29 July 2009

Happy Birding at Alouatta Lodge


Waking up at 4:30 a.m. and having to get out of bed no matter how exciting the day - is something I never relish doing. However, once I crawl out of bed and sip a good cup of Boquete coffee I am ready to start the new day.
I was excited about finally being able to visit an area very close to the flat-topped mesa, which we have noticed repeatedly, along the Pan-American Highway just a short distance outside of David on the way to Panama City. You know the one the flat-topped mountain when during the rainy season you can see a large waterfall flowing down from the mesa. Our destination that morning to visit the Alouatta Lodge; it sits on the side of a mountain in the midst of the plains and forests of Chorcha on La Mesa de Chorcha Panama’s only flat-topped mountain and located high on the side of Cerro del Monte, overlooking the Chiriqui lagoon and islands.



Steven and Michelle Walker the proprietors were our gracious hosts along with their two children Garret and Rebecca. They have lived here for about four years making this remote area their home, Eco Resort, and an animal rescue mission.
Alouatta comes from the Latin name alouatta palliata for the species Mantled Howler Monkey; with many living in the area. International Union for Conservation of Nature believes that, this population will decline by up to 60% over the next 30 years endangers the species. Threats to the species include habitat loss, hunting, and capture as pets.
We broke up into three groups. As we begin walking along the trail; we hear the sounds of the Mantled Howler Monkey, they are high up in the trees calling out to each other upset by our invasion onto their turf. The Mantled Howler gets the name "howler" from the calls made by the males, particularly at dawn and dusk, but also in response to disturbances. The calls consist of grunts and repeated roars that can last for four to five seconds each. The Howlers finally settle down perhaps realizing we are harmless. Our group disappointed for not being able to see many birds but then did enjoy the hiking through the dense vegetation.
At the end, of the hike we ate a scrumptious lunch the Walkers had prepared, socializing, meeting several of their rescued Mantled Howler Monkeys, and captivated by interacting with Yahoo including two other six-month-old Howlers. Steven points out the large teak fincas dotting the area, he finds this very disappointing.

Unfortunately, deforestation is taking place globally in rainforest areas, taking away much of the natural environment by creating an inhospitable living arrangement for wild life such as the Howler Monkey.

This is a great day trip; I highly recommend it - the entrance fee is five dollars per person. There are five marked trails from easy walking along the river to difficult, partly up the mountain. We left Boquete at 5:15a.m arriving at Alouatta Lodge about one and half hour later.
A four-wheel drive gets you up the road off the highway to their place. Here are directions to the Alouatta Lodge: from David, on the Pan-American Highway towards Panama City, pass the Bocas del Toro turn off. Continue until you reach the little town of La Pita, look to your left, and see the big waterfall on the side of the flat top mountain, as you pass the waterfall you will come to a long straight downhill run. On the highway, there is a bridge at the bottom about 500m. Further, on, you will pass a farm called LOS VUELTAS on the right side of the road; just past it on the left side of the road, a sign reads Prodec turn onto to this dirt road. The road to Alouatta Lodge is an all dirt and rocky drive up the mountain for 3km, the gate is located on the left side of the road, you cannot miss the gate it has many monkeys on it.
Happy birding and hiking.








































28 July 2009

On the Road to Las Tablas “Pollera Festival”




Another title for this blog ought to be “Women only - driving to the Gala de Pollera in Las Tablas, Panama in the Los Santos Province.” That is an excessively long title for a blog but I wanted to get it in nonetheless. A few of us (3) decided to make this journey by driving to Las Tablas attending the traditional Pollera Festival in the province of Los Santos. 

Stopping at various points of interest along the way added to our experience discovering some very exciting and charming places as well as meeting an interesting group of creative artisans.

