We started out tour in San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica (which, I suppose, almost everyone does) but on the next morning got our our tour box and headed out north/northwest
Our first stop was Sarchi, a small town known at one time for its painted ox-carts (Ox-carts, once upon a time, were used to haul coffee and produce. The picture below is not only an example of such a cart, but the world's largest Ox-Cart).
We continued to drive up into the mountains of Costa Rica. One thing about Costa Rica is that it is always very green, wherever you are.
We stopped at the town of Zarcero, which is known for its church (San Rafael) as well as its topiary gardens, which were put in 40+ years ago by a young man that suggested building them instead of a soccer field and that he would maintain. Apparently he is still there, maintaining the gardens.
We continued over the mountains and entered clouds and fogged. It never truly rained on us, but there was often the threat.
The Arenal Volcano from La Fortuna. It dominates the landscape.
The coolest thing among many cool things we saw that day? Actual leaf cutter ants. They do not eat the leaves themselves, but use them to grow fungus which they eat.
What a beautiful country. The lenticular clouds capping the volcano are especially stunning. I didn't know that about leafcutter ants! The world if full of so many amazing things.
ReplyDeleteLeigh, I suspect one could spend a lifetime studying the clouds of that volcano because I suspect they are always changing.
DeleteLeafcutter ants seem like something that inevitably show up on "Nature in Central/South America", so it was super cool to see them in person. They had actually worn a "highway" into the soil from their trips.
Beautiful place. Thank you for the photos of is location.
ReplyDeleteWe have leaf cutter ants here but have no idea of what actual species they are. They cut leaves into pieces about the size of a pinky nail, then transport them to their nest which are plain holes in the ground. The path to it is littered with cut leaves. Very efficient. It seems like any leaf is fair game.
Pretty destructive but it is they way the ants are wired.
You are very welcome.
DeleteYes, I can imagine that leafcutter ants are very destructive. They are novel for me because I do not have to live them, but would likely feel differently if they were constantly denuding my trees of them (much like anyone feels about Nature that does not have to live with it).
There is a painted oxcart (maybe 1/12th scale) somewhere in the farmhouse that my brother brought back and gave to my parents. It used to sit up on the fireplace mantel but I'm not sure if it is there anymore. It is somewhere because I doubt my mom would have tossed it. I'll have to look for it when I go home.
ReplyDeleteLiving here in the Midwest, I have a fear of volcanoes. I never relax when I am around them when back in my wife's native land which abounds with them. I'm not sure I could live within sight of one, especially an active one.
Ed, I have a small similar Oxcart that one of the Na Clann brought me when they were in Costa Rica doing a mission trip. Apparently they have a festival in Sarchi every year with the painted Ox Cars. That would be a thing to see.
DeleteI think volcanos are, to me, similar to earthquakes: they happen infrequently enough in most places that it is a low risk - but, as you say, when they go, they can be disastrous. Interestingly, the capital city of San Jose is in a bowl surrounded by volcanos. If they were ever to go, it would be a very bad thing.
leaf cutters.... yuk. I have a neighbor's yard that looks like someone dug a fox hole in it. Just leaf cutters digging around. His yard and mine are riddled underneath with them. If I poison a mound in my yard, they pop up 10 feet away the next day. How many do you want??
ReplyDeleteEarthquakes and volcanoes are the worst. It's bad enough when the atmosphere tries to kill you, and the sea is evil and cruel, too. But at least the dirt where I grew up didn't try to kill you. If you were unlucky enough to fall in a ravine and have the side cave in on you, well, that happens. But the ravine doesn't start blasting lava and shaking the landscape into a vibrating horror. I don't know how you'd ever come to trust anything in a place like that.
Ants are remarkably resourceful. I always end up with a nest or two to "move along" during the year.
DeleteI think we end up choosing our environmental/geologic poisons. Earthquakes I can deal with; hurricanes and floods and tornados are far more common, geographically based, and to my point of view to be avoided - but people live where they happen as well. I think we just come to deal with what we have known and are comfortable with.
Sign me up . . . for the beer.
ReplyDeleteSounds like I need to build a slightly bigger ox-cart. Mine would be slow so I'd paint a snail on it - the French would look at it racing and say, "look at that ox-cart go!"
John, one of the places we got to stop was a small, new (1 year?) microbrewery. This has only become legal in the last 10 years or so. We got to do things you can no longer do in American breweries, like go directly into the brew room and observe (also, super tasty beer tasting).
DeleteAnd, thank you for the obligatory joke. There is one in any crowd, and I would expect nothing less.
I've had a long life of being . . . "that guy" - why change now?
DeleteI, too, am "that guy". Too much effort to do anything different now.
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