Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Sunday, July 20, 2008
A Bit of Costa Rican Archeology
Today we repacked our bags, caught a taxi to the Turrialba bus station and boarded a local bus to the mountain town of Turrialba. There we dropped our stuff off at a modest hotel and caught another cab to the Guayabo archeological site. The site was once home to about 700 priestly inhabitants, with several thousand more people living in the vicinity. What remains of the site are walkways, mounds (one which contains funerary remains and jade pieces), an aqueduct and water storage cisterns. The site was abandoned around 1400, probably as a result of intertribal wars in that there is also much ash which seems to imply the whole village must have been burned down by it's conquerors.
The park site is embedded in a rainforest, replete with gorgeous tropical flowers including white ginger and startlingly bright pinks, oranges and yellows. Beyond this are the gorgeous birds and magnetic butterflies.
We arrived around a bit after three in the afternoon, just as the park was about to close. Rather than being tight-assed functionaries, the rangers decided to keep it open so we might visit (especially in that we had travelled so far to get there.) We were assigned a sweet "by-donation" guide who dedicated the next several hours to showing us around. The whole visit was decidedly low-key relative to my visits to archeological sites in Peru and Mexico. There thousands of tourists flock to absorb remnants of ancient history, while here there were perhaps two other groups taking it all in.
Tomorrow, Dennis and I go white water rafting, while Linda explores a pineapple plantation...
The park site is embedded in a rainforest, replete with gorgeous tropical flowers including white ginger and startlingly bright pinks, oranges and yellows. Beyond this are the gorgeous birds and magnetic butterflies.
We arrived around a bit after three in the afternoon, just as the park was about to close. Rather than being tight-assed functionaries, the rangers decided to keep it open so we might visit (especially in that we had travelled so far to get there.) We were assigned a sweet "by-donation" guide who dedicated the next several hours to showing us around. The whole visit was decidedly low-key relative to my visits to archeological sites in Peru and Mexico. There thousands of tourists flock to absorb remnants of ancient history, while here there were perhaps two other groups taking it all in.
Tomorrow, Dennis and I go white water rafting, while Linda explores a pineapple plantation...
First Looks at Costa Rica´s Natural Beauty
Yesterday we indulged in the Poas Volcano, Cataratas Water Falls, Coffee Plantation, Aviary and caged monkey tour. We did see a little bit of a lot of things...and yes, Costa Rica is a very green country! Green ecologically (recycling bins are everywhere) and green with its thick wet verdant jungle.
The coffee export business took a huge leap 15 years ago when Costa Rica began to roast its own coffee. These days everything but decaf is processed, roasted and ground locally. Decaf involves water-filtration equipment that´s very expensive. Here beans can be processed abroad (Holland) and then returned for a variety of roasting options (Italian, French, etc.). A local speciality is peaberry--it´s quite potent...and delicious.
The Poas Volcano was enveloped in clouds when we arrived. Nonetheless some of us (we were in a group of eight travellers), walked out to a lake vista. After shooting a series of photos of the lake, I walked up to another vista and noted a sign which announced a loop trail back to the visitors center\parking lot. I began to walk. Pretty soon I noticed that NO ONE ELSE had taken this option...and that it would be a very long walk. By that time it seemed like it would take even longer to retrace my steps so I continued walking. The jungle was thick...and to calm myself down, I took photos. Yes, I believe some gorgeous ones. I arrived back to a slightly irrate driver (I was 15 minutes late).
Afterwards we were shuttled to a huge complex that houses tropical birds, captive monkeys, butterflies and a huge number of hummingbirds. Yes, we got upclose (and personal) with some gorgeous toucans who pretty-much held their poses for the numerous photo-ops that come their way. The monkeys included playful capuchins and wily spider monkeys. I could have watched them for hours, but we were beckoned to a sumptuous buffet with all of Costa Rica´s best. After gorging on tropical fruit, salad, casado (a tasty marriage of rice and black beans), chicken stew, sweet plantains in a carmel sauce, we retired for a visit to the very impressive Cataratas Waterfalls. These included a hike (which was easy relative to my morning self-guided tour) and a lot of afternoon rain. Within minutes my "waterproof" jacket soaked through and I became one with the tropics. Through the torrents of rain we shot photos. Eventually we were collected and returned to our hostel. I was wet, tired and not at all hungry. I passed on dinner and slept 10 hours.
The coffee export business took a huge leap 15 years ago when Costa Rica began to roast its own coffee. These days everything but decaf is processed, roasted and ground locally. Decaf involves water-filtration equipment that´s very expensive. Here beans can be processed abroad (Holland) and then returned for a variety of roasting options (Italian, French, etc.). A local speciality is peaberry--it´s quite potent...and delicious.
