One of the first Spanish phrases I learned here in Costa Rica was: “Que Rico!” This means “that’s delicious!” It’s no surprise I hear this sentence a lot, because Costa Rican food is really delicious. Costa Rica is famous for a lot of delicacies and one of them is chocolate.

There is a big variety of kinds of chocolates made in Costa Rica, such as “Sibu chocolates.” These chocolates are handmade from Costa Rican-grown cacao and come in flavors such as spice, ginger, caramel, black pepper, vanilla and espresso. Another category of chocolate found here is “organic chocolate.” These are made of organic cacao and organic sugar. Organic chocolates also come in a wide variety of tastes: ginger, macadamia, cinnamon, as well as dark chocolate.


You can find great chocolate shops all over Costa Rica. Among our favorite chocolate shops is Giacomin gourmet chocolate shops. They can be found in downtown San Jose and online.

La Chocolateria (sells 5 kinds of gourmet chocolate) is located in Escazu and in Curridabat. The Amazilia women’s cooperative sells chocolate from a farm in the Carribean-slope town of Guapiles. And then there is the association of indigenous women in Talamanca, who sell organic chocolates in Puerto Viejo de Limon.

Imagine an entire indigenous community. Imagine half of that community scarred for life by a flesh-eating worm. Imagine the children in that community wanting to go to school, but not having more than a shack with one standing wall! Imagine people wanting to build their own school, but just not having any money! This is a tough reality and hard to imagine, but it’s happening in the mountains of the Bribri indigenous territory.


Alto Katsi is a small indigenous community in the mountains of Talamanca. Half of the kids in this community suffer from papalomoyo (leishmaniasis in English), a flesh-eating worm that can only be treated with daily injections of iron for at least a month. Unfortunately the economic circumstances are so bad that this treatment is not possible. This worm causes incredible scars that will stay on their faces and bodies for the rest of their lives.
Nine Thousand Dollars ($9,000) are needed to re-build the school. Fortunately we have already received several donations. Jason Goldfisher, a personal friend and long-time supporter of Tropical Adventures and his school raised $800 dollars through two campaigns they organized. Kathi Mudd, one of our board members in the USA, raised $500 together with the St. Patrick School, and Nidia Bonilla - another personal friend of Tropical Adventures in Costa Rica - raised an incredible $1,000 dollars. Tropical Adventures so far has donated $200 as well. Besides these great donations, the University of Costa Rica is organizing a food fair in Puerto Viejo and all the money they will raise at this fair will go to the school in Alto Katsi.

All these donations together make a total of 2500 dollars, which means that they still need $7,500. The money is really needed so they can build their own new, traditional indigenous school. They will have two classrooms, an eating area and maybe, finally, one bathroom if at all possible. Even the smallest donations are very, very, very welcome; your donations can make a big difference in many lives. How great would it be to make it possible for an entire community to have their own school?

 

The beautiful children! Their zest to learn English, to meet a new friend, to be addressed as the ”Teacher” is an honor. How can I forget the sacrifice of the parents, teachers and the students just to get an education. To come down from the top of a mini mountain and walk to school everyday is a major undertaking. Can you imagine an American child doing that!

This experience has absolutely made me re think that the current economic and financial crisis that Americans are going through. It is very pale when compared to what the Bribri and the locals in Puerto Viejo are going through on a daily basis. Most of the people are concerned about feeding and educating their children coupled only with their sincere smiles.

A while ago Isaac Garcia, one of the directors of Tropical Adventures asked me if I wanted to join him on a trip to the projects in Puerto Viejo and Bambu. The main reason for this trip was to inform the people in Bambu about the Children Incorporated project in a town meeting. After the terrible flooding in November 2008 and February 2009 Tropical Adventures has formed a partnership with Children Inc. to create a farmer’s market for the community. Off course my answer was yes straight away.

So Thursday morning a little bit later as planned (but hey that’s Costa Rica) we left the office. After picking up Harold a friend and a visit to the grocery store we headed south. As we were getting closer to Puerto Viejo we could see a lot of damage. It was terrible to see everything that got destroyed by the terrible flooding. It was my first time here, so I don’t know what it looked like before and I can’t even imagine. I saw destroyed tree-stumps that used to be beautiful palm trees and a small creek that used to be a big river. Such a drastic change in a landscape and in so many lives caused by a natural disaster.


