Conservation Tourism

Seaweed Sunset

/ Seth Inman / 1 Comment

A couple days ago the tides at Morgan’s Rock had shifted a couple hours apart, so that during the sunset, which is normally at full high tide, the waves were absent, leaving a surprising amount of the sand and rocks bare.

This cloud, backlit by the setting sun, offers itself up to the traveler’s imagination

These rocks, which I’d noticed from Sunset Hill before, were now accessible by foot, so instead of hiking to the summit, which I had done several times, I climbed over the rocks until I had a good angle of the sunset as well as waves crashing violently into the rocks (video to come). Since they are so often under water, these formations are covered in sheets of seaweed and house sea urchins. This makes the surface of the rocks look like a fluffy duvet and the tidal pools a bed of nails.

To Morgan’s Rock guests: When the tides are right and you have strong shoes, Continue reading →

Profile: Dr. Vinu & Ayurveda

/ Gourvjit Toor / Leave a comment

A couple of days ago I spoke with the resident Ayurvedic Doctor of Cardamom County, Dr. Vinu. Having a family tradition in ayurvedic practice like Ratheesh, he completed a five-year BAMS (Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine & Surgery) at the Alvas Ayurvedic Medical College in Mangalore, Karnataka. Dr. Vinu’s connection to ayurveda comes from his father’s side. His grandfather, Dr. Cherian, was a traditional practioner of ayurveda. He told me about how in those days, everything was prepared by hand and nothing was stored for longer than a month. The doctor would prescribe everything personally and even gave recipes for the quantities and ingredients needed to prepare the medicines to each person individually. Interestingly, Dr. Vinu said that when he was younger he wanted to be an allopathic doctor, but that his family tradition led him to the practice of ayurveda. He laments that the long-term and more holistic process of ayurveda is being lost in this fast paced and hurried world and workplace.

In ayurveda there are five main elements, which also correspond to four of the treatment rooms of Cardamom County, the five being prithvi (earth), jala (water), tejas (fire), vayu (air), and akash (space). Dr. Vinu also told me about the importance of physical observation and pulse diagnosis in ayurveda. We discussed the three doshas or body constitutions, of Vata, Pitha, and Kapha. Continue reading →

Staff Profile/More About Those Superstitions

/ Seth Inman / Leave a comment

Harvey Lopez, until two years ago, was a student at the Universidad National Autónoma de Nicaragua (UNAN) in Managua, studying English on a scholarship. He came to work at the Morgan’s Rock reception at the recommendation of a friend working there at the time, but after one year he became a guide when the position became available. Nowadays he spends his time taking guests on tours or studying the various wildlife books to build his knowledge of local species. These are the same guidebooks that I’ve been using to identify some of the animals in my photographs.

Harvey enjoys sharing popular Nicaraguan countryside myths during nature tours; Latin American lore equivalent to, but a bit less ubiquitous than, the infamous chupacabra. Night walks are especially good tours to tell the tales, since the only illumination comes from flashlights, stars, and reflections in animals’—especially spiders’—eyes, and the stories’ topics fit the dark and quiet atmosphere.

He presents these myths as “creencias,” or beliefs, from small towns like the one he grew up in (Tola, 13km from Rivas):

  • Cadejos are a pair of dogs that appear to travelers at night. One is huge and black, and follows you till it finds an opportunity to attack. The white dog is more of a guardian and is supposed to protect you from the evil one. These cadejos commonly appear to men who are walking at night in dark streets, especially those traveling in a state of fear or inebriation.
  • Lechuzas, or owls (Harvey says screech owls in particular) are omens of death. When their cry is heard in a village, one is supposed to say “en la otra esquina,” or “on the other block,” to ward the bad fortune off to another area so that one doesn’t wake up dead.
  • A duende, which translates as elf, troll, goblin, and sprite, is a supernatural creature that when seen by adults (an uncommon occurrence) appears only as a shimmer in the air. They play with children, specifically those who misbehave, and lure them to their own land (considered by some to be hell). These children are stolen and never seen again. This portrayal of elves or fairy-folk might be as common elsewhere around the world as the chupacabra, but has less of a presence in tabloids and a more mythological nature.
  • The ceibón tree, Bombax emarginatum, is a mysterious and often spiny tree that houses Continue reading →

Carbon Emissions Series: Vacationers’ Diets

/ Timothy Chen / 8 Comments

The hospitality industry is, by nature, one that encourages indulgence. I have seen this mindset manifested through many examples: travelers insisting on using a new towel every day, taking more than they can possibly eat at buffet lines, and drinking ungodly amounts of alcohol at hotel and restaurant bars. Today, tourists excuse themselves from their diets—and some, their environmental principles—when they go on vacation. They expect opulence and excess (a quick look at Las Vegas will confirm all of this). Firms that strive for sustainability are therefore in a hard spot, as they must meet the expectations of guests while providing products and services that do not degrade the environment.

