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Fruit: Fresh and Fancy in Costa Rica

Costa Rica has always been known as an excellent destination for the outdoor adventurer or bird watcher. Another attraction to this peaceful, central American country is the fact that Costa Rica is a fruit-lover’s paradise. Having a warm tropical climate year round makes Costa Rica a perfect place for growing a wide variety of fruits. Fresh pineapples, tree-ripe bananas, and delicious coconuts are just a few of the delicacies to be enjoyed there. Add buttery papayas and juicy mangoes to the list and you’ve got a true Costa Rican fruit cocktail. Many of these fruits you can readily find in supermarkets across the U. S. (and there is a good chance that many of them come from Costa Rica) but some of the more exotic fruits require a passport to taste.

Included among these exotic fruits are Mamones, Tamarindo, and Pejibayes. Curious names for equally curious tastes, these gems highlight the diversity of fruit-filled Costa Rica.

Mamones Chinos (mem-MO-nays), or Chinese Suckers, are pit fruits whose skins are covered with soft red spines. You may have heard them called by the name lychee. Lychees or Mamones Chinos are slightly sweet, not very acidic, and have a chewy texture similar to that of a peeled grape. Their subtle flavor is addictive. The spiny skins are fun to peel into and resemble the seed pod of a Gum tree. Sold in big bags by street vendors, Mamones have unique taste that is not soon forgotten.

Another Costa Rican delicacy comes from the seed pod of the Tamarind tree. Tamarindo looks like a pea pod that you might find in a salad or a stir fry, except they are fuzzy on the outside like a Kiwi or a the skin of a fuzzy peach. Inside the pod, the seeds are sticky and pasty and too bitter to eat. However, if you soak the seeds in hot water you can extract the flavor.  Even then, the mixture may have too strong a flavor, but if a simple syrup is added to sweeten the mixture and then the beverage is poured over ice, the fresh tamarindo drink becomes a refreshing treat similar in flavor and texture to apple juice.

The Pejibaye is probably one of the strangest fruits to be tasted in Costa Rica. Pronounced pay hee bah jay, this palm fruit tastes like a cross between potato and coconut. The Pejibaye is similar in size to a pecan and contains a hard pit that needs to be removed before eating. Like the tamarindo, the pejibaye is prepared by boiling the fruit in water.  Locals often serve the fruit with a dollop of mayonnaise and a cup of hot coffee. This exotic flavor is hearty.

Join us on a vacation in Costa Rica: adventure, fun, good food, and last but not least, fruit as fine as any in the world.

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The Desktop Traveler

The California Native is happy to announce our new email newsletter, “The Desktop Traveler.”

We like to keep in touch with our many friends and fellow travelers and so, way back in 1984, we began publishing our California Native Newsletter. Now the newsletter has more than 10,000 readers and we receive many cards and letters from our readers telling us how much they enjoy the publication. We have even had several people sending notes saying “Although I can no longer travel, I would like to continue receiving your newsletter and I am sending this to help cover the postage.” We very much appreciate these gestures and we donate any money we receive to charities supporting the Tarahumara people in Mexico’s Copper Canyon. You can subscribe to the newsletter here.

With the advent of the internet we added our California Native website. In addition to listing all of our current trips and prices, it is filled with useful information on all of our destinations including an archive of the hundreds of stories we have published over the years, charts to compare our various trips, and many other features.

Last year we introduced our Blog, Facebook and Twitter pages, to make it even easier to communicate with us.

Now we have added another way to keep in contact with our many friends, our email newsletter, “The Desktop Traveler.” This short little newsletter will be published once every few weeks and features stories which are fun and interesting to read.

If you are already a subscriber to The California Native Newsletter (and we have your current email address on file) you will automatically receive the Traveler. If you are not receiving it and would like to, please call or send us your email address. We don’t want this to be looked at as being “junk” mail, so you can always opt out by clicking the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom.

Here is a sample of the publication:

 

The Desktop Traveler from The California Native
The Silver King of BatopilasAlexander Robey “Boss” Shepherd, the last territorial governor of Washington D.C., developed the remote Copper Canyon village of Batopilas into one of the richest silver mining towns in the world.  Read the full story.

 

 

 

 

The Legacy of Chan Chan

The capital of the Chimus, Chan Chan dominated over 600 miles of Peru’s Pacific coastline before the Inca empire. The Chimu civilization lasted for almost 500 years.  Read the full story. 

 

 

 

 

Monkeying Around in Costa Rica

Costa Rica is a great place for “monkey watching.” On our California Native trips we watch howler monkeys, spider monkeys, squirrel monkeys and capuchin monkeys, while they in turn watch us.  Read the full story.

