Doesn't seem super easy to get from Panama to down into South America. Although the sailboat way seems to maybe be the cheapest - its not by much. But from what I'm reading this time of year is suppose to be hard to find anyone that will venture the seas. Too choppy, too windy - something with the trade winds in dec/jan/feb.
So been looking to fly to Bogota or Quito - thinking they might be the cheapest hubs.
looks like $400 to Bogota and $600 Quito from Panama City (PTY).
So then thinking I might be able to fly to B-lo for Christmas seeing its so expensive to get down to get to S. America from here anyway- Buffalo might not be that much more.
However - doesn't look to be the case so far. I've researched all US airlines that travel to Quito and all 3 routes would be around $1000 from Buffalo. (+ to get back to B-lo from here).
Looks like it would end up costing $700 dollars more - not to realistic. Waiting for Nate tho to let me know about some roundtrip he found from WI to Ecuador for $500.
Alright enough of all that - heading to the Cheese Manufacturer today with the posse and then on to night hike to see Sloths!
...
Cheese Factory MonteVerde
Started by Quakers leaving America after refusing to be drafted into the US military during the Korean war. Spent a and year and one day in jail, and then looked for a new country to relocate to. Tried Canada and settled on Costa Rica. Maybe mainly because the military here had been disbanded. The girl who gave us the tour was a descendant of the original Quakers here.
Now a days the company is publicly owned by Quakers, the farmers that bring the milk, and residents of MonteVerde. They are the number one cheese producers in Costa Rica, and is run more like a co-op which has become almost completely green and entirely locally run. A great model for sustainability - and some pretty good cheese too.
Cheese 101: This is a picture of the workers separating the cheese curds from the whey. I learned that all cheese is basically made by adding bacteria and rennet. The rennet is an enzyme that makes the cheese curdle, and comes from mammalian stomachs. The rennet causes the milk to curdle and separates the whey out. The bacteria helps the rennet job and also is responsible for the flavor of the cheese. The comes the aging process, which is based on temperature and time for the different types of cheeses. And that was basically it, with a few additions for certain types of cheese.
After the tour, Shawn and I got a little history lesson from the tour girl about here roots and about Costa Rica in general.
Headed back to down the road to the hostel and readied for the 'night hike' to see some animals that are 'supposedly' more active at night.
Spotted: 2 toed Sloths high in the trees
walking stick insect
leaf bug: insect that looks like a leaf
spiders (tarantula and lots of small species)
and a handful of others I don't know the names of.
Note: Antibiotic may have done the trick, already feeling better. Insect bite on inside of right thigh that I received in Ometepe many days ago has spend into a nice 6 x 4 in itchy rash.
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