The Poas Volcano was enveloped in clouds when we arrived. Nonetheless some of us (we were in a group of eight travellers), walked out to a lake vista. After shooting a series of photos of the lake, I walked up to another vista and noted a sign which announced a loop trail back to the visitors center\parking lot. I began to walk. Pretty soon I noticed that NO ONE ELSE had taken this option...and that it would be a very long walk. By that time it seemed like it would take even longer to retrace my steps so I continued walking. The jungle was thick...and to calm myself down, I took photos. Yes, I believe some gorgeous ones. I arrived back to a slightly irrate driver (I was 15 minutes late).
Afterwards we were shuttled to a huge complex that houses tropical birds, captive monkeys, butterflies and a huge number of hummingbirds. Yes, we got upclose (and personal) with some gorgeous toucans who pretty-much held their poses for the numerous photo-ops that come their way. The monkeys included playful capuchins and wily spider monkeys. I could have watched them for hours, but we were beckoned to a sumptuous buffet with all of Costa Rica´s best. After gorging on tropical fruit, salad, casado (a tasty marriage of rice and black beans), chicken stew, sweet plantains in a carmel sauce, we retired for a visit to the very impressive Cataratas Waterfalls. These included a hike (which was easy relative to my morning self-guided tour) and a lot of afternoon rain. Within minutes my "waterproof" jacket soaked through and I became one with the tropics. Through the torrents of rain we shot photos. Eventually we were collected and returned to our hostel. I was wet, tired and not at all hungry. I passed on dinner and slept 10 hours.
Finding Our Way Around San Jose
Being that there are no formal street addresses in Costa Rica, everything is described in relationship to something else. For example our hostel is across the street from the KFC (yes they're all over San Jose) and next to the UAMC (one of the many private universities that dot the city). We quickly discovered that those who do not know where all the hospitals, universities and KFC´s are, must take taxis or endeavor to walk to places that are visible (e.g. on the same street which may or may not have a formal name.)
We visited the Jade Museum and the Gold Museum which each discussed Costa Rica´s brief ethnohistory. We were told two stories about how Costa Rica got named. One was that Christopher Columbus sailed towards the east coast and noted the beautiful-resource rich coast and named it, costa rica. The other, which sounds more believable to me, is that the Columbus and his crew came upon a band of natives who were decked out in gold everything (necklaces, earrings, nose pieces, etc) and thus with gold on the brain, named it costa rica. Apparently the Spanish were so smitten with the gold that they rapidly exterminated the wearers and thus many of today´s Costa Ricans are light-skinned peoples of Spanish ancestry who participate willingly and readily in world market trade. Thus far I have yet to meet anyone who wears what might be considered indigenous clothing. The very closest we saw was a photo in the gold museum of people wearing elaborate masks and tunics, but the contemporary giveaway was that underneath they were all wearing blue jeans!
Is this good? Bad? Are there judgments one might make about a country that has chased the dollar (locally the colon) and has minimal roots into its Indian past? As for contemporary cultural expression, one taxi driver told us he listens to Mexican and American music in that there are no singers of note in his own country! We did visit the Grand Theater which features a massive ceiling mural painted by a Spaniard, featuring light-skinned very Spanish looking peasants in an 18th century bucolic setting. Diego Rivera would have rolled in his grave.
As for contemporary artistic expression, San Jose is filled with creatively decorated cow-statues, each very feminine with gleaming udders and bright paint-jobs. (As soon as I can access a computer in which I can post photos, I´ll send some of my favorites.)
We visited the Jade Museum and the Gold Museum which each discussed Costa Rica´s brief ethnohistory. We were told two stories about how Costa Rica got named. One was that Christopher Columbus sailed towards the east coast and noted the beautiful-resource rich coast and named it, costa rica. The other, which sounds more believable to me, is that the Columbus and his crew came upon a band of natives who were decked out in gold everything (necklaces, earrings, nose pieces, etc) and thus with gold on the brain, named it costa rica. Apparently the Spanish were so smitten with the gold that they rapidly exterminated the wearers and thus many of today´s Costa Ricans are light-skinned peoples of Spanish ancestry who participate willingly and readily in world market trade. Thus far I have yet to meet anyone who wears what might be considered indigenous clothing. The very closest we saw was a photo in the gold museum of people wearing elaborate masks and tunics, but the contemporary giveaway was that underneath they were all wearing blue jeans!
