Witnessing a crisis in the Caribbean – from record-breaking rainstorms, getting held up by gunpoint in San Jose and hiking through the rainforest with a guide who made the trail with his machete – was an interesting three weeks of traveling in Costa Rica.
I started off on January 5 in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, a laid back town on the Caribbean side near Panama. This town is a nice change from the heavy tourism on the Pacific Ocean beach towns of Costa Rica. There are tourists in Puerto Viejo, but mostly surfers, who blend into the scenery of Rastafarians, reggae clubs and marijuana smoke.
When I arrived from New York City, the first day was a bit rough, probably because I wasn't fully prepared to do nothing besides tan and relax. The second day I rented a bike and fit right in with every other person accustomed to a life of tranquility. There are plenty of cheap places to stay and good places to eat in this beach town, where even the horses and stray dogs that walk the streets are relaxed.
I suggest Rockin' J's, which offers camping for $4.00, or rent a hammock for $5.00. You can also stay in a dorm, even a three-room tree house for $60.00 a night. I recommend renting a bike and taking a 10-mile bike ride to Manzanillo, especially if you want to see some monkeys and sloths hanging around in the jungle beside the road. Everybody breaks for the sloths.
On Saturday, January 8, the rain came. A rain, Costa Rican President Abel Pacheco called "the worst flood in 100 years", according to The Tico Times newspaper. Rivers flooded towns along the Caribbean on both the Costa Rica and Panama sides forcing more than 8,500 people into temporary shelters and killing at least four people, the paper reported.
Not knowing the extent of the damage, two traveling companions and I decided to try and make it to the Bocas del Toro just over the border in Panama. The bus came, the driver told us we could pass through. He left us without warning about five miles from the border town of Sixaola. He was supposed to take us all the way. So we walked a bit in the sun.
Huge swaths of streets were torn away and replaced in certain places with flowing rivers. People waved in the sky at helicopters for help and cursed when there was no response. Residents along the stretch of dilapidated road hopelessly tried getting water out of their homes. Boys played in rubber tubes, smiling and waving. Even the adults who had their possessions destroyed in the deluge didn't seem overly upset. They are survivors. A snake was lying in the road with its head cut half off. Its body slowly writhed in the unforgiving sun.
We couldn't make it to Panama. After walking about a mile with our heavy backpacks and taking a car another couple of miles, we ended up at a river where a road used to be. We met others who had crossed that river, and more rivers after it. They made it to the border, but could not get across because it was closed.
San Jose
All traveling paths in Costa Rica seem to take you back to the capitol, where we went for a couple of days. If you go there on a budget, I suggest Tranquilo Backpackers, where there are dorm rooms for $8.00. Private single rooms are also available. Bathrooms are shared, the workers are relaxed and they offer free pancakes and coffee in the morning.
One of my traveling companions, Venna, and I were walking around the city on a weekday around 3:00 p.m. when we were held up. We were a few blocks away from the Supreme Court. I was a bit ahead of her when I heard her struggling. I turned to see two black men tugging at her bag, strapped across her chest. They spoke English. "Give me your f—– bag," one said to Venna. When I turned around, one of them brandished a gun and stuck it to her chest. They took off with the bag.
We were still stunned when a man came from across the street. He saw it all, as did many people. No one did anything. We were right in front of a clothing store's window. The man, who said he was an ex-policeman, copied the number of a taxi the thieves fled in. We told the police the taxi number. This led to their arrest two hours later. The thieves were still in the taxi. They worked together and had done this to tourists before, police said. The arrest was the most impressive part of the justice system in Costa Rica. Getting a chance to testify against or identify the suspects proved difficult. We went back to the investigator's office twice upon request. Nothing was done.
The thieves were in a holding cell since the items we said were in the bag were what were found in the taxi. The suspects matched our description. One police officer also showed us the suspects' identification cards for an unofficial identification. It's not difficult to remember the face of a man with a gun. Whenever the slow wheels of justice turn in Costa Rica, they will do at least 15 years, one of the investigators told me, even though the gun turned out to be a toy.
Oscar
We traveled on to a town of about 100 people called Dos Brazos (two arms) in the Peninsula De Osa on the Pacific Ocean side. When we got off the bus, Oscar was waiting for us. Oscar is a waif of a man with a wispy beard who was born in Nicaragua, raised in Costa Rica by his Mesquite mother when his father moved to the United States. Oscar knows the ways of the forest and how to reap its benefits.
At first we thought he was one of those hangers on who follow you to a place that you already know how to find and expect a tip for guiding you there. He turned out to be the best thing to happen to us on the peninsula. We wanted to hike the Corcovado National Park that is teeming with wildlife. He became our guide. He charged $10.00 a person and also asked for tips. He took us through the forest with his machete to make the path. He showed us plants to chew for different ailments. We walked for hours knee deep in a river called Rio Derecho de Bonanza.
Bonanza is what those searching for gold there shout when they find a lot of it. Along the river outside the park, there are men who plunge into the waters and look for gold. Their method seems untouched from the early days of the California gold seekers; hunched down, metal plate in hand, shaking away debris in hopes of finding the bright pebbles. They sell for a little over a dollar a gram at the local store, Pulperia El Tucan. Then the gold is sold to make jewelry.
t became illegal to seek gold inside the park when it was established about 30 years ago. This is among the reasons gold seekers have dwindled from 1,000 to about 50, Oscar said. With the right guide, one can discover the old mining tunnels in the park, which are dark and deep. We didn't see too much wildlife. It was a strenuous hike, clutching trees on steep hills up and slipping on rocks beneath the river. But then, bathing beneath one of the waterfalls washes all the pain away. Seeing two bright red macaws fly together and perch in a tree, being approached by curious cows with wide, perked ears, and hearing the distant roars of a howler monkey, which sounds a lot bigger than it is, makes it all worth it. You begin to understand why the greeting in Costa Rica is Pura Vida, pure life.
![Top 5 Destinations for Volcano Enthusiasts [Sponsored Post]](http://bna-art.s3.amazonaws.com/www.bootsnall.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/thumbs/43170-etna-italy.jpg)
