Walking Spirits?

We used to think of fallen trees in terms of loss and sadness for a beloved tree. Now we see it as a great opportunity. I was out hiking today with Forestry Engineers Manuel Viquez and Yamileth (and all the children) when we came across a large fallen tree - a Nispero. We all became quite excited because, in the great battle in the forest, a clearing to the sun is a coveted dream of every struggling forest tree trying to survive. We shall be able to use the fallen Nispero in many ways at the Finca and, at first glance around the newly sunny clearing, could recognize seedlings of Jorco (Garcinia intermedia), Calophyllum, Cenizaro, Ingas, more Nisperos and a bunch of pioneer trees. What a thrill!

One of the smaller branches became Barry's new walking stick. A few weeks ago, I broke Barry's beautifully painted walking stick into two pieces. How did I manage that? I whacked the ground with it just in front of our dog, Spotty, who at that moment was straddling and tearing into one of our chickens. A bewildered Barry reported afterwards - never get her mad! Needless to say, I felt terrible about it so asked Armando to repair his stick. By the way, both chicken and dog survived the incident. Armando tried gluing Barry's walking stick back together but realized that it was made of a soft wood, probably Guazuma. We decided to make Barry a new walking stick. Armando crafted one out of the fallen hardwood and heat dried it to make it lightweight yet very strong. This very fine walking stick is a work of indigenous art and superior function. This stick goes to Barry.

But the excitement of the fallen Nispero wasn't the only highlight of my hike with Manuel and Yamileth! We took the new trail into the old forest, which Armando had just finished this past season and soon came across an area of rocks that seemed arranged in concentric circles. Armando already knew of this place and conjectured that it was once a tool-making daycamp for indigenous people in the past. Manuel began searching amonst the rocks and soon discovered proof - a rock that clearly had been worked upon and probably discarded when it broke. Then we found another rock that looked like it had been fashioned into a large stone mortar. Now we were really excited and discussed how the Huetar people might have used the site. We imagined a group of guys sitting around, make tools together and talking just like modern guys now do on the tennis court and back at the locker room.

Armando reminded us of the time, many years ago while still a child, he came across a large, stone, animal crafted bench at the indigenous cemetary, located near the Tigre waterfalls. Next day, he returned with a friend to show him but the stone animal had disappeared. The locals describe this phenomenon as the 'walking spirits' trying to escape the humans. Did the stone walk away or was it pilfered? We don't know but I decided to hedge by bets. All stone work will remain in situ (for future archaeologists), and we will carefully screen who we take to the indigenous remains at Tigre. Thankfully, most hikers just view the sites as a common place pile of rocks so the spirits should be appeased.

We were so excited about the stone workers that we nearly missed a rare variety of Vanilla orchid vines climbing about a fallen tree. This was big news for my Forest Engineering friends because their latest mission (and they have many - elmundoforestal.com) is to rescue rare orchids and other epiphytes from the dry forest and reproduce them. We quickly made a deal. Manuel could take one complete Orchid vine, complete with root (it's hemi-epiphytic) and return to me some potted Vanilla ornamentals plants complete with trellis. Done! We shook hands on the deal and continued exploring the new trail.

And then,
WE FOUND A NEW SPECIES!!!
Actually, the species had already been identified - Diospyros digyna (Ebenaceae) - but it was the first time we had come across it at Tigre. Locals call it Sapote Negro or Mabola and it's known for its edible fruit and shiny seeds. While discussing the properties of this beautiful tree, my favorite dog Flopsy came over and began eating the fallen fruit - he clearly like it! And he's not dead yet! Also on the new trail, we also came across more Nispero (Manilkara chicle), Roble Coral (Terminalia amazonia), Ron Ron (Astronium graveolens), Ojoche Colorado (Brosimum colorado) and a bunch more already described elsewhere.

As we finished our hike, we discussed plans for documenting the new trails with GPS waypoints on AutoCad and making some new maps. We also have plans for gridding out the charrales and young forests for work into the future. Manuel and Armando will begin this work soon after I leave Costa Rica for New Orleans.

