“Pitahaya” is not a Spanish word but rather a word from the indigenous people of Costa Rica and what everyone calls this unusual fruit or flower growing on a cactus plant. It is used most popularly in bebidas or fruit drinks like American Smoothies and the fruit is called “Dragon Fruit” or “Pitaya” in the states. The inside is gelatin like and pink in color with tiny black seeds and very sweet.
The photo is of one David brought to Spanish class the other day and I thought I would share another one of out unusual foods here in Costa Rica (and all over Latin America and in Asia). Read about it on Wikipedia (en español) or in English as pitaya/dragon fruit.
The above link is a really interesting article in one of our online English newspapers. Chocolate comes from the cacao tree which will only grow 20 ° north or south of the equator and in the correct amount of humidity. Central America and particularly Costa Rica are perfect for that. West Africa has been good for cocoa, but global warming, higher temperatures and the desertification of West Africa along with some plant diseases there may someday, possibly by 2050, eliminate all cocoa farming in West Africa. They are experimenting with hybrid plants there says this month’s National Geographic magazine, but already people are saying the resulting chocolate is not as good.
Cacao is grown all over Costa Rica as small family farm businesses and by some of the indigenous peoples as I described in my recent visit to the Bribri Watsi village and earlier from my visit to Bribri Yorkin as we watched their children suck the sweet white stuff from around the cacao beans and we tried it ourselves.
If you ever visit Costa Rica there are many chocolate tours you can take to learn the complicated process for making one of the world’s favorite sweets.
“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.”
― Charles M. Schulz
This is just a small sampling of many more photos in Arenal Observatory trip gallery: Flowers & Tropical Plants. Arenal Observatory Lodge grounds are a Botanical Gardens!
And if you like tropical plants but live “up north,” check out how you can go tropical in your house, year-around, 16 Tropical Plants to Grow Indoors. A reader wrote and suggested this.
The Lodge converted a farmer’s tractor & trailer for hikers/tourists
This took us the 6 km from lodge to ranger station where others must hike along river
Los Patos Ranger Station, Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica
Rio Rincon or the Rincon River
Los Patos Ranger Station, Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica
I was the old man traveling with two young couples from Europe as here, we sometimes drove in the river bed.
Los Patos Ranger Station, Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica
And about 15-20 times we forded the river When walking or riding a tractor, it is slow, even 6 km!
Plus we stopped for birds a few times, so an hour or so each way on tractor.
Los Patos Ranger Station, Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica
River is park border, thus one side is private property like this house above. When I got back I was showing the waiter/bartender David Venegas these photos and
he said, “Oh! That is my grandfather’s house!” Small little world down here!
Los Patos Ranger Station, Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica
This young man couldn’t use his bike along river but was headed to the graded gravel road
And note the machete strapped to his side, a basic tool all over Costa Rica!
Los Patos Ranger Station, Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica
We finally leave the river and enter the woods to the ranger station.
Los Patos Ranger Station, Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica
At our hiking trail entrance near the ranger station
After we registered and signed in at the station, we hike rest of the day.
Los Patos Ranger Station, Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica
“Velcro Plant” is what Jairo called it!
See next photo for why.
Los Patos Ranger Station, Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica
School children cut pieces of the “Velcro Plant” leaves and stick on their shirts to make lots of images! Los Patos Ranger Station, Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica
We are quickly in a thick virgen forest.
Los Patos Ranger Station, Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica
There are still plants here not identified.
Los Patos Ranger Station, Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica
More species in this park than in any other one place in the world!
Los Patos Ranger Station, Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica
I want to photograph everything I see – but simply can’t!
Los Patos Ranger Station, Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica
“Monkey Brush”
Jairo explains how monkeys use this fruit/seed of a tree to brush insects out of their fur.
Then one of our two girls demonstrated by brushing her hair. Incredibly good brush!
Los Patos Ranger Station, Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica
We stopped to see this “Stink Flower”
which smelled awful! Like a dead animal!
Los Patos Ranger Station, Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica
And here Jairo collects some “Red Beans”
He gave each of us 3 of the red beans or seeds and said
that tradition is they will bring us good luck if carried in pocket.
Los Patos Ranger Station, Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica
Meanwhile David is looking for birds & found many!
See the trip Birds Gallery for some I photographed.
And the trip’s Other Wildlife Galleryfor other animals
photographed both in the park and at the lodge nearby.
Los Patos Ranger Station, Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica
Passion Flower as one of many wildflowers seen
Los Patos Ranger Station, Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica
About 4pm we were back to ranger station and on slow tractor drive back to lodge by around 5pm Los Patos Ranger Station, Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica
This was just a brief overview of an all day hike that included the beautiful waterfall in a separate post yesterday and many birds and other animals shown earlier. Corcovado is truly an incredible place! See the bigger picture through my TRIP Gallery 2018 March 13-17 – Danta Corcovado.
Note that this trip was on the northeast side of park labeled “Los Patos.”
My trip last year was in northwest corner labeled “San Pedrillo” near Drake Bay.
And in 2009 I visited the south side of park at “La Leona.”
