A Costa Rican Adventure

 

You cannot go on a service project trip and not have a 4:50 a.m. start on the day you fly - it’s just a part of the experience.  We arrived at the airport ready to tag our bags and make it through security. After losing one bottle of sunscreen, we boarded our flight at 8:40 a.m. and were off to Costa Rica. 31ºC and sun greeted us as we exited the baggage claim. After a small hiccup (Alan almost didn’t make it in), we were greeted by Pedro, our trip guide, and boarded the bus on our way to the hotel. “Pura vida” became the trip mantra, which translated to pure life but used in a way to that meant happiness and contentment. The night finished off with a tour of the city and a necessary stop at the supermarket to pick up the essentials. Ice cream, blueberry tea, plantain chips and of course Cheetos.  Dinner was the first time we were introduced to the traditional meal of rice, black beans, plantains (fried), chicken and salad. As we inhaled down seconds and thirds, we later would realize that we would slowly get tired of this wonderful meal.  It filled our stomachs and prepared us for a long sleep before our first day of work. As the Uno games finished around 10:00 p.m., we all went right to bed for the early morning wake up.

 

We woke up excited and ready to see more of Costa Rica. Welcomed by an amazing breakfast of beans, eggs and coffee, we headed off to the Poas Volcano and after an one and a half hour ride, we finally arrived. Our first stop on the volcano was the acidic lake, no vegetation survived around it and it had a negative PH level. But despite our excitement, a heavy mist covered the view for ten minutes until the wind blew it away. We were given an educational lecture on the history of rocks and feasted on the new-found knowledge. The afternoon saw a traditional Costa Rican mask making session. We visited the studio of this master of arts and were given the chance to try the mask on and make it for ourselves! The dancing and laughing exhausted our energy and we went back immediately to our rooms and rested. 

 

The next day, with great anticipation, the squad headed for La Carpio. La Carpio is a poor area of Costa Rica that is home to many immigrants who have escaped the poor living conditions in neighbouring Nicaragua.  The work was physically exerting - we had to fill 7 buckets of sand and 7 buckets of rocks, then dump them into a cement mixer. After the rocks and sand had mixed we would fill wheelbarrows up with cement and dump it where it needed to go. We did this work for what felt like an eternity but was really only until 10:00 a.m. Then we had a break then until noon for lunch, then we went back to work until 5:00 p.m. 

 

Three days of hard work was definitely worth it after seeing the smile of the locals. We were invited to one of the local’s home and had a cake as celebration for finishing our work on the road.

 

On day six we said goodbye to San Jose and travelled to Pacuare by boat. Our guide Pedro had spotted out many monkeys, sloths and lizards for us to take pictures of. The ride was nothing less than humid and hot. After an hour ride we arrived in Pacuare, the site of a sea turtle sanctuary. We were greeted with various coconut trees and the amazing view of the beach. After dinner Pedro took us on a night walk through the forests where we saw and heard armies of large ants, blue crabs, wild dogs, bats, and the many sounds of the night life. We returned back to the sanctuary to play card games before curfew and lights out.

 

The next day consisted of general maintenance of the turtle sanctuary.  This included painting, shovelling and sweating. This was one of the most humid days of the entire trip, and it showed. In the morning we painted metal sheets, outhouses and other buildings, and even in the shade it was sweltering. After a delicious lunch we went to the beach to help expand a turtle hatchery. We added clean sand to a massive hole, which was where they were going to put the new section of hatchery.

 

We started the next day with Chris and Paige’s laughter from the rancho and a good breakfast. In the morning, our job was to paint the cabins. But unfortunately, once we started, everyone’s rollers seemed to be broken. In the afternoon, we went to the beach and collected garbage. Although the beach was beautiful, it was disheartening to pick up plastic item after plastic item from the sand.  Plastic bottles, flip flop sandals and other plastic items were in abundance.  It was HOT, and the whole time Paige kept reminding us to drink water. After that, the turtle sanctuary biologist gave us a detailed presentation on sea turtles.

 

Day nine started with light rain. We had crêpes for breakfast, then got ready to leave for the Indigenous BriBri community of Yorkîn. We stopped next to a river bank, taking motorized dug-out canoes to Yorkîn. Once we got there we toured the village and settled in to our new lodgings. After a dinner of rice and beans a BriBri woman introduced us to the community and its people. While we were there, our tasks were wood carrying, base digging and constructing thatched leaf roofs. One of the local women was able to bring us clothes to put on the shoulders to loosen up the pressure and pain the chunks of wood were giving us. She was an angel. We were then given a talk about the economic sustainability of the BriBri people.  Much of this sustainability had relied on cacao in the past, but a fungus has made this industry less viable.  After learning about cacao, we got to eat the chocolate in various different stages.  Many found it bitter, while others found it to be delicious.  With the addition of some condensed milk, the paste turned into a delicious chocolate syrup used to eat bananas with - excellente! Fueled by cacao, the group went for a swim where we swam across the Yorkîn river to Panama.  At last, Angie was back in her home country!

 

As our trip was winding down, it was time to head back to San Jose. We headed to Puerto Viejo for a Canopy Zip Lining Tour. With our helmets, harnesses and hand brakes we flew over top of rivers and trees. Paige of course got stuck on the first line and the guide almost ran right into her. Steve mentioned that he would’ve liked the zip lining a bit more if they had built an air-conditioned building around it. Everyone just shook their heads and smiled, the views that we witnessed will stay with us forever.  

 

The last day came quickly, and we left the warm Costa Rican sun for snowy Toronto. The snow that greeted us was a fitting reminder that we had been spoiled by great hospitality, great friends and great weather.  Definitely a trip to remember.