This morning we headed out to a very different ecosystem- a very high cloud forest in San Gerardo de Dota, where we will be passing over the mountains at 11,000 feet to get there. Joyce pulled up the Google map to see the route we would be taking and this is what Google found. Hmmm...this will be an interesting road trip!
With our excellent driver, Jose, I am sure he will figure out how to get us there!
We drove along the beautiful blue Pacific heading south. Our next stop was at the Hacienda Baru where we would meet Jack Ewing and have a talk on rainforest conservation.
Jack Ewing, who is in his mid 70's, greeted us with a glass of guanabana juice in a screened hut in the rainforest. He started off his talk with the history of Hacienda Baru and the story of how he and his family ended up there.
When he graduated from University of Colorado, he was sent to Costa Rica by his father's cattle business to run cattle operations in Costa Rica. At that time he thought nothing about clearing forest to raise cattle and enjoying sport hunting in the forests.
After awhile he developed a fascination and love for the rainforest and his transformation from cattle rancher to environmentalist and naturalist began. Rather than cutting down the forests of Hacienda Baru, he gave up cattle ranching, purchased the land, and began restoring the rainforest. He moved his family there and raised two children who initially grew up without electricity, phone, and other modern conveniences. He gave up hunting after sadly gazing at a jaguar killed by a neighboring rancher and realizing these beautiful animals deserve to live their lives without being killed for human sport or retribution for killing livestock.
He told an amusing story of how, with the help of a local law enforcement officer, he was able to stop hunters (who used dogs to track the animals) from hunting on Hacienda Baru's land by focusing on their dogs, rather than the hunters themselves. Over the years, cattle ranching and rice farming was phased out in the area as people saw the benefit of ecotourism. The local people helped with reforestation and creating wildlife corridors to bring back many of the species that were eliminated during deforestation. In return, this brought jobs in ecotourism to the area. In 1995 the President of Costa Rica declared Hacienda Baru a National Wildlife Refuge.
Jack told many wonderful stories, some that are recounted in his books, Monkeys Are Made of Chocolate and Where Tapirs and Jaguars Once Roamed. He told us stories about venomous snakes and how if you were to be bitten by a venomous snake, Costa Rica would be the best place for that due to widespread well stocked clinics with anti-venom and medical staff well trained in treating snake bites.
He told the amusing story of how he still climbs trees at his age and wants to hold the record for the oldest tree climber at Hacienda Baru, but his record was shattered by a 76 year old woman who came to Hacienda Baru and completed the high ropes climb. He has 2 more years to tie her and 3 more to regain the record! You can read his amusing story about tree climbing in the golden years by clicking here! Oh, if only we could all be so spry at that age!
His greatest wish is to see the tapir come back to Hacienda Baru in his life time.
Several of us bought one of his books and he graciously signed copies. The essays are highly entertaining and I would recommend these books to anyone interested in reading more about the rainforest and tropical ecosystems (see links above to Amazon for ordering his books).
We drove along the beautiful blue Pacific heading south. Our next stop was at the Hacienda Baru where we would meet Jack Ewing and have a talk on rainforest conservation.
When he graduated from University of Colorado, he was sent to Costa Rica by his father's cattle business to run cattle operations in Costa Rica. At that time he thought nothing about clearing forest to raise cattle and enjoying sport hunting in the forests.
After awhile he developed a fascination and love for the rainforest and his transformation from cattle rancher to environmentalist and naturalist began. Rather than cutting down the forests of Hacienda Baru, he gave up cattle ranching, purchased the land, and began restoring the rainforest. He moved his family there and raised two children who initially grew up without electricity, phone, and other modern conveniences. He gave up hunting after sadly gazing at a jaguar killed by a neighboring rancher and realizing these beautiful animals deserve to live their lives without being killed for human sport or retribution for killing livestock.
He told an amusing story of how, with the help of a local law enforcement officer, he was able to stop hunters (who used dogs to track the animals) from hunting on Hacienda Baru's land by focusing on their dogs, rather than the hunters themselves. Over the years, cattle ranching and rice farming was phased out in the area as people saw the benefit of ecotourism. The local people helped with reforestation and creating wildlife corridors to bring back many of the species that were eliminated during deforestation. In return, this brought jobs in ecotourism to the area. In 1995 the President of Costa Rica declared Hacienda Baru a National Wildlife Refuge.
Jack told many wonderful stories, some that are recounted in his books, Monkeys Are Made of Chocolate and Where Tapirs and Jaguars Once Roamed. He told us stories about venomous snakes and how if you were to be bitten by a venomous snake, Costa Rica would be the best place for that due to widespread well stocked clinics with anti-venom and medical staff well trained in treating snake bites.
He told the amusing story of how he still climbs trees at his age and wants to hold the record for the oldest tree climber at Hacienda Baru, but his record was shattered by a 76 year old woman who came to Hacienda Baru and completed the high ropes climb. He has 2 more years to tie her and 3 more to regain the record! You can read his amusing story about tree climbing in the golden years by clicking here! Oh, if only we could all be so spry at that age!
His greatest wish is to see the tapir come back to Hacienda Baru in his life time.
Several of us bought one of his books and he graciously signed copies. The essays are highly entertaining and I would recommend these books to anyone interested in reading more about the rainforest and tropical ecosystems (see links above to Amazon for ordering his books).
As we were waiting to go to lunch at Hacienda Baru's restaurant, ever acute observer Jimmy spotted a walking stick insect on a tree. Observe how different this walking stick is (top photo) from the one we found in Carara National Park (bottom photo).
Lunch was another delicious casada (typical Costa Rican meal) accompanied by freshly made watermelon juice.
