I’ve always wanted to know what to do with a coconut.  They literally litter the ground down here.  So weren’t we luck when Trudy of Casa Orquideas, an American ex-pat who lives on an orchid and tropical plant farm in Costa Rica, showed us how to open one during a tour of her beautiful property.

Casa Orquideas near Golfito, Costa Rica

Trudy uses a rail spike to quickly split the husk of the coconut

Thanks to Trudy, I now know what to do with the brown ones.  You have to shake it to hear for liquid inside to be sure it is good to eat.

First, remove the husk.  This can be done in any number of ways.  I use the trusty machete, third world wonder tool.  You have to peel it off in slices.

This leaves you with the round brown nut we are all familiar with.

Then, using the back of the machete, give it a few good hard whacks on a line around the circumference, holding the coconut upright.

Soon, it will crack all way round and you can pluck the top right off.

Then, drink the delicious fresh coconut water inside.  Who knew dogs were absolutely CRAZY about coconuts?  Lucy will drink off a whole coconut and then seems to have renewed energy.  She’ll even try to gnaw the white meat out of it.

You can pry out the white meat after drinking the water.  Press a knife into it and pry pieces of it out.

If you are extra lucky and find a coconut that is sending up a new shoot, you will find a little round sponge-like object in it.  This tastes like coconut but is soft and airy with a little crunch.  I am surprised this thing has not found its way onto Manhattan menus yet.

I still don’t know what to do with the green ones, ok, maybe I do LOL

I think with those you only drink the milk inside.  Locals chop the top off, add a straw and perhaps some rum and you have nature’s Solo cup.

Our first stop in Costa Rica was in the tranquil bay of Santa Elena.  We were exhausted and ready for a break from the high winds.  Once the anchor was down, we relaxed with a sunset cocktail and to enjoy the deserted scenery surrounding us.

Santa Elena, Costa Rica

The tranquility soon was broken by this sound

Had we entered Jurassic Park?  Are there gorillas in the mist?  No, just the local howler monkey troop welcoming us to Costa Rica.   We were certain they were going to be giant, gorillas even, but when we finally saw them they were basic-monkey sized.   This country had me at first grunt.

Howler monkeys all over the place

What’s cuter than a baby monkey?!!

Eager to see more of Costa Rica, we left the boat safely at Marina Papagayo and rented a car with pals, Robin and Mike from Mermaid and spent a few days up in the very wet inland mountains and the Monteverde Cloud Forest.

Of course we didn’t forget Lucy.

Driving in Costa Rica is a combination of well paved roads and pot hole filled dirt trails where interesting obstacles are par for the course.

Modern day cowboy.

We spent a fascinating day touring the Monteverde Cloud Forest, which was made even better by our knowledgeable guide, Javier.  Its protective reach extends over 35,000 acres  atop the Continental Divide.  There are over 100 species of mammals, 400 species of birds, and 1,200 species of amphibians and reptiles living within its bounds.

Javier leading us through the Cloud Forest. And yes we are styling in those rain jackets

It is well worth having a guide to help you spot the local flora and fauna and explain the fascinating ecosystem found in this lush forest.    We had just started the tour when a spider monkey quietly swung overhead.  Unlike the Howlers, they don’t make a peep because as Javier explained: in this wild preserve full of predators (mainly wild cats, who actually prefer to hunt in the trees), “monkey cry, monkey die”.   Sorry to say I didn’t have the camera out in time for the spider monkey, but we did for the resplendent Quetzal.  What is this you ask?  I did too after the 100th person in Central America talked about this colorful, yet elusive bird.  It is the official bird of Guatemala, even their money is named after it, but they are rare, almost non-existent in Guatemala.  However, good ol’ Javier (aka the Quetzal whisperer) with his bird calls and years of experience spotted this majestic creature for us.  And wow was it a treat, this bird’s colors are so brilliant he looks like a cartoon.  Javier was ingenious enough to help us take this picture through his scope with our phone.

We took this photo through a scope, which doesn’t do it justice, but proof we saw the resplendent Quetzal!

Later in the tour, Javier calls us over to a small crack in the hillside, shines his flashlight  and with a devilish smile tells us to look inside.  Eeek, I believe is the word you are looking for…

tarantula

This Millipede smelled like almonds. And no he didn’t smack Pete in the face.

Cloud Forest

Stylish hanging bird’s nest built from moss. This bird must work for Dwell magazine.

Cloud Forest living up to its name.

Feed me, Seymour!  Plants that look like they want to reach out and grab you

Jack ass on the canopy bridge

After a few days of R&R in Monteverde, which included delicious meals, cool weather and an earthquake.  Yes, 5 years in San Francisco without an earthquake and 5 days in CR and we were rockin and rollin’,  we headed back to our marina along the coast.

Great meal at Trio restaurant. Moments after this photo was my first earthquake!

We had a lovely stop in Playa Avellanas and enjoyed lunch at Lola’s watching an international crowd of surfers in this remote spot.  (Good lord all we do is eat.)

Lunch at Lola’s

Lola (yes, this is Lola and no we didn’t order the spare ribs)

We came to Costa Rica 20 years ago and it is amazing how much it has changed.  A LOT more expensive, but still as beautiful.  We’ll tell you more of our adventure in Part II of the CR post.