Yes, We have No Bananas

On your way to Quirigua (Mayan Ruins) you must pass through a Banana Plantation. While driving through the plantation it was noticed that the bananas were covered in blue plastic bags. Why was this? Being the inquisitive sort we began our search for the answers.

It appears that the plastic bags are permeated with pesticides! This keeps the insects from eating the fruit that we all crave.

I was surprised to find that Grocery Stores can order their bananas "gassed" or "non-gassed". If gassed the bananas are placed in air-tight rooms and gassed with ethylene to speed up the ripening process. So if the bananas that you are buying are still a little green then they are non-gassed bananas.
Here are some interesting factoids from Answer.com

Bananas and plantains constitute a major staple food crop for millions of people in developing countries. In most tropical countries green (unripe) bananas used for cooking represent the main cultivars. Cooking bananas are very similar to potatoes in how they are used. Both can be fried, boiled, baked or chipped and have similar taste and texture when served. One green cooking banana has about the same calorie content as one potato.

In 2003, India led the world in banana production, representing approximately 23% of the worldwide crop, most of which was for domestic consumption. The four leading banana exporting countries were Ecuador, Costa Rica, Philippines, and Colombia, which accounted for about two-thirds of the world's exports, each exporting more than 1 million tons. Ecuador alone provided more than 30% of global banana exports, according to FAO statistics.
The vast majority of producers are small-scale farmers growing the crop either for home consumption or for local markets. Because bananas and plantains will produce fruit year-round, they provide an extremely valuable source of food during the hunger season (that period of time when all the food from the previous harvest has been consumed, and the next harvest is still some time away). It is for these reasons that bananas and plantains are of major importance to food security.

Bananas are among the most widely consumed foods in the world. Most banana farmers receive a low unit price for their produce as supermarkets buy enormous quantities and receive a discount for that business. Competition amongst supermarkets has led to reduced margins in recent years which in turn has led to lower prices for growers. Chiquita, Del Monte, Dole and Fyffes grow their own bananas in Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Honduras. Banana plantations are capital intensive and demand high expertise so the majority of independent growers are large and wealthy landowners of these countries. This has led to bananas being available as a "fair trade" item in some countries.

The banana has an extensive trade history beginning with the founding of the United Fruit Company (now Chiquita) at the end of the nineteenth century. For much of the 20th century, bananas and coffee dominated the export economies of Central America. In the 1930s, bananas and coffee made up as much as 75 percent of the region's exports. As late as 1960, the two crops accounted for 67 percent of the exports from the region. Though the two were grown in similar regions, they tended not to be distributed together. The United Fruit Company based its business almost entirely on the banana trade, as the coffee trade proved too difficult for it to control. The term "banana republic" has been broadly applied to most countries in Central America, but from a strict economic perspective only Costa Rica, Honduras, and Panama were actual "banana republics", countries with economies dominated by the banana trade.

The countries of the European Union have traditionally imported many of their bananas from the former European island colonies of the Caribbean, paying guaranteed prices above global market rates. As of 2005 these arrangements were in the process of being withdrawn under pressure from other major trading powers, principally the United States. The withdrawal of these indirect subsidies to Caribbean producers is expected to favour the banana producers of Central America, in which American companies have an economic interest.

Cultivation

Banana Corms
While the original bananas contained rather large seeds, triploid (and thus seedless) cultivars have been selected for human consumption. These are propagated asexually from offshoots of the plant. The plant is allowed to produce 2 shoots at a time; a larger one for fruiting immediately and a smaller "sucker" or "follower" that will produce fruit in 6–8 months time. The life of a banana plantation is 25 years or longer, during which time the individual stools or planting sites may move slightly from their original positions as lateral rhizome formation dictates. Latin Americans sometimes comment that the plants are "walking" over time.
Cultivated bananas are parthenocarpic, which makes them sterile and unable to produce viable seeds. Lacking seeds, another form of propagation is required. This involves removing and transplanting part of the underground stem (called a corm). Usually this is done by carefully removing a sucker (a vertical shoot that develops from the base of the banana pseudostem) with some roots intact. However, small sympodial corms, representing not yet elongated suckers, are harder to transplant and can be left out of the ground for up to 2 weeks; they require minimal care and can be boxed together for shipment.

In some countries, bananas are commercially propagated by means of tissue culture. This method is preferred since it ensures disease-free planting material. When using vegetative parts such as suckers for propagation, there is a risk of transmitting diseases (especially the devastating Panama disease).

Pests and diseases

While in no danger of outright extinction, the most common edible banana cultivar 'Cavendish' (extremely popular in Europe and the Americas) could become unviable for large-scale cultivation in the next 10-20 years. Its predecessor 'Gros Michel', discovered in the 1820s, has already suffered this fate. Like almost all bananas, it lacks genetic diversity, which makes it vulnerable to diseases.


Top Banana Producing Nations - 2005(in million metric tons)
India
16.8
Brazil
6.7
China
6.4
Ecuador
5.9
Philippines
5.8
Indonesia
4.5
Costa Rica
2.2
Mexico
2.0
Thailand
2.0
Colombia
1.6
Burundi
1.6
World Total
72.5
Source:UN Food & Agriculture Organisation

And finally...The United States is the largest importer of Bananas.