We had a budget – I for one wanted to see if this trip would be possible on less than a hundred dollars per person with enough money for shopping. We booked a room for 3 days 2 nights in the Hotel Versalles in Chitré for under $45.00 per night (we are pencionados/jubilados) receiving a 50% discount since it was during the week, otherwise, on the weekend the discount is only 30%, making it overall undeniably a good deal! The Hotel Versalles is on the main road entering Chitré it has a/c in each room, a small pool, restaurant, one can use the internet by paying for a $3.00 card or bring your laptop, a bar, though most of the time the hotel utilizes the bar as a conference room. Click onto Trip Advisor. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g298426-d1231256-Reviews-Hotel_Versalles-Chitre.html We ate at tipico restaurants throughout our trip the most expensive meal topped at five dollars.
The first stop was lunching in Santiago at one of outdoor cafeteria restaurants. Buses always stop here on their way to David from PC. We then proceeded to the charming town of Parita in the Herrera Province. Parita is the oldest settlement in the Azuero Peninsula, and last August celebrated its 450th birthday. Streets in the town are lined with well-preserved examples of Spanish colonial architecture dating back to the 18th century. Most homes near the church are attached row houses and all have red clay tiles roofs. One place to visit is the Iglesia de Santo Domingo de Guzman completed in 1723. Although we could not visit the church, we had planned to visit another place in town.
We approached one of the row homes across from the church asking where, we could meet and visit the church workshop that specializes in the restoration of church altars – it is the only workshop in the country. We were met by one of the homeowners and immediately was overcome by, the warm feeling entering the home.  The señora of the home greets us, we ask if the home is a museum because it is so flawless with a Spanish 
Victorian theme flowing throughout this impeccably decorated home. As I look up to the cathedral ceiling, the red clay tiles are visible and are sealed. She parades us to a delightful outdoor kitchen located on the patio, which includes a wood burning stove she uses for cooking outdoors, since it so extremely warm in Parita.
She mentions her son is a preservationist using their home as an example for others in the community to follow.


Our next stop in Parita is where the colorful masks of the "dirty little devils" (máscaras de los diablicos sucios), are made. We could not bypass a visit to the home of the country’s top mask maker Señor Darido Lopez whose home is located on the main road in Parita. He has been making colorful masks for folkloric dancers since the 1960’s. Lopez explained the process of mask making by first artistically making a mold out of a mixture of yellow and white soil, using water and Vaseline. Once the clay mold is ready, several layers of soaked paper are placed on the mold and left to dry in the sun. Then the teeth, eyes, and horns attach lastly, lastly the mask is painted. At times Señor López works with a team of 12 people, eight of whom are his sons.
The unusual name comes from the raw cotton “dirty blanket” used for the accompanying costumes, they are painted with the juice of the achiote seed to make the red stripes, and coal to make black stripes, giving them a dirty and sinister look. When the performer dances and sweats the colors run off making a dirty look, hence the name "sucios". They also use castanets and a stick in the dance. There is no narrative sequence in the dance, it is a vivid image of the battle between good and evil that promote conversion. Most of the devil dances are for the religious feast of Corpus Christi, which celebrates the presence of Jesus as the host. The Diablicos Sucios from Los Santos and Chitré are performed in La Villa de Los Santos, 40 days after the Holy Week. The Diablos Limpios (or la Danza del Grandiablo) from La Villa, Chorrera, and Chitré, is the most Europeanized version.

While Señor Lopez continues to make masks and satin costumes worn by dirty devil-dancers, he also exports nowadays to the USA and Europe – most cost between US$20.00 – US$80.00. The cost of the medium masks in his shop priced at eight dollars, I found it to be incredibly affordable.

Entering the town of La Arena on the highway there are many small stores selling pottery. We stopped and window-shopped purchasing a few items since prices are lower than other parts of the country. The next time I will surely go to the Ceramica Calderon where all pieces made on the premises, are done by hand and where one can watch the pottery in the making most likely by the owner Angel Calderon who has been doing this for almost 50 years. His place is located near Calle del Rio Parita and Carretera Nacional. We then made a beeline to San Pablos Panaderia on the left side of the main road for some sweets such as 'bolas de panela' made with panela (molasses sugar) and coconut, molasses cookies, and little cups of panela con leche.

We arrive in Chitré check into the hotel relaxing in our room for a while then decided to drive to Las Tablas to locate “La Gala De Pollera” and the Gimnasio Auditorio where, we would be attending the event the following day and to scout around town. Driving on the Carretera Nacional to Las Tables I, notice stands with fresh red sausages dangling from kiosks. From what I understand, they are pork sausages made on the Península de Azuero and are nationally famous for their high quality.

Las Tablas is home to the country’s famous Carnival. Almost everything of interest to visitors is within five blocks of the Las Tablas Central Plaza including colonial architecture and the beautiful colonial church Iglesia Santa Librada next to the Central Plaza. The church opened its door on March 9, 1789; fire damaged the church in 1950, and restored later. The painted faces on the ornate 23-karat gold leaf alter are original.



