The Cecropia Trip (Trumpet Tree)

Cecropia Tree (Thanks gettyimages)

It looks like this week is turning into interesting plant week. If we wanted to cover all the plants in Costa Rica during interesting plant week this blog would need 10,000 post before the end of the week. Yes, Costa Rica is home to 10,000 different species of plants which if you wanted to see them all on a Costa Rica Vacation I would suggest a helicopter to start. Because of Costa Rica's location in the tropics it makes for a perfect environment for so many different interesting species. Yesterday we talked about the Bromeliad which I'm sure has everyone fired up about todays plant. Drum-role....! Today's plant is The Cecropia (that was exciting!). If you have been to Costa Rica I can almost assure you that you have seen this plant.

The Cecropia is one of the fastest growing plants in the rainforest. This allows it to grow up fast and stick out from the brush in a secondary forest. They sprout up in "light gap" areas.  (Light-gap: Areas that have been cleared by fallen depri in the forest and now sun-light reaches the ground).  The reason why Cecropias are able to grow so fast is because they have an empty stem. This is very common of fast growing plants. This tree can grow many feet in just one year.

The Cecropias most interesting fact and if you are on a nature hike I am almost sure you might here this from your naturalist guide (You Should, if you do not hear this from one of our guides please contact our office info@crrtravel.com). This is the relationship between the Cecropia Tree and the Azteca ants. The ants actually use the tree for a source of food and in exchange because of the ants hard bit it defends the plant against predators. The Azteca ant only takes its food source from the tree to a point that the tree can afford to give without damaging itself. This is a perfect example of one of the most amazing things of nature called SYMBIOSIS!

Along with forty different other species of plants the sloth eats the leaves of the Cecropia. You will hear many guides and books say that the Cecropia is the favorite food of the sloth. The fact is that the Cecropia has a narrow trunk and long extended branches which only has leaves at the end of it's branches which are in the shape of a hand. This makes seeing the hard-to-see sloth very easy to see when in the Cecropia tree. So the Cecropia is the most common plant to see the sloth because it is the easiest for us to see it in and who really knows if it is the favorite.

If you go on the Pacuare Rafting adventure you will see this plant. It is very common and you can see it almost driving anywhere in Costa Rica. On your next Costa Rica adventure keep an eye out for the Cecropia Tree.

Costa Rican Nature Experts

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What is a Bromeliad?

Hanging Bridges in the cloud-forest

If you have been on a  Costa Rica Adventure or you plan on coming chances are you will see many more Bromeliads than you do monkeys. Although chances are you will see quite a few monkeys also so don't worry I know they are a bit more exciting than a bromeliad. But one way to make a bromeliad very exciting to see is to LEARN something about it! So that is today's topic the bromeliad.

A bromeliad is actually a member of the pineapple family. The pineapple is one of the few bromeliads that grows on the ground. Most bromeliads grow up in the trees (which makes these type of bromeliads "epiphytes"). One of the most interesting things about bromeliads is that for some just one bromeliad is like a small little planet.

A bromeliad is crown-shaped which allows it to hold gallons of water just one small plant about the size of a large house plant. This water along with debris forms a home for many different insects and probably most interesting to us frogs such as the poisonous dart frog tadpoles. The plant itself feeds off the different types of debri and ecosystem that is formed by the instects allowing the plant to stay alive and in exchange be a host for many different creatures. This also means the plant is not parasytic which means it does not rely on the larger tree it is attached to for survival.  It is sort of like our planet how the larger trees send off oxigen and the Earth survives. Or on the contrary like us humans who pump CO2 into the atmosphere and the Earth struggles for survival. (Although our human CO2 production is very small to what the forest and oceans produce it throws off the natural cycle.. read more) Just another reason why we should follow natures examples.

Bromeliad

A very strong fiber can be extracted from the bromeliad. This fiber is known as cabuya and has been used to make rope, baskets, and even hammocks. Another interesting use of the leaf of the bromeliad is for medicinal use. Many natives from areas where you find bromeliads have taken the leaves and pounded them with salt to use on wounds.

