So, my class met at 6 am to get on the bus and head to Dúrika on Saturday morning. My class of 6 and our teacher, plus two other really small classes of 2 or 3 each and their teachers joined us. From the little parts I saw of the drive, it was beautiful. I have never gone this direction in the country but I slept most of the way. When we stopped for breakfast, we were in Cerro de la Muerte (Mountain of Death). This area is the highest point of the main highway and is in the Talamancas. It is often very cloudy, hence its name. Anyway, we stopped here to eat and were all very startled by the temperature. It was cold. For real, cold. I have not felt that temperature....in a very long time. I didn't think that was legal in Costa Rica. I don't know if I can even gauge that correctly anymore but I would guess the 40s and icky gloomy mist. But, we survived and on we went.
When we thought we were getting close, we found that we were getting off the bus and leaving it. We were switching to some other trucks because our bus couldn't physically go in the mountains. So we took our stuff and jumped in the back of "cargo taxis." These were literally little off-road trucks with wooden beds on the back, some covered, some not. So we chose an uncovered one so we could see and we headed up. It was an adventure for sure. We slid all over the place in the truck and tried not to get bruises from banging into the sides and bouncing everywhere. It was so rough terrain. We went up and down steep hills, through mud and ditches, over huge rocks, and through creeks. The view was beautiful, of course. We could see the mountains on either side of us. It was interesting to see the contrast between the Talamancas in the east and the foothills of the Talamancas to the west. Much of the east side has been deforested for cattle since the 1960s and the other side, not so much. Both beautiful, still. At times it felt like Jurassic park going through some crazy jungle and other parts were less forested and more scrubby. After 7.5ish miles, we made it to the top.
Happy campers in the back of the truck.
Trying to hold on and not fly everywhere.
The view.
This was nothing compared to some of the terrain.
Dúrika is a small, cute little community. It is beautiful with flowers and gardens everywhere and rustic buildings. The people are so sweet and genuine. We were greeted and taken to the restaurant for lunch but had to wait for another group to leave so we headed to the health clinic. They have a fully eqipped health clinic with many rooms for doctors appointments, dentist, therapy, etc. They do spa treatments and lots of things. We went into the laboratory. Here, they make their own soaps. They now make about 16 different kinds. All natural, of course. They all smelled so amazing and had various purposes. There was a rack full of glass jars containing dried plants and herbs from the rainforest. Some of the purposes were explained to us. Our guide (I forget his name) told us we all looked pretty good "not too skinny, not too fat." It was funny. He asked us if anyone had any issues or ailments. One of my classmates said he had a cough so he told us about one plant that he would have made for us in a tea for dinner that would boost our immune systems. We also saw plants in the process of drying to later be stored in jars or made into soap. It was so cool.
They told us that many visitors stay 3 days to two weeks or longer and while they are there they have an amazing experience. They can see the doctor and be full analyzed and then detoxed. And after the detox is finished, the fully replenish the nutrients to build you back up again, and then they teach you their ways. They do a lot of yoga and of course are super fit from all of the work they do. This place is basically right up my alley.
In the lab.
Over looking the Talamancas
Oh, and they are all vegetarians. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day there, which is customary in Costa Rica. We had tamarindo juice to drink and started with a fresh salad. They grow all of their own food from their gardens. I think there are very few things that they may purchase elsewhere, if any. They do raise goats for their dairy and "happy" chickens for their eggs. After the salad, we had a delicious yucca soup. The main course was rice, a garlicky yucca salad kind of thing, and veggies in a tomato sauce. After that, we had chocolate mousse for dessert. Even the chocolate was local (there is a lot of chocolate in Costa Rica).
After lunch, we headed out on a hike to see their hydroelectric power plant. Christina led us on our hike and taught us a lot about the community. The hike was slippery and steep down the mountain to the river and back up, but a lot of fun. On the way, we stopped at their banana plantation. They have a small plantation with three different species of bananas. A little further down, we stopped part of their coffee plantation. Costa Rica is known for their coffee due to the great quality. Costa Rica has rich soils and optimum climate for coffee production. High-altitude coffee is said to have to best quality which is also easy in Costa Rica. Dúrika doesn't produce enough to sell, sadly. They just finished the 2011-2012 harvest when we got there so we drank the 2012-2013 harvest. Christina used to work for Café Britt (one of the largest and best coffee producers in Costa Rica) outside of San José so she knows a lot about coffee.
Banana plantation
Coffee!
Lots of coffee!