Yes - I leave TexMex and Costa Rica behind on April 8th and join Gerry in New Orleans for the upcoming Vieux Carre and Jazz Fests. Talk about a counterpoint to tropical forestry!

Now, for all you GRAK fans,
TODAY IS THE DAY!
Gerry returned to court this afternoon for his final session in this trial. I tried to go with him -even had a charming 'supportive wife' outfit all picked out - but he preferred that I stay here. He would have enough support from his entourage of lawyers and colleagues. Will Gerry manage to stay out of jail? Only the Costa Rican Judge knows for sure. If all goes well, then Gerry flies back out of Costa Rica tomorrow and returns to his beloved New Orleans.

I shall remain here at TexMex and deal with construction out at Tigre until April 8th, when I will finally join him. Si dios permite.

The Morning After

There is nothing more joyous than a walk in a tropical forest the morning after the first drenching rain - after more than 4 months of drought. Armando is half indigenous and very much a man of few words. In fact, more than once he's looked at me kind of startled when I've launched into trivial small talk with him. Women talk more than men in general but pair a gregarious North American with an indigenous Costa Rican, and you've got both extremes. We generally speak very much to the point - when to gather Lonchocarpus seeds or how to plant living fence rows... and then silence. Well that morning after the first rain, we were both silent with wonder.

We could both sense a dramatic change in the forest. Everything seemed more alive and the air around us felt charged with happy energy. The rain woke up the forest from a long slumber and we could feel the effects of this huge surge of energy all around us. Everything was cleaner and greener. It was truly a memorable walk at El Tigre.

Later, after climbing out much refreshed and invigorated, I went to the airport to pick up Gerry, who was returning back to Costa Rica for....you guessed it!

Gerry goes back to court! We cleaned his suit and had him looking quite respectable for his appearance at the Tribunales. He stayed in Costa Rica only for the court appearance and flew right back out again the next day. In fairness, he had commitments previously arranged but it sure looked like he was keen to get back to New Orleans. The good news is his final court date takes places next Monday. Will he manage to stay out of jail? Stay tuned... For those of you who would like more details about Gerry's trial, you can email him directly. BigEasyGrak@hotmail.com
Just remember to copy me because he only looks at his hotmail account when it suits him.

In any case, back on that day while waiting for Gerry at the airport, I greeted a young woman carrying one of those huge backpacks like the kind that kids haul around Europe doing their Europass tour. I pegged this kid as a volunteer and sure enough, Jenna was waiting for someone to pick her up. Her pickup was late but that's nothing unusual so when Gerry came out of arrivals, I bid her well and off I went with Gerry.

Well about 2 hours later, just as we were sitting down to lunch, Jenna shows up at the TexMex. She had waited at the airport for nearly 3 hours but nobody showed up for her. As you can imagine, she was rattled, especially since she couldn't speak any Spanish. So how did Jenna end up at the Tex Mex of all places rather than say, the Hampton Inn? Let's just call it 6 Degrees of Separation.

It was Sunday and we couldn't reach anyone and at that point, Jenna was of the mind to just get on the next flight back to New York. Forget volunteering! She just wanted to get out of Costa Rica. Luckily, thanks to Abby, who happened to arrive at TexMex for lunch just after Jenna, we managed to connect the dots. Turns out, the American Agency gave the wrong date and the Costa Ricans never expected Jenna until May. But the locals really came through for her at short notice and she left us all smiles to help with the Turtle program in Cahuita. Of course, we couldn't resist taking Jenna out to Tigre for a quick look. She will notice the huge difference between the two forests.

And yes, we are still living at the Tex Mex.

I Work at an Insane Asylum

We have a houseful of guests tonight at TexMex. After reasonable tranquility all these weeks, suddenly every room at the Inn is occupied.

