Day 16

And what a day it was.  It started with animal chores, this time with Tim's help.  There were varying levels of endurance today as the sheep stalls, goat stalls, chicken coops, rabbit pens all were cleaned and refreshed.  Today would be our last day of animal chores here. 

One of the several reassuring signs along the way

After a hearty breakfast we prepared our packs with food and water and began our trek to Nauyaca Waterfalls, the nearby cataract which we did not reach two days ago.  I felt more prepared to take the kids to this place now that Tim was here.  It would be a 7.54 mile round-trip hike (12 kilometers), much of it at a steep grade.  We left at 9:35AM and realized we had 8 1/2 hours before it grew dark.  It should be plenty of time to take a slow pace and rest at the river both to and fro.  Off we went, taking a quick stop at the Pickle Ladies to drop off some empty jars.

Slow and steady

Tim and I told the children to take their time.  We wanted them to feel relaxed and unhurried.  We looked at trees and flowers and ants and spiders, saw cows grazing in fields, horse hoof prints, and fresh droppings.  The trail was actually a dirt road inaccessible to any car without 4-wheel drive.  Some Ticos owned horses to get up to the main road, and had a fenced in area for the horses to wait until they returned- a horse parking lot.  A Park and Ride with a Central American twist!

Hillside pastures

 At times the path was extremely muddy, at times it was a stream bed. Our closed toed shoes became muddy and then wet as the options for a dry trail dwindled.  By the time we grew near the falls, we had resigned ourselves to wet shoes and socks and pruned skin.  Each kilometer was marked with a sign to indicate how many more kilometers it was to the falls.  It was a great incentive to see the numbers get lower and lower.  At last we arrived, paid the 9,000 colones ($18) entry for all of us, and marched up the trail to swim in the waterfall.

The steep steps to the lower falls

Alas, it was not to be.   The rocks at the edge of the pool beneath the falls were slick and dangerous, and the falls themselves were roaring Niagra-like cascades.  The pool beneath was a churning white-water whirlpool.  Rose said the sight made her stomach queasy.  We could not swim there today, so, with disappointment and escalating hunger and fatigue, we took a snack break and decided to walk back to the river.  With the promise of a full lunch and a refreshing rest and swim, everyone trudged along for 4 kilometers up and down and through the mud again until we reached the banks of the Rio Baru.

The lower falls

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A nymph of the giant red winged grasshopper on Jacob's leg

Juicy delicious rambutans, another fruit from the market

Here  is a video of Jacob and Rose swimming across the Baru River and learning how to let the current pull them downriver without panicking.  Tim stood nearby just in case. After stopping on the way back at a house that runs horse rides to the falls and feeding some caged parrots, peacocks and toucans, we saw a wild toucan and a striped grasshopper.  We also saw some large ants with glistening yellow abdomens which are called tiger ants and found what appears to be the leg of a blue crab in one of the stream beds.



This grasshopper to the left decided it like Jacob's leg.  I've identified it as a nymph of Tropidacris cristata, the giant red-winged grasshopper, the biggest grasshopper in the tropics.  You can google to see what an adult looks like.











We made it back by 5PM feeling tired but elated at what we had accomplished today.  The evening ended with a communal dinner, bigger than last time.  Some residents of Fuente Verde, the sister community of Finca Ipe, attended, and they were very happy to answer all of my questions about themselves and the farm.   If we ever come back here, that would definitely be a place to visit. We said goodnight, filled with good food and the sense that we had met a very special group of dedicated people who have found a way to build community as well as live deeply connected to the land.  There must be a way to do this while living in New Hampshire.  Am I already doing part of it, and what changes would move my family towards this more harmonious way of life?