A bumpy ride and lots of amazing and heartbreaking views later we arrived in Bambu. We went to the cultural center, this amazing looking wooden construction in the middle of the forests. This is one of the places where volunteers can stay when they are working at projects in Bambu. This big wooden building reminded me of a big tree hut. We walked into the cultural center and in the back of the center we saw all these beds with mosquito nets over them and a towel folded up at the pillow. As soon as Harold and I saw that we said: ‘It would be so cool to sleep here’. Before the town meeting started we went to another place to give backpacks that Kathi Mudd donated together with her school Saint Patrick. in Chesterton Indiana. They donated 15 backpacks for the kids in the indigenous reservation and the were also the ones that donated all the gifts for the Christmas party this last December. in Bambu. We met with three guys down by the river. Two brothers (see picture) their mother died and their father abandoned them. They are living with their aunt now. Helen Spencer, who came to volunteer  with her family two years ago is sponsoring them with money through children incorporated.


When we came back to the cultural center the town meeting started. Isaac explained everything about Children Inc. and their plans to the people in Bambu. About the new intern coming to Bambu and staying there for 6 months to give the next step for a long term relationship, about the costumer service, the building and the all the preparation needed. At the end of the meeting all the people present at the town meeting had the chance to give their ideas about what products to sell at the farmers market and they could ask questions about the project.


After the meeting we left Bambu and headed for Puerto Viejo. Puerto Viejo is a small beach town at the Caribbean coast. It was my first time there and I loved it. Everyone is so nice and so laid back, just enjoying the beach and the weather.

The next day we first went to the elementary school in Puerto Viejo. I am from Holland and this is really not what I am used to, no this is totally different. This school was small, there is not much for the children. Especially in this area it is important to make it pleasant for children to go to school, to make sure they keep on learning. I read the positive and amazing stories from the volunteers who volunteered in this school and I can really imagine that you can have a great time here. The children are so sweet and so welcoming.

The weather was nice that day so we went to the beach at Punta Uva. As I was walking through the sand and enjoying the sea, we lost Isaac. After a while I found him and he asked me if I wanted to see some monkeys and great views from in the jungle. After a little hesitation I followed him into the jungle. As soon as I entered the woods I heard this unbelievably loud noise, it sounded like a humongous animal and it scared the crap out of me. I looked around me and didn’t see anything. I looked up into the trees and saw a lot of monkeys. It was amazing, all these little monkey making this incredible loud noise. After a 10 minute hike we arrived at this point in the middle of the jungle with a beautiful view over the beach.


The next day we had to get back to Paraiso again. On our way back we made a quick stop at the retirement home also located in Bambu. I went out of the car and just took a look around. See everything that all the volunteers had already done there. As soon as I saw all the elderly people outside sitting on the porch, I felt a little awkward, because I really wanted to do something, but I knew it was only a quick stop just to say hello and to see how everything was going. As I was walking around I saw this woman trying to get out of a room in her wheelchair; I opened the door for her to make it a little easier for her to get out. Just a little effort and she was so thankful, she kept saying thank you all the time. It was great and touching to see everything that was going on in the retirement home, all the work that has already been accomplished, but also all the things that still need to be done.

After a quick stop at the retirement home we went to a woman called Toribia to bring her all the food we bought before we left. Tropical Adventures is supporting her because she is a fighter. She is always ready to receive volunteers for the plaintain Organic, she is always very friendly with them and entrepreneur. She lost everything in the flooding. Tropical Adventures gave her a donation in November and now we stopped by to give her food and a donation of 80 dollars. Harold donated 45 dollars as well. So she could pay employees to start all over again with the plantain fields. Tropical Adventures is supporting her because she is a fighter and even with asthma she is still working directly on the fields.

These few days in Puerto Viejo and Bambu were a great experience for me. I really wanted to see the projects and saw a lot in a short time. It was great to see that everywhere we went Isaac knew everyone and it was amazing to see how thankful they are and how much they appreciate everything. I have been in Costa Rica for three weeks now and I just started my internship at Tropical Adventures. Off course I knew what they are doing and where, but when you see what they have accomplished with your own eyes it’s totally different. This experience really made me see that it’s so important to help less fortunate people and that they are so grateful for even the smallest things. It was a great experience. I got to see some amazing places, meet lovely people and enjoy “beautiful” nights in the restaurants and Jamaican bars in Puerto Viejo.

Lisette Beljon  
Marketing intern