Next Country --> 3. Panama
Puerto Viejo
See all photos of Costa Rica -- Costa Rica Photos
My next stop was Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica, a little coastal town on the east side of the country, south of Puerto Limon. I had been to Costa Rica before but never to the Caribbean coast. The culture there was much different than anywhere else in the country – the people, the food, the accent. It had a true afro-Caribbean culture and climate -- laid back, friendly, beautiful beaches, and warm weather. The eastern coast of Costa Rica has also suffered from a lack of attention by the federal government – poverty levels are higher and the standard of living is lower than the rest of the 
country. However, although the infrastructure is less developed, the warmth of the people and the beauty and ecological diversity of the area are worth the visit. There are also far fewer tourists… at least for now. That seems to be changing rapidly as more and more people have been discovering the quiet towns around Puerto Viejo.
About 20 minutes north of Puerto Viejo is, Cahuita National Park, created in 1970 to protect the 240 hectares of offshore coral reef. There’s tons of animal life behind the beach where you may be able to see tamanduas, pacas, coatis, raccoons, tree-dwelling sloths, agoutis, armadillos, iguanas, and howler and capuchin monkeys that come down to the shore. I also spent a little time there as well.
Another little fact about the area. On his fourth and final voyage to the Americas, Christopher Columbus, had to drop anchor in Puerto Limon (about an hour and a half north of Puerto Viejo by car) due to a hurricane that had damaged his ship. As he waited for repairs he ventured along the coast and exchanged gifts with many of the natives. He was reported to have seen “more gold in two days than in four years in Spain.” Hence the name, Costa Rica (rich coast). However, to the disappointment of many of the future conquistadors from Spain, they didn’t find the region to be abundant with gold.
Ok, so what did I actually do in Costa Rica? Believe it or not, I didn’t spend a whole lot of time relaxing on the beach sipping Mai Tais. I ended up working with a volunteer organization called Tropical Adventures (http://www.tropicaladventures.com/ in case you’re interested) that set people up with volunteer opportunities all throughout the country. They’re a great organization, well respected by the communities they support, and they offer interesting projects for various lengths of time. Scott and Isaac, the co-founders of the organization, placed me with a host family that owned an organic farm and vegetarian restaurant. The family would donate a portion of the crops from their farm to a few less fortunate people in the area which qualified them to be a part of the volunteer network. My job was to clear the land and help them grow a new set of crops for the next season.
A little bit about the family I stayed with. Delroy, the father, had lived in Puerto Viejo his entire life. His grandfather was one of the first five settlers along this part of the coast, who had come there a little over a 100 years ago. Many of the settlers came from neighboring islands like Jamaica and Haiti and some from Europe. His grandfather was originally from England. Delroy’s wife, Veronica, also a native of the area (she's in the picture to the right), was a beautiful and caring woman who ran the vegetarian restaurant out of their home. Their kids, Hershel, Shantala, Delmarck, and Sherwing all took turns throughout the week helping out with the restaurant. Hershel runs a surfing and kayaking company in the area, Shantala works in the travel business, Delmarck is going to college in Limon, and Sherwing is still in high school. All great kids and they were all really welcoming to me.
So..here’s how my day would work. I worked on their farm during the mornings and continued to take one on one Spanish lessons in the afternoons with my teacher, Anna. My days were fairly compact. I´d get up around 6:30am and head to the farm around 7:30am. I’d use a machete to clear the land (along with another volunteer, Ron) and, afterwards, we dug ditches and created mounds of dirt to begin the planting. That's me in the picture to the left with machete in hand. It was actually a pretty nice change to do some physical labor. Tiring, but it felt good to be outside. We´d have to finish up by noon since it was just too hot and humid by mid-day. I’d get back to the house around 12:30pm, have lunch at the vegetarian restaurant, which was essentially run out of the family’s house (the food was incredible btw), and then head off at 2pm for a two to three hour Spanish lesson with my teacher Anna. Anna was another spectacular teacher, and I learned a ton from her in just two short weeks. By the end of the day I was usually so exhausted that I’d just chill out for a bit, speak with the family and their friends in Spanish and English, and then head to bed.
I quickly grew attached to the family I stayed with and the customs of the town. More than any other place in my six month trip, I actually felt part of a family, which when traveling for an extended period of time, can be a welcomed change. Although, I only stayed with them for two weeks, the closeness to the family made it seem longer. I felt sad to say goodbye but hopeful that I'd see them again someday.