You will find bromeliads all over Costa Rica and some of the most spectacular places to see the bromeliads are the cloud-forest areas.

Scientific Name: Bromeliaceae

Costa Rica's Experts in Nature

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Costa Rica's Finest

I have shown this video to a number of different people and the reaction I get is always the same, WOW! It has come to the point where I watch it once in the morning and it is like my motivation for running a family adventure business in Costa Rica. In the last 10 years I have to say Costa Rica has changed quite a bit. But the world has changed quite a bit also. At no point can I say Costa Rica is perfect. But instead of looking at the things that have changed for the negative it is always good to be reminded about the positive things of a particular area.

This video is a great snap shot of all the amazing things Costa Rica has to offer that none of their neighboring countries can boast about and actually few countries in the world can actually relate to. I hope many Costa Rican's get the chance to see this video and use it as an inspiration to stay positive in changing times and to remember things are not always as bad as they seem or they could always be a bit worse.

We also like to post this video for reasons why Costa Rica is the perfect learning environment and a must go area for a family adventure:



JUST A NOTE WE LOVE THE CLEAN ENERGY BUT WE DO NOT SUPPORT THE DAM ON PACUARE RIVER

Costa Rican Travel Experts

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Nauyaca Falls Costa Rica

Nauyaca Falls Costa Rica

When it comes to waterfalls Costa Rica is full of them.  You always have the option of visiting the beautiful but touristy La Fortuna Falls.  But many look for the not so touristy waterfalls and what many people don't realize when they are touring Costa Rica is that most of the waterfalls no tourist will ever see. For example some of the most spectacular waterfalls are found in Braulio Carrillo National Park which would take you just a week hiking, climbing, and camping to get to the waterfall so your week long Costa Rica family vacation would be finshed before it even started.

Although if you want to visit a waterfall that is off the touristy path, hidden in the jungle, and absolutely breath-taking then there is one that comes to mind. The waterfall on the commerical level and guide books is called Nauyaca Falls. We like to call it Baru Falls which was the name given by the Indians.

How to get to Nauyaca Falls

There are few different ways to get to this double-decker 300ft waterfall. The first being to hike to the falls. This is a beutiful hike. You can begin from the main road between San Isidro and Dominical. The hike depending upon where you begin from can take around 1 1/2 hours. The second way to get to the falls is by horseback. There are a couple of tour operators that do the horseback ride to the falls the most common being Don Lulu's ride which has an amazing lunch but this is often crowded.

The third option which happens to be the option of our company CRR is to arrive to the top of the falls in an SUV and then rappel down the waterfall. It is quite exciting to get to the top of the 300ft and tell the tourist  OK now we throw the ropes and hook on to this tree and rappel down. All they hear is the thundering sound of rushing water. This is a more intense experience than the canyoneering trips that they operate in La Fortuna Arenal Volcano area. The waterfall is literally 20 times the size of the waterfalls that you rappel in a canyoneering trip. Take a look at the videos on this entry so you can see the difference and also experience the amazing rappel and beauty of Nauyaca (Baru) Falls Southern Zone Costa Rica.

RAPPELING NAUYACA FALL W/CRR



NOW WATCH CANYONEERING (SEE THE DIFFERENCE)



Plan Your Family Adventure Today
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Guest Post from Italy: Crazy for Calabria Italy

Calabria on the Map

For those that enjoy our blog with all the information you need on Costa Rica we wanted to mix things up a little bit. With all the expats living in Costa Rica we just wanted to remind everyone to make sure you know the date you arrived to Costa Rica it might be part of your family history someday. Our blog is made up of expert advice from local Costa Rican Tour guides who work in tourism but myself (Tom Ranieri) and my father (Ralph Ranieri) are incharge of putting it all on the web for you to see.

Our Family name is Ranieri and this December 1st we are celebrating 100 years since our grandparents made the "Adventure Trip" to start their new lives in the USA. They made the trip from Calabria Italy. I (Tom Ranieri) arrived to Costa Rica on January 5th 2001. Take a look at an amazing guest post we have on our blog from a professional writer, Cherrye Moore, an ex-pat, who describes the five things to love about the boot of Italy, Calabria, from where our family started their adventure and which part of it has lead to Costa Rica.

