Day 2:  Farmer's Market/ Butterfly Garden / Cloud Forest Montserrat

As the sun rises in Costa Rica, so do we for it is an early start for us today and every day.  Our natural alarm clock will be the birds.  Their first chirps can be heard even before we, humans, can see the first slivers of sunlight!  The agenda is packed full so to keep us moving, learning and experiencing Costa Rica.  We first head down to the hotel lobby for breakfast. To our surprise (and enjoyment) the spread laid out is full of fresh local fruits, eggs, bacon, and gallo pinto (traditional rice and beans combination). We also got to experience some fresh local coffee which we can promise tops any and all Starbucks. 

After breakfast we gathered our belongings and head to the bus for today we begin our trek to the Cloud Forest of Montserrat.  Once in our bus we head to the church in Coronado, Vasquez de Coronado - an old Gothic styled church,  so we can meet up with our biologist/guide who will lead us to Montserrat.  We arrive at the church, after an 30 minute drive and Margherita is their to warmly greet us.  We all quickly become friends and our Cloud Forest adventure begins.

On our way out of town, we stop to explore a local farmer's market where Adrian and Mo have designed and planned a scavenger hunt for native fresh fruits. On the list of this scavenger hunt were nances (cherry-sized, yellow and bitter), guanabana (sour sap-resembles a white watermelon), carambola (star fruit) , mammon (similar taste as bing cherries), pina (pineapple),  and granadillas (passion fruit). With colones in hand and a list of things to get we got broken up into two groups and sent out on our search/mission. Though the local people found most of our accents and Spanish speaking attempts amusing, they were very kind and patient with us as we tried our best to communicate.  As we walked from stand to stand the locals where among us completing their shopping and enjoying friendly conversation.  Vendors were quick to offer samples of their delicious stand contents.  The fruit here was absolutely amazing. Everything including price, color, size, and taste far surpassed anything we had ever experienced before back home in the produce section of Frys.  For example, three fresh pineapples for a dollar!  AND....when we say fresh, we mean fresh....vine ripened fruit.

As we loaded back into the bus, Adrian explained some of the local fruits, that were new fruits to us and we got a chance to taste them too. One was very yummy.  You gently peal away the outer skin and pop a marble size yellow flesh into your mouth.   You suck on this flesh working with your tongue to remove all of it from the marble sized pit.  All the fruits were interesting, and one in particular had us scrunching our noses at the taste.  We can't even begin to describe this fruit besides saying that is an an acquired taste.  

As we drove up the bumpy road towards Monserrat, bumpy road has a who new meaning here, we once again got to experience Gabriel's "need for speed" driving skills. It quickly became clear that there are two speed limits here in Costa Rica: fast, and really fast.  The road in Costa Rica are worse than Arizona roads after a heavy monsoon season.  Big holes, exposed rocks and dips to make you feel like you are on a roller coaster.

Once we reached the little town of Montserrat, we flooded out of bus to take a look at a local church, a very small church built by the local people. After taking several pictures we started on foot down the bumpy road towards the butterfly garden.  The local people understand the need to develop natural ecotourism thanks to the help of Margherita.  As we walked down the road, we saw many local birds including: Clay-colored Robin (the national bird which is cray colored- shocking right?), Violet Sabrewing (largest humming bird, up to 6' with glimmering and violet hues) Green Hermit (dark blue and green upper parts), and the Purple-throated Mountain-gem (purple throat with a turquoise head and green body).  Our birders, Margherita, Mo and Adrian were quick to point out these fuzzy, feathered friends.  We also saw wild cows feeding their calves, many stray dogs, flying insects and the Golden beetle, which is the size of a quarter. Some of the braver girls held and posed with the beetle for pictures and Mo even wore it as jewelry! 

Once down the hill we met a local woman, Cecila, and her family. They had set up a tropical and sustainable green house behind their home which housed several Monarch butterflies and beautiful flowers.  Butterfly garden/green house was two tiered (sloped) and was about 75 feet by 80 feet and packed with butterfly loving, nectar flowers of many different colors.   We saw many large fluffy caterpillars as well.  








After taking the tour (and several more pictures) we made our way into her home where we had the chance to make our own tortillas from scratch. The process began with us grinding up the corn into corn meal.  After adding a bit of water, the corn dough was rolled into a ball and then taking it into our hands and patting it down into flattened patties. Once flattened, we put the corn tortillas onto the wood burning stove to cook.  Every two minutes we took turns flipping them. Finally lunch was served! Our tortillas turned out great and the food prepared by our hosts, noodles and fresh fruit was delicious. Many of us left with bulging bellies. 

Once again we enjoyed a bumpy drive from the butterfly garden up the mountain to the Monserrat organic farm.  While the distance between the town and the Montserrat Lodge was maybe a mile and a half, road conditions caused the drive to be over thirty minutes.  We had to separate into two groups, one group in the four wheel truck and the other group on foot.  As we made our way up the road, the cloud forest became more dense.   Birds could be heard chattering and the mist of the cloud became more dense.  As the walking group climbed towards the Lodge, we discovered many forest secrets.  We viewed many forest birds, insects and enjoyed the sights and sounds of a waterfall.  What is amazing, is how healthy everything in the cloud forest is.  Green is the color, big is the size and noisy is the sound.  The Poor Man's Umbrella is a HUGE leaf that can be used to protect the holder from a downpour.   Three of us easily fit under the Poor Man's Umbrella that we picked up and there was room to spare.  

Once at the Lodge, we settled into our two bunk rooms.  The sustainable farm of Montserrat is where they offer many things including: education about sustainability, a lodge for being in the Cloud Forest, forest hikes, birding, flauna and flora studies and environmentally safe farming.  It is a teaching location for all ages.  

The "rain" part of this rainforest is really starting to kick in, and we are starting to pull out our boots and ponchos. We sat on the porch of the large gathering room and enjoyed the sights and sounds of the rain.  The blanket of clouds gave the Cloud Forest a mystical appearance.  The mist can easily be seen rolling in quickly and delicately covering the valley causing a wall that began to shorten our view.  You could feel the mist moving over us filling the gathering room and drifting off.   

Tomorrow we will get the chance to really explore the farm and work on some service projects. It is only the second day and we have had many once in a lifetime experiences already. 

Love from all in Costa Rica!

Pura Vida
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