Cahuita August 1
The bus station at Turrialba is new and
modern and not too far from the town centre. We were lucky enough to
get a lift from Jane and Fraser so after saying goodbye we wrote a
few postcards and waited for the bus to Siquirres, 1 ½ hours away
($US2). We were settled on the bus when we had to get off and get on
another bus-not enough passengers I think. The road climbed and
wound its way over steep green hills-the scenery is lovely. Houses
are cared for with lawns and hedges and gardens and the place looks
reasonably prosperous and well kept. We passed a group of walkers on
their way to Cartago where every 2nd August a celebration
is held at La Basilica de Nuestra Senora de los Angeles -the holiest
shrine in Costa Rica-for the Patron Saint of Costa Rica -La Negrita
(the Black Virgin).It is a statuette of an indigenous Virgin Mary
found on August 2, 1635 by a mulatto woman who took the statuette
home twice though on each occasion it reappeared where she had first
found it. The townspeople were so amazed by this miracle that they
built a church on the very spot it was first found and in 1824 La
Negrita was declared as Costa Ricas patron saint. It was stolen twice
from the Basilica but each time it later reappeared on its altar.
People believe it has curative powers and will offer metal charms(
milagrosos) representing affected body parts to her in the hope they
will be cured. So every year people walk 22 kms from San Jose to
Cartago in the heat arriving on their knees. In fact people arrive
from many places-some from as far away as Nicaragua-walking for up to
a week. That could explain why our bus was empty first thing-no doubt
they will be chock a block after the Mass when everyone heads home
again!
We changed buses at Siquirres and
headed off to Puerto Limon-an hour away ($US2). Now the landscape was
flat with acres of banana plantations. There was a plant with
hundreds of shipping containers and Chiquita banana logos
everywhere-Limon must be the export port. There was also a Dole
compound-perhaps a processing plant. We arrived in dirty scruffy
Limon an hour later-there was rubbish everywhere and a very rundown
look about the place. It was similar to Belize-old wooden two
storied houses sagging at the seams, dogs roaming around, rubbish
everywhere, muddy broken pavements and roads and just a general feel
of neglect. We walked two blocks to yet another bus station which was
surprisingly clean and modern. We had to wait an hour for our next
bus to Cahuita so we bought a plato de ensalada ($US3) and had lunch.
The bus arrived on time and we put our packs in the side
compartment,which was wet, and got on board. The bus wasn't new or
air conditioned but it had plenty of legroom – not common in
Central American buses! This time the road followed the coast line
and we could see the Caribbean Sea for much of the 43 kms to Cahuita.
As we left Limon I noticed many lowset houses with large amounts of
security grilles over every window and door. Limon has a reputation
for muggers and pickpockets and obviously homeowners take no chances.
We arrived in Cahuita 40 minutes later-
at a bus station in the middle of a very small town. It wasn't very
clear which way to go but some English speaking girls helped us out.
We walked along the main street looking for a place to stay-one hotel
looked rather nice but at $US 40 a night way out of our price range.
A skinny, unkempt woman heard us talking about a budget backpackers
and offered to show us the way. She lead us down off the main street
and we were feeling a bit uncomfortable as it was looking a bit
scruffy and away from the action. We stopped at one potential place
and thanked her for her help-she asked for some money to buy a
meal-probably more likely for drugs. We didn't give her any but she
was very nice about it and went on her way. This particular place
looked nice with good security but it was full so we walked a bit
further and found Surfside Cabinas, a slightly run down looking
place with a sagging two storied wooden house in front and a line of
cabinas running down the side of the section. We walked into a large
section with shrubs and trees through large gates set in a high mesh
fence and headed for an outdoor patio area where there were a number
of black Afro-Carribean people sitting watching soccer on TV. We felt
like we were intruding on a family gathering but they indicated we
were OK to come in by a nod of the head and a wave in the direction
of an older lady sitting in a chair with her wheelie walker parked in
front of her loaded with pens, papers and bits and pieces. The place
is run by matriarch Ava, who spends her day sitting on a sofa and
presiding over all the comings and goings writing out receipts and
dealing with all the accommodation. She rented us a clean spacious
room with bathroom for $US9 per night. We also had use of the kitchen
-granted not a flash kitchen-with an ancient stove, a fridge (barely
cold) and a ramshackle set of shelves with an assortment of kitchen
implements-some obviously not in regular use but a kitchen all the
same. After dumping our bags we went for a walk about the place as it
was now late afternoon. It had taken us about 6 hours of travelling
but it was efficient, easy and hassle free-and had only cost us about
$US7. The two little supermarkets are expensive and didn't have fruit
or vege-we just bought a carton of milk (long life) and yoghurt for
breakfast. On our way back we passed one of the many restaurant/bars
in town and decided to have a cocktail as it was 2 for 1 happy
hour-ever mindful of our budget! We ordered an Olmega-pineapple,
vodka, triple sec and coconut cream -1500 ($US3) each . They were so
good we ordered another one-and a plate of chips with melted cheese!