 

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The Hills Are Alive in Costa Rica!

There is nothing like standing at a safe distance while watching glowing-hot boulders being pitched into the night sky.

California Native tour group poses by Costa Rica's Arenal Volcano
California Native tour group poses by Costa Rica’s Arenal Volcano

The Arenal Volcano, situated near the town of La Fortuna, rises nearly 4,200 feet above the surrounding landscape, making it visible from almost anywhere. Arenal is the youngest and most active of all of Costa Rica’s volcanoes. Major eruptions occured in 1968 and 2000, but smaller eruptions happen more frequently–and on some days as frequent as every 15 to 20 minutes. Belting out its thunderous boom, the Arenal is a highlight for visitors touring the country.Costa Rica, located at the center of the America’s along the Pacific Ring of Fire, has five active volcanoes.

The Poas Volcano, located near the crafts-town of Sarchi, rises 8,884 feet above sea-level and is home to an impressive array of flora and fauna. The main crater is 950 feet deep and quite active with steaming geysers and frequent lava eruptions. At Poas, the last significant eruptions occured during the time between 1952 to 1954.

The California Native offers tours of Costa Rica which visit both of these living reminders of the raging powers beneath our feet.

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Discover Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu, ‘Lost City’ of the Incas

“Suddenly we found ourselves standing in front of the ruins of two of the finest and most interesting structures in ancient America. Made of beautiful white granite, the walls contained blocks of Cyclopean size, higher than a man. The sight left me spellbound.”

When Hiram Bingham went looking for the legendary Inca city of Vilcabamba, the last refuge of the Inca kings, he did not suspect that his journey would lead him to discover the most spectacular archeological site in the Americas—Machu Picchu.

When the expedition from Yale University, of which Bingham was the director, entered the Urubamba Canyon, in July of 1911, a peasant told him of the ancient ruins at the top of a hill called Machu Picchu. Bingham accompanied him up the dense jungle-covered slope to the top, where a child guided Bingham to the ancient stone structures buried beneath tropical vegetation. Bingham was so impressed that he wrote in his diary, “would anyone believe what I have found?”

Hiram Bingham Discovers Machu Picchu
Hiram Bingham in 1911

It is hard to imagine a more spectacular setting—an ancient stone city 1,300 feet above a frothing whitewater river, surrounded by jungle-covered peaks and brilliant orchids.

Of the two surrounding peaks, the first is named Huayana Picchu, which translates to “young peak” and is the one most often seen in photographs. The second peak is called Machu Picchu or “older mountain.” The original name of the city has long been forgotten.

Until Bingham’s discovery, Machu Picchu had been unknown to the outside world for nearly 400 years. It was a mystery how all knowledge and records of an entire city disappeared. It is now believed that Machu Picchu was not a city at all, but a royal estate and religious retreat, built around 1460 and located off the main routes. It could only be reached by paths accessible to those traveling by royal decree. The Incas had no written language. Their history was kept by verbal historians, who, following the collapse of the Inca state, were unemployed. Few of the Inca people ever knew that Machu Picchu even existed. As the Spaniards advanced into Peru, around 1527, half of the population died of small pox. This was followed by civil war and the abandonment of Machu Picchu. Thus, this magnificent “stone city” disappeared.

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A Visit With Mrs. Pancho Villa

Sitting in her simple wooden chair, Doña Luz Corral de Villa, widow of Pancho Villa, began a rambling discourse on her life with the famous—or infamous—bandit, general, and hero of the Mexican Revolution.

The year was 1974, seven years before her death, when I first met Mrs. Villa. My father and I were touring Copper Canyon, and we were introduced to her at her home in the city of Chihuahua.

Sharing her memories with us, eighty-two year old Doña Luz told us of her life as a child, living with her widowed mother in the town of San Andres. One day, when she was a teenager, Villa and his soldiers rode in and demanded monetary contributions from the townspeople. Her mother asked to be excluded, and Villa visited her small store to see if she was really as poor as she claimed to be. There he met Luz. The courtship was very brief, and over the objections of her mother, Luz married Villa. The attending priest asked Villa to make his confession. The General refused, stating that it would take days to list all his sins.

Luz was not the only woman in Villa’s life. He was linked with several in bogus marriages, but later Luz was able to produce a valid certificate proving that she was his only legal wife.

The couple had one child, a daughter, who died within a few years. Luz had no other children, but she took in children Villa had fathered with other women. Perhaps she felt that he would always return to her, knowing that several of his children were with her. Villa built the quinta (manor) during the Revolution, and Luz lived there until her death in 1981. Villa was assassinated in 1923, and several of his “wives” claimed the manor. The marriage certificate might not have been sufficient to safeguard her claim, but Luz had an important ally, Alvaro Obregon, President of Mexico. During the Revolution, Obregon had visited the Villas at the quinta. There Villa had plotted to have Obregon killed, but Luz had interceded, saving the future president’s life. The favor was not forgotten, and Obregon used his considerable influence to protect Luz’s claim.

