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On April 1, the Brinckerhoffs went to the US to visit family for a week. While they were gone, I stayed at the house and caught up on this journal and SASI business. On April 10, Joris, his daughters and I headed to Sarapiqui, the region where the well-known La Selva Protected Zone lies. We stopped for groceries—for ten people for several days—and gas. Ultimately we would end up at the home of Edgar Corrales but it took much of the day to get there since we were working with a film crew. |
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They were in Costa Rica for the week, working on a film for the German equivalent of our PBS. The subject was on butterfly farming, as a sustainable use of Costa Rica’s remaining forests.
Our path north of San Jose took us through the mountain range that separates Volcan Poas and Volcan Barva. Near the crest is La Paz, where a beautiful resort has been constructed. It boasts having beautiful grounds overlooking the Rio La Paz, drainage of Volcan Poas. Where the road crosses the river, there is a nice waterfall that many stop to see—with no formal parking. The catarata is also viewable from the top, if you are willing to pay the high fee charged by the resort. It was somewhat of a zoo there since there were so many people vacationing for Semana Santa (Holy Week). The film crew stopped for footage of the waterfall and Joris driving past on his way to visit Edgar. While multiple takes were conducted, I hung out taking pictures and people watching.
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After a while we were on the road again. The next stop was at Fernando’s home where he operates a small butterfly farm. The girls and I waited patiently for four hours while the film crew shot their footage of butterflies and conducted interviews with Joris and Fernando. Fernando’s home overlooks this valley that bears little resemblance to the original forest. |
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Tibouchina semidecardra |
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Because he was tied up acting, I didn’t have the opportunity to learn much about Fernando’s operations. He has two small viveros (shade structures used to house butterflies) and a small lab with cages for larvae. |
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While the operations were small at this time, he must have plans for expansion, as these plastic bags were full of soil, waiting to be planted with seeds or cuttings. This photo shows less than 25% of them. |
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Something I had not seen in previous viveros was the use of concrete over most of the floor. The plants had small patches of dirt in which to grow. Given the amount of rain and frequent fogs, I am sure it helps keep mud to a minimum. |
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Fernando also produces souvenirs, obviously on a much smaller scale than Sergio does. |
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While having to idly wait, I snapped a few pics around the yard. This orchid, collected elsewhere and tied to a tree caught my attention. When the film crew was finally out of the vivero, I had the opportunity to see the butterflies, some different than I had previously seen. Click here for a look. |
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