A breath of fresh air and La Carpio

After dashing off such a fast note last Friday, I piled onto the unfortunately marked ¨turismo¨for the long ride to Monteverde. It took us about five hours o arrive, even though the actual distance is less than 200km. Half of the road there is unpaved and full of potholes, intentionally not maintained to keep a total inundation of tourist traffic at bay. As it is, the economy of Monteverde is based almost entirely in the tourist industry, and the $ prices on menus everywhere prove it. Despite that fact, it is truly a marvelous place, and in our three short days there we were exposed to quite a bit of what goes on there. The first afternoon we visited a family farm. It is working toward sustainability in banana, coffee and dairy production. We learned about the interconnectedness of environment, economic and social issues as they manifest on the farm. Most interesting to me was their project to engage in a fair coffee trade with a company in the United States and use some of the extra profite for educational initiatives. From a social interest, they now have difficulty hiring local people, who are all tied up in tourism, to pick coffee and must now depend a lot on Micaraguan immigrants. In turn the Nicaraguans often want to work seven days a week for long hours because they can make as much in a single day in Costa Rica as they can in a month in Nicaragua. Considering that even with the fair trade price they are still making only $1/lb on coffee, this daily rate cannot be very much.

The next day we went to a biodiversity lecture to learn about the unique nature of the cloud forest and Monteverde region. This region runs along the continental divide, one side is in the high rain zone, the other in the rain shadow. The climate and vegetation changes happen in a very small distance, thus in a day a person could potentially walk through five different life zones. These areas are home to thousands of trees and animals, with hardly any overlap, making them unique, biodiverse zones. It was fascinating. One important conservation tactic that I learned about was the cultivation of bio-corridors, strips of land that connect different preserved regions, providing a place for animals to migrate through, thus improving animals chances of survival, particularly those who must have a large roaming area for survival.

After our lecture we were set free into the cloud forest for over two hours. My friend Brittany and I took full advantage and enjoyed every minute of it. We breathed in the air, floated through clouds, spotted orchids and kept our eyes open for overly large spiders and other interesting wild life. I wish I could take a walk like that every day.

finally in the afternoon we met with a representative from the Quaker community that has taken root in Monteverde since the 1950s. they have established a school, and a meeting. I learned wuite a bit about the foundations of Quakerism, and was able to recognize a lot of my own beliefs within their system. I like that they at least claim to allow each person to have their own relationship without God without the imposition of indoctrination. On Sunday we went to the actual meeting. Brittany, Susana, Courtney and I decided to walk the three km uphill. The morning was fresh and cool, and we were able to see all the way to the Bay of Nicoya in the Pacific Ocean. What a vista. I imagined that as my gift from the heavens during the hour of silence following half n hour of singing at the meeting. For once I enjoyed church, because it allowed me the space to reflect without inspiring any guilt.

This morning I woke at 6 so that I could catch the bus to La Carpio, the Nicaraguan neighborhood in San Jose. this was my second visit to the clinic there, and today I interviewed two women. The first broke down crying as she poured her heart and pain onto the table between us. I recorded her speaking for over 45 minutes without my asking anything. If only I were truly fluent in Spanish! I understood most of what she said, but I have a lot of work ahead of me relistening and tranlating/transcribing these interviews. What an amazing opportunity I have been given. Today I felt the stirring of desire to help people who have been disempowered for one reason or another. I´ll be returning again on Friday for the next experience.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ALL WHO HAVE LATE TEEN SEPTEMBER BIRTHDAYS. I know that Virgos number many in this extensive family.

Eva