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Published On: Jul 24, 2005 12:06 PM
Total entries in this category:
Published On: Jul 24, 2005 12:06 PM
Bahia Ensueño
There were several streams running down from the
small island, and they were fed solely from the rain the night before (the next
morning they had dried up).
...He told us all stories about how Costa Rica looks nice from the outside, and the tourists see the beautiful environmental parks, but there are some big problems that might wreck it all.
...He told us all stories about how Costa Rica looks nice from the outside, and the tourists see the beautiful environmental parks, but there are some big problems that might wreck it all.
We passed by this bay, which is in the Islas
Murcielagos, on our way down from Bahia Santa Elena to Cocos because the wind
was blowing right into the anchorage. Today as we came around the corner, there
were four boats in the anchorage, a large power boat that is some kind of
research vessel, Sula, Ocean Rider, and Romancin' the Zea. We stopped and spent
the afternoon exploring the
shore.
Apparently there was much rain the night before. There were several streams running down from the small island, and they were fed solely from the rain the night before (the next morning they had dried up).
We snorkeled and lounged around in one of the larger streams. Then we headed down the beach toward the ranger station. There was a young guy there swimming in the water. We snorkeled a little more and then went into shore. Roma went over to talk to the man we thought might be a ranger, and he was.
His name was Diego, and he had been alone on the island (without any way off) for the last two months. He was a really nice guy, about 25 years old. He knew only a few words in English, so we had lots of practice talking Spanish to him. He told us about the tropical dry forest, how the climate is completely different in the dry season (we're in wet season now), and how much of the forest had been decimated to make grazing lands for cattle. Now the land here is a national park and has been for the last 10 years, but you can still see the imprint of past grazing.
We invited Diego out to the boat for dinner, and he took us all up to the ranger station to show us around. The building is a large house-looking structure that from the outside appears to be boarded up. But in reality, it has opaque sun shades and is quite nice inside. The only source of electricity for the station is a couple of solar panels with our same ProStar M-30 solar regulator attached to a couple of 8-D batteries. There is a small TV, a VHF radio, and some weather measuring equipment, and not much else.
One of the primary jobs of the ranger at the station is to record meteorological data daily: temperatures, rainfall, wind velocity, etc. The night before we arrived, there was 24 inches of rain! That's why the streams were running well.
As everyone else went back down to the beach, Diego and I walked up to the top of the island to look at the view. Up there was the anemometer, and some spectacular views of the Bay of Papagayo and a beautiful natural arch called El Puerto de Iglesia (the door of the church).
We picked up Diego about 1830 and he came out for hors-devours and drinks aboard Trinity with Sula visiting. He told us all stories about how Costa Rica looks nice from the outside, and the tourists see the beautiful environmental parks, but there are some big problems that might wreck it all. For one thing, the political bodies are quite corrupt and the people in power are not very responsible, especially toward funding parklands and the eco-tourism activities that go along with them. Another major problem is that there are not enough jobs for everyone who wants to work. According to Diego, the best thing Costa Rica has going for it is that it didn't have bloody civil war in its recent past like all the other Central American countries.
We had an excellent dinner and more great conversation.
Diego hopes to
get to Santa Monica at some point to see a girl friend who lives there. He
thinks he has only two more days on the island before he gets to transfer over
to the volcano park. But things change and he might get stuck here for a few
more days or even weeks.
As we were talking, he said that he was at this station last year in July, and there weren't many boats. But one boat came in, and it was Amorita! Our friends on Amorita stopped here for a couple or three days. Diego remembers because he writes in a log the names and hailing ports of the boats that stop here. Also, he met Kimberley, Nathaniel, Joel, and Richelle and remembers them because they gave him a piece of chocolate cake! (If the Amorita crew is reading this, Diego says "Hi" and says you might remember him because he gave you the caracol blanco.) What a small world! We had a few laughs about that one.
We finally said goodnight about 2130 and I took him back to the beach. We had a great time and are really glad that we've learned some Spanish to communicate. It has been worth it!
Apparently there was much rain the night before. There were several streams running down from the small island, and they were fed solely from the rain the night before (the next morning they had dried up).
We snorkeled and lounged around in one of the larger streams. Then we headed down the beach toward the ranger station. There was a young guy there swimming in the water. We snorkeled a little more and then went into shore. Roma went over to talk to the man we thought might be a ranger, and he was.
His name was Diego, and he had been alone on the island (without any way off) for the last two months. He was a really nice guy, about 25 years old. He knew only a few words in English, so we had lots of practice talking Spanish to him. He told us about the tropical dry forest, how the climate is completely different in the dry season (we're in wet season now), and how much of the forest had been decimated to make grazing lands for cattle. Now the land here is a national park and has been for the last 10 years, but you can still see the imprint of past grazing.
We invited Diego out to the boat for dinner, and he took us all up to the ranger station to show us around. The building is a large house-looking structure that from the outside appears to be boarded up. But in reality, it has opaque sun shades and is quite nice inside. The only source of electricity for the station is a couple of solar panels with our same ProStar M-30 solar regulator attached to a couple of 8-D batteries. There is a small TV, a VHF radio, and some weather measuring equipment, and not much else.
One of the primary jobs of the ranger at the station is to record meteorological data daily: temperatures, rainfall, wind velocity, etc. The night before we arrived, there was 24 inches of rain! That's why the streams were running well.
As everyone else went back down to the beach, Diego and I walked up to the top of the island to look at the view. Up there was the anemometer, and some spectacular views of the Bay of Papagayo and a beautiful natural arch called El Puerto de Iglesia (the door of the church).
We picked up Diego about 1830 and he came out for hors-devours and drinks aboard Trinity with Sula visiting. He told us all stories about how Costa Rica looks nice from the outside, and the tourists see the beautiful environmental parks, but there are some big problems that might wreck it all. For one thing, the political bodies are quite corrupt and the people in power are not very responsible, especially toward funding parklands and the eco-tourism activities that go along with them. Another major problem is that there are not enough jobs for everyone who wants to work. According to Diego, the best thing Costa Rica has going for it is that it didn't have bloody civil war in its recent past like all the other Central American countries.
We had an excellent dinner and more great conversation.
As we were talking, he said that he was at this station last year in July, and there weren't many boats. But one boat came in, and it was Amorita! Our friends on Amorita stopped here for a couple or three days. Diego remembers because he writes in a log the names and hailing ports of the boats that stop here. Also, he met Kimberley, Nathaniel, Joel, and Richelle and remembers them because they gave him a piece of chocolate cake! (If the Amorita crew is reading this, Diego says "Hi" and says you might remember him because he gave you the caracol blanco.) What a small world! We had a few laughs about that one.
We finally said goodnight about 2130 and I took him back to the beach. We had a great time and are really glad that we've learned some Spanish to communicate. It has been worth it!
Posted: Fri - July 1, 2005 at 11:30 AM