Rural Stay, Cahuita

Hey Everyone!

So it´s day 4 in the rural stay and I´ve officially taken up walking as my favorite hobby, haha. Let´s just say that the pace of life is veeerrrry slow. I´m in a little town called Cahuita that is directly on the Caribbean shore. I don´t feel like I´m in Costa Rica AT ALL. I feel like I´m in a completely different country.

Unlike San Jose where it rains and thunderstorms every day, here it is hot, humid, and sunny constantly.Cahuita has a fascinating history because it was founded by people of African descent from Jamaica, Barbados, and other islands in the Caribbean and also by Afro-descendants from Panama and Colombia. So the people here have last names like Robinson, Simmons, Smith, and other British type names. The people speak Spanish of course but they also speak a Creole English (which is hard for me to understand). For example, they say "what happen" a lot but it sounds like "waipun".

Cahuita is absolutely beautiful, but surprisingly there is not that much tourism in comparison to other tourist destinations. Tourism is there biggest source of income but there are no big hotels, no vendors on the beach, nothing that you would think of when you think of a tourist beach. I go for a run along the beach in the mornings and I can see the monkeys in the trees throwing fruit down at me. Not that many trees have been cleared out so it looks very rainforest like everywhere.

There is a National Park here in Cahuita also. I found out that it is the only National Park in Costa Rica that does not charge. I asked my host sister about this and she said that the community fought against the Costa Rican government so that they wouldn´t have an entrance fee. The government wanted to charge $12 per person and then they would get that money. The community won and so now it´s donations if you would like to give them. These donations make up 80% of the community´s income!

My host family here is very chaotic. There are about 8-10 people living in the house and more people that come in and out during the day. My host mom and sisters are powerful leaders in the community and the phone is constantly ringing for them. It is a very lively household with tons of little kids running around.
Alright well I need to walk around some more. Ciao!