July 25: Tapanti National Park, Costa Rica

Dear Friends and Relatives,

Yesterday evening, Alexandra and I viewed the stars and talked  for about two hours, while Federico went to attend his grandmother's 90th birthday party.  I didn't sleep well overnight, but we all got up at around 7:00 and had a great breakfast of strong coffee, heated baguettes with black bean or guacamole topping, and I had an apple and cinnamon Greek yogurt.  We put on our walking boots, and I had brought along my Leki hiking stick, after which we drove to the Parque Nacional Tapanti-Macizo Cerro de la Muerte, a rugged and pristine national park that is the least visited in Costa Rica.  It covers about 580 sq. km.  There are three life zones in this park and a range of habitat that provides shelter for a variety of bird and animal life, as well as countless species of insects.   It is perhaps one of the easiest places in the country to spot the beautiful Blue Morpho butterfly.  Flora is equally spectacular, including bromeliads, heliconia, and numerous ferns and mosses.  It has been estimated that each 2.5 acre section contains up to 160 different species of trees.  The park is divided into two different sections:  Tapanti, accessed from Orosí, and Macizo Cerro de la Muerte.  

We accessed the Tapanti section, and there are three wooded trails leading off from the main road and cutting through the park.  We took two of them, one after the other, and did the second in difficulty first, then the easiest one, leaving the very difficult third to more advanced hikers.  Our first route was called La Pava Catarata, a 1.5 km hike which descends, via a few bridges, to a section of rapids and boulders.  Upon return, we climbed about 40 steep steps to a lookout, and then did the easy, sun-dappled Sendero la Oropendola trail (1.2 km), a good one to spot the Montezuma oropendola bird (didn't see one).  In the end, the Rio Grande de Orosí awaited us, churning her way and running quite high.  

From this last trail, we made our way to lunch in the town of Orosí, as we were starving.  I had a wonderful arroz con pollo, while Alexandra ate a casado pollo, a Costa Rican dish with grilled chicken, beans, chayote, and rice, and Federico had a vegetarian version of the same.  Both had salads as well.  I tried a new drink called Cas, made of guava fruit and a very fine-tasting, cool drink.  

Closeby was our next stop, the Iglesia (church) José de Orosí, built in 1735 and Costa RIca's oldest church still in use.  It is an adobe structure, single-towered and roofed with red tiles.  It has a simple interior devoid of frothy excess, except for the lavish altar and the 14 sections of the Cross.  The adjacent religious art museum, which we also visited, included icons, religious paintings, and ecclesiastical furniture.  Next door to these two buildings was a newer church to hold the increased population, but it was so ugly and plain that I could not spend much time there.  Even the acoustics were miserable!  

After that visit, Federico took us to a viewpoint of the Lago de Cachí from the vantage point of the overlook at the town of Ujarrás.  We also visited a supermarket to get more coffee and some chocolate-covered wafers before returning home.  Clouds are rolling in, and there will soon be rain.  Both Alexandra and I are out in hammocks, while Federico is taking a nap in his room.  Great day, as ever!  Alexandra and I salute you all.  

Sylvia M. Venable, PhD

Instructor, German

St. John's Episcopal School

Dallas, Texas