Amanzimtoti
This is the name the Giddys have given to the house and
property that serves as
their home away from home in Costa Rica and a base for the Cloudbridge Reserve project. The house, pictured above,
is on 4 hectares of partially forested land alongside the
Chirripó Pacifico river. It relies on solar power and water from
a nearby spring. The property has several waterfalls, the biggest of
which is pictured above. To the north, across the fast-running river,
is
a 2500 hectare private forest reserve. To the south is private farmland
and forest. To the east, 0.6 kilometers up a mountain path, is the
Cloudbridge Reserve, and behind it Mt Chirripó. Nearby is the
village of San Gerardo de Rivas. The city of San Isidro de El General
is 21 kilometers to the west. Here are some more pictures of
Casa Amanzimtoti, some notes on how the house
works , and here are directions to the
house. Don't miss the
waterfall page.
The original "Amanzimtoti" is a river in the Zulu-dominated province of
Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa. It should be "amanzi ka mnandi," sweet water, and
in fact this is the expression, they say, Shaka,
the famous Zulu leader, used when he tasted it. But no one else could
use that expression, since Shaka's mother's name was
Mnandi. So
amanzi mtoti , it had to be. Thanks to Patrick for this information.
The Cloudbridge Reserve
From Casa Amanzimtoti, hike 600 meters on to
reach the Cloudbridge Reserve, which adjoins the Chirripó National Park.
This conservation project was established to reforest an
important gap in the cloud forest adjoining the Chirripó
Pacifico river on the slopes of Mt Chirripó. Find information at
cloudbridge.org
or see a map of
the reserve or an
overview
of some of the trails.
Chirripó National Park
The Chirripó National Park spans the most
biologically diverse
area in Costa Rica and, together with its
neighbor La Amistad NP, comprises the largest unspoiled forest
in the country. An astonishing number of habitats -- produced by
the differences in altitude, soil, climate and topography -- can be
found, including paramos, marshlands, oak forests, madrono forests,
fern groves and mixed forests. Chirripó peak is the highest
mountain in the country, reaching a height of 3,821 meters. The paramos
of this elevation contain many varieties of stunted Andean-type
woodland, consisting of shrubs, grasslands and perennial herbaceous
plants.
The fauna is
astonishingly varied too, with 263 species of amphibians and reptiles
and about
400 types of birds observed to date. The largest concentration of
tapirs in the country can be found here, plus the puma, jaguar, ocelot,
jaguarundi, white-lipped peccary and cacomistle (no, we didn't know
what this was either -- it's actually a small nocturnal raccoon-like
creature). Birds
include the resplendent quetzal (beautiful, but endangered), mot-mot,
crested eagle, red-tailed hawk, volcano hummingbird, black guan,
crowned wren-thrush, elegant trogon, and acorn woodpecker. More on the
park's natural history at cloudbridge.org/context.htm
.
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