Is this good? Bad? Are there judgments one might make about a country that has chased the dollar (locally the colon) and has minimal roots into its Indian past? As for contemporary cultural expression, one taxi driver told us he listens to Mexican and American music in that there are no singers of note in his own country! We did visit the Grand Theater which features a massive ceiling mural painted by a Spaniard, featuring light-skinned very Spanish looking peasants in an 18th century bucolic setting. Diego Rivera would have rolled in his grave.
As for contemporary artistic expression, San Jose is filled with creatively decorated cow-statues, each very feminine with gleaming udders and bright paint-jobs. (As soon as I can access a computer in which I can post photos, I´ll send some of my favorites.)
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Entry...
We arrived Thursday night after spending most of the day getting here. We´d booked flights on Continental Airlines which still checks a first bag for free, screens movies for free and serves (free) hot meals. All I can say is yeah Continental!
After clearing immigration and customs, we were met by a driver who drove us out to our hostel. The streets were covered with signage from international corporations and filled with lots of new-looking compact cars. As Costa Rica began to grow it´s economy (beyond tourism, it´s exports include micro chips, bananas, coffee and all sorts of fruits and flowers), a dedication to conservation took hold. SUVs and mini-vans are only driven full (often with tourists) and well-maintained public buses are typically filled to capacity.
I´d booked rooms at "Hostel" Toruma which is so upscale that our rooms have flat-screen TVs, there´s free internet, a bar-restaurant and a pretty swimming pool. After sleeping off the flight, and having some breakfast, we partook in an apparently very common Costa Rican adventure (finding a location in an address-oblivious country). We set out by foot to visit the agency that had booked a bunch of our activities. I´d been given directions which were something like, "go to the original entrance of the county hospital, they walk to the north 2 meters, then walk west a half a meter." Soon we found a woman with a bit of time on her hands who showed us the way to the hospital. Then the true adventure began as various ambulance drivers, hospital workers and construction workers attempted to decipher where we should go. After walking around in circles for about 15 minutes, we eventually found a building (with no public signage) and pushed the buzzer for Exploradores Outdoors. We met Betshilva, the woman I´d been corresponding with the last couple of weeks. She handed me a packet with a series of activity-vouchers and after Dennis took photos to document our visit, we were headed out to explore San Jose.
After clearing immigration and customs, we were met by a driver who drove us out to our hostel. The streets were covered with signage from international corporations and filled with lots of new-looking compact cars. As Costa Rica began to grow it´s economy (beyond tourism, it´s exports include micro chips, bananas, coffee and all sorts of fruits and flowers), a dedication to conservation took hold. SUVs and mini-vans are only driven full (often with tourists) and well-maintained public buses are typically filled to capacity.
I´d booked rooms at "Hostel" Toruma which is so upscale that our rooms have flat-screen TVs, there´s free internet, a bar-restaurant and a pretty swimming pool. After sleeping off the flight, and having some breakfast, we partook in an apparently very common Costa Rican adventure (finding a location in an address-oblivious country). We set out by foot to visit the agency that had booked a bunch of our activities. I´d been given directions which were something like, "go to the original entrance of the county hospital, they walk to the north 2 meters, then walk west a half a meter." Soon we found a woman with a bit of time on her hands who showed us the way to the hospital. Then the true adventure began as various ambulance drivers, hospital workers and construction workers attempted to decipher where we should go. After walking around in circles for about 15 minutes, we eventually found a building (with no public signage) and pushed the buzzer for Exploradores Outdoors. We met Betshilva, the woman I´d been corresponding with the last couple of weeks. She handed me a packet with a series of activity-vouchers and after Dennis took photos to document our visit, we were headed out to explore San Jose.
Overview
It took a while to get here, but considering where else I´ve been, getting here (and being here) have been relatively easy. My arrival was hardly as other-worldly as when I first stepped off the plane in Africa 10 years ago, New Guinea 7 years ago and India last year and let my eyes and ears take in what for me was a very unknown country and culture.
Thirty-five percent of Costa Rica´s GNP is based on tourism...and for the last 15 years, Ticos have been taking it very seriously. What Costa Rica has to offer is natural beauty in the form of rainforest-jungle, highland volcanoes, hotsprings and tropical beaches. Its indigenous populations were decimated years ago, though there are native peoples who do live on the peripheries. Ultimately, they don´t play an active part in politics nor in the country´s ethnic-spiritual identity.
Who travels here? Well plenty of Americans and Canadians (often for 10-day to two-week trips), Europeans are typically here for three weeks (in that it takes them so long to get here) while the Mexicans and Guatemalans I´ve met, come for about a week (in that it´s just a couple of borders away). Nicaraguans come looking for work in that Costa Rica is clearly more prosperous than their politically/economically challenged homeland. It´s been noted that Nicaraguans are to Costa Rica what Mexicans are to the U.S.
