News From Costa Rica 10/13

This past week, Molly and I traveled to the southern Atlantic coast to visit friends in Cahuita.   What an extreme difference it was as compared to the Central Valley where we had been staying.  The first difference hit us when we arrived at our friend’s house and it was high 90’s with 90 percent humidity.  Our friends of course were acclimated to the heat but both Molly and I felt overwhelmed by it at times.  We spend a lot of time in the cold shower. 

Cahuita is a lovely spot with a central store, a couple of bars and restaurants, a pool hall, beautiful beaches and an expansive National Park.  On the road between downtown and our friend’s house there are a couple of café’ and cabina combinations (restaurant with cabins).  We enjoyed a wonderful lunch at the Banana Algebra Café.  Our German hosts Andrea & Alfred shared the story of the name Algebra as the name sake of a dear friend that was very good at numbers and so everyone called him Algebra.  They left it up to us to figure out the banana part.

Limon is north of Cahuita and Puerto Viejo is south (about 20 miles). Limon is a port and is the place where one goes to buy bulk  groceries, hardware supplies, and even major appliances.  It has all that is needed (or at least available) for the homesteader.  Puerto Viejo is more of a tourist area with artisans displaying their wares and reggae music abounding. 

The population of this area of Costa Rica is varied.  There are some indigenous people that speak Spanish.  We stopped at a cacao farm in Bre Bre a small village of primarily indigenous people.  The wonderful women who gave our tour told us stories of the traditions around the cacao plant.  The Shaman (medicine man) she explained,  performed many rituals using the cacao plant.  She told about when a women was pregnant she would have to spend a day with the Shaman doing purifying rituals and then spend two days alone in the forest.   She said that even though they have Shaman, most of the people also know about the healing properties of the many plants in the forest.  Later in the presentation someone asked how she felt about some of the old ways being lost.  She said she hoped that her people would continue to pass on the ways of using the plants for food and healing , but she was glad that women didn’t have to go the forest with the Shaman anymore.

The gentleman who translated the cacao story for us was our German taxi driver.  Actually, the taxi service consists of anyone who has a car and leaves their number at the General Store.  There are many Caucasians from Europe in Cahuita.  We met people from Germany. Sweden, Italy, and France.   Our friends, along with many of the Europeans we met, came to Costa Rica to find a simpler lifestyle.  They have a little acreage and pretty much live off of the food that grows naturally in their yards.

Unfortunately for the homesteaders another group of people have come to this area and these people are interested in developing it for tourism. The original settlers are worried as they see large machinery clearing the trees to make room for large resorts.  Many of the locals are worried that the howler monkeys will lose their habitat and they see the new developments using water for pools, fountains, etc.  while in some areas people do not have enough fresh water to meet their basic needs.  This area is in great need of a community forum to develop a big picture plan for the future.  If you  have expertise or interest in this let me know and I will give you the contact info for our friends. They have lived there on and off for over 20 years.

The largest group of people living in this area of the coast are people with a mix of African, Jamaican, and/or Indigenous blood.  The skin colors vary from cocoa to ebony.  Many of the people here speak English and we were told that it is good to give them the opportunity to practice by speaking English instead of Spanish.  Since my Spanish skills are limited I chose to believe that story.   In Puerto Viejo the Jamaican heritage is apparent as many young men wear neat dreads and the whole town has that “Ire” (don’t worry be happy) feeling.   Unlike in the Central Valley where the food is moderately spiced, here you find a variety of hot sauce on every table.  Jerk sauce is used to marinade meats and fish.  A  thin crusted spicy pizza is also a popular choice in this area.  Being right on the ocean seafood is featured all along the coast.      

We took the public bus back to San Jose.  It wasn’t too bad except that there was a police stop just a few miles outside of Cahuita (the border of Panama is just south of Puerto Viejo) and we had to let them go through our bags and check all of our papers.  It was kind of like sitting in an oven for a half hour.  Thankfully, there were no criminals on the bus and once we got moving it was fine.  We felt the weight of the heat lifting as we left the steaming coast for the cooler spring-like weather of the Central Valley.  When we arrived there was a cool misty rain falling and many people wore light jackets, but for us it was just right!!