Punta Mona (Close to the border of Panama)
I decided after five weeks of studying and doing physical labor, I needed a break -- this time without a set agenda. I took off for seven days to visit a few islands off of the coast of Panama. On my way there, I spent the first night at the southern tip of Costa Rica at a place called Punta Mona, a 100 acre organic farm and educational retreat. Punta Mona offers retreats to individuals and groups (often university groups) so that they can learn the latest techniques in Permaculture and sustainability. The ideas of conservation of energy and reduction of waste are permeated throughout their daily lives. The houses there are built from local, fallen trees; solar panels provide electricity; they compost their leftover food and make their own dirt; and they grow over 100 tropical fruits, vegetables, herbs and medicinal plants. For washing and drinking water, they use rainwater in a water-catchment system. Let’s just say if they were somehow cut off from the rest of society, they’d be able to continue living there just fine.
I only spent one night there but the people were very friendly and extremely welcoming. They put me up in a room that was usually occupied by one of the employees. Even though it was very basic, I loved the experience of it. My room had no windows or front door and was totally out in the open. Let´s just say my mosquito net was really important that night. And the torrential rains for eight hours straight added to the effect of being really cut off from the rest of society.
Fortunately, the next day, the rains subsided as I took off for the Panamanian border. To get to the border I would have to hike along a deserted beach for about an hour or two until I got to a small town where I could find a taxi and get a ride to the border. I began my journey and felt like I was in the middle of nowhere. Of course, what usually accompanies being in the middle of nowhere are loads of
nonsensical questions that pop up into the mind -- What if there really is no town down the beach where I can grab a taxi to the border? What if it’s there and I just don’t find it because…well…just because? What if there’s a Tsunami while I’m walking? What if the lockness monster jumps out of the ocean and drags me out to sea. It’s always those last few outrageous questions that usually snap me out of this downward spiral. Once I recognized the absurdity of my thinking, the fears went away, and I focused on the beauty of the area. No people, no houses, no sense of time. Just the sound of the ocean and the wind blowing through the jungle. This is what it must be like to live in the present moment. No thinking of the past, no worrying of the future. Wow…what a concept. Here's a quick video of me starting my journey.
I made it to a small town called Gandoca, located right on the ocean. There were no taxis waiting by the ocean (actually there were no people at all anywhere except for one local elderly man who looked at me like I just had landed there from mars), so I started walking inland along a dirt road to search for someone to talk to about getting to the border. After about twenty minutes, I passed by a restaurant with a couple of people. Something told me the city center either didn’t exist in this town, or I was a long ways off. I stopped and asked the owner of the restaurant if she could call me a taxi. It just so happens that her husband was a taxi driver. An hour later I was at the border of Panama.
See next Country --> 3. Panama
My next stop was Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica, a little coastal town on the east side of the country, south of Puerto Limon. I had been to Costa Rica before but never to the Caribbean coast. The culture there was much different than anywhere else in the country – the people, the food, the accent. It had a true afro-Caribbean culture and climate -- laid back, friendly, beautiful beaches, and warm weather. The eastern coast of Costa Rica has also suffered from a lack of attention by the federal government – poverty levels are higher and the standard of living is lower than the rest of the country. However, although the infrastructure is less developed, the warmth of the people and the beauty and ecological diversity of the area are worth the visit. There are also far fewer tourists… at least for now. That seems to be changing rapidly as more and more people have been discovering the quiet towns around Puerto Viejo.About 20 minutes north of Puerto Viejo is, Cahuita National Park, created in 1970 to protect the 240 hectares of offshore coral reef. There’s tons of animal life behind the beach where you may be able to see tamanduas, pacas, coatis, raccoons, tree-dwelling sloths, agoutis, armadillos, iguanas, and howler and capuchin monkeys that come down to the shore. I also spent a little time there as well.
Another little fact about the area. On his fourth and final voyage to the Americas, Christopher Columbus, had to drop anchor in Puerto Limon (about an hour and a half north of Puerto Viejo by car) due to a hurricane that had damaged his ship. As he waited for repairs he ventured along the coast and exchanged gifts with many of the natives. He was reported to have seen “more gold in two days than in four years in Spain.” Hence the name, Costa Rica (rich coast). However, to the disappointment of many of the future conquistadors from Spain, they didn’t find the region to be abundant with gold.