Eventually the house became a museum, with Luz the resident caretaker, and she tried personally to meet each visitor. Luz traveled through Mexico and the United States, and in Los Angeles received the key to the city.

Shortly before her death she wrote a book about her life with Villa, Pancho Villa: an Intimacy, published by Centro Librero La Prensa, in the city of Chihuahua. In it she loyally defends Villa against most of the accusations against him for his many excesses while leading the Army of the North. While this book must be read with a skeptical eye, her account provides interesting insights into Villa and the Revolution.

The above story was written by Don Fuchik (1941-2004). A long-time travel consultant and guide for The California Native, Don was also my close friend for 51 years. Don held a Master’s Degree in Latin American history and received grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities for his studies of this region.
Lee Klein

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Tarahumara — The Runners

In the summer of 1993, two of our California Native guides, Doug Stewart and Tarahumara woman Lynn Reineke, escorted a small group of Indians from the depths of Mexico’s Copper Canyon to Leadville, Colorado, where they astounded the world of marathon racing by coming in first, second and fourth place in a 100 mile ultra-marathon race, wearing their native garb and sandals made out of discarded tires.

Tarahumara Indian Lady in Mexico's Copper CanyonWho were these strangely-dressed people, who came from obscurity to outpace hundreds of experienced runners?

They call themselves the Rarámuri, the Runners, and they inhabit the rugged and remote area of mountains and canyons in Mexico known as the Barrancas del Cobre or Copper Canyon. They are known to the outside world as the Tarahumara.

No one knows how long the Tarahumara have lived in their rugged homeland. Archaeologists have found artifacts of people living in the area three thousand years ago, but it is not known if they were the ancestors of the present day Indians.

There is no recorded history of the Tarahumara prior to the coming of the Spaniards in the sixteenth century. Their first European contact may have been with Coronado’s expedition as it passed through the Sierra Madres searching for the legendary Seven Golden Cities of Cibola. In 1607 the Jesuit missionary Father Juan Fonte established the first Jesuit mission in their territory.

During the next one hundred and fifty years, the Jesuits built twenty-nine missions and introduced the Indians to Catholicism, domestic animals, the plow and the axe. Their influence came to an abrupt halt in 1767 when the King of Spain expelled their order from the New World. The Franciscans took over from the Jesuits, but their influence on the Tarahumara was minimal and the Indians were pretty much left alone until the Jesuits returned in 1900.

The Tarahumara have traditionally lived in isolated family units and small settlements. The Spaniards tried to bring them into more concentrated communities but the strong-willed Tarahumara managed to resist these efforts, and today a large number still live in small, isolated groups. During the time of the Jesuits, mineral wealth was discovered in the region and many Indians were forced to work as slaves in the mines. This and the encroachment of the Spaniards upon their lands, led to many bloody revolts throughout the seventeenth century.

Today the Tarahumara number around 50,000. They still inhabit the same region they have for centuries—the rugged Sierra Madre Occidental of northern Mexico. They live in caves and small wood or stone cabins and practice subsistence farming. The majority practice a form of Catholicism liberally inter-mixed with their traditional beliefs and ceremonies.

Among the peoples of North America, the Tarahumara are considered to be the most primitive, the least touched by modern civilization. They are also the most unmixed of any of the Indian tribes of Mexico.

Many of the men and most of the women still dress in their traditional styles. The ladies wear wide multiple skirts, full sleeved blouses, a head band or bandana, and a shawl for carrying a child or other objects on their backs. The little girls dress the same as their mothers and often carry a little brother or sister on their backs. The men wear a breech-cloth held together by a wool girdle wrapped around the waist, a cloth head band, and a loose cotton shirt.

Running up and down the steep canyons is an important part of the Tarahumara culture, not only as a means of transportation and communication in this rugged area, but as a sport in which villages compete against each other. From the time they are small children the Tarahumara take great pride in their running skills.

In the Rarámuri philosophy, respect for others is of prime importance. They give greater value to persons than to objects, and business matters take second place to respect for human beings. On our trips through Copper Canyon we also learn to respect other people, especially the Rarámuri, as we meet them, discover their unique culture and perhaps adopt some of their philosophy into our own lives.

