Easier said than Done?

The day of the week has become somewhat irrelevant. We work five days per week with two days off and thus,” My Weekend News” has become “My Monday, Tuesday News”. Not to be defeated by our rather soggy travelling experiences so far, this “weekend” we took to the mountains. A little closer to the sun in every respect.

A sudden change in bus times and a few misleading place names resulted in us being dropped off 10kms away from where we wanted to be. It actually ended up being a very pleasant walk up the road, primarily following a crystal clear river, winding through the small villages that interrupted the lush green of the valley. Much more our scene, the sun was scorching at times and the views up the valley became more impressive as we neared San Gerrado de Rivas.

A small diversion took us into a tropical “Secret Garden” where we found a very enthusiastic Tico, keen that we took his route so that we could fully admire the results of, I’m sure, many hours of labour. It was a small path meandering through all sorts of unique plants and flowers, 99% of which I am far too ignorant about to fully appreciate. It was a beautiful interlude to the baking heat of the tarmac road.

We eventually rolled up at the thermal pools, looking forward to a relaxing afternoon bathing in the steaming, pure Costa Rican waters. The real “pura vida”. The squeals that could be heard from afar were ominous and I can’t say that my heart didn’t sink a little when we found the two, medium sized pools, packed with Ticos and their children bombing into what little space there was to spare. I think it fairly appropriately sums up our experiences of Costa Rica so far.

The initial hour was rather disappointing. We wallowed in the pool, gradually pruning with the splashes of multiple children (and adults) attempting to swim and jump into the alarmingly shallow pools, gathering on our foreheads. As lunchtime passed, the pools quietened as the crowds evacuated to enjoy their elaborate picnics poolside. I am very confident that they were not paying the same entry fee that we were, but in the end the pools were not as bad as we had initially feared. I might go as far to say that they were refreshing!

The best surprise of the day came when we reached our hostel. Tucked right up, very close to the entrance of the Cerro Chirripo national park, it was a steep few kilometres from the nearest village. From the outside, it was almost as brightly decorated as a gingerbread house. Inside, the wooden panelling, stove and slightly ramshackle appearance gave the building great character. The dorms were in a bright cave with beds built into the rock and plants draped over the steep steps and walkways. Free tea was an absolute bonus and our hosts had clearly thought of everything that a weary traveller/ hiker might need, from spare clothes to homemade brownies (unfortunately only at a price). Despite the thought that had gone into every aspect of the set up and the welcoming, homely nature of the hostel, for me, the most memorable feature had to be their waste disposal...

As we were in a fairly remote area of Costa Rica, the locals pay for the rubbish collection but only once a month. How can a hostel hosting hundreds of hungry hikers produce so little waste that it only needs to be collected once per month? Well. Here’s how it goes.

Everything and anything that can be composted was composted, including the recycled toilet paper. A selection of five specific items went in the recycling bin, for the ladies of the village to recycle by themselves. Any other packaging was washed, even of crumbs and put in a third bin, the product of which could be seen accumulating underneath the sink. They were making bottle bricks (stuffing the clean empty packaging into large bottles to create a sturdy brick) with which they hoped to build something for their growing garden or the local school. And that’s how it goes. Easier said than done? Perhaps, but the enthusiasm of this hostel has convinced enough people to abide by their scheme that it works. It must do. There were no smelly piles to be seen (or smelt). Perhaps a waste less existence is possible after all?

At home, we are lucky to have an increasingly efficient recycling system that whisks away all our rubbish and we rarely encounter the product of what happens to it. I am sure that if it were not for the ease of recycling that we have in the United Kingdom, we would continue to produce mind numbing quantities of rubbish without a second thought.

Costa Rica is renowned for eco tourism and they are charging towards becoming the first carbon neutral country in the world. The government money invested into environmental projects is clearly visible but it is clear from the hand painted signs and filled recycling bins that the communities are on board too. I have experienced over the past month that the UK operates a completely different world to Costa Rica. It seems to be a great contradiction that the country where the cost of living is great and wages and employment levels poor, is deemed to be home to the happiest people in the world. Perhaps a lesson?

Attitude is the key to all things great. Whether it be your personal approach to an essay or a volunteering project, the local community’s approach to waste disposal or the government’s approach to carbon emissions, the Ticos are in the process of demonstrating that with the right attitude, seemingly impossible targets can be met. Much of the population, including my host family, live in fairly basic conditions. The price of food is high and my host mum has several jobs in order to support herself and her family. It is not to deny that they face their fair share of problems but from my experiences in the Casa Mariposa hostel and the community and the biological reserve in Quebradas and the national trends that I have read about, it is evident that despite perhaps challenging personal circumstances, the Ticos take a positive pride in their lives and the environment in which they live.

The Tico mentality to many aspects of life is inspiring. Recently 195 countries officially agreed that they were going to take steps to tackle the mounting issue of climate change and each country is going to take its own path. To me however, what is evident is that a fundamental attitude shift is the grindstone to change. Certainly easier said than done.

The next morning we arose early to make the most of the fresh morning sun, climbing through the national park before dropping down into the, “Cloudbridge Reserve”. It was a refreshingly dry(ish) weekend and the Cerro Chirripo valley definitely delivered on the views with the beautiful gushing (from all the rain) rivers a particular highlight. I returned to my host family for my final week working at the reserve before I take off to see a little more of the country.

I know. I’ve lost it this time. I’ve just spent a large proportion of my blog post about my weekend explaining my ideas surrounding the bins of a hostel, but next time you are putting out the rubbish or throwing an apple core in the bin, take a second, a moment to consider Casa Mariposa and all that can be achieved. Most things are easier said than done, but with the right attitude anything is possible.