Agricultura

Lex

Miercoles 9th Enero

Finca la Flor is an Eco-friendly place. Everything is reused or recycled. They try to grow as much food as possible using environmentally friendly techniques. They even use the moon to tell them when it's best to plant.

Today we went to work in the vegetable patch. When we arrived I couldn't see any vegetables because there were so many weeds. We had to hack all the weeds down with mini machetes. It was all pretty good fun until we came across an ants nest. The vicious ants attacked mum's arm and now it is swollen. Trust me it's big - almost the size of her leg!

Next Dad had to turn the ground over with a hoe. Then we scattered compost mix ( fertiliser) all over the ground. Later on I learned that the fertiliser was actually made by worms. After that we had to plant the baby lettuces. They had to be planted in a triangle. Finally we had to scatter mulch around the lettuces. The mulch of leaves created a seal ( microclimate) which kept all the moisture in to protect the the plants in hot weather( always!) then dad went back to weeding pineapples. Did you know that pineapple plants take up to two years to produce one pineapple. I thought that pineapples grew on trees not spiky single bushes.

After we had a juice break we went to the Lombrono - the worm house. (By the way the juice is not from a bottle it's crushed fruit. I prefer it when sugar is added. ) We had to water the worms. I thought that sounded really weird at first. After we had watered them 3 times precisely we had to collect all the soil that the worms had turned into compost. We actually filled 3 sacks. Then we watered the worms again and we were finished for the day.

I also helped the men on the farm to harvest vegetables, some for market and some to eat. Using secateurs I cut lots of herbs including thyme, chives, rosemary, lemongrass and coriander. I also harvested vegetables such as spinach, lettuce, yucca and a vegetable called a cahiba that seems like a cross between a cucumber and pepper.

Bob the Builder!

Oscar

Martes 8 th Enero

We woke up really early to have breakfast. It was scones. They were delicious with lots of butter.

After breakfast we were Bob the Builder except he doesn't build with animal dung, mud and straw!
First we had to dance in the dung to soften it. Then we added straw to make the mixture stronger and some water to stick it all together. We mixed it with our bare feet. It felt weird when it squelched between your toes.

We put the mixture in a bucket and Pablo carried it up the stairs. Our job was to poke the mixture into holes that had dried from last week. It will take two weeks to dry altogether. We were helping to build a house for people to stay in. The walls were made of wood with big gaps in between and we were using the mud to fill the space. To make the job quicker we also added Eco bricks. These were plastic bottles filled with rubbish. To make it look nice we added glass bottles and broken glass plates for windows. I liked the blue glass plate because it was the biggest. I think it will look nice when the sun shines through.

It really hurt when the mud dried on your fingers.

After that we went to town to get biscuits. Finally we played dominoes with Jose.

http://www.la-flor.org/index.html

Insects!

Oscar...
Today we went to a place called La Selvestra. There were 8 bridges. The bridges were at different height sand most of them were above the tree tops. The bridges were made of metal mesh. There was a river below us. We saw some people zip lining.guess how many species of plant can live on one tree? 100!
Next we saw a stick insect and beetles. I held a praying mantis. The female praying mantis chops off her mates head. It's disgusting for boys I know!
After that we went into the butterfly garden and the life cycle is: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, butterfly. Sometimes butterflies only live for one day or a week.
My favourite part of the day was when I saw the leaf cutter ants crawling across a log. The ants chew the leaves, spit them out then mix them with their poo to make a compost. The compost grows to make a fungus and the ants eat the fungus.

Chocolate!

Oscar
Today we went to the rainforest to learn about chocolate. We had to cross a massive bridge. It was nearly as long as our garden.
First we tried some chocolate beans. After that we ground some beans and ate them. Eventually we made a drink. Next we had melted chocolate on a spoon and I had five spoonfuls. Finally we had milk and dark chocolate. I preferred the dark chocolate because the milk chocolate was crunchy.

Lex
The first recorded use of chocolate was in 1100BC.

Chocolate comes from cacao trees that grow naturally in a band 20 degrees north and south of the equator. The trees also need around 2000 mm of rain every year. They live in temperature zones of 21 - 32 degrees.

The Aztecs used cacao beans as their currency. A slave would have been 100 beans.

Cacao was so valued that it was offered to the Gods as a drink and only used by the nobles in society in golden goblets. When the Spanish came to America they were offered this cacao drink as a greeting. The Europeans did not like the bitter taste and offended the Aztecs causing the start of much trouble.

Later on the Spanish adjusted the drink using their own ingredients. They added milk and sugar to make it a sweeter drink.

Chocolate making is a complicated process. First the beans are grown then picked. The pods were not as I expected. They were oval shaped, brown , yellow or red and slightly smaller than a rugby ball. The indigenous people used their heads to open the pods.

