2012-6 Costa Rica, Grand Cayman Island
Hello
All,
Our next stop in Limon, Costa Rica was at a banana plantation owned and operated by Del Monte. It was most interesting seeing how bananas are harvested in the fields, transported to the plant, cleaned, sorted, and then packed for shipping. This was a new first for us and we found it quite intriguing.
In general growing bananas is labor intensive. It requires clearing the jungle growth, planting, and then propping the mature trees because of the weight of the banana bunches. Pesticides are used; however, the conventional production process involves covering banana bunches with polyethylene bags to protect them from wind, insects, and birds. Each tree will only produce once. In simple terms, after harvesting the single bunch of bananas from the mother tree it will be cut off. One of her suckers at the base of the plant will grow and replace her as the tree for the next harvest season.
Banana trees are planted in rows. Between the rows a network of cables were strung that led all the way to the processing plant. Our local guide was excellent and explained the entire operation to us.
Our next stop in Limon, Costa Rica was at a banana plantation owned and operated by Del Monte. It was most interesting seeing how bananas are harvested in the fields, transported to the plant, cleaned, sorted, and then packed for shipping. This was a new first for us and we found it quite intriguing.
In general growing bananas is labor intensive. It requires clearing the jungle growth, planting, and then propping the mature trees because of the weight of the banana bunches. Pesticides are used; however, the conventional production process involves covering banana bunches with polyethylene bags to protect them from wind, insects, and birds. Each tree will only produce once. In simple terms, after harvesting the single bunch of bananas from the mother tree it will be cut off. One of her suckers at the base of the plant will grow and replace her as the tree for the next harvest season.
Banana trees are planted in rows. Between the rows a network of cables were strung that led all the way to the processing plant. Our local guide was excellent and explained the entire operation to us.
A
single flower appears at the base of the banana bunch in the sixth or seventh
month. The time between planting and harvest is between nine and twelve months.
They are harvested while still green. In the following photo you can see the large
purple flower at the base of a bunch.
Harvesting
bananas is not only labor intensive it is also a dangerous job. The heavy
banana bunch is cut from the plant with a machete. It is then lifted and hooked
on rollers on the cable between rows. The flower is cut off the banana bunch
and a single banana is spliced into the stalk to replace it. This is done to
fake out the banana bunch and slow the ripening process. Once a bunch is hung
on the cable the mother plant is cut down with a machete.
Brazilian wandering spiders also known as the banana spider can be found on the plants. It is an aggressive and venomous spider with potential medical significance to humans. If that weren’t bad enough, banana plantations are a particular haunt of the Fer-de-Lance snake because of their rat populations. This infamous viper’s large size, long fangs, and highly toxic venom make it a real threat. It is an active snake with an edgy disposition, making it one of the most dangerous creatures one can encounter in Costa Rica. It causes the most snakebite-related deaths among humans in Central America. We didn’t see any, thank goodness.
Individual laborers are paid by the number of bunches they deliver to the processing plant. After they get fifteen to twenty bunches on the cable, they string them all together by rope, and then manually tow them to the plant. At the plant the banana bunches are inspected and graded.
In the following photo you can see a laborer just arriving at the plant with a string of banana bunches in tow. You can see the first bunch of bananas to the left. There is a rope coming from that bunch to a harness around his waist.
Brazilian wandering spiders also known as the banana spider can be found on the plants. It is an aggressive and venomous spider with potential medical significance to humans. If that weren’t bad enough, banana plantations are a particular haunt of the Fer-de-Lance snake because of their rat populations. This infamous viper’s large size, long fangs, and highly toxic venom make it a real threat. It is an active snake with an edgy disposition, making it one of the most dangerous creatures one can encounter in Costa Rica. It causes the most snakebite-related deaths among humans in Central America. We didn’t see any, thank goodness.
Individual laborers are paid by the number of bunches they deliver to the processing plant. After they get fifteen to twenty bunches on the cable, they string them all together by rope, and then manually tow them to the plant. At the plant the banana bunches are inspected and graded.
In the following photo you can see a laborer just arriving at the plant with a string of banana bunches in tow. You can see the first bunch of bananas to the left. There is a rope coming from that bunch to a harness around his waist.
In
this photo you can see the rest of the string that he was towing!
You
can see where the flower has been cut off when removed from the tree and a
single banana has been spliced into the stalk.
Banana
bunches are then cut apart into smaller (store size) bunches and placed into
large washing tubs. After washing the bananas are inspected and placed in bins.
When the bins are full they are rolled to other workers.
These
individuals remove them from the bins and place them into boxes for shipping.
Boxes leave the plant on a conveyor to be loaded into trucks. The trucks take
them to the port where they are loaded into ships for transport around the
world.
