Our Costa Rica Gift Of Happiness: Open Letter To Costa Rica And Happy Videos

Deb and Barbara: As a sign-off to this blogging week and to our 8-day travel diary of our trip to Costa Rica, we want to take this chance to just say a few more words.

We said it many times during our visit, but we were honestly amazed at just how much effort was being put toward eco-sustainability by Costa Rica in general and the hotels we stayed at in particular: Arenal Springs Resort earning its 4-leaf status and El Silencio Lodge and Spa and The Harmony Hotel earning their 5-leaves. Costa Rica obviously prides itself on these efforts—and the efforts pay off in the abundant wildlife, epic scenery, and pristine beaches that adorn your magnificent country.

However—and this is a big however—please, please keep it up! It could be very easy to embrace eco-tourism as an economic boon, but then cater to the whims of the modern age by mowing down your beauty to make way for roads, hotels, condos, and gallerias. Please resist this common failing.

Because it is your wild and diverse eco-systems alongside your environmental triumphs that make your country so very appealing and unique to the very tourists you want to attract.

Believe us, we know it is and will be hard. We are pleading with our current Canadian government to understand and embrace this forward-thinking philosophy, but instead they try to convince us that tar sands are good and eco-consciousness is baaaaaad. We’re not good with absolutes, but we will say it here: they are wrong. And if they don’t realize that soon, they/we will keep destroying this fragile balance in our own beautiful and largely wild country.    

For Costa Rica, we hope endless dairy farms won’t replace your forest and jungle, that more medical problems will be solved by the healing secrets in your flora, that you will continue to enlighten and lead the world, that you will show us how it’s done. And continue to show us that it CAN be done.

On our trip, we met a journalist who told us that for new development in Costa Rica, the government often doesn’t spend the extra money necessary to insulate the overhead wires, which can then kill wildlife as a result. If your electrical wires are electrocuting the monkeys and sloths so characteristic of your wilds, then we hope you will make the short-term investment necessary to coat those wires that will protect those creatures and your long-term ecological growth (just like your efforts that saved the turtles). One of the ironic moments on our trip was watching the howler monkeys cavort in the trees just above a sign announcing a condo development. Of course, people need places to live and stay, but so do the native animals—and so far you seem to be serving both needs quite well. Don’t forget, you won’t need all those condos and hotels if you mess too much with the unique sites tourists come to see. And also, your people won’t be so happy (see the Happiness Index) if their pristine country is overrun (or run) by the superficial needs of outsiders.

We dearly hope you will continue to charm many many generations of indigenous, local, and international guests as you charmed us with your distinctive balance between nature and man. You humbled us already. We long to be humbled again and again and again by the courageous policies of your country and your heroic nature sentries. 

When tourists ask for “a view of the ocean”, what they really want in Costa Rica is to preserve “a view of the ocean”. A view of an ocean that is clean and pristine and untouched. That’s why we came. That’s why we will come back.

Yours very sincerely, Deb and Barbara

Videos!!!

This is from El Silencio Lodge and Spa where Andrey, the eco-concierge, took us on a tour of the grounds. We’re sampling organic herbs from their greenhouse garden.

This is from the 3-hour hike through the rainforest around El Silencio. Andrey showed us 3 waterfalls—this one being the largest: La Promesa Falls.

This is us during our visit with the Maleku tribe. We are discussing language with José, our gracious host.

Turtle Turtle

You can watch as many of these videos (or as few) as you like. The first 3 videos are short snippets (between 1 and 2.5 min long) of the turtles emerging from their sandy nest and trekking down to the sea. Notice how they need to rest along the way!

The last of these videos is the full journey from nest to sea and runs a cool 10+min. Reader’s choice.

You can still enter for your own Costa Rica Gift of Happiness here!


And a late PS: Please feel free to ask us any questions you might have about our experience. Now we might actually have some time to answer!