Map of the area. Start in Puerto Viejo, dropped off in Bribri. Then off to Bratsi and Suretka.
Got a ride up to Bribi from my hostess. It's only about 13k, but it saved me from taking the bus, and allowed her to introduce me to Danilo. His English was supposedly minimal, but passable With my beginner level Spanish, I thought we would manage just fine.
We took a local bus (picture a rickety old school bus) about 20km from Bribri to near Bratsi. The road after Bribri is entirely gravel. And not nice smooth gravel. Very chunky. On top of this were water crossings. Who needs bridges? The buses sure took a beating. The cost of the bus trip - 70 cents. It winds up the mountain following the Sixaola river, which separates Costa Rica from Panama in this area.
We arrive at the tour center, run by Danilo's family. The place was HUGE. Four floors, room for at least a hundred people to sleep, eat, party, whatever.
Free bananas at the entrance. I had more than one.
Main floor. One floor below, and two more above.
This one is primarily for eating and group activities.
Some interesting art
Can you spot the hummingbird?
Every family in Costa Rica seems to own a mongrel dog
Spent about 40 minutes there. Danilo was still arranging a few things, so we were off to a late start.
Hopped on the bus again just after 10am, and headed up to Suretka. Along the way were plenty of small shacks and farms. This was all aboriginal territory. People were not well off, but they seemed to manage. They didn't appear poor, just not extravagant. Nothing like the reserves we're used to in Canada. Just simple living.
We arrived in Suretka and had a short walk to a 'cacao farm'. I.e. chocolate. It wasn't really farm at all. Just some woman's house, where her and her family make chocolate. They had a couple of trees in the backyard (I use that term loosely. It was just an area of land that had other houses, and lots of trees of all types).
"Fruit" of the cacao tree
Opened up, and you find the 'beans'.
Yes, I tried one raw. Wasn't much of a taste.
Chocolate makers are a happy bunch
Didn't realize the expression when I took the picture. In fact, she was very nice and smiling most of the time.
Some unkown fruit
Roasting the beans
She said they roast the beans for about a half hour, then put the mash in the grinder. I'm doubting the time though, as she has some on the fire when we arrived, and they were still cooking when we left almost an hour later. I should also mention at this point that Danilo didn't really know much English at all. Turned out I knew more Spanish, so communication on the day was difficult. Nobody else we met during the day spoke a word of English.
So, this half hour she said could have meant that she had been roasting the beans for a half hour. Or, they need another half hour. Who knows.
After the 'tour', it started pouring with rain. This kept up for about 30 minutes, and then we were off. Before we left though, we had a cup of fresh hot chocolate. Just water and freshly made dark chocolate. It was pretty good.
Because of the rain, we were forced to cut the trip short. It ended with a boat ride on the Sixaola back to the tour center.
Longboat ride
The Sixaola is wide and very fast. The motor is only needed for up-river and getting to shore. Otherwise, a pole/rudder was used for navigation.
The mighty Rio Sixaola
Took almost an hour on the river to get back to trail to the tour center.
Short hike from the river to the tour center.
This bamboo is about 25 foot tall
Looks like a rock over at the far side
Or, maybe it's a small 'cocodrilla'
Danilo and his brother tried to bait the crocs, but only the one was stirring.
Back at 1pm and had a quick lunch of rice, beans, and some fruit. Interesting part was that the thing that looks like a potato is actually a fruit, and the banana tasted like a potato. It was all good though.
The next bus wasn't until 2:30, so I waited. And waited. And waited. Finally showed up at 3:15, standing room only. Bused back to Bribri, then waited another 30 minutes for the bus to Puerto Viejo. This one was a nice coach-style bus (like a Greyhound), and only about 20% full. The price reflected the luxury too. It was twice as expensive as the 'off-road' bus - $1.40
Back in PV in time to shop for groceries and have dinner. Not a bad day, but certainly not recommended. If I only had a couple of weeks to spend here, I would have been VERY angry wasting it on that. As I told my hostess though, it's only one day out of almost three months. No big deal. I'm sure it would have been completely different had I known Spanish well. Lesson learned.
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