"I STRONGLY DISAGREE WITH YOU"

It’s been a little while, but here is my last entry for a week. We’re leaving tomorrow morning to go to Cuerici (A.K.A. Cerro de la Muerta [Hill of the Dead]) for 6 days. No internet/phone, so don’t be afraid if you can’t get in touch with me. I’m all right.

Here’s a blurb about it from our orientation materials:

“Cuerici is located at an altitude of 2,900 meters near Cerro de la Muerte in the Talamanca Mountain Range of Costa Rica. This small farm and biological station includes about 200 hectares of primary forest bordering the Rio Macho Forest Reserve and Chirripo National Park. Both of these protected areas mark the northwestern edge of La Amistad Conservation Area. Ancient, tall oaks dominate the forest at this altitude (primarily Quercus costarricenses and Q. copeyensis). Some of these trees are estimated to be nearly 1,000 years old. Near Cerro de la Muerte, at 3,200 meters, the trees give way to high-altitude paramo, a unique tropical ecosystem specially adapted to temperatures that fluctuate rapidly between warm, sunny days and nights below freezing. Páramo is dominated by shrub land where drainage is adequate and by bogs where drainage is poor. The station at Cuerici is a large, rustic cabin complete with a large fireplace for roasting marshmallows and a wood burning stove to keep visitors warm during the exceptionally chilly nights. The surrounding oak forests, which were heavily exploited for charcoal, are an important habitat for the resplendent quetzal. The region produces organic blackberry, much of which is exported to the United States.”

Anyway, here are some words about the past few days.

On the 5th we went on a hike past the Río Java to take our first field observations. It´s pretty odd, actually, to just sit somewhere for thirty minutes and write what is happening to all of your senses. You should try it sometime: get some paper, go to a park or the woods or even your backyard, sit down. And look around you. I bet you ten thousand colones that you’ll see, hear, and smell things that you’ve never noticed before. (I double dare you).

While hiking on the trail, we came across the largest ant colony I’ve ever seen. See the picture below. It’s no optical illusion—that tall guy is tall.



On the way back, the unexpected (yet slightly expected) happened. About five of us were lagging behind (me because of my picture-taking addiction, the others because they are a little slow, of course) and ran into a friendly little bug on the trail. And by friendly little bug, I mean huge ass tarantula. Big spider. Everyone was sticking their foot out to see if it would crawl on it. However, it decided that my foot was the best choice (and I hadn’t even stuck it out yet), and embarked on a ridiculously fast journey—a straight shot to the groin. So, naturally, I took pictures. Here it is on my leg:


And here it is after I picked it up and it started crawling up my arm. At this point, I handed it off to one of the Costa Rican students, Andres. After he tried to kiss it (jokingly, of course), it reared up in defense (meaning that it wasn’t happy and you should get ready for some fang action) and we put him on the nearest tree.



(You should have seen Darby’s reaction when I told her.)

On the 6th, we hopped in the cars and drove a few kilometers to the Gamboa farm. We were learning/experiencing the effects of forest fragmentation and island biogeography. Basically, when people cut down patches of forest, it changes the microclimate and biodiversity along the edges and greatly affects the species living in the remaining “fragments.” I won’t go into too much detail, but basically, what happens in the resulting “edge effects” are carried deeper and deeper into the fragment until the whole mini-ecosystem is affected greatly. So I don’t bore you, I’ll leave the rest to my old friend Wikipedia.

(I thought these leaves were cool.)

(Our Costa Rican professor Mau (Mauricio), looking qué suave.)

We’ve watched two videos on fair trade coffee. Coffee is the second highest traded commodity besides oil, and that’s something that I bet no one reading this knew. OK, someone might have. Anyways, the point was that buying fair trade assures that the farmers get a fair price for their coffee crop. It's an important thing--companies like Starbucks, Folgers, etc., are buying coffee at ridiculously low prices and selling it for ridiculously high prices. E.g., you can make about 35 cups of coffee out of about a pound of coffee. Big companies that don't do fair trade buy coffee at world market price at, let's say, a dollar a pound. Then Starbucks sells a (cheap) cup of coffee for $2. That's 35 cups per pound, at $2 a cup. The farmer got $1 per pound, and can rarely afford to send his kids to school. Now think about the $6 cups of coffee they sell. Just think about it.

One of the farmers participating in fair trade in the video we watched has a farm in Agua Buena, a town about 10 min from here. His name is Roberto Jimenez, and he's one of the coolest guys ever. He grows café arabica (as opposed to robusta, the lesser quality one with more caffeine and bitterness), bananas, plantains, sugarcane, mangoes, and more on his "finca" (farm).

(Drying coffee)

(Greenhouse)

(An ancient, still functioning/used sugar cane press. Used to be cranked by 2 oxen, now he just does it with the hand crank.)

(He also has a couple of pigs and cows)

(Roberto holding some fresh beans. He works hard and knows his shit. True.)

He's part of a fair trade co-op that produces sustainable and, apparently, really good coffee. He uses his bananas and other trees to shade his coffee plants; he's doing it the right way, and uses about 80% less pesticides than other farmers. What he does use is organic and he makes himself. His finca resembles more of a rainforest than your average farm, and he's trying to do his work in an ecologically friendly mindset. He uses natural fences and erosion control and provides homes to many a bird, which non-shade grown coffee plantations do not. He was obviously very interested in and had his heart set on helping the environment and protecting the lands instead of making a dime (literally). Inspiring.

You can even buy it online and they'll pack some up (according to your grind/roast specifications) and mail it to you. And you're supporting the coffee growers instead of the corporations. You pay a few cents more per cup and increase the quality of life of countless individuals instead of fattening the coffers of a bunch of CEOs somewhere. Cool? I think so.


On to other news: here's Mike (one of the funniest kids on the trip) up in a huge strangler fig.







And here are a couple from a night walk:

(under the leaf of a Heliconiaceae)

Lastly, I finished my insect identifying, and got a 100% on my plant test. Woo! I guessed on four, too. I also finished my statistics homework. For future references, I hate statistics.

A couple of birds (chestnut mandibled toucan and a blue crowned mat mat, respectively), and an agouti about 15 feet away from me!

See you after Cuerici!


(By the way, coffee is a member of the Rubiaceae family. Trivia.)