This crude energy pyramid shows that only approximately 10% of energy is transferred between upward steps in the food chain. The higher up you eat, the more energy your diet requires.

I thought it appropriate to look at this paradox more in depth by explaining the findings of an interesting report that the Environmental Working Group (EWG) released recently. Titled Meat Eater’s Guide to Climate Change and Health, this study conducts life cycle analyses

Continue reading →

Seeds of Change

/ George M. George / 9 Comments

 

Guest Author: George M. George

Most people talk about the Periyar Tiger Reserve as a vestibule of abundant wildlife—one of the last that still retains its serenity and pristine ambiance. A trip to the sanctuary while visiting Kerala is a must-do, even if it means praying on bent knees to the powers that may be, hoping to catch a glimpse of the true king of the rainforest, in addition to the other creatures of the wild.

My fascination with wildlife and the enthusiasm that preludes every visit to Periyar is without boundaries. Yet prior to every visit within the sanctuary, I feast my eyes on the tracts of spice plantations that border the protected wilderness areas of the Western Ghats: cardamom, pepper, star anise, turmeric, nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves (just to name a few). Coating the landscape on the outskirts of the forest, they make me wonder if we have forgotten a bit of the past that is relevant even today. A fascination with spices is not something new for the people of Kerala; they have been cultivating and cooking with them for centuries: the delicate preparation of their mouth-watering dishes, soaked in the quintessential (and compulsory) coconut milk and/or oil inspires this post.

Continue reading →

Profile: Anu & The Reception

/ Gourvjit Toor / 1 Comment

Over the past number of weeks, I have spent much of my time in and around the reception, working with the ever-smiling and cheerful Anu, the Front Office Manager here at Cardamom County. Having spent five years here at Cardamom County, she is a seasoned professional who always keeps guest feeling happy and welcome.

 

At the reception, guests are welcomed in the traditional way of Kerala. This involves giving the guest a sandalwood aarthi tikka on the forehead.  This beautiful ritual includes a thalam (a special tray) with a small lamp or nilavilakku & small vessels, including a kindi and a para, which contain oil and kerala rice, a brown speckled and starchy specialty of the state. Continue reading →

Da’ Flying Frog

/ Seth Inman / Leave a comment

When guests at Morgan’s Rock want to have the experience of zooming over the tops of trees, they normally can’t make it all the way to Café Las Flores’ Mombo Canopy Tour at Mombacho Volcano, which is over an hour away. Instead guests almost always go to Da’ Flying Frog, a canopy tour just 25 minutes away in the hills overlooking San Juan del Sur. At a cattle ranch with a nice amount (acreage unknown) of uncut forest on the property, this series of 17 zip lines includes several practice platforms that prepare you for greater heights by starting over dirt paths. Their longest zip line is 400 meters long, a distance that is fun and exhilarating to complete.

Biodiversity Buffers

/ Seth Inman / 3 Comments

Private reserves have been established in many countries around the world, dramatically expanding the conservation provided to biodiversity in public parks by voluntarily protecting buffer zones. Despite their smaller size (relative to public parks) on an individual basis, in aggregation these private reserves are significant providers of environmental services.

So far the Nicaraguan Red de Reservas Silvestres Privadas includes 50 private reserves that protect 7,467 hectares—18,453 acres—of various ecosystems. Each one has renewable status as a reserve for ten years at a time, and is exempted from income taxes for ten years, property taxes for whatever amount of time the land is a private wildlife reserve, and retail sales taxes on goods that contribute to the reserve.