Inside the pods were rows of beans coated in a white slimy substance. We tried the slime and it was horrible. Mum and Dad however thought it was sweet and delicious. In the past the saliva was used to start the fermentation process. This took seven days. Next the beans were dried, then cleaned then roasted. After roasting the shells were removed to reveal the cacao nibs. The nibs smelt like a delicious mixture of coffee and chocolate.

Next the nibs were ground using volcanic stones. (Oscar helped with this process using modern technology). Hot water was added to these nibs to create a hot chocolate drink. The Aztecs added various flavours including, chilli pepper, vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon. I tried all of these and particularly liked the vanilla. ( I saw a vanilla pod growing naturally on a tree in my hotel garden today)

Finally we tried melted chocolate nibs . This was really thick and like melted cooking chocolate. We put this into moulds and then we had recognisable solid chocolate. We made two types, milk and dark. The powdered milk gave the milk chocolate a sand paper texture.

We all felt really energetic and happy after eating the chocolate and the man told us that it was the chemicals that it contains. There was some caffeine and other substances that were affecting our bodies. Some studies have shown that chocolate can help to reduce high blood pressure. These chemicals are also toxic to some animals including dogs.

According to the guide the best chocolate is dark and with a high percentage of cacao. Personally I still prefer Dairy Milk!

Ecoglide

Lex
Today we went on an exciting tour in the canopy of the rainforest in Costa Rica. We went zip lining with Ecoglide. I was a bit scared when the guide started putting safety harnesses and a helmet on. There were 13 wires, one Tarzan swing and 15 platforms.One of the wires was 400 m long. There were two parts to the course. The experience was brilliant, fantastic,fabulous and one of the best things this week...actually in my life! The wires went zip when we went down them and the vibrations were like a generator.

Top tip...if you ever do this the heavier you are the higher you go on the Tarzan swing.

Oscar
I felt nervous and scared then proud and happy.

Thank you to Ecoglide for a safe and brilliant experience.

http://www.anywherecostarica.com/destinations/arenal-costa-rica/tours/ecoglide-canopy-tour

The Hobbit - my first film review

Lex

Today we went to see a film based on the book 'The Hobbit' by J.R.R. Tolkien. I read the book a couple of years ago with my Dad, it took sooooo long! It is an action packed fantasy film.

The plot in a nutshell is Bilbo Baggins joining a band of dwarves to win back their homeland. The first part of the movie was funny, light hearted and happy compared to the second part that was serious, dark and scary.

The character Golum was amazing. I enjoyed his riddles and his make up was seamless. His eyes were sad and wet. His voice was like stones rubbing against each other. I didn't know whether to feel scared or sad for him.

The best part was when Bilbo saved Thorin, the dwarf leader. Thorin was battling the pale Orc and Bilbo rose to the occasion and rushed to help him knowing that he was probably going to die a painful death. Bilbo had become a hero full of courage and leadership.

The film was so long we had to wake mum up!

The ending was definitely an annoying cliff hanger because Smaug, the dragon only opened his eyes.

I think the story had a message in it. To take all the opportunities that are offered to you.

My rating of this film is 10 out of 10 and I can't wait for the next instalment.

White Water Rafting Adventure.

Oscar and Lex

We jumped out of the bus as we parked. When we put our helmets on I was wondering what they were for. There were three rafts and the red raft was ours. They were inflatable not wood, bumpy and soft. We wedged our foot in the side. Our family was the first to start and we were surprised when the we looked at the bottom of the raft and it wasn't sealed up. There were holes in it and when we went over a bump all the water rushed in.

The guide told us to paddle then stop in Spanish. Adelante and alto.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/boqueteoutdooradventures/8286757174/

It's called white water rafting because when the water goes over the rocks it makes bubbles like a jacuzzi. I felt a bit scared when we went over our first rapid. (Oscar) Soon I was jumping off rocks though! It was much more fun than a roller coaster ride.

Along the way we saw a snake,sloth,monkey,vultures and a kingfisher.

When we stopped for lunch me and dad (Lex) floated down the river on our backs . It hurt our bottoms when we went over rocks. When we came out of the water the rocks were so hot on my feet I felt that I was walking on hot coals on a game show.

I (Oscar) made a sandcastle. It was smooth around the edges and the rocks were boiling.

When we landed on the shore and had some sodas me (Lex) and Dad went into the bushes and tried to pull some berries out of a tree. I didn't realise it was an ants nest until the ants were swarming all over my hand and biting me. I looked at my arm and it was like a scene from a scary horror movie.

Thanks to Boquete Outdoor Adventures for a fantastic day out.