{"id":15062,"date":"2011-02-15T08:50:13","date_gmt":"2011-02-15T15:50:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wend.ca\/?p=15062"},"modified":"2020-06-20T20:16:31","modified_gmt":"2020-06-21T00:16:31","slug":"rincon-de-la-vieja","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wend.ca\/?p=15062","title":{"rendered":"Rinc\u00f3n de la Vieja"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rinc\u00f3n de la Vieja is an eco-adventure area known for its volcanoes and waterfalls. We missed the volcanoes but got first-hand experience with a variety of waterfalls, natural water slides, and hot springs. <\/p>\n

The photo above is of a smoothed out water channel that winds its way throughout the rain forest. If not for the sudden waterfalls and periodic boulders, it’d be one hell of a fun way to travel through the rainforest.<\/p>\n

The R\u00edo P\u00e9njamo<\/em> is one of a handful of blue rivers that traverse the Rinc\u00f3n de la Vieja. The water contains volcanic minerals (sulphur, calcium carbonate) that react with an *unknown* colouring agent to turn the water baby blue. Many think the water has healing powers and will traverse from far and wide to bathe. It’s lukewarm to the touch.<\/p>\n

There’s more than volcanoes and water in the rainforest. Below is a sampling of the different fruit that we encountered on our walk. <\/p>\n

Maranon<\/h3>\n

The maranon is a common fruit in Costa Rica. The bottom is similar to an apple. However, the real food is the seed — the cashew nut, which sits on the top of the apple-like body. <\/p>\n

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Below is a better view of the cashew nut. The cashew must be roasted before it can be eaten. It’s poisonous when raw.<\/p>\n

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Mandarins<\/h3>\n

This is either a mandarin or an orange tree. Our guide called them mandarins but he wasn’t sure if this was the correct word in English. <\/p>\n

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Costa Rica isn’t exactly known for its mandarins and this was the only citrus type fruit we encountered. The next closest in appearance is the grenadilla<\/a>, which is similar on the outside but completely different on the inside. Lemons are apparently very prevalent. <\/p>\n

La Ni\u00f1a<\/em> says to use extreme caution when eating this fruit in Costa Rica. It’s very very sour.<\/p>\n

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Musa (Bananas)<\/h3>\n

Fried, baked, and mashed, the musa (bananas and plantains) are a part of every meal in Costa Rica… like potatoes. In the photo below it is fried (at the top of the plate)… <\/p>\n

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…and here is musa in the wild. <\/p>\n

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They look small, but they are mighty and have way more taste then what we get in the supermarket. They come in different colours — here is the pink variety:<\/p>\n

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Unknowns<\/h3>\n

Not sure what these are… but they look fascinating.<\/p>\n

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This almost looks like coffee, but the plant part is all wrong.<\/p>\n

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