“Blessed is the Costa Rican mother who knows that her son being born will never be a soldier”
December 1st is Abolition of the Army Day in Costa Rica. The national holiday is being observed on a Monday this year so that Costa Ricans can enjoy a 3-day weekend and partake in local tourism. Since the pandemic, international tourism is down. The tourism industry is a huge part of the livelihoods here. Just like the U.S. National Parks that are seeing more American visitors this year, Costa Ricans are spending time at their own parks, beaches and historical sites.
In 1949 Costa Rica became the first country in the world to abolish the army. This act showed the world that it was possible to invest heavily in social development by prioritizing the environment, healthcare and education. In Costa Rica, healthcare and education is available for all citizens, permanent residents and any children in the country. The border between Costa Rica and Panama became the only non-militarized border in the world after Panama followed Costa Rica’s example and abolished its military in 1989. On Wednesday we will celebrate the Abolition of the Army Day at school with “peace” activities.
Since is was a holiday weekend, we left the mountain for the beach and warmer, drier weather. We went to Samara on the Pacific Ocean side with a few friends. The kids all learned to surf and we had delicious seafood. On the way back we found a beautiful spot, Belen Waterfalls, where there were little pools to swim in and rocks to climb.
In October we had a whole week off and visited the Atlantic Ocean/Caribbean side of the country, about 7 hours drive from Monteverde. On the way we stopped for a night at Turrialba to visit the Guayabo National Monument, an archeological site of pre-hispanic architectural structures developed in between 1000 BC and 1400 AD and Cataratas Las Trillizas, a set of three waterfalls deep in the forest. It was breathtakingly beautiful. We arrived to the Caribbean beaches with calm, clear and super chill vibes. We visited Manzanillo, Cahuita, Puerto Viejo, Punto Uva, and Cocles. We rode bikes, snorkeled and hiked in the forests that go right up to water. Desmond fell asleep while pedaling behind me on the tandem bike, the car door slammed shut on Samson’s hand and Desmond jumped on a rusty nail, but we made it through the trip without an ER visit.
We learned that Limón Province is where Columbus and the Spanish explorers first encountered the indigenous Costa Ricans, the BriBri. It is also where enslaved West Africans were brought after the genocide of the indigenous people and labor was needed. Jamaicans were brought in the late 1800s to build the railroad from the coast to the center of the country and later worked the banana plantations. Today over 90% of Limón is Black and the Afro-Costa Ricans make up 8% of the population in the country. They lived segregated on the Caribbean side for two generations because of laws that prohibited them from migrating past the city of Turrialba. They were were considered stateless and only granted Costa Rican citizenship after 1949. Recently their alphabet has been republished and children’s books have been created in Limonese Creole, a dialect of Jamaican Creole which is an English/African Creole language. Read more about Afro-Costa Ricans HERE
Visiting all these cool places in Costa Rica reminds me of all the great travel experiences I had growing up- camping trips, visiting cousins in different states, and many visits to museums and national parks. Every time I pack up the car I feel like my mom. It all seems so stressful making sure there is enough snacks, appropriate clothes for any incident, and activities for the inevitable moments of “I’m bored” in the car or while waiting for food. My mom was so good at packing us up for adventure. My kids still whine and I still yell just like her, but in between we have an amazing time seeing cool sites, learning new things, and making friends.
This next month we usher in the Christmas season and despite the lack of winter weather it does feel festive. I ordered some poinsettias from the school’s plant fundraiser, we joined a community, hand-made gift exchange, and we are prepping to receive our family from the states for the holiday break.
We wish you healthy and happy holidays. We send our pura vida love!
.
Be Like Barb 