I neither saw nor photographed a single bird, though I heard many. But it was a beautiful walk in the rainforest across the road from the lodge on a trail they created for about 2-3 km. It is a similar cloud forest to what I walked through in Tenorio Park, just fewer people! Here are a dozen photos without much comment:
Rainforest Trail Seen from Lodge Dining Room Celeste Mountain Lodge Rainforest Trail, Bijagua, Costa Rica
Tree Fern
Celeste Mountain Lodge Rainforest Trail, Bijagua, Costa Rica
One of Many Old Growth Trees Celeste Mountain Lodge Rainforest Trail, Bijagua, Costa Rica
Flower at Entrance to Trail Celeste Mountain Lodge Rainforest Trail, Bijagua, Costa Rica
Fern Celeste Mountain Lodge Rainforest Trail, Bijagua, Costa Rica
Unknown Berries Celeste Mountain Lodge Rainforest Trail, Bijagua, Costa Rica
Tree Celeste Mountain Lodge Rainforest Trail, Bijagua, Costa Rica
Tree Celeste Mountain Lodge Rainforest Trail, Bijagua, Costa Rica
Plant Celeste Mountain Lodge Rainforest Trail, Bijagua, Costa Rica
Much Grows on the Trees Celeste Mountain Lodge Rainforest Trail, Bijagua, Costa Rica
Air Plant Celeste Mountain Lodge Rainforest Trail, Bijagua, Costa Rica
Footbridge Over Stream Celeste Mountain Lodge Rainforest Trail, Bijagua, Costa Rica
Trail Welcome & Rules in Spanish, English & French Celeste Mountain Lodge Rainforest Trail, Bijagua, Costa Rica
I replaced the ugly yellow & orange pots with these more attractive ones. And the little round one on left is new with assorted greenery & a peace lily. The second pot is ornamental grass I cut back for the transplanting, It grows back quick here! Behind post is a bougainvillea that was in plastic!
The greenery by the rocking chairs looks much better in new pot!
And the living room plant looks better in the new pot also! I think.
My newest indoor plant is this palm in my bedroom with philodendron ivy at base.
I may have told you that my artist friend Anthony has returned from 9 months of traveling in Spain and Morocco and has moved into the house next door that was occupied by Don & Lynda who moved back to Oregon. Before traveling, Anthony lived on the other side of me in someone else’s casita (a small house most big house owners have for guests or rental.). He is the one who made my garden art bird sculpture. He really decorates well with a lot of plants and that motivated me to spruce mine up a little.
We just had a really good, slow, steady rain this afternoon for an hour or so. Garden loves it!
Year-around blooming flowers for my terrace rocking chair view.
And behind my terrace planters are three layers of plants in my yard and another in the neighbor’s. Soon we will be separated by a jungle! 🙂 One of the round pots I moved from inside because of a lack of sun there. The other had ornamental grass which I will replace with something green. Like my garden, the yard and terrace are always a work in progress! And my poinsettias are still blooming to the right at terrace entrance!
Yesterday (Saturday) I took a taxi to La Garita to visit Vivero Central, my favorite plant nursery (largest in the country). Just walking through the place motivates you to work on your garden!
Kevin Hunter at Vivero Central in March, making a photo of course!
My new garden art is on a tree stump with a hole in a root near bottom that just needed a plant
coming out of it! Pequeño (small) of course! This is what I came up with:
Garroboen español, like a small stateside philodendron or caladium. Kind of snuggled into a crack of the tree base, like it would in the jungle! I was afraid a vine might get out of control or take over the garden.
You just barely notice it at base of tree stump, but I like the use of that hole for a plant and think it makes the garden more interesting. Its an ongoing, creative process that is fun! And notice how my ground-cover has spread! It is pilea depressa or helxine soleirolii – wonderful! Next photo is up close of it:
pilea depressa or helxine soleirolii ground-cover in my main garden
I also got this small planter for my patio/balcony with a red flower that blooms year-around! Plus it attracts colibri (hummingbirds)! Didn’t get the name of it. You also see the crotons around one of my front yard palms and barely the ground cover I added there. Next photo of it:
I haven’t even tried to get the name of this flowering ground-cover – love it! Got a few cuttings from the apartment manager and it now covers the ground around three different trees in my front yard. The crotons were already there.
The aloe vera was getting too big for the narrow bed it was in, so it got a new home of its own in this pot at the end of walk by palma roja (red palm) and you can see I added some free coleus around the palm. Not sure that’s a good match, we’ll see. May move it. Had to plant it somewhere. This pot might later go on the balcony/patio, my medicine cabinet for burns! 🙂 And it had two babies, so I have plenty of aloe around.
I also added two ferns in two bare spots which is another texture this tropical garden needed. And I got a new ceramic pot for my dining room plant which was in a plastic pot. Accomplished at lot!
And if you have wondered about the concrete wall behind my new garden, well, my house is built into the side of a hill. It is a retainer wall above which is the landlord’s driveway on one side (below photo) and a neighbor on the other side (above photo). I have planted Triquetraque or Mexican Flame Vine at top of the wall which will soon cascade down with beautiful orange flowers and cover the ugly concrete. I’m trying to be patient while it grows! 🙂 Photo below (22-July-2015 growth):
Triquitraque or Mexican Flame Vine will someday cover my back wall. The advantage of being the first one in a new house is I get to help design it!
One of my “regular” taxistas (taxi drivers) is Nelson. He is learning English and helps me with my Spanish and I help him with his English. This is his second time to take me to La Garita and he is patient waiting on me shopping. In fact he walks around with me and seems to enjoy it. I pay him above the going rate for this trip to make it fair for an hour and half+ of his time. And I now have a favorite helper at Vivero Central named Francisco (who gave me the coleus). He is so good at helping me and does pretty fair English and puts up with my Spanish, so more good local friends/helpers. And a tip will assure good service next time. Its my second time with Francisco and he has already remembered me! La Garita is halfway between Atenas and Alajuela and is the plant nursery “capital” of Costa Rica, 14 kilometers (8.7 miles) east of Atenas through the mountains and over the Rio Grande.
