Costa Rica Expat Tours

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Archives for June 2014

The Bribris of Costa Rica

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Here’s another of my Costa Rica indigenous videos that I created a few years back. This one of the Bribris of Costa Rica on the Caribbean coast in the Talamanca region. The Bribri reserve is one of the larger indigenous reserves in the country. Also, unlike many other indigenous tribes, there are still quite a few native tongue speakers amongst the Bribri elders.

In this video you will see how the Bribri youth are attempting to hold onto their ancient culture through the arts. They presented for us a theatrical play that told the story of their hero, Pablo Presbere…who courageously stood against the Spanish conquistadors and was ultimately captured and executed.

I hope you enjoy this video and I’ll have a few more to present in the coming days and weeks…

Chorotega Pottery in Guaitil

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A while back I opened a store in San Jose selling Costa Rican Indigenous arts and crafts. The name of the store was Costa Rican Artisans. Well, I don’t have the physical store any more, but I still sell the stuff via an online store.

In the process of opening the store I visited all the indigenous reserves around the country and made a video of each expereince.

The one below is about the making of Chorotega pottery in Guaitil, a tiny little pueblo in Guanacaste. This town is famous in Costa Rica for its unique pottery. While there are no more remaining members of the Chorotega tribe, the folks in Guaitil carry on the heritage of their ancestors much in the same way it was done 1,000 years ago!

Almost everyone in this pueblo is in the pottery making trade and there are numerous shops and stands where you can buy a piece. It is also a great idea to take the time to actually see how it is made.

Guaitil is a great place to visit if you’re going to be spending time in Guanacaste.

Stay tuned for more of these homemade videos featuring Costa Rica’s indigenous tribes and their amazing arts and crafts.

Historia de Una Vasija

Corcovado Costa Rica Experience

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Here’s a little home-made video I did a while back of my Corcovado Costa Rica experience.

In it we pay a visit to Drake Bay and Sirena Station in the heart of Corcovado National Park, one of the best places to see Costa Rica wildlife up close and personal.

We spent the weekend at Drake Bay and stayed over at the Corcovado Adventures Tent Camp. We took the boat over to Sirena Station and there we saw lots of wildlife, including a Danta, Peccaries, Ant Eaters, Deer, lots of birds and other critters. It was also absolutely gorgeous.

This is without a doubt the wild side of Costa Rica, but for nature lovers, definitely worth a visit.

Costa Rica Rivers – Cabeza de Agua

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Costa Rica is indeed the land of many rivers. Where I live is no exception.

With the highest mountain (Cerro Chirripo at 12,533 feet) less than an hours drive away and the beach only about half that time, you can imagine that there are many Costa Rica rivers running through it. And sometimes quite ferociously at that.

That’s the main attraction of Perez Zeledon for this Costa Rica Guy.

In May I visited one of my favorite waterfalls in the area, Nauyaca Falls.

It is one of most beautiful I’ve seen in all of Costa Rica and also, usually, one of the best for swimming and diving off the rocks.

You can do the falls in one of two ways, by horse or by foot. I have written in the past about the horse-back option.

By foot, the predominantly mild hike is around 45 minutes. There can be a lot of mud during the rainy season as the trail doubles as a horse path.

You may see some animals, such as white-faced monkeys and toucans along the way.

It began lightly raining as we embarked on the hike. That might should have been taken as an omen of what was to come.

When we arrived, the fall was certainly pumping harder than during dry season months (December through April), but not too strong and still with its normal beautiful turquoise green color.

When we first entered the water it was possible to swim up to the fall, climb up the first level of rock ledge and dive off.

We did that a few times, then just rested there, taking in all of nature’s beauty.

Suddenly I began to notice that the quantity of water was increasing and organic river trash was accumulating at the base of the fall.

Nauyaca Falls - Cabeza de Agua

In a flash the water turned rust brown and the fall began pumping at an alarmingly strong rate. I decided to get the heck out of there and dove in. The current heading downstream was overwhelming. I would have been taken right down the river to who knows where if I had not been able to get a hand-hold on a rock near the place where we would normally exit the water.

What had just happened is what in Costa Rica is referred to as a “cabeza de agua.” I believe in English the appropriate term is flash flood. It is not an uncommon experience in the wet season. They can be deadly.

The thing is while it had been raining a bit at first, well into the hike the sun came out and by the time we reached the fall, it was completely dry.

Doesn’t matter. A cabeza de agua doesn’t occur due to rain where you are, it’s what’s happening up there in the high mountains that causes this phenomenon. And up there it could be raining cats and dogs and you’d never know it.

So, if you’re in Cost Rica during the rainy season, be careful with those gorgeous Costa Rica rivers…they can turn dangerous in a flash!

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