Ok, so what did I actually do in Costa Rica? Believe it or not, I didn’t spend a whole lot of time relaxing on the beach sipping Mai Tais. I ended up working with a volunteer organization called Tropical Adventures (http://www.tropicaladventures.com/ in case you’re interested) that set people up with volunteer opportunities all throughout the country. They’re a great organization, well respected by the communities they support, and they offer interesting projects for various lengths of time. Scott and Isaac, the co-founders of the organization, placed me with a host family that owned an organic farm and vegetarian restaurant. The family would donate a portion of the crops from their farm to a few less fortunate people in the area which qualified them to be a part of the volunteer network. My job was to clear the land and help them grow a new set of crops for the next season.A little bit about the family I stayed with. Delroy, the father, had lived in Puerto Viejo his entire life. His grandfather was one of the first five settlers along this part of the coast, who had come there a little over a 100 years ago. Many of the settlers came from neighboring islands like Jamaica and Haiti and some from Europe. His grandfather was originally from England. Delroy’s wife, Veronica, also a native of the area (she's in the picture to the right), was a beautiful and caring woman who ran the vegetarian restaurant out of their home. Their kids, Hershel, Shantala, Delmarck, and Sherwing all took turns throughout the week helping out with the restaurant. Hershel runs a surfing and kayaking company in the area, Shantala works in the travel business, Delmarck is going to college in Limon, and Sherwing is still in high school. All great kids and they were all really welcoming to me.So..here’s how my day would work. I worked on their farm during the mornings and continued to take one on one Spanish lessons in the afternoons with my teacher, Anna. My days were fairly compact. I´d get up around 6:30am and head to the farm around 7:30am. I’d use a machete to clear the land (along with another volunteer, Ron) and, afterwards, we dug ditches and created mounds of dirt to begin the planting. That's me in the picture to the left with machete in hand. It was actually a pretty nice change to do some physical labor. Tiring, but it felt good to be outside. We´d have to finish up by noon since it was just too hot and humid by mid-day. I’d get back to the house around 12:30pm, have lunch at the vegetarian restaurant, which was essentially run out of the family’s house (the food was incredible btw), and then head off at 2pm for a two to three hour Spanish lesson with my teacher Anna. Anna was another spectacular teacher, and I learned a ton from her in just two short weeks. By the end of the day I was usually so exhausted that I’d just chill out for a bit, speak with the family and their friends in Spanish and English, and then head to bed.I quickly grew attached to the family I stayed with and the customs of the town. More than any other place in my six month trip, I actually felt part of a family, which when traveling for an extended period of time, can be a welcomed change. Although, I only stayed with them for two weeks, the closeness to the family made it seem longer. I felt sad to say goodbye but hopeful that I'd see them again someday.
Punta Mona (Close to the border of Panama)
I decided after five weeks of studying and doing physical labor, I needed a break -- this time without a set agenda. I took off for seven days to visit a few islands off of the coast of Panama. On my way there, I spent the first night at the southern tip of Costa Rica at a place called Punta Mona, a 100 acre organic farm and educational retreat. Punta Mona offers retreats to individuals and groups (often university groups) so that they can learn the latest techniques in Permaculture and sustainability. The ideas of conservation of energy and reduction of waste are permeated throughout their daily lives. The houses there are built from local, fallen trees; solar panels provide electricity; they compost their leftover food and make their own dirt; and they grow over 100 tropical fruits, vegetables, herbs and medicinal plants. For washing and drinking water, they use rainwater in a water-catchment system. Let’s just say if they were somehow cut off from the rest of society, they’d be able to continue living there just fine.I only spent one night there but the people were very friendly and extremely welcoming. They put me up in a room that was usually occupied by one of the employees. Even though it was very basic, I loved the experience of it. My room had no windows or front door and was totally out in the open. Let´s just say my mosquito net was really important that night. And the torrential rains for eight hours straight added to the effect of being really cut off from the rest of society.Fortunately, the next day, the rains subsided as I took off for the Panamanian border. To get to the border I would have to hike along a deserted beach for about an hour or two until I got to a small town where I could find a taxi and get a ride to the border. I began my journey and felt like I was in the middle of nowhere. Of course, what usually accompanies being in the middle of nowhere are loads of
nonsensical questions that pop up into the mind -- What if there really is no town down the beach where I can grab a taxi to the border? What if it’s there and I just don’t find it because…well…just because? What if there’s a Tsunami while I’m walking? What if the lockness monster jumps out of the ocean and drags me out to sea. It’s always those last few outrageous questions that usually snap me out of this downward spiral. Once I recognized the absurdity of my thinking, the fears went away, and I focused on the beauty of the area. No people, no houses, no sense of time. Just the sound of the ocean and the wind blowing through the jungle. This is what it must be like to live in the present moment. No thinking of the past, no worrying of the future. Wow…what a concept. Here's a quick video of me starting my journey.I made it to a small town called Gandoca, located right on the ocean. There were no taxis waiting by the ocean (actually there were no people at all anywhere except for one local elderly man who looked at me like I just had landed there from mars), so I started walking inland along a dirt road to search for someone to talk to about getting to the border. After about twenty minutes, I passed by a restaurant with a couple of people. Something told me the city center either didn’t exist in this town, or I was a long ways off. I stopped and asked the owner of the restaurant if she could call me a taxi. It just so happens that her husband was a taxi driver. An hour later I was at the border of Panama.
See next Country --> 3. Panama
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See all photos of Costa Rica first -- Costa Rica Photos
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