Pilgrims

If it possible to imagine total chaos mixed with total relaxation in incredibly humid heat and loads of fresh fruit everywhere, you've got Puerto Jimenez. This little frontier town straddles a mangove marsh land and is the last town before the Corcovado National Park, Costa Ricas most pretigious. Comprising a population of only about 2000 people Jimenez is a low lying rustic little town with no paved roads and a over supply of bars. Initially it was set up a gold rush town and slowly as the supply ran dry locals began farming and running horses but in more recent years the primary business is undoubtably tourism. Costa Rica is clearly on the brink of over load when it comes to tourism. The culture and value systems here have already changed as a result of the prolification of foreigners, especially Americans or gringos, and there is an understandable level of resentment about this. Everything here feels like the fruit - super ripe but ready to turn if you look away momentarily, as if it's balancing on a pin head. Gabriels family are one of the biggest in town, everyone knows Gabriel and seems to be either a direct or otherwise relation. For me I think that is very cool but in some ways for Gabriel it's a bit of an overload. He has gone from Sydney - no brothers, sisters , cousin etc to this massive family where he can't dissappear into the crowd at all. But I guess eventually he will when people are used to our presence. Gabriel and his cousin Yorens have picked up where they left off and I am happily observing them getting up to mischief together, something my childhood was full of (kudos Beck). Gabriels' Aunty Edith and I get on really well and they have been so generous to have us in their home for several days now luckily for all our sanity an old friend of mine from town has a little house here which is empty and Gabriel and I will move over there today, or tomorrow or something. It's really hard to explain to Gabriel why things work the way they do here, it's not the same as broken promises I say to him, when things don't happen as people say they will. Think of it more as brainstorming when people like your Tio's (uncles) turn up and say, I'm going fishing, I'll take Gabriel, and then they disappear....until you're doing it mate, it's just an idea. ahhhh Pura Vida