Costa Rica: First day in Providencia

I´m here in La Providencia in Santos. It is a small farming community of just 200 people. The drive down was so beautiful! We drove through a nationally protected rainforest and cloud forest. Costa Rica is one of the world´s most biodiverse country because of it´s stacked ecosystems and with the help of the government´s protection. Providencia is in th e middle of nowhere. The trip was 3 hours long on a private bus. An hour into it, we stopped by a road restaurant, and I ordered beed, cheesy potatoes, and rice. This time, portions were larger and for only 1500 colones! So much cheaper than food in the city. Bussing up the tropical hills on the long winding rowds is truly reminiscent of Vietnam. I really miss it there... and cows lined the streets periodically, just eatin ´some grass... Ya know, the usual.

The great thing about Costa Rica is that most of the forests are protected. Driving through into town, you realize how rough it can be for the community, though. It´s two main forms of income are farming coffee and blackberries, which are both harvesting in the same season. So through November to March, they have the challenge to sell enough to cover the whole year´s cost of living. They can´t lumber, pollute the water, or anything that may damage the forest: which is great but makes life harder. They have to commute over an hour away just to get fuel or visit a hospital. Only every 2 weeks does a doctor come into town at the local clinic.

So transporation is very difficult for them. The muddy roads erode every rain fall (and it rains every day). Our first project starting tomorrow is a road construction on a very steep hill turning the dirt path into cement and lining the edge using ecobricks (which is literally cemented plastic bottles stuffed with plastic bags) to prevent erosion. ISV´s overall goal for Providencia is to help the community become wholly sustainable. My team is the 20th to come on the Santos project, so we´re going to work hard to make progress on improving their lives! I´m so excited to start work tomorrow!

Oh! Note on the weather... I didn´t take into account we´d be traveling into the high lands so it does get chilly at night, but nothign out of range of Seattle. I actually think I packed quite decently.

Once we arrived into town, they had arranged a welcome celebration for us. The men and boy6s unpacked the bus full of our heavy bags, the girls were dressed in adorable traditional clothing, a stretch of tables lined with white cloths, and prepared for us was fresh juice, chicken and rice, tortillas and salad. Then with a quick introduction, the girls performed a dance for us. Then another one included two boys reinacting a bull arena. After orientation, we met our host families. Myself and another ISV volunteer, Kristal, got paired with Orlando the father (57), Louisa (59) the mother, and Louis the son (17). After touring the house, Orlando, Louisa, Kristal and I took a walk down the road. I truly love it here... The streets are lined with tropical fruits and flowers. The river running through town is actually one of the cleanest in the world, too. It is absolutely great here. I can´t even think about when I have to leave.