Coastal adventure
06 Oct 2018
In the steamy jungles of Central America, grassroots tourism initiatives bring enrichment to visitors and life to remote communities – so why not take an organic safari on Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula?
A glorious tropical morning surrounded by “pinch me” scenery is just the start as we arrive on a picnic-ready beach at Playa Blanca on Costa Rica’s remote Osa Peninsula. We split into groups, each heading on our chosen excursion to visit families who own and operate subsistence-level farms with various specialties.
In between, there’s time for a sumptuous barbecue lunch under a huge fig tree that plays host to a trio of scarlet macaws. The three brilliant parrots sit high and aloof, cavorting and preening atop the branches, looking down on the clumsy mammals with an air of disdain.
My first exploration is to the sugar-cane farm of Johnny Rodriguez, whose family has been cultivating and harvesting the sweet, bamboo-like product for some 50 years. His 95-year-old father-in-law, Carmine, still sprightly, is busy helping out too. Johnny is proud as punch with his 100-year-old trapiche, set up to crush the long, juicy stems while his horse hauls the heavy beam attached to the old grinder.
While the family farms several root and fruit crops, the sugar cane is the long-standing tradition. Here the 100 per cent organic product is processed into “tapa de dulce” through a boiling and purification process with their own wood-fired stove and handmade mahogany moulds. We see the whole process from go to whoa, each stage eliciting a satisfied smile from Johnny. His wife Naomi, meanwhile, is busy mixing up a sweet concoction of molasses, nuts, coconut and milk powder while the children look on.
After lunch and some further mocking from the three macaws, we’re treated to a short cultural display from young schoolchildren in traditional costume before setting off for our second instalment.
Next I’m heading to the Finca Kobo cocoa farm – for reasons that don’t need explaining. However, I’m delighted to discover far more than the humble chocolate beans on offer. Our guide, Juan-Luis, delights in walking us through a tiny section of his 50-hectare farm that grows some 85 different varieties of fruits, spices, herbs and vegetables. It’s not your average greengrocer selection, either. We ogle such exotic crops as custard apple, noni, cinnamon, turmeric, jackfruit, star apple and several varieties of citrus and guava.
“The noni is full of antioxidants and vitamin C,” says Juan-Luis as he slices the pungent fruit with his pocket knife. “The taste is not nearly as bad as the smell.” He’s not kidding. The innocent-looking fruit has an aroma something like a mix of ripe blue cheese and eau de laundry basket.
We remind ourselves of the many health benefits that outweigh the unfortunate perfume as we consume the slices through clenched lips.
Next, a ripe jackfruit the size of a rugby ball is plucked from a grateful branch. With the outer texture of a sun-ripened iguana, the husk is split open to reveal innards that could come from a Ridley Scott movie. Slimy, glutinous tentacles conceal marble-sized seeds. Despite its alien, anemone-like appearance, it’s delicious, and our greedy hands clutch at the flesh like delinquent vultures.
We do eventually get to the cocoa process and learn the dirty secrets of the big confectionery companies, who strip out the best stuff (like the pure cocoa butter) and leave us with a mere hint of sugar-inundated chocolate wrapped in shiny paper and marketing hype. Digest that for a moment.
All jokes aside, the family-owned community attractions here on the Osa Peninsula are an enlightening example of how tourism can resist the temptation to become a mass-market commodity and maintain sustainable, eco-friendly operations that are a joy to experience.
For more info about the local tourism initiative, see caminosdeosa.com; For more on travel to Costa Rica, see South and Latin American specialist Movidas Journeys at movidas.com.au
Costa Rica: Key facts
Area: 51,100 sq km
Population: 4,857,000
Capital: San Jose
Costa Rica has more than five per cent of the world’s biodiversity, even though its land mass is only 0.3 per cent of the planet’s surface.
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