Machete Story #1
When we were driving through the banana fields, Victor had Julio stop the bus. He jumped off the bus and ran out into the plantation, talked to several workers who were having their lunch, went off into the field and then returned with what turned out to be a banana flower that the workers gave him permission to cut. Turns out Victor travels with his own machete named Justin!
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| Victor with a banana flower |
Machete Story #2
Then there was the time that Victor had Julio pull over and he macheted a beautiful red flower from a tree. Before he passed it around, he made people promise not to squeeze it regardless of how cute and squeezable it looked. It was an annatto or achiote flower and the red pulp that surrounds the seeds yields a red dye that has been used for food coloring, lipstick, warpaint and textile manufacturing. He told us that once on a tour, someone squeezed the achiote and their clothing, the seat they were sitting in and the surrounding carpet were permanently dyed red! Achiote Paste is a main ingredient used in traditional Mexican cuisine to color stews, sauces and tacos. It is similar in nature to paprika.
Achiote Information and Pictures
Machete Story #3
Another Victor machete story happened in the middle of a downpour on the
Oh My God road (see Day 6 of the blog). He had Julio pull over and he cut this item from a tree:
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| Recognize the shape of the thing at the bottom? It's a cashew! |
In the picture above, the yellow part is the cashew apple and the actual fruit of the cashew tree is the thing growing at the end of it. Within that fruit on the bottom is a single seed (cashew) that is often referred to as a nut. So a single cashew actually grows out the bottom of the cashew apple. When it's ripe, the whole thing falls off of the tree and the bottom part is gathered for processing. The apple is edible but spoils very quickly and is frequently just left to rot. However, it can be eaten raw or cooked and is also used to make a liquor called feni in India. The apple smells and tastes sweet and the pulp is also used to make a refreshing tropical fruit drink.
Cashew trees require a tropical climate, so growing them in the US is limited to south Florida, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. There is no commercial production of cashews in the US, however.
Now I understand why cashews are so expensive!
Cows and Cow Birds
We saw many cows in Costa Rica. The herds were small compared to what I'm used to being from Montana. Apparently, there many breeds of cattle in the country but we saw a lot of Brahams, which are a heat tolerant breed.
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Cute Cow Just Having a Snooze
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We also saw a lot of tall white birds hanging around with the cows. They are cattle egrets (ibis) and they follow the grazing cows around, eating the small vertebrates and insects that the cows stir up. There is no quid pro quo here, however, as the cow gets nothing out of this relationship. They are indifferent to the birds and let them hang around. 😊
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| Cows and their egret buddies |
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