We continue to wonder through the town festival and came across a group of musicians playing with “tamboritos” translation "little drum", the tamborito is Panama’s national dance. The method of this dance is a call-and-response, vocal phrasing, and interlocking drum patterns showing an African antecedent as it is more than a dance. The tamborito is contagious, an expression of the Panamanian spirit, soul, grace, faith, hopes, and desires. It is Panama’s typical and folkloric musical theatre. I have included a video and photos showing this tradition.

We checked out some of the vendor stalls, buying jewelry from a South American group spending most of our time and money trying on many "Montuno" hats, the national hat worn by many men in Panama. Montuno hats are brimmed made of grass fiber while some of the fibers are dyed to enhance the pattern of the hat. Fortunately, we found a stall with Montuno hats for women. The vendor was very patient answering our questions, explaining the quality, and letting us try on many, many hats. The prices ranged from $5 on up, I sensed a bargain buying one for ten dollars. Woo hoo!

The next day after purchasing our tickets for the afternoon event, we drove to the town of La Enea where the productions of the finest polleras in Panama are made. Almost every part of the pollera costume is hand sewn. I call to meet one of the best-known makers of this national costume, Senora Ildauna Saavedra de Espina; she made her first pollera in 1946 at the age of 16. Ildauan sold her first dress for US$300.00 – today, she charges US$2000 and up for a dress. It takes 6 to 8 months to finish one pollera. Ildauna welcomed the three of us into her home. Although she does not sew nowadays, a relative displays some of her wonderful pieces of artwork that, she has mastered to carry on the tradition. She explains every little detail that is involved in making the blouse, skirt, and petticoats.

The two basic pieces: a blouse that rests upon the tops of the shoulders and a long skirt divided into two fully gathered tiers. Each skirt requires more than 12 yards of fine white linen or a fine cotton cloth. Elaborate needlework (some being a needlepoint technique) in a single color enriches the white background.


Many of the women living in La Enea sew countless costumes as well. Ildauna however is one of first to begin this custom in her town. Before we leave thanking her, she offers directions to another home around the corner where a young woman, Jaquelin who makes the mundillo lace, which originated in Spain. Mundillos are a type of bobbin lace making, a five century old done by hand. See the photo. Additionally Jaquelin is teaching the young people in her town continuing the “bobbin lace making” tradition for future generations.

After visiting the three accomplished craft

people in La Enea we return to Las Tablas to attend the event “Concurso Nacional de Polleras” translation Pollera National Contest. We arrive around 3pm the event was due to start at that time, however, it began roughly one and half-hour later, providing plenty of time to take many photographs.






The pollera is worn with a petticoat, skirt, ruffled blouse, and a special shoe lines with silk or satin, a variety of specially made ornaments for the head called, "tembleques (ususally white) and many flat gold chains or "cadena chata". The jewelry worn with the pollera in olden days was indicative of one's wealth and sometimes as many as a dozen chains were worn, all of pure gold and precious gems. This day and age many of the women wear gold pieces possibly handed down through generations.

There are eight contest judges three of the judges scrutinize each pollera for uniformity of the stitching, and the variety of stitched designs from the skirts, petticoats, and sleeves. Other considerations judged are the contestant’s jewelry pieces, headpiece, grace, and poise. It was definitely a worthwhile event to attend.

The following day we commence the return trip back to Boquete. I do have to mention if you have never driven on the Panamanian American Highway past David one must be on the lookout. I remember it being pointed out to me, the police use radar and it is best to drive the speed limit or be prepared to receive a ticket. I almost did right before Santiago for going over the speed limit as the policeman mentioned. As a result, two of us in the car speak Spanish, we were very cordial to the officer, and he decided not write a ticket saving me from having to go to David and pay up. Whew! Well after that episode, I was checking the speedometer frequently. Explore Dream Discover




















20 July 2009

Costa Rica y “Pura Vida” A trip to Manuel Antonio

Prior to traveling to Costa Rica, we pondered on how to travel there. We decided to drive because for one thing we never have traveled there deciding it woul be more exciting than going by bus or plane. Another reason we had to take loads of stuff with us since my daughter would travel lightly. Our destination Quepos in the Manuel Antonio Parque Nacional de Costa Rica meeting my daughter and granddaughter. Lisa my daughter would taking an immersion spanish class there and she made all the arrangements to stay in a gated condominium community named “Chaman.”
If you are driving your own car from Panama to Costa Rica Proof of Ownership/Permission documents are necessary with six copies of everything including copies of your Panama driver license and whoever else will be driving and passport copies for everyone crossing the border. We found out we could not start this process until eight days prior to our trip do not ask me why it is just the way the procedure is done. We had to go to three different buildings first the PDJOTA (green/blue building) Policia Nacional on the road prior to entering David to begin procedure, then to the PDJOTA (white building) on the way to the airport they check to make you have all the documents, and lastly the ADUANA same road past the white building PDJOTA. In between all this, pay $40.00 at the Banco Nacional and purchase revenue stamps. Something else to know English is limited.