Costa Rica is so first-world that it´s literacy rate and life expectancy is exactly the same as the U.S. It´s illegal to sell food on the street except during festivals and while there is talk about pickpockets all I can say is that financial desperation is hardly apparent. (I have seen a couple of passed-out homeless people on the street, but honestly LA´s downtown looks much more desperate than San Jose´s).
Thirty-five percent of Costa Rica´s GNP is based on tourism...and for the last 15 years, Ticos have been taking it very seriously. What Costa Rica has to offer is natural beauty in the form of rainforest-jungle, highland volcanoes, hotsprings and tropical beaches. Its indigenous populations were decimated years ago, though there are native peoples who do live on the peripheries. Ultimately, they don´t play an active part in politics nor in the country´s ethnic-spiritual identity.
Who travels here? Well plenty of Americans and Canadians (often for 10-day to two-week trips), Europeans are typically here for three weeks (in that it takes them so long to get here) while the Mexicans and Guatemalans I´ve met, come for about a week (in that it´s just a couple of borders away). Nicaraguans come looking for work in that Costa Rica is clearly more prosperous than their politically/economically challenged homeland. It´s been noted that Nicaraguans are to Costa Rica what Mexicans are to the U.S.
Costa Rica is so first-world that it´s literacy rate and life expectancy is exactly the same as the U.S. It´s illegal to sell food on the street except during festivals and while there is talk about pickpockets all I can say is that financial desperation is hardly apparent. (I have seen a couple of passed-out homeless people on the street, but honestly LA´s downtown looks much more desperate than San Jose´s).
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Setting the Stage
Last Spring one of my anthropology students began asking me to organize a student travel group. Being someone who tends to arrive in foreign places and allow myself to be blown around out of the sense that all experiences are valuable, I felt cautious. It felt too dangerous to subject students to such an approach to the unknown and thus I set out to organize a formal trip.
As the Spring semester ended I had upwards of 15 students claiming they would love to join me for such a trip. I picked Costa Rica because it sounded traveler-friendly as well as manageable for a two-week trip. I also wanted to pick a place I had never been, so I, too, might experience the awe of something new.
In early June I made contact with a Costa Rican travel agency that specializes in student travel and together we designed what seemed to be the perfect blend of Anthropology (primate observations, a visit to an archeological site and a homestay with local families) and Adventure (white water rafting, canopy jungle tour, snorkeling). The interested students faded away...and I began to promote the trip to colleagues, friends, etc. With the lack of lead time and the rise in airfares, I ultimately found few genuine takers. And a couple of weeks ago, the tour company backed out. I invited those who had signed up and were willing to travel more independently (without a 24\7 guide and a dedicated driver) to still come to Costa Rica.
I connected with a different tour company, Exploradores Outdoors, that was comfortable making arrangements for small groups and began to design a different trip. With the concept of Anthropology and Adventure Travel brewing in my head, I put together a trip that reflected those concepts. And ultimately I ended up with two travel companions, my friends Dennis and Linda. As a sort of personal-training for my nascent business venture, I did much of the booking myself. I created a trip that feels like it will mix intelligence and adventure with plenty of unstructured to uncover...and discover.
As the Spring semester ended I had upwards of 15 students claiming they would love to join me for such a trip. I picked Costa Rica because it sounded traveler-friendly as well as manageable for a two-week trip. I also wanted to pick a place I had never been, so I, too, might experience the awe of something new.
In early June I made contact with a Costa Rican travel agency that specializes in student travel and together we designed what seemed to be the perfect blend of Anthropology (primate observations, a visit to an archeological site and a homestay with local families) and Adventure (white water rafting, canopy jungle tour, snorkeling). The interested students faded away...and I began to promote the trip to colleagues, friends, etc. With the lack of lead time and the rise in airfares, I ultimately found few genuine takers. And a couple of weeks ago, the tour company backed out. I invited those who had signed up and were willing to travel more independently (without a 24\7 guide and a dedicated driver) to still come to Costa Rica.
I connected with a different tour company, Exploradores Outdoors, that was comfortable making arrangements for small groups and began to design a different trip. With the concept of Anthropology and Adventure Travel brewing in my head, I put together a trip that reflected those concepts. And ultimately I ended up with two travel companions, my friends Dennis and Linda. As a sort of personal-training for my nascent business venture, I did much of the booking myself. I created a trip that feels like it will mix intelligence and adventure with plenty of unstructured to uncover...and discover.
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