We
thoroughly enjoyed our adventures in Costa Rica. Back on the ship we cruised
through the night arriving at Georgetown, Grand Cayman Island the next day. It
is such a beautiful place that we have visited before. On that occasion we swam
with the stingrays—it was awesome! If you ever get the opportunity to swim with
them we highly recommend it. It made for a wonderful lasting memory.
Grand Cayman has no deep-water port so all the cruise ships must tender their passengers to shore. Georgetown is a lovely clean city.
Dave says that he has been told to “go to hell” on many occasions, so we decided to follow folks advice and booked an excursion to Hell while on the island. After being tendered to shore we found our assigned bus for the trip. It is a popular destination and you can send postcards to friends and family from the local post office. Naturally, they are all postmarked from “Hell.”
Grand Cayman has no deep-water port so all the cruise ships must tender their passengers to shore. Georgetown is a lovely clean city.
Dave says that he has been told to “go to hell” on many occasions, so we decided to follow folks advice and booked an excursion to Hell while on the island. After being tendered to shore we found our assigned bus for the trip. It is a popular destination and you can send postcards to friends and family from the local post office. Naturally, they are all postmarked from “Hell.”
Hell is a group of
rugged short, black, limestone formations located on Grand Cayman Island.
People are not allowed amongst the formations but viewing platforms are
available for visitors. There are numerous versions of how Hell received its
name. Regardless of how it first came to be called Hell, the name stuck and the
area has become a tourist attraction.
Our
next stop on the island was the Cayman Island Turtle Farm. Started in 1968 it
has developed into a premier tourist destination while hosting an
internationally renowned research and conservation center for sea turtles.
Since its inception the farm has suffered major setbacks. Hurricane Michelle in November 2001 destroyed
75% of the breeding stock of turtles. However, it may have been the cloud with
a silver lining in that it was the catalyst to move the whole turtle operation
further from the sea. While this was being planned the idea of an expanded
facility to include a nature park was conceived.
Hence, a 23-acre park was built that features a reef lagoon in which guests can snorkel, numerous holding ponds for different aged sea turtles, and a large lagoon with sandy beach where female breeding sea turtles can lay their eggs. On September 11, 2004, Grand Cayman Island was hit by the worst hurricane in the recorded history of the island. Hurricane Ivan and what little of the facility near the sea that had survived Hurricane Michelle was just about eliminated. However, no turtles were lost this time as there was ample warning of the storm’s approach and the turtles near the sea were all moved to the new safer area.
Miss Barb is holding one of the young sea turtles. Surprisingly, they are quite heavy.
Hence, a 23-acre park was built that features a reef lagoon in which guests can snorkel, numerous holding ponds for different aged sea turtles, and a large lagoon with sandy beach where female breeding sea turtles can lay their eggs. On September 11, 2004, Grand Cayman Island was hit by the worst hurricane in the recorded history of the island. Hurricane Ivan and what little of the facility near the sea that had survived Hurricane Michelle was just about eliminated. However, no turtles were lost this time as there was ample warning of the storm’s approach and the turtles near the sea were all moved to the new safer area.
Miss Barb is holding one of the young sea turtles. Surprisingly, they are quite heavy.
This
is a medium size sea turtle that we snapped a photo of.
Here
our guide is enticing some of the larger specimens with turtle food.
This
is the beach area where females lay their eggs. No one was allowed in the beach
area. For protection the eggs are gathered by employees once they are laid and
put into incubators. After they hatch they are placed into holding ponds. The
reason they do this is that birds have learned that this is an area where they
can prey on hatchlings trying to get from nests in the sand back to the water.
This
Green Iguana was the only one we saw ignoring the rule.
Folks
were enjoying snorkeling with the sea turtles in another lagoon. It would be a
great experience for kids.
After
leaving the turtle farm we had a couple of hours before our ship was scheduled
to depart so we decided to walk along the shoreline and take in the sites. It
is such a lovely setting and exploring like this you never know what you might
come across.
In this photo you can see how rugged and beautiful the shoreline is. Cruise ships are anchored off shore. On the right is a dive boat tied up next to an open air bar.
In this photo you can see how rugged and beautiful the shoreline is. Cruise ships are anchored off shore. On the right is a dive boat tied up next to an open air bar.
We
came across a group cleaning a catch of Caribbean Red Snapper. Unlike its
red-eyed northern cousin the true red snapper, the Caribbean red snapper has
brilliant bright yellow eyes.
Every
now and then the rugged coral shoreline was broken up with small sandy beaches.
People love to take advantage of them for swimming, snorkeling, kayaking, etc.
All
good things must come to an end. Our next port of call will be Ft. Lauderdale,
Florida, where we will retrieve our car for the drive back to Alabama.
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns