hut. And there was a man in the hut who had prepared a wood-burning stone stove and was hand-roasting fresh cacao. We learned even more about how chocolate is made, and I got to help grind the toasted beans. The ground chocolate paste was mixed with boiling water, milk, vanilla, chile, and nutmeg to make the freshest hot chocolate I’ve ever had. And it didn’t stop there — the Tirimbina staff continued to make chocolate candy molds for us, and everything was delicious.
Following the chocolate tour, we joined a Dutch tourist couple on a walk through the jungle with an excellent guide. He really knew almost all of the trees that we saw, and most of the birds and insects. Also, he was an expert at spotting hard-to-see creatures, and pointed out tons of beetles, frogs, and plants to us. In fact, our guide even went out of his way to look for nearly an hour for an extremely rare white bat species. We finally found them camping out under a leaf near a river.
The bridge in the jungle. One of the longest suspension bridges in Costa Rica. All in all, it was an excellent getaway from the busyness of San José, and to see another part of Costa Rica.
Volcán Irazú and Basilica Los Angeles
This Wednesday, we took a day trip to Volcán Irazú, about an hour and a half away from San José. The drive up to the volcano was incredible. We literally drove through clouds along the hillside, which was awesome. Unfortunately, when we arrived at the main crater, it was so foggy we could hardly see three feet ahead. It was also super windy and the coldest I’ve experienced so far here. It felt like it was about 40º or less, and with the wind we all wished we’d brought warmer clothes.
Because it was so windy, we did get a few glimpses of the volcanic scenery, but it disappeared too quickly to take any pictures. The original plan was to eat lunch at the summit, but it was far too windy and cold, so we changed plans and drove back down the volcano, in search of a warmer picnic spot. Our Spanish professor who was accompanying us was excited because he had never been on the road we took, which was suggested by the volcanologist who was with us. We drove along a terribly constructed but beautiful gravel “path” that wound through the hills and tons of little farming towns. There were cows and horses everywhere, and we all enjoyed learning the Spanish names of vegetables, like repollo for cabbage.
We eventually made our way down to the final destination of our trip, Basílica Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles. The church has huge significance for Costa Rica. The legend is that a little girl (in the 1600s) was gathering firewood when she saw a figurine of the Virgin Mary on a rock in the forest. She took the doll home, but when she returned to the forest the next day, the figurine had reappeared. Eventually, the people took the sign and built a church where the Virgin had appeared. Over the past few centuries, several earthquakes destroyed the first churches, so eventually the Basilica was built.
The inside of the Basilica. For such an important church, it wasn’t actually that ornate, which was refreshing. Thousands of little jewels hang throughout the church representing prayers — such as hearts, feet, and babies for health problems or prayers for fertility.
Every year, on August 2nd (the day the little girl saw the Virgin), 2 million people walk to the church from wherever they are in Costa Rica, as a pilgrimage. Pretty much everyone that I know here has done the walk at least once, and many do it nearly every year.
Overall, these two trips were a refreshing break from San José. This upcoming week is Semana Santa, or Easter week. It’s a huge holiday week for Costa Rica, so we don’t have any classes. I’ll traveling more, so be sure to check back soon for another post!
