“This tree is famous,” declared the University of Costa Rica professor. “There’s not another like it in the entire country”. The tree he was referring to is a chilamate (Ficus tonduzii). Its photo has appeared […]
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Giant Beautiful Kapok at Baru Wildlife Refuge
By Jack Ewing The most noteworthy old tree that has passed on at Hacienda Barú was an enormous old kapok or ceibo tree (Ceiba pentandra). It once dominated the skies near what is today the […]
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Adventures From Above
~ by Jack Ewing In 1996, at Hacienda Barú, we built a platform 32 meters above the ground at the top of an huge rainforest tree, and inaugurated the Canopy Platform tour. Even though it […]
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Adventure in the Cerro Chirripó
~ by Luis Gutiérrez GaleraIt is still not dawn, and the mist is laying on the lush Talamanca mountain range; it is just before sunrise, but the adventurous tourists are ready to begin the walk […]
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The Fate of the Chonta Palm
By Jack Ewing “Look what I found,” beamed the tractor driver, “a palmito from a chonta palm.It’s the first one I’ve seen in a long time.” The cylindrical palm heart about a meter long rested […]
Continue readingFood from the gods (Theobroma cacao)
Cocoa was very significant to Native Americans and now days, it is highly valued by the modern consumer. The cocoa powder is made from the seeds of the plant that grows wild in the forests […]
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