I researched on the internet to find out how long the drive would be from Boquete to Quepos but did not have much luck finding any information googling. Therefore, I have decided to provide information about the driving time at least to Quepos. We left Boquete at 8:30am, shopped at El Rey in David leaving there at 9:30am.


The longest hold up when leaving Panama were all the different windows one has to go to when and entering Costa Rica at Paso Canoas. Fortunately, we had all car documents needed to proceed - finally leaving Paso Canoas around 12:15pm arriving in Quepos by 4:00pm.

The drive to Quepos was pleasant there are plenty of side roads to take and visit the different beaches along the way. When we rode into Palmar Norte we decided to stop and have lunch. You know when you are coming to Palmar Norte because there is a large long good bridge to cross. We then proceeded after our stop taking the 34 secondary road to our destination. After going through Dominical the road is gravel, bumpy and not paved the majority of the drive to Quepos. It can become dusty and the feeling of driving in sand storm comes to mind.
Before arriving into Manuel Antonio, we enter Quepos. The town gets its name from the Quepo Indian tribe, a subgroup of the Borucas, who inhabited the area at the time of the conquest. As a result of diseases brought by the Europeans, warfare with other Indian groups, and slavery, there were no pure blooded Quepo left by the end of the 19th
Century.


The general area has a population of about 12,000 inhabitants, a docking pier, and safe anchorage. The town of Quepos built by the United Fruit Company constructed in the 30's. Initially, while it’s main source of income was exporting bananas, then palm oil. Later I will write more on palm oil.

I describe Manuel Antonio Parque Nacional de Costa Rica area as the “French Riviera” of Central America it is far from inexpensive and the many restaurants that dot the windy roads of Manuel Antonio are, very trendy, far from inexpensive, service though is excellent and the majority of the serving staff speak English. There are many condominiums along the road as well. The place we stayed was off the road in a secluded like jungle setting with a pool, hot tub, two bedrooms, two full baths, a/c in each bedroom with ceiling fans in all rooms. The patio faced the jungle with sloths, Squirrel Monkeys and sometimes one would hear and see the Howler Monkey. While performing my daily exercise routine I would observe some of these creatures on the trees, it was truly an awesome sight.


Dining out was a wonderful experience and cannot remember having one bad meal but just to get away from the trendy restaurants we would eat at restaurants called “Soda.” Sodas’ are Tico small diners specializing in typical local food, serving stick-to-your-ribs, hearty meals for a few thousand colones ($1000 colones is approximately equal to $2 US). A Soda always serves casado, a heaping plate of food. Literally, casado means to marry -- sweet, savory, and meaty flavors all come together. Casado is normally served with meat, chicken, fish, or seafood. When visiting you must try Lizano, it is not a hot sauce; rather it enhances the natural flavors of dishes and often served with gallo pinto - rice and beans. As Lizano is a cultural institution, you cannot fully appreciate Costa Rican cuisine without a few dashes of Lizano sauce to accompany your meal - I love the taste. Seafood in this area is perfect. If you click onto trip advisor you will see some of the restaurants we dined in.


http://www.tripadvisor.in/Tourism-g309274-Manuel_Antonio_National_Park_Province_of_Puntarenas-Vacations.html






Manuel Antonio National Park in the late 1960's the Costa Rican, government made a decision to preserve the magnificent forests and coastline with their rich marine wildlife. Fortunately, 560 hectares established the National Park in 1972. The adjacent islands are refuge for a great number of sea birds that - together with mainland birds - make up around 350 different species.