After lunch we continued toward the mountains, climbing higher and higher and higher- our ears were popping. We stopped at a roadside rest stop and restaurant for a restroom break ("happy room") and sipped coffee while watching hummingbirds. The sign says we are at 3,100 meters which is 10,170 feet, almost twice as high as Denver! We could feel the altitude and the air was crisp and cool. We could look down on the clouds in the valley below. Washing my hands in the restroom I could feel how cold the water was up here! The vegetation changed considerably.
Back on our bus we continued to climb up to about 11,000 feet and then down the mountain toward the Savegre River Valley. The road started to get very narrow and steep, sometimes room for only one vehicle.
As we slowed down into a village, Jimmy stopped the driver, hopped off the bus, and got back on with a big grin on his face saying, "Page, I found that rhinoceros beetle for you!" From a previous conversation about coleoptera, Jimmy knew I wanted to see a live rhinoceros beetle and sure enough, he spotted one with his eagle sharp eyes (Jim McDonald's face is priceless in this photo!). We passed it around on the bus and kept it in a bag until we arrived in Savegre.
As we entered through the gate of the Savegre Hotel, Nature Reserve, and Spa, we could tell this was a very special place. We checked into our "cabinas" and roamed around the beautiful gardens and grounds of this luxurious ecolodge high up in the river valley of the Robledal Forest, next to Los Quetzales National Park. The view from our rooms was picture perfect! The air was cool, a bit chilly, but felt so refreshing after being in the hot, humid forests.
We stopped for drinks in the bar (sangria, our favorite!) before our pre-dinner talk in the lounge overlooking the trout stream. The bar had beautiful stained glass art of different birds, including the quetzal which we hoped we would see here.
Our pre-dinner talk was by Señor Marino Chacon, son of Efrain Chacon who founded the ecolodge. He warmly greeted us and proceeded to tell us the remarkable story of how this beautiful luxury lodge came to be.
The story is summarized on this sign in the reception area of the hotel but there is so much more to it that Señor Chacon (son of the original founder) shared with us.
Picture two lost hunters in a valley where there were no settlers, overnighting in a small cave (just an outcrop of a large boulder) until they could find their way back the next day. They made it back to their village and were so enthralled with the valley they found, that they went back on foot several times, clearing the way with machetes and staying in the "cave". They felt they had discovered paradise.
They started clearing the land with machetes to raise cattle and slept in the "cave" for two years, going back and forth to the village where their families lived. Picture them moving the cattle up this vertical mountain. There were no roads, electricity, nothing but pristine unowned land. They built a hut, planted orchards and crops, raised livestock and eight years later Mr. Chacon moved his family there. Back then in Costa Rica if you homestead for ten years you could get a title to the land from the government.
When the family arrived, the only way in and out of the valley was the path Chacón had made for moving his livestock and harvests. It would be many years later before that path was replaced with a road into the valley.
Mrs. Chacon taught the children to read and write and improvise with what they had since they lacked access to basic necessities such as pens, paper, and even toothpaste. By now their family had grown to 11 children. He joked that his parents kept having children so there would be enough students for the government to build a school in the valley, which it eventually did!
They made cheese and the father would trek to the city to sell the cheese and crops to earn money. People learned that he had trout in the streams on his property and they came there to fish. Word of mouth brought more and more anglers to their property so they built a few cabins so the anglers could spend a few days there. It became so popular and well known that they expanded and the rest is history- from arriving lost in the valley with nothing, to sleeping under a rock outcropping, to a hut without electricity, to a few rustic cabins, to today's gorgeous luxury resort- it was truly a remarkable tale of perseverance and vision. Most of all, he stressed how the challenge is to make sure the resort maintains harmony with the environment. Today Savegre holds the highest rating from the Costa Rican government for sustainable tourism.
After a delicious dinner, we hung out in the lounge, enjoying the warmth of the fire pit and anticipating what tomorrow will bring in this mystical cloud forest environment of peace and tranquility.
They started clearing the land with machetes to raise cattle and slept in the "cave" for two years, going back and forth to the village where their families lived. Picture them moving the cattle up this vertical mountain. There were no roads, electricity, nothing but pristine unowned land. They built a hut, planted orchards and crops, raised livestock and eight years later Mr. Chacon moved his family there. Back then in Costa Rica if you homestead for ten years you could get a title to the land from the government.
When the family arrived, the only way in and out of the valley was the path Chacón had made for moving his livestock and harvests. It would be many years later before that path was replaced with a road into the valley.
Mrs. Chacon taught the children to read and write and improvise with what they had since they lacked access to basic necessities such as pens, paper, and even toothpaste. By now their family had grown to 11 children. He joked that his parents kept having children so there would be enough students for the government to build a school in the valley, which it eventually did!
They made cheese and the father would trek to the city to sell the cheese and crops to earn money. People learned that he had trout in the streams on his property and they came there to fish. Word of mouth brought more and more anglers to their property so they built a few cabins so the anglers could spend a few days there. It became so popular and well known that they expanded and the rest is history- from arriving lost in the valley with nothing, to sleeping under a rock outcropping, to a hut without electricity, to a few rustic cabins, to today's gorgeous luxury resort- it was truly a remarkable tale of perseverance and vision. Most of all, he stressed how the challenge is to make sure the resort maintains harmony with the environment. Today Savegre holds the highest rating from the Costa Rican government for sustainable tourism.
After a delicious dinner, we hung out in the lounge, enjoying the warmth of the fire pit and anticipating what tomorrow will bring in this mystical cloud forest environment of peace and tranquility.
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