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Marvelous Trip to Costa Rica

Jason:

I want to thank you and California Native for arranging our recent trip to Costa Rica. The itinerary was perfect for us. We particularly liked Tortuguero, seeing the diverse range of birds and animals during our exploration by boat along the canals and the long boat trip out of the national park, when we briefly entered Nicaragua. Monteverde was wonderful too; we even saw the elusive quetzal and a green toucan in the rain forest. The white water rafting trip on the Pacaure River was terrific and we loved the overnight stay at the rustic lodge on the river. I’m so glad we did a two day trip on the Pacaure River, it was a little bit of paradise. In San Jose we attended a performance by the National Orchestra of Costa Rica at the grand old National Theatre, which was a fitting finale to our visit.

Congratulations to California Native for having such impressive local contacts. Our guides were expert and friendly.

We had a marvellous trip and thank you for your efforts in arranging it on our behalf.

Chris Grenning and Jim Dickson
New York, NY

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Another Happy Copper Canyon Traveler

My friend and I went to Copper Canyon on February 24, 2009.  Only now do I find the time to tell you what a wonderful this trip was. For us this was the ideal way to travel. You made all the arrangements and we did the rest. The organization was absolutely flawless. The hotels were great, especially the Torres del Fuerte and, of course, the Hotel Mirador in Divisadero.  You encouraged us to take 2 days there, and what a great idea that was. Even though we were late arriving in Los Mochis, our taxi was waiting to drive us to to El Fuerte. My thought was, “this is the one thing I did not want to do, drive in the dark in Mexico.” It turned out that the taxi driver was cautious and competent and put us both at ease. I think our favorite town was El Fuerte. It was great that we had 2 nights in several locations. It made for relaxed traveling and a chance to really walk around. The voucher system worked very well.  We could chose wherever we wanted to eat and had the chance to sample several restaurants.

A real treat is the fact that there were no TVs in all the hotels, except for one. That was the Best Western in Creel. We turned on the news and  turned it off fairly quickly. We were on vacation!

The train ride was all we were hoping for. Since we were only 2 people, we stayed most of the time in the bar car of the train, talked to many people and looked out of the big, clean windows. We had a ball. We took the train to Divisadero, stayed there for 2 nights and went to Creel. The ride from Creel to El Fuerte was just right. I was glad we did not stay on the train any longer.

I have read letters from your clients and all the good things they said about you were true for us. It helps to speak Spanish when you are on your own, but you made it very easy to get around. In Batopilas we ate at Mika’s. Great stuff! Our driver Arturo told us colorful stories about this magic town and made us feel less like tourists.

We thank you very much and hope to hook up with you again. Thanks for all your help.

Ingrid Lewin
San Diego, CA

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Costa Rica: The Easy Way

For 26 years, The California Native has been leading travelers to destinations all over the world, but may be best known as the foremost authority on tours of Mexico’s Copper Canyon. But did you know that we have also been arranging and leading trips to Costa Rica? In the following letter, travelers Christine Grenning and James Dickson take a moment to comment on visiting this natural paradise.

I want to thank you for arranging our recent trip to Costa Rica. The itinerary was perfect for us.  We particularly liked Tortuguero, seeing the diverse range of birds and animals during our exploration by boat along the canals and the long boat trip out of the national park, when we briefly entered Nicaragua.  Monteverde was wonderful too; we even saw the elusive quetzal and a green toucan in the rain forest. The white water rafting trip on the Pacaure River was terrific and we loved the overnight stay at the rustic lodge on the river. I’m so glad we did a two day trip on the Pacaure River, it was a little bit of paradise. In San Jose we attended a performance by the National Orchestra of Costa Rica at the grand old National Theatre, which was a fitting finale to our visit.

Congratulations to The California Native for having such impressive local contacts. Our guides were expert and friendly.

We had a marvellous trip and thank you for your efforts in arranging it on our behalf.

We at California Native love to hear from our travelers. Please send us your stories and comments.

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Michael J Fox Praises Bhutan

As Bhutan celebrates it’s one year anniversary as a democracy, ABC will be airing a special, “Michael J. Fox: Adventures of an Incurable Optimist” on May 7.

On the show, Fox, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease, traveled around the world interviewing optimists. One of his favorite stops was Bhutan, dubbed the happiest place on earth by many visitors – because locals live in a state of permanent joy. In Bhutan, a country which measures its success with a figure for “Gross National Happiness” instead of Gross National Product, Fox revealed that his symptoms actually eased during his visit. When questioned about his impression of the people of Bhutan, the film and television star was quoted as saying, “They really are (the happiest people). It’s amazing. They’re just beautiful people. I don’t know whether it was the altitude or the thinning of the blood or whatever, but I had much less symptoms,” he added.

For many years The California Native has been offering private tours of this magical Himalayan kingdom.