Whenever I'm traveling, I run across things I just want to know more about. But I don't want to waste precious vacation time in an Internet cafe looking them up. So I make a list called "Things to Google" when I get home.
Of course, by the time I get home, I'm usually overwhelmed by the demands of daily life and don't get around to doing this. (I still haven't bought books from amazon.com about Tulum and Chichen Itza that I swore I would after my April 2007 trip to Mexico).
Here was my "To Google" list from Costa Rica:
1. What are the following fruits in English:
Maracuya (passion fruit, but it didin't taste like those generic chunks in the Dole mixed fruit -or maybe I'm confusing this with papaya?)
Guanabana (also called chirimoya) Custard apple. Still no help. It's a tropical fruit and we don't have an equivalent in the U.S.
Jocote Purple mombin or hog plum. Again, no help to me because we don't have an equivalent here.
2. Curious to find out about the life of a sloth.
Do they ever come down from the trees? (not often)
What do they eat? (leaves, twigs, berries)
Do they have predators? (Jaguars)
What do they DO all day? Apparently, nothing. Hence the name.
Also learned these interesting tidbits: They can sleep up to 18 hours at a time while hanging upside-down. They also give birth while hanging upside down. Wow.
3. What are pacas (or bacas -- I wasn't sure which they called them)? We saw these cattle with bumps on their backs and wondered what they are. I found baca cattle on Google, but they don't have the bumps like the ones we saw. Hmm. Maybe I have the name wrong?
4. Why do some of the cows have saggy skin pouches at their necks like a rooster? Apparently, it's called a dewlap. But I'm not sure why the cows have it.
Isn't it amazing the amount of information available at our fingertips?
I remember those cattle.. I know the spanish word for cow is vaca (of course I know you know that too) sounds like baca or paca?
Did you have their coffee in CR? or the cheese from monteverde?? YUM! Where did you go in the country?
When I went, I traveled to San Jose, Monteverde and Jaco Beach.
Oh how I miss Costa Rica..
Tiff
I didn't like the coffee I drank while there (but then again, I need creamer and they only ever offered powdered stuff). I did buy several bags of coffee beans to take home though and am enjoying that!
I wanted to go to the cheese factory in Monteverde, but we didn't because several people told us the tour was boring and a waste of time.
We were in Alajuela, San Jose (one day only), Monteverde, La Fortuna and Manuel Antonio/Quepos.
When were you there? You'll probably have more to say on my upcoming posts related to the trip!
We went to Costa Rica last February and were also amazed at the beauty of the night sky with so.oooo many stars. No light pollution! Regarding the sloths, we were told by the native people that they only come down from high in the canopy to defecate. Also they move so slowly that moss grows on their backs.