The Nicaraguan Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARENA) supports certification of conservation activities, includes the private reserves in sustainability workshops, and helps bring teams of scientist investigators to the reserves to conduct studies like the one done at Morgan’s Rock/El Aguacate. Among other things, the reserve owners must make a yearly management plan, comply with environmental norms, and protect the wildlife inside their property. Some of the required contents of a management plan include Continue reading →

Post-Estuarial Paddling +

/ Seth Inman / 1 Comment

In “Kayak Surfing with a Friend,” I described the surfing in words and included a short video. Here is some longer and better footage of the experience, this time including Pierre (brown hair), me (black hair), and Bismar (green shirt). We have concluded, after experimentation with the paddles and waves, that this activity would be a great post-estuary kayak experience if the tide is right. Since I had mentioned this to Bismar (a Morgan’s Rock guide) he decided to join Pierre and me after completing his estuary tour with some guests, so that he could see for himself.

Continue reading →

Profile: Varghese & Resource Management

/ Gourvjit Toor / Leave a comment

A few days ago I spoke with Varghese, the restaurant manager and head of the food and beverage department here at Cardamom County, who prides himself in running a tight ship and making sure that guests are at their happiest. Varghese is another long-time member of the Cardamom County family, originally arriving here eleven years ago, in 2000. Having taken a two-year hospitality course in Ravipuram in Ernakulam (the same district housing Cochi), at a school that has now shifted to become the Fort Munnar Catering College in the misty mountains of nearby Munnar, and training with Taj Group of Hotels, he arrived to fill the role of a restaurant supervisor.

 

Varghese told me about his Uncle Phillip who was one of the many well-educated people from Kerala who went over to a Gulf country, in this case being Bahrain. We talked about this brain drain, which Varghese mentioned had been going on since as early as the 1970s. The highly educated people and professionals of Kerala go in search of new opportunities, higher living standards, and money to send back home. Varghese also talked about Arabic being a language that is not too difficult to pick up, especially because of the difficulty and speed with which the native tongue of Malayalam is spoken. However, what is interesting to note is the stark contrast of climate between the Gulf countries and Kerala, the former being very dry, arid, and hot with the latter being humid and comfortably cooler especially at higher altitudes near the Western Ghats such as here in Kumily, Idukki. Continue reading →

Reserve @ Morgan’s Rock

/ Seth Inman / 1 Comment

El Aguacate, the protected forest at Morgan’s Rock, is part of the Nicaraguan network of private reserves, or La Red de Reservas Silvestres Privadas. Over the past two days, a team of three biologists (one botanist in this forties and two zoologists in their twenties) has been walking through the reserve, photographing and documenting the wildlife they encounter in order to perform a sort of valuation study of the natural resources at El Aguacate. For the past week this team has been in the Rivas/San Juan del Sur area qualitatively assessing the floral and faunal density and diversity at around thirteen different private reserves; similar teams around the country are doing the same according to region.

Gecko; species to be identified

José Gabriel Martínez Fonseca, one of the zoologists who also sports a Nikon camera that seems to have a telephoto lens (it looks almost a foot long), calls his photography enterprise Svaldvard Ink., after watching a show on the Svalbard archipelago in Norway on the Discovery Channel as a kid. Interested in the polar bears, he wrote down what he heard and years later preferred his own spelling of the word, adopting it as a username/alias for business. With his camera and skill as a biologist whose job it is to document species of reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals, José was able to photograph animals that have evaded my lens during my time at Morgan’s Rock. He was happy to share his images with me, so now I can share some of the best of them: all the photos in this post are his. Continue reading →

Anteating Howler Butterflies

/ Seth Inman / Leave a comment

While walking to Morgan’s Rock’s lobby yesterday morning, Pierre heard some rustling in the bushes on our right. We looked for the source and were stunned to see an anteater standing on its hind legs, spreading its arms and swaying about like a drunkard but in fact trying to dissuade us from attacking it by trying to appear larger (it was bigger than a very fat house cat, but not by much). I immediately pulled my video camera from my pocket and started filming, and although the anteater had ceased his humorous movements and started climbing a very thin sapling, the footage was incredibly fortunate and very entertaining.

 

Since the tree he decided to grasp was so young, it started to bend as he climbed higher, reminding me of cartoons where characters are catapulted out of the branches after a certain point. The anteater was less than a meter away and at times looked like a teddy bear, but as a wild animal—and one with claws in full display at that—we refrained from touching him and were satisfied with a video. Eventually, the formicary raider descended the sapling and chose a better escape tree (in a pose reminiscent of the boa’s in a previous post), and we left happy with the sighting of what I thought I’d only be able to see in the summer when foliage was less dense. Continue reading →