Category: Forest

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Textures of the Rain Forest

While along the Yorkin River in a Bribri indigenous people village I captured several shots of the forest & its textures.
East of Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica

 

All photos made by Charlie Doggett at the Casa de las Mujeres Yorkin

 

 

 

 
Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you.
 
Frank Lloyd Wright

 

 

 

Gustave Flaubert

“I tried to discover, in the rumor of forests and waves, words that other men could not hear, and I pricked up my ears to listen to the revelation of their harmony.” 
― Gustave Flaubert, November

 

 

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The Bribri on Yorkin River

A few shots of the Bribri indigenous people during our 4 days at Casa de las Mujeres Yorkin

Our guide’s son and his cousin sucking the “white stuff” off Cacao seeds as
we had done earlier. It is a sweet milky stuff surrounding the bitter seeds that
become chocolate later. Jungle kids don’t get candy or junk food, but pull neat
stuff to eat off trees all the time!

Later they were eating this red fruit that I don’t remember the name of.

We made two morning hikes (before and after breakfast) and one afternoon
hike always passing by different homes or farms on our way into the forest.
All homes are off the ground to avoid flooding and the constant mud in rainy
season and to keep out their own animals as well as wild animals.
No roads to the village but some ride horses around the community or to the
tiny town of Bambu (in Bribri language), called Bratsi by the government.  🙂
No cowboy boots, just mud boots like I wished for every day!
We traveled to and from the village in
dugout canoes with outboard motors which
is their bus and supply system, though there
is a walking trail from Bambu which is about
an 11 or 12 mile hike. Horses use it too!
Boat is the fast way at about 45-60 minutes.
The guy in front of boat used a long pole to
get the boat around rapids and sand bars.
Another guy works motor in back.

I’m still tired from the trip. My new maid comes on Tuesdays, so she helped with my laundry of muddy clothing today. If I ever go there again I will take knee high mud boots. That side of Costa Rica gets more rain year around with I guess muddy trails year around. The Bribri all wear rubber boots outside and go barefooted inside as we did. My hiking shoes were great except not high enough for stream wading and mud that comes up over the ankles. Yuk!

  1. The Bribri are an indigenous people of Costa Rica. They live in the Talamanca (canton) in Limón Province of Costa Rica. They speak the Bribri language and Spanish. There are varying estimates of the population of the tribe. (Wikipedia)
A great article about all 8 Indigenous People Groups in Costa Rica who, like most indigenous peoples everywhere are in danger of disappearing or losing their culture. The Bribri have done a better job than most here maintaining their language and culture. 
The main cash crop for the village we visited is cacao pods used to make chocolate. I will do a post on cacao later. They live off the land with no grocery stores, no refrigeration, no electricity, and we ate several vegetables and fruits I had never eaten before. They farm and have chickens for added protein along with fish of course. No beef or pork. They use powdered milk. This village was hurt when the price of cacao fell a few years ago. The women suggested tourism for cash flow and the men said it would never work and be a big intrusion. The men were later surprised at how well the women’s project has worked and a few men now help with it along with some teenagers. Read about what they do with tourists at this website of one tour operator featuring the name of the women’s project: Casa de Mujeres Yorkin 

The Yorkin River is the boundary line between Costa Rica and Panama and is in thick forest.

Well, I’m still sorting photos, so more later on this adventure including some birds!  

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Carara National Park Plants

Pixie Cup Fungi, Carara National Park, Costa Rica
Ceiba Tree, Carra National Park, Costa Rica
Also called Kapok or Silk Cotton Tree
In all tropical forests I’ve seen, Africa, South America
The back side of the above Ceiba has a “cave”

 

Rain forests have an incredible variety of trees
and plants. My guide Victor leads the way down
and old road used as trail now.
One of the several varieties of Cecropia Trees,
similar to my Guarumo but not the same. Cousins!
This whole family of trees has multiple medicinal uses.
Rare plant that only grows in this particular
transitional forest and only in the shade.
Has medicinal uses.
And another fungus!   🙂

“The clearest way to the Universe is through a forest wilderness.”

— John Muir

 

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Finally! A U.S. Ambassador to Cost Rica!

They’ll be here in time for the
Embassy 4th of July Picnic!

See this article with video clip in the TICO TIMES:  http://www.ticotimes.net/2015/06/25/senate-confirms-s-fitzgerald-haney-us-ambassador-costa-rica

We have been without an ambassador since 2013 thanks to the shameless, mean, Anti-Obama political stalling by Republicans in the Senate. It had nothing to do with Ambassador Haney or his qualifications, just silly hatred of President Obama that is now backfiring. Yesterday I read in the Washington Post that this kind of Republicanism is finally dying out in the states.

Be sure to read his stellar qualifications for this position in the above article. He should have been approved the day he was appointed! Hopefully he will help the U.S. image here during the one year he has left for sure and maybe he will get to stay longer if the next U.S. President is a Democrat.

I am trying to avoid politics in this blog, but this is about Costa Rica and affects us here and indirectly you there in the states. Plus I wanted to share what a great new ambassador we now have here. Some things are slowly getting better!  🙂

Some of the surrounding forest and farm land as seen from my bedroom window (above the ugly power lines)

Have you seen the Chamber of Commerce video promoting Costa Rica?  essential COSTA RICA
 Pure marketing, but it does show some of the diversity and strengths of my new home country. (2 min.)  But the shorter tourism promotion clip with singing animals is more fun! Called:  Save the Americans  made especially for those of you who are overworked!  🙂