American Embassy Adventure

Who would have thought that getting a passport renewed would prove to be an adventure. It started out so innocently. We were in Guatemala City picking up Cindy's parents and needed to renew Cynthia's passport.

Up early for a continental breakfast and then the 5 block walk to the US Embassy. Getting past all the Guatemaltecos to the gate was the first hurdle. The second was security. No one spoke English. The first thing security did was take Cindy's purse and two officers began their search. After removing her translator, cellphone, and workman tool ( OK that did have a knife ) they let us thru to American Services. There was not another Gringo in sight! Get the papers and then back out the Embassy and down the street to get photos taken. Oh, and yes a quick call to the marina to have Debi go on our boat and get Cynthia's social security number. Mission accomplished...photos and social security in hand we once again pass to security. Again the purse is searched. Only this time 3 officers are searching. They remove the translator, cellphone, the workman tool and yes 2 count them 2 pairs of tweezers.

Up to the window in American Services. Yes, you have everything you need. Now go around the corner and pay and then come back here to wait and we will call you. Paid and in our seats we notice that the windows are now closed. Yes, it is lunch time! Did I mention that Michael is ill and getting very nauseated. So Cindy goes to the window and knocks. The woman mouths, "we are closed" I explain that my husband is about to lose his cookies all over the waiting room and do you really need both of us. She asks the Consulate and yes indeed both of us are required as Cynthia is only 11 years old. She hopes to get to us in 5 minutes. 20 minutes later we have the receipt in hand and are now making our way back to the hotel. Michael makes it to our room and collapses.

What a drill! But we did it and Cynthia can now leave the country!

Now we are in the dry season on the river with visiting parents and it is raining every day. Not talking about a little rain, we are talking gully washers. Oh well there is always Mah Jongg to be played.

New Year's Eve At Mario's Marina

A funny thing happened on the way to the new year...it was around morning coffee that the first innocent comment/question was brought to our attention. "Was the Marina going to do anything for New Year's Eve?" Still reeling from the hectic preparation for Christmas I was not sure that I wanted to run another party. I flippantly replied, "Let's just pass out rum bottles with nipples on them and call it a party." Then in an even more flippant moment someone said, "Toga Party!"

How quickly the word was passed through the marina and on the morning net. Mario's is having a Toga Party. Not only a Toga Party but Charades and Karaoke. What more could a group of cruisers wish for????

Soon the sound of dinghy motors broke the quiet of the river as cruisers rushed to Fronteras to find material for togas. What would they find?..Sheets, gold lame', broadcloth, or nothing?

At the appointed hour they began to gather. It was a slow start for sure, but hey, where did they find the cool flora for wreaths? Isn't that gold ribbon and hey I do think I see gold lame'!

Rumor had it that we would move the clocks forward at Cruiser's Midnight (2100 hours) and call it even. It began with Linda on the keyboard singing her new songs and that got the blood flowing and then charades for a minute or two and Yes the women did beat the men.

Before you knew it the clock had made it to 2200 hours and people were singing and dancing and there was no end in sight. The clock then made it to midnight and we were still there dancing and singing! What happened to make these cruisers stay up past their bedtime? Just one of the best parties of the year. Four days later we are still talking about the fun we had and passing around CD's and memory sticks full of pictures.

Hope your New Year's Eve was as much fun as ours was for all of us. I am sure we lifted a glass for each of you. Have a great 2007

Christmas at Mario's Marina

Christmas in Guatemala

Once again S/V Dragonheart and Crew find themselves safely secured at Mario's Marina on the Rio Dulce in Guatemala.

The Capt and Admiral find themselves in charge of the marina while the owners, Mac and Ron, are in the States taking care of business. Boy and we thought that retirement was where we were in our lives. We have learned alot and decided that we do not want to go back to the work world.

Christmas was once again a time for the cruisers here at Mario's to put their best foot forward. We started with a potluck breakfast Christmas Eve morning. What a spread! Then it was down to business in the cocina. Time to get five turkeys and 30 pounds of ham ready for the one oven! Yes, one oven...so Carole on Androsian made out the schedule for turkey watch. 10 Pumpkin pies were made, 6 Pecan, 1 Cherry and 1 Apple pie. Then it was time to cut onions and celery for the stuffing or relleno de pavo.

By Christmas morning all the turkeys were ready and hams had been sent to individual boats for baking and the stuffing took center rack in the oven.

At twelve noon the bar opened and guests from all over the river started to converge with a dish to share. The tables were filled to the breaking point! Laughter filled the air as people moved through the line and filled their plates.

After the hearty meal we gathered poolside for the pinata. It was great to have kids around for the adults to cheer on. There was enough candy inside Santa to fill two pinata's.

Then back to the restaurant and the White Elephant gift exchange. Items were unwrapped and stolen back and forth until the final swap was completed and as the sun began to set on the river it was back into launchas and dinghys to head for home.