Arriving in Costa Rica

 11/24/2012  Dan: Flying in to San Jose, we were saddened to see the extensive deforestation of the surrounding steep slopes. Thank God the people of Costa Rica chose to protect almost a quarter of their beautiful country in a system of National Parks and preserves. 

Davis picked us up at the airport with great enthusiasm and good but not perfect English. Occasionally, our conversation with Davis would get lost in translation. However, we feel strongly that the Costa Rican people have no obligation to know our language when we are visiting their country. Regrettably, Susan's Spanish is extremely fundamental and mine is virtually non-existent.

Davis is a native of the Chilamate area. Davis and his Canadian-born wife Meghan, own the Chilamate Rainforest Eco Retreat. They have three children: Lluvia (pronounced yuvia) 7, Aedan 4,  and Kiara 3 months.

Davis is very warm person, in the US we would call him a hugger. Davis told us his grandmother was shocked when he and Megan bought the property because she thought there would be so many trees to clear. She did not understand why anyone would want to own rainforest that could not grow crops or cattle.

On the drive to Chilamate, we stopped to look out over the cloud forest of Braulio Carillo National Park. We were surprised that such a scenic overlook also had trash and old asphalt chunks strewn around it. Susan was starved from our day of travel, so we stopped at a very spacious and clean open-air buffet restaurant near Santa Clara for a late lunch. The food was excellent. The remarkable thing about this place was the lack of flies and other insects.

During the drive we were surprised by the number of businesses that we saw with tall fences topped with razor wire.  Houses often had barred windows, doors, and porches. This high level of security was apparent in both San Jose and the small rural towns. We were surprised again by the emphasis on security when we were introduced to the eco retreat’s night watchman, who carries a flashlight and a revolver in his back pocket.

I knew that Costa Rica was prosperous and stable compared to most Central American countries. However, poverty is still apparent in parts of the native population and much of the immigrant population from Central and South America. Regrettably Costa Rica also lies in the path of the drug route to the USA, which also raises the need for security precautions.

When we arrived at the eco retreat we had a light supper of squash soup, salad, and the first of many delicious fresh fruit juices that we would enjoy during our many meals here. I would never have thought that hot pureed squash soup would taste so delicious in this lowland rainforest where evening temperatures were often 70-75 degrees F.

We soon discovered that all of the English-speaking staff at the eco retreat would routinely check on us through out our meals to see if we needed anything,including seven-year-old Lluvia. Lluvia is a very enterprising, charming, and intelligent bilingual girl who clearly takes great pride in their ecotourism business. Her first name means rain and her second name means queen of nature. Lluvia has a good understanding of the significance of her name and appears well poised, even at her young age, to become an excellent caretaker of a rainforest preserve.

We also met Ryan from Los Angeles, CA. Ryan is very friendly and likable, and is happy to contribute his knowledge and experience toward improving our stay. Ryan has been at the retreat for six weeks and is volunteering at the retreat and the local school in exchange for room and board.

When we arrived, we were the only paying overnight guests so the level of service could not have been any better. We were given cabin one. It is the closest to the river and has a porch with two hammocks.

As we visited into the evening at the dining pavilion, I was again amazed at the notable absence of insects around the lights.