Category: News

Hacienda las Vainillas is on the slope of La Cangreja mountain, a 4,000 feet high cliff above the Pacific Coast

With a view over the rain forest down to Manuel Antonio National Park on the Ocean shore.

The park was created in 2002 by the government of Costa Rica.

For the last 20 years, it has protected from intensive tourism for the purpose to protect its local fauna and flora.

 

La Cangreja is home to more than 300 species of birds, including a large population of Scarlet Macaws that migrated from the South of Costa Rica through carefully designed jungle corridors.

Other animals frequently observed in La Cangreja national park are Capuchin monkeys, Coatis, green and black poison frogs, and many others…

        

 

La Cangreja National Park has several trails. One of those starts from the Park entrance and exit next to Hacienda las Vainillas: Sendero Rio Negro (6 Km).
Another trail “Sendero Plinia” has its entrance next to the Hacienda las Vainillas hotel: it gives direct access to lost in the wild rivers and waterfalls inside the Park.

 

Hacienda las Vainillas’s 220 acres of protected rain forest is an extension to the Park.

 

From Hacienda las Vainillas, the most renown National Park of Costa Rica: P.N. Manuel Antonio can be reached within 95 minutes driving on a scenic road # 609 to Parrita and then to Quepos with the coastal road # 618.

 

PN Manuel Antonio is famous for its diversified environments such as humid tropical primary forest, mangrove, islands, and high concentration of wild life in a relatively small area of 680 ha (1.500 acres)

It has splendid beaches, amongst the most beautiful of Costa Rica with its jungle trees brushing the white sand.

This small paradise was well known of pre-Columbian Indians – the “Quépoas” – who built fish traps made of stone in the sea that remain in place (playa Gemelas – playa la Macha)

The National Park was created in 1972 by the Government of Costa Rica. Since then, a well-designed conservation plan has been enforced that carefully manages the impact of tourism on fauna

 

 

At Hacienda las Vainillas…

Toucans hardly can resist our Hacienda’s Guarumo’s [“cecropia obstusifolia”] seeds.

Guarumo trees are numerous in the Hacienda rain forest.
From a drone’s point of view Guarumos look like circles made of round geometric leaves

 

Guarumo is famous for its medicinal properties. Its bark is used for handicrafts by locals. However, Guarumos n°1 fans are Toucans.
In November, Guarumos flowers in preparation
for the dry season soon to come.

 

 

 

 

 

Two months later, Guarumos are offering seeds to Toucans & other jungle birds (below a “black mandible Toucan”) who get their ride for free lunch.

Always with an eye on who’s threatening to join the party.

 

After a little time for digestion while socializing, 

 

 

 

… straight to a banana tree that offers a not so developed bunch (surely not good enough for Harry Belafonte’s song!)

An article in French daily paper Le Monde informed us of a chronic deficit in the offer of natural vanilla beans. At the same time we found a large Vanilla Pompona endemic plant along a path in our property in Costa Rica.

The project to grow vanilla plants for commercial purposes became obvious. At the time, we had no idea of how much work this was going to be, we simply got started without much planning.
How shall we get a decent number of plants for our plantation was our first thinking? How do we get the basic information and training on Vanilla cultivation?

We searched the internet. There was no vanilla plant offering among Costa Rica’s plant nurseries. Looking for in vitro multiplication laboratories, our luck was to meet Marco PAEZ, the owner of Cristal Vitro. “I am ok to invest in vanilla multiplication” was his answer!

 

 

He selected a v. pompona hybrid and made 5.000 clones of it for us. 18 months later Gaby his head of production called: we are Ok to deliver the first batch of baby vanillas.
These very young plants were installed in a nursery at Hacienda las Vainillas.

 

 

After one year in the nursery they had become strong enough to be moved to the rain forest.

 

 

Next thing then: we each individual plant was installed in the forest on a support…