Costa Rica is a sweet and gentle country, filled with extremes from high, cloud-capped mountains and steep waterfalls to sweltering swamps with exotic creatures, from tiny villages to bustling cities, and from wild jungles to scarred hillsides. While most tourists flock to a few, select beach fronts and adventure parks, we took the path less traveled, exploring darling inland valleys, roaring rivers, remote gorges, and thin trails. We also ventured South through twisty back roads to see the changing landscape in action. After landing in San Jose Airport at the crack of dawn on March 29, we circled the suburbs until the GPS device on our rental car started working. Thank God! From there we headed to a small, agricultural area called Orosi Valley for two days and then drove to San Geraldo de Rivas, a tiny village perched on the side of Mount Chirripo where we spend four days. We toured the southern part the region all the way to the Panamanian boarder for just a day before two days in Hacienda Baru, a hot and humid jungle by the coast. Along the way we spotted countless tropical birds and strange mammals such as Agoutis and Peccaris. But, above all, we met some of the kindest and most generous Costa Ricans in the more remote areas. Nano, a jungle man and a local legend in Orosi, took us under his wing and entertained us for hours with his stories and dreams. He gave us a tour of his ranch and showed us how to swing from giant vines. Omar and his brother David hosted us at their lodge in San Geraldo and gave us an inside view into the village life. Now Matt's convinced that we should return someday to participate in an annual race, running 36km straight up a mountain and straight down. Each of the business we visited in San Geraldo proudly displayed finishing photos of local winners.
As far as Central American countries go, Costa Rica is in better shape than most. Its stable, democratic government is enlightened enough to spend a large p
er
centage of the national budget on education and maintains no standing military. Despite ongoing and increasing population pressures, a full 25% of the total lass mass has been permanently dedicated as National parks. But, the pressures remain, and forests continue to disappear at a rate of 3.6% per year. We could see it clearly with our own eyes as we drove around the countryside. Everywhere we went we saw thin strings of trees topping the hillsides and crevices above expanses of new grazing land supporting just a few cinder block dwellings with tin roofs. And everywhere there were children in bright crisp uniforms walking to and from school. Costa Rica is clearly a young country, a country in transition, and at the same time, a beautiful, enchanting, and charming place to visit.
er
centage of the national budget on education and maintains no standing military. Despite ongoing and increasing population pressures, a full 25% of the total lass mass has been permanently dedicated as National parks. But, the pressures remain, and forests continue to disappear at a rate of 3.6% per year. We could see it clearly with our own eyes as we drove around the countryside. Everywhere we went we saw thin strings of trees topping the hillsides and crevices above expanses of new grazing land supporting just a few cinder block dwellings with tin roofs. And everywhere there were children in bright crisp uniforms walking to and from school. Costa Rica is clearly a young country, a country in transition, and at the same time, a beautiful, enchanting, and charming place to visit. 
No comments:
Post a Comment