Costa Rica is a nature lover’s dream. However on a journey via Costa Rica, Jemma Fowler realises that nature, and the indigenous communities that depend on it, want greater than love and appreciation. They want respect and, extra importantly, environmental motion.
This can be a uncommon and magical encounter.
I’m standing on a moonlit seaside in Tortuguero, Costa Rica, with my sister, watching from a secure distance as a two-metre-long sea turtle prepares to put her eggs. She’s digging her nest with ferocious energy, and the sand she’s tossing behind her lands on our toes with stunning drive.
We have now no cameras or torches. The sky is darkish, lit solely by stars and the occasional flash of distant lightning. Waves crash and we watch in awe as this magnificent creature, undisturbed by our presence, lays her eggs. She covers her nest, lumbers again to the ocean and vanishes beneath the rolling waves.
Sooner or later, she could return to this very shore to construct a brand new nest. However as soon as hatched, her infants will instinctively scramble in the direction of the ocean, by no means as soon as laying eyes on their mom.
Because the turtle disappears into the evening, it strikes me how exceptional this second is. I’ve no pictures. No proof. For as soon as, I really feel totally current. This expertise was unforgettable. And I didn’t suppose my Basic Costa Rica journey might get any higher, or my appreciation for nature any stronger, till we met the Maleku tribe.
Assembly the Maleku tribe
On the journey from Tortuguero to Rio Celeste, we travelled into the center of Guatuso Indigenous Reserve, dwelling to the Maleku tribe’s three primary villages. Upon arrival, our hosts welcomed us into a big hut, inviting us to take a seat down on wood benches that lined the room. Our chief Allan was to be our interpreter.
‘I’m Jaquimo, and I’m 100% indigenous,’ mentioned our host. ‘In at this time’s world, that’s very uncommon.’
With solely 650 members left, the Maleku are the smallest indigenous neighborhood in Costa Rica. However whereas their quantity could also be small, their mission is mighty. Their final objective is to protect their tradition and shield the rainforest they name dwelling.
The Maleku tribe share a deep reference to nature. Not like a lot of the fashionable world, they’re nonetheless carefully linked to the land and dedicated to defending the rainforest by which they stay.
With Allan’s assist bridging the language barrier, Jaquimo started to color an image for us in regards to the methods by which the rainforest serves as each supplier and protector for his or her folks.
He shared how they use all types of leaves, shrubs and timber to remedy quite a lot of sicknesses, from abdomen aches to fevers, whereas some are even believed to fight most cancers. I used to be sceptical. Nevertheless, the extra I listened, the extra my perspective started to alter.
Jaquimo positioned a small leaf within the palm of every of our arms, encouraging us to present it a style. I glanced across the group, who all regarded as hesitant as I used to be. However on the rely of three, we went for it. The leaf tasted uncommon, considerably earthy, but the longer it was in my mouth, the extra my tongue started to tingle.
After a second of silence, all of us grew to become curious, locking wide-eyed gazes throughout the desk, questioning what we had simply put in our mouths. After taking a couple of guesses (Was it a treatment for dangerous breath? No. Tummy troubles? No.), Jaquimo revealed that the tribe use the leaf as a painkiller. A brand new expertise for somebody who’s used to swallowing a paracetamol for a headache!
The items began to fall into place as my understanding grew. For the Maleku tribe, nature isn’t only a useful resource, it’s their solely lifeline. The Maleku’s religious practices and survival are deeply intertwined throughout the rainforest, which is why defending it’s important to their lifestyle. This connection is totally different to how we within the Western world are inclined to view nature. We don’t essentially see it as a associate or protector. I realised that we regularly don’t deal with it like a superior, and even an equal, however one thing for use and managed for our comfort.
Pure skills
Jaquimo lead us via a show of his tribe’s creations, every crafted from pure supplies. From handmade instruments to searching spears, all the things was a product of the land and the abilities to make them had been handed down for generations.
Alongside survival instruments, the Maleku tribe additionally use the rainforest’s assets for recreation. Jaquimo confirmed us some conventional paintings that the Maleku paint onto tree bark and shells from native fruits. These days, the tribe sells these things, together with wood masks and hand-carved decorations, to vacationers, which supplies them one other method to assist their neighborhood.
We had the prospect to make our personal masterpieces. Utilizing the jícaro fruit, with its exhausting, easy shell as our canvas, we used vibrant paints to create depictions of Costa Rican wildlife.
Portray with my fellow journey buddies was an effective way for us to attach. The entire group laughed after I confirmed them my try at portray a ravishing (or not!) butterfly. It felt refreshing to easily step again, depart expertise behind and simply benefit from the second, utterly immersed within the rainforest life-style. It echoed the sensation I’d had simply days earlier, totally engaged, watching a turtle slowly carve its nest deep into the sand.
International issues, community-based options
Jaquimo’s expression darkened when he instructed us in regards to the rising challenges dealing with his tribe. From threats to their ancestral lands and meals sources, to rising temperatures and unpredictable climate patterns, it’s turning into more and more troublesome for them to depend upon the rainforest.
‘We dedicate ourselves to sustainable residing,’ he mentioned. He defined how, by reforesting their land with native timber and operating ecotourism applications just like the one we have been collaborating in, the Maleku are working to make sure the survival of the tribe, each economically and culturally.
This show of resilience and positivity left a mark on me, and little question my fellow travellers too. For the remainder of the journey, my rising appreciation for Mom Nature grew to become extra evident. Whether or not I used to be wanting up at a toucan within the treetops, kayaking via mangroves or recognizing wild tapirs within the rainforest, I used to be always in awe. The cherry on prime was unexpectedly coming eye to eye with a sloth when strolling again to the resort from an ATM. An extremely particular sight that ended the journey on an ideal notice.
An enduring affect
Since travelling in Costa Rica, I’ve made a aware effort to be conscious of my affect on the surroundings. I assist eco-friendly, small native companies and attempt to be extra conscious about waste. I take a reusable buying bag in every single place!
However probably the most beneficial lesson was easy: decelerate. It’s really easy to get caught up in our busy, consumerist existence. It’s refreshing to disconnect, acknowledge the great thing about nature, spend high quality time with others and admire the small issues in life.
As a result of travelling – and life – isn’t about what you’ll be able to take, whether or not that’s pictures or bodily souvenirs. It’s about being within the second. It’s about what you are feeling and expertise.
I perceive now that nature’s objective isn’t performing as a ravishing backdrop for a social media publish. It’s offering the foundations for a harmonious lifestyle. Whether or not you reside within the rainforest or a crowded metropolis, and whether or not you admire it or not, nature sustains us. Its wellbeing is tied to our personal. And solely by caring for it’ll all of us proceed to thrive.
Jemma watched nesting sea turtles and frolicked with the indigenous Maleku neighborhood on Intrepid’s Basic Costa Rica journey.