Manuel Antonio is one of Costa Rica's most famous National Parks. Following a professional nature guide during a moderate walk opened our eyes to the wonders of this tropical forest and its natural history. You can expect to see various species of monkeys, plus white nosed coati-mondis, sloths, agoutis, butterflies, iguanas, and various birds. After the tour, we spent some time enjoying the beautiful beaches within the park, which closes at 4pm.
We decided on The Titi Canopy Tour, which can be reserved through the Foresta Resort Rancho Casa Grande located in the low lands of the Central Pacific, 6 kilometers from the city of Quepos and 12 kilometers from “Manuel Antonio” National Park. Zip lining through both primary and secondary forest 1500 meters long, one mile, 16 platforms, 12 cables, and long soaring cables 355 and 430 meters long. The young ones decided to do this tour while we opted to hike the surrounding area senderos (trails) and view the wildlife and the Butterfly Garden. Some of the species one can observe in the Butterfly Garden are; blue morpho, owl butterfly, little mirrors, paquina, little handkerchief, malaquita, little stars and yellow papilio. After the hike we decided to take advantage of the hotel’s pool indulging in an afternoon swim and lounge around. I would not recommend Hotel Rancho Casa Grande only because it is near a busy road where the sound of large trucks can be heard all day.

Another day trip was to Refugio Nacional de Fauna Silvestre Golifito its main attraction is the annual nesting of the olive ridley sea turtle, but you'll also find iguanas, howler monkeys, coatimundis and flocks of numerous birds, another beautiful beach and wonderful hiking trails.
Booking a tour of the Villa Vanilla SPICE PLANTATION TOUR & GOURMET TASTING was fun. We began the tour at the post-harvest warehouse where they dry, process, package, and with an explanation of their origins, history, and properties. The Villa Vanilla / Rainforest guided walking tour led us through the plantation and the "Epiphyte Trail", a winding garden path. Our guide was very thorough during our two and half hour tour. She provided samples of cinnamon bark, tastings from a Cocoa plant among various others. We experienced the sights, tastes, aromas, and flavors of tropical spices, essential oil plants, tropical flowering plants, and rock gardens. Some were an allspice, pepper, cinnamon trees, and citronella grass to name just a few.
The tour ended in a large tree house called Punta Mira Viewpoint capturing the marvelous view sampling iced cinnamon tea, mango cheesecake, and cocoa cookies, desserts prepared by their pastry chef. I can see why they are proud of their pastry chef all so very delicious. We visited the Spice Shoppe purchasing a few items and paid for the tour. To my husband’s surprise, the guide mentioned the tour cost of $40.00 each. He gasped almost choking. When he made the reservation for the four of us earlier during the week, the person at the other end quoted forty dollars for the tour. Well he failed to realize it was forty for each of us. All I can say life is full of surprises. We received a discount in spite of the miss communication it was an extremely worthwhile tour.
Costa Rican Coffee production has played a key role in Costa Rica's history and economy and by 2006 was the third cash crop export. The largest coffee growing areas are in the provinces of San José, Alajuela, Heredia, Puntarenas, and Cartago. Costa Rica is famous for its gourmet coffee beans, with Costa Rican Tarrazú among the finest Arabica coffee beans in the world used for making espresso coffee, together with Jamaican Blue Mountain, Guatemalan Antigua, and Ethiopian Sidamo.
Another of Costa Rica’s industry is palm oil. On the road to Quepos, we drove past many, many miles of palm tree plantations on a dusty road. The variety I soon realized was the African palm producing palm oil kernel also known as oil date, which contains rich oil used around the world in products ranging from lipstick to industrial lubricants. In the 1940’s Chiquita began experimenting with the African Palm in the Quepos area responding to the blight of Panama banana disease. The palm oil industry in Costa Rica prospered in the 1970’s on the western coast and in 1990's Chiquita sold their palm oil business to private investors in 1995, including more than 14,000 hectares of African palms planted throughout Costa Rica. The African palm can live for over 200 years. Here is an aerial view of oil plantations near Quepos. There is controversary over the palm oil industry taking over the rainforest areas worldwide. If you would to take a glimpse of more aerial photos of palm oil plantations in Costa Rica click here.

http://travel.mongabay.com/costa_rica/images/costa-rica-d_0208.html
http://www.wrm.org.uy/bulletin/28/CostaRica.html

However, tourism in Costa Rica is one of the fastest growing economic sectors in the country so far. Ecotourism is extremely popular with many tourists visiting the extensive national parks and protected areas around the country. I am glad I had the opportunity to visit this area of Costa Rica and to dine a Soda ordering a whole fish at one finding it to delicious. I also purchased a bottle of Lizano.
Until we meet again my loved ones!
Way too early for smiles :-))) *k*