Usually, I avoid other guests because they are either weird or just plain tedious. However, when I approached the cappuccino machine yesterday morning, I came across a group of young, healthy looking American kids that looked friendly. We began talking and immediately connected. I started showing them how to make coffee and asked them the usual expatriate question, “So, where are you from?”

“Michigan”, came the reply.

“Michigan! What part of Michigan are you from?”

“Kalamazoo”, said the twenty-something redhead kid.

“ I’m from Kalamazoo too! And I’ve got a T-Shirt to prove it! ‘Yes, There Really IS a Kalamazoo’.

So lots of back patting and reminiscing ensued and we had a nice coffee together. We were from different generations but felt like long lost cousins! Since then, those Kalamazoo kids have been out non-stop partying – thanks to a ‘host’ sister and her party-hardy Costa Rican tribe. The Kalamazoo Kids drank a lot of espresso this morning and the redhead declared himself off the booze forever. Yeah sure, that will last until about 6PM tonight!

I told them that the Flying Borracho Brothers would be playing at Tex Mex tonight and invited them to stop by. Maybe. They said they would definitely-maybe pop in as soon as they got back from This-Or-That Disco Club. No way. Those Kazoo Kids won’t get back until after 3AM – just like last night. And I suspect that the Borracho Brothers and their lively crowd will be back home in bed asleep. Something about different generations, but who knows? Stay tuned!

Meanwhile….
A pair of ‘Easy Riders’ from the upper Midwest stayed at TexMex a few days back. I avoided them – definitely not my cup of tea - but Gerry and Dr. Bob had a few words with them as they checked out. It was their first trip to Costa Rica and their plan was to ride their Harleys all over the country to sightsee and have some fun with the Ticas. First stop was Jaco. Dr. Bob admonished them to be careful out there. The horrible Costa Rican roads and insane drivers have produced a lot of accidents – and the bad ones almost always involve motorcycles. Easy Riders nodded indifferently and left.

Gerry turned to Dr. Bob and said, “Guess we will see those guys at CIMA Hospital!”

“Yeah”, Bob replied, “Maybe we ought to reserve a room for them right now!”

Well this is a bizarre coincidence, but not more than two hours out on the road, one of the Easy Riders skidded out of control at a curve. He sustained blunt trauma on an ankle and required some 24 stitches for cuts on his elbow and knee. And the worst of it was that he didn’t even get taken to CIMA – The 5 star version of a private hospital. Instead, the ambulance took him to the Social Security Public Hospital, San Juan de Dios. It was absolute bedlam there and the injured Easy Rider couldn’t speak any Spanish. The only English speaker they could find was a very busy physician who just didn’t have time to take care of him. His injuries weren’t life threatening so he just had to lay there in pain until they finally patched him up and sent him back home to ….

You guessed it! Back home to TexMex. Poor fellow. On the first day of his first trip to Costa Rica, he ends up with a cast on his leg. But on the bright side, he can join the crowd for the Flying Borracho Brothers tonight!

Dr. Bob just walked by and declared:

“I work at an Insane Asylum!”

I was holding a ‘Ward off Monkey’ Taiji pose at the time so not sure if his comment related to me or to his other guests.

So Where is Gerry in all this goofy mix?
Gerry left Costa Rica today for New Orleans. Yep, and leaving me here with all the construction. His original plan was not to return until May 10th. Well that pesky trial has ruined his plans once again. He has to return back here for a court appearance on March 20th. He’s furious about that and only plans to fly in for the court date and right back out to New Orleans.

Why is it so important that Gerry has to be in New Orleans? So important that he would even miss out on a British Birthday Party tomorrow for the Four Horsemen? Actually, it’s War and Death having the party. Pestilence AKA David Scott is in Jaco and Gerald AKA Famine needs to be in New Orleans. Why? Because Gerald AKA Famine needs to take delivery of his beloved Chesterfield Sofa, which arrives around the 22nd.

Tomorrow I hike down to the waterfalls for a bit of Tigre centering.