Although it was tempting to have
another one we headed back and settled for a cup of tea and bed.
August 2
Today was a public holiday in Costa
Rica so there were a lot of visitors in town. After catching up with
the laundry-done by hand in a concrete tub affair and strung up
outside our room-we booked our room for another night and headed for
the beach. There is only a small part of the beach accessible for
free-the rest of it is included in the Parque Nacional Cahuita. It is
entry by donation and the office is just over a small wooden bridge
which has a locked gate blocking access at night. Apparently the
park service wanted to charge fees for entry but the locals protested
by physically blocking the entrance to keep it under their
control-and succeeded. There is an easy sandy coastal track which
runs for 9 kms through the jungle-we only managed 3 kms there and
3kms back! But in the first kilometre we saw black howler monkeys-the
loudest animal in the world and heard for 3 kms in dense forest-
white faced Cappuchin monkeys and huge iguana in the trees. We were
on the lookout for sloths but no luck! However we spotted an
acquaintance from Turrialba who told us there were two three toed
sloths in a tree just outside her hotel-sure enough when we walked
back into the village-there they were-after we had been searching all
day! Very odd ,very hairy, very slow moving creatures hanging upside
down from a branch in a tree. It was a mother and her baby-the mother
ate a few leaves and then moved-very slowly-up the branch a short
distance then appeared to go to sleep-the baby following closely
behind. By this time quite a group of tourists had gathered -all
trying to get a good shot-difficult when the subject appears as a big
hairy blob!.
We also saw a poisonous yellow
eyelashed pitviper snake curled up on a tree branch-very pretty -as
pretty as snake can be!
After showers and a cup of tea-thank
goodness for a kitchen- we met up with Sandra and her daughter Rosie
and had tea at a local restaurant. I opted for a fish Cosada-rice,
beans, salad, fried plantain and a lovely thick piece of fresh
fish-washed down with a fresh pineapple juice and a coffee- all for
only 3000 calones-$US6. Still Costs Rica is expensive by Central
American standards and so tomorrow we head to Panama-supposedly
cheaper and just as beautiful. But first a border to negotiate-on our
own!
Cahuita was a favourite fishing
place for indigenous fishermen from Nicaragua and Panama who came
each year hunting sea turtles . In 1828 William Smith, an
Afro-Carribean from Bocas Del Toro, decided to settle permanently
here with his family. Others followed and eventually there was small
scale production of coconut, cacoa, subsistence agriculture, hunting
and fishing-an economy based on respect for nature. Gradually more
people came and settled and by 1882 there were 14 houses in the
village. Many Jamaicans arrived after the completion of the railways
in 1890 and in 1903 Panamanians arrived fleeing from the war between
Panama and Colombia-they spoke English and were Protestants. The
settlement now consisting of 25 houses was moved in 1915 to land
donated donated by the then President of Costa Rica in gratitude to
the people for rescuing him from a sinking ship.The population
gradually grew and a coconut industry was formed with the product
traded in Limon, Bocas Del Toro and Nicaragua by sea. In 1920 there
was oil exploration by the Sinclair Oil Company but it amounted to
nothing-the test drilling hole still remains. A road was built in
1967 which linked smaller communities and Cahuita to Penshurt and
then in 1977 it was built further from Penshurt to Limon. Now the
site of old Cahuita is a National Park with valuable rainforest,
white beaches and coral reefs-managed by the community -the
descendants of the first settlers.