We were slipping and sliding all over the place but we finally made it. Christina took us in groups into the building that houses the hydroelectric equipment. We could see some of the pipeline along the way and she said (I think) that there are 99 pipes from the river that feed water through the turbine and up to the community. The turbine spins 60 times per second and produces all of their energy. They did this entire project without any government assistance after the government wanted them to do it a different way. So far, it has been a great success. They also told us that the water was probably the purest we would drink in Costa Rica. It is naturally purified and the first time it sees light is when it leaves the tap.
We hung out for a while at the bottom and checked out the waterfalls. I went in the pools a little but didn't swim. It was cold but felt nice. On our way back up, we went a different route and saw the winter garden.
Waterfalls
We hung out in the water here.
When we made it back up, sweaty and tired, we were shown to our cabins. It literally felt like we were at summer camp but I didn't mind that. The four girls in my class and I chose the "romantic" cabin. They call it this because it is the only one without electricity so we used candles. It was pretty cute. We settled in and washed up before dinner. I took a quick shower in the super cold water with the soap they gave us and went to dinner in pajamas. We all did. It was acceptable.
At dinner, we got to try some of the wonderful organic coffee. It was delicious. P.S. Milk in coffee is bad because coffee is acidic and milk is basic and they don't mix. They separate in your stomach and can cause problems so black or just a little bit of sugar (or agave) is best. (I win!) I think non-dairy creamers don't necessarily apply to this but in Costa Rica, most people use milk. They also prepared the "magic" tea for us all. It tasted similar to green tea. We had another soup but I'm not entirely sure what it was. And the main dish was a veggie/soy protein lasagna. And I think rice. And they have a phenomenal bread that is kind of orange-ish and sweet. I don't know what it is made of but it was heavenly. During dinner we signed up for various chores in the morning. The people who live and work there, including the people who cooked and served us, do not take a salary. It is just their life and what they want to do as a part of the community. So visitors come and are assimilated into the community and do chores too. I could choose between goat milking, reforestation, and gardening. I chose gardening. And we went back to our cabins and were in bed before 7. We knew we should sleep early since we had to get up so early and I think we fell asleep before 9. We of course freak ourselves out and had girl moments before we finally settled down. I slept fine I think but some of the other girls struggled and were paranoid about bugs all night. They also shot off some shots that scared us. We though it could be to scare away pumas since they have those but it turned out to be for possums. lame.
We woke up bright and early at 5 am and got ready for chores. It was a beautiful morning. Edwardo, another community member, lead us in gardening. They have a huge garden along the edge of the hillside. So it is split up into various parts. They also have a greenhouse. First, my classmate, Anna, and I were to pick lettuce. Then we picked parsley. Some other students also picked rhubarb, onions, and radishes. Then we weeded and cleaned up some of the rows. It was fun to have our hands dirty and I loved seeing all of the fresh produce, knowing that that is what they eat everyday. It was funny because Edwardo would tell us about different plants and then break off a piece and just eat it. So we would eat random stalks or leaves or fruits. He climbed a few trees that were over the edge of the cliff to get some papayas and guayabas.
Buenos Dias, Dúrika
The cabin.
Part of the gardens
Parsley!
We packed our things and loaded them into the back of the cargo taxis again but this time instead of riding down, we would hike down. Christina and Edwardo lead us down the mountain on a different trail than the road we came up. Again, it was gorgeous. We learned about the fires that they often have to combat in the summers. Because of the deforestation, the savannah land becomes dry in the summer and the indigenous people below burn various things. These fires then climb up and they have to stop them before they reach the community. It was really hot and sunny for a lot of it once we were out of some of the clouds. It was mostly downward and tricky at times. It was fun but taxing on the body. We came upon two beautiful horses. They looked like they were wild but they were owned by some of the indigenous people. The same was true of the cows we saw, who snorted at us. These horses were so cute. They were really curious about us so they walked right up and joined the back of our line for a little bit.
The hike took about 3 hours total. We made it down and walked through the indigenous town and found a trail through the forest to have lunch at the river. They had packed us lunch and gave each of us two sandwiches and brought salad. They were hefty sandwiches too. I only ate one. It was beans and onions and mustard or something. We walked for a little while longer and then our bus found us. We all got on and went to their office in the main town, Buenos Aires. We cleaned up again and headed back to San José.
Dúrika is a very unique place and I wish we could have been there longer. I certainly want to go there again and some point and spend more time. I learned a lot and am definitely sore from the hiking. Being there in the clean, crisp air, with pure water, and fresh food felt great.
!Pura Vida!
Taylor
http://www.durika.org/in_inicio.html