City View of Calabria

 Five Things to Love in the Toe of the Boot

Possibly the least-trekked region in Italy, Calabria boasts majestic landscapes of rugged mountain terrain and never-ending baby blue skies. Surrounded on three sides by the Ionian and Tyrrhenian Seas, the Calabrian peninsula stretches to form the toe of the boot and at its narrowest point is only 3.2 kilometers from the island of Sicily.

Yet, with all of this natural beauty, Calabria is still off of the radar for many Italy-bound travelers and is even more untouched by English-speaking expats.

But that is part of her charm. In addition to that rare authenticity, here are five things I love about living in Calabria.



1. Beaches

Beaches compete w/ Costa Rica, WOW!

I grew up in southeast Texas-far from the Padre Island of many a drunken coed’s dreams-and to be honest, was never much of a beach-going girl. However, after my first trip to Calabria in 2003, I was hooked. The region has more than 800 kilometers of coastline and hundreds of beaches that are essentially untouched by international tourists. This means a day at the beach-depending on when and where you go, is either a serene, solitary experience or a family-fun day, filled with generations of locals gathering for a day out with their closest friends.

2. Mountains

Remember the southeast Texas I told you about? Well, in addition to being far from sea-blue beaches it is also F-L-A-T. Nope, no mountains in Texas, so maybe that’s why I am addicted to spending afternoons-and weekends, when I get a chance-in the mountains.



Calabria is home to three national parks, the Aspromonte, with its waterfalls and summits, Pollino, one of Italy’s newest and largest national parks that is home to Europe’s deepest gorge and my personal favorite … La Sila, with its evergreen forest and snow-filled Alpine villages.



3. Medieval Villages



Calabria Flag



Over the years Calabria has been conquered by the Greeks, Romans, Normans, Byzantines, Arabs, French, Spanish … need I go on … and each of these groups left their mark on the area. Many of Calabria’s villages still proudly boast their Medieval beginnings and strolling through an ancient village with narrow alleys and panoramic views epitomizes the Calabrian experience. Some of the best preserved Medieval villages in Calabria are Gerace and Stilo in the province of Reggio Calabria, Altomonte in the province of Cosenza and Badolato and Squillace in the province of Catanzaro.

4. Food and Culture

Technically I’m cheating here by squeezing food and culture under one heading, but here in Calabria the two are undeniably linked.



I often tell people I feel like I’m living in my grandmother’s America … we still hang our clothes out to dry, store close in the middle of the day and generations of families meet for leisurely lunches … even during the week. Oh yes, here in Calabria, authentic southern Italian culture is alive and well … and the fiery red chili peppers, homemade pasta and robust local wine don’t hurt.

5. People



Nicoya Peninsula Costa Rica? Nope, CALABRIA ITALY!!



Travelers who visit our bed and breakfast in Catanzaro-Calabria’s capital city-often tell us that Calabrians are the most helpful, generous Italians they’ve met on their trip. Just this week American guests from Seattle told us about the owners of a local wine bar, who upon hearing they were Americans, dashed across the street to introduce them to their English-speaking neighbor (who then gave them her phone number in case they needed help). Last month, guests from Las Vegas returned to our B&B with bags full of fresh fruit and vegetables, straight from someone’s garden they met on a day trip.

After living in bella Calabria for more than four years, I have grown to love the region, not just for the five points I listed above, but for the fact that it is unchartered … for the fact that I don’t run into expats on every corner and hear English on the streets and in the markets. I love Calabria for the history … the traditions … the way of life. And while that might not always be perfect, it is always perfectly Calabrian.

Cherrye Moore is a Calabria tour planner and travel writer living in southern Italy. She writes about expat life for AffordableCallingCards.net, a site that sells-you guessed it-affordable calling cards to Italy. You can read about expat life on their site or more about traveling in southern Italy on her site, My Bella Vita.