¡Pura Vida!

There’s a saying here in Costa Rica, and when I say saying, I mean it in the way Aloha is uniquely emblematic of Hawaii; it singularly embodies the way of life out here, the peoples’ philosophy, their love and respect for nature, the easy and carefree atmosphere that permeates every corner of this land, the vibrant music, the beautiful scenery: Pura Vida, or Pure Life. And holy guacamole was today Pura Vida, mis amores.

Today was our first day delving into the forests of Costa Rica; first up on our list was gorgeous Cahuita National Park. Cahuita proper is a sleepy coastal town adjacent to Puerto Limón and, as our tour guide (and walking Encyclopedia) Luis put it: it is a town “lost in time.” Nothing ever changes there, and that is how its population prefers it. You won’t find McDonalds on the streets of Cahuita; the houses are made of wood and thatched coconut palm leaves, chickens roam the streets, and the locals can grab a bite to eat down the dirt road at FaceFood (a sign is hand-painted outside the restaurant in Facebook-blue, with a big thumbs up beside it.) The Caribbean side of Costa Rica is the most diverse part of the country, and Cahuita boasts somewhere between 50-55 different nationalities, many of whom are ex-pats who came, fell in love with the way of life out here, and never left.

The weather is wildly unpredictable during the “shoulder,” or “green,” season; it consistently contradicts Google and, as Luis put it, “You always pack a bikini and a poncho,” but it was gorgeous today, hot and nary a cloud in the sky. We started our hike at the Kelly Creek entrance, crossing its namesake creek just where it connects with the sea, where roughly 600 acres of coral reef spans the shoreline; it is a stunning beachside, and the massive reef protects this area from tsunamis. Fish swim from the ocean to Kelly Creek to hide their eggs and raise their young without the threat of ocean predators; when the young are old enough, they migrate back to the sea.

As we crossed Kelly Creek, we were greeted by what the locals refer to as, “The Tourist Tree,” because it is bright red and peeling, like sunburned tourists! However, the hilarious origin of its name belies the goods this tree has to offer: the indigenous people of Costa Rica boil its bark and drink it as tea to stave off high blood pressure, and muscle cramps. It seems as though anything you find in the rainforest will likely either kill you, or cure you.

This cutie is the infamous green and black poison dart frog! Contrary to popular belief, touching this little Kermit won’t kill you, but eating it would… uh, so don’t eat it. Ingesting the film on these frogs’ bodies can be a powerful hallucinogenic, and the indigenous people rub strips of paper on the frogs, and then lick the paper for effect. Uh, don’t do that either.

The devil is truly in the details when it comes to the rainforest; Luis pointed out a few coconut palm fronds, and one that was rather delicately, and perfectly, folded in on itself, forming the shape of a pod. He told us that Black Bats chew the palm fronds in such a way that it produces this little hideway in plain sight, and that’s where they sleep during the day.

We saw a stunning array of creepy-crawlies during our hike: centipedes that, fully grown, can span from an adult hand’s outstretched thumb-to-pinky, the ginormous Gold Web Spider, who eats baby hummingbirds, whose web fibers are so strong they are now being used to develop kevlar-like materials, the bizarre Zig-Zag Spider, who lays its eggs in an x-shape, and makes its namesake ziggy little web to confuse potential prey (it works.)

(Centipedes!)

(Gold Web Spider)

(Zig Zag Spider!)

We saw plants that could be used for mosquito repellent, the Noni, a “miracle fruit” many claim can facilitate weight-loss, and potentially even have cancer-curing properties (and the distinctly pungent aroma of stinky cheese, unfortunately.) The “Traveler’s Flower” comes from the same family as ginger, and catches and holds rainwater in its pods, making it a source of hydration for lost travelers.

(Noni, or Miracle Fruit, or Fruit of the Stinky Cheese)

(Traveler’s Flower, shake it upside down and water comes out!)

We saw the magnificent Sangrillo Tree, or Bloody Tree, whose name comes from the red, blood-like sap that comes out of it. Cahuita, as a matter of fact, gets its name, in part, from the name of this tree: KAWE is the Indigenous word for Sangrillo, and TA means point, for the pointed shape of the Cahuita shoreline (KAWE-TA = Cahuita… ya dig?) It produces a hollow sound that made it a perfect means of communication between indigenous tribes; Luis referred to them as “cellphones:” BANG: we’re having dinner over here, care to join? BANG-BANG: That would be nice, can we bring anything? BANG-BANG-BANG: Just your lovely selves, see you soon.

The park also boasts a wildly diverse set of animals, and we saw so many amazing ones. Sloths in trees (Luis once again pointed out their shocking ferocity… people do NOT tango with the sloths out here,) the rather well-fed-looking Crab-Eater Raccoon (it looks very similar to its Beverly Hills cousins,) The Chicken of The Trees, the Iguana! Eating them is illegal now, however, in an attempt to preserve the dwindling population, so we can’t attest to the nickname (thankfully.) We saw Basilisk lizards, who can run so fast they walk on water, so you can imagine how hard it was getting a photo of them, and Howler Monkeys, the laziest monkey in the Caribbean, just eating and napping all day… which sounds a lot like my summer break before I got here. We also caught a shockingly adorable-looking Eyelash Pit Viper, in a gorgeous yellow, who just hangs out and waits to eat BABY HUMMINGBIRDS WHY DOES EVERYONE WANT TO EAT POOR LITTLE BABY HUMMINGBIRDS.

(Basilisk Lizard!)

(Howler monkeys!)

(Eyelash Pit Viper!)

At the end of our hike we ate fresh pineapple and swam in a nearby lake with a waterfall. Let me tell you something, amigos; come here. Put away your phone, eat fresh pineapple and swim in that lake with a waterfall. Go out to the very middle, float on your back with your arms outstretched, and just your ears below the surface, so all the voices fade away and it’s just you and the rainforest canopy, and the neverending blue sky.

That’s Pura Vida.