I spent this past weekend in Limón, Costa Rica. Limón is a city on the east (Caribbean) coast of the country. It is known for its indigenous population (the majority of the people living there are Black) and its ports. Eighty percent of Costa Rica's imports and exports pass through Limón. However, the money brought in from this exchange does not remain in Limón; this province is the poorest in Costa Rica. Walking through the streets, we witnessed a lot of poverty and homelessness. Upon interviewing some local people, we came to find that the residents of this city find "falta del trabajo" (lack of jobs) to be the biggest problem in Limón. This is interesting, because when we asked residents of San José what they thought to be Limón's biggest problem, the common answers were drugs and violence. I found it interesting that our questions were answered in this way by the two different people groups; I will explore this relationship in an upcoming reflection essay. Limón has a reputation of being dangerous and drug ridden among Costa Rica's other provinces. However, there is only some truth to that claim, as we learned through our interactions with various Limónites.
On Friday morning, we piled into a bus and took off for Limón. On the way there, we stopped at a coffee plantation, a pinapple plantation, and the Del Monte banana packing plant:
When we peel open a banana, do we think about the work that went into planting, raising, harvesting, cleaning, and packing that banana? I rarely put much thought into the work that goes into anything I buy or consume. My group watched as the workers at this plant cut, cleaned, and sorted the bananas that had been picked from the field. I even watched as the women placed the stickers on the bananas before packing them into a box. Interestingly, the men do most of the hard labor, while the women are left in charge of the sorting and small, manuel tasks. The bananas are sorted into first choice, which are sent to the United States, and second choice, which are sent to San José. They are putting in long days, and are paid $25-30 a day...sometimes less, depending on their output. This is a lot of money compared the the workers in the coffee and pineapple plantations, who often work sun-up to sun-down in the Limón heat for about $10 a day.
Our other activities on Friday included a stop at the Restaurant Ellis, where we ate typical Costa Rican food, free time for exploration of the city and interviews with the locals, and a "charla" (talk) with Marcel Taylor Brown, who was the first Black woman to serve in Costa Rica's Parliament.
I had an especially interesting conversation with a man in an ice cream shop during free time. (By the way, the ice cream here does not hold a candle to what we have access to in Iowa.) He had a lot to say about the lack of work in Limón--he did not have a job, either--the government, drugs and violence, and the need for parents and the Church to step up and start educating the young people of the city. It is one thing to hear that there is no work, but to meet someone so intelligent and capable who cannot find work makes it a reality.
Saturday, we woke up early and headed to a reservation to talk to a woman from an indigenous tribe. The United States and Costa Rica are apparently the only countries that put their native people on reservations. She had a lot of interesting things to say about the Brebre tribe's way of life, religion, and the failure of the government to take care of Costa Rica's indigenous people. One of this tribe's main missions is to raise iguanas (a valuable resource for medicine and food) and release them into the wild. We were able to visit the iguana farm, and some people worked up the nerve to hold one. I was content staying on the other side of the fence.
Then it was time to hit the beach! We went to a national park with beautiful beaches and found a place to settle for the afternoon. It was the perfect day for beach-y activities.
I spent most of the time in the water, but I also relaxed in the sand and played some Ultimate Frisbee on the shore. We ate a Caribbean lunch of fresh fruit and meat and plaintain-filled empanadas.
Sunday, we attended mass at this beautiful Catholic church before heading back to San José:
Our other activities on Friday included a stop at the Restaurant Ellis, where we ate typical Costa Rican food, free time for exploration of the city and interviews with the locals, and a "charla" (talk) with Marcel Taylor Brown, who was the first Black woman to serve in Costa Rica's Parliament.
I had an especially interesting conversation with a man in an ice cream shop during free time. (By the way, the ice cream here does not hold a candle to what we have access to in Iowa.) He had a lot to say about the lack of work in Limón--he did not have a job, either--the government, drugs and violence, and the need for parents and the Church to step up and start educating the young people of the city. It is one thing to hear that there is no work, but to meet someone so intelligent and capable who cannot find work makes it a reality.
Here I am on the main street of the area in which we were staying. Don't worry, I was in a group.
Saturday, we woke up early and headed to a reservation to talk to a woman from an indigenous tribe. The United States and Costa Rica are apparently the only countries that put their native people on reservations. She had a lot of interesting things to say about the Brebre tribe's way of life, religion, and the failure of the government to take care of Costa Rica's indigenous people. One of this tribe's main missions is to raise iguanas (a valuable resource for medicine and food) and release them into the wild. We were able to visit the iguana farm, and some people worked up the nerve to hold one. I was content staying on the other side of the fence.
Then it was time to hit the beach! We went to a national park with beautiful beaches and found a place to settle for the afternoon. It was the perfect day for beach-y activities.
I spent most of the time in the water, but I also relaxed in the sand and played some Ultimate Frisbee on the shore. We ate a Caribbean lunch of fresh fruit and meat and plaintain-filled empanadas.
Some of us in the water. Can you tell there was a slope in the ocean floor?
Saturday evening, the program staff threw us a surprise party, complete with authentic Carribean food, a live reggae band, and dancing. It was a great way to end the night:
Sunday, we attended mass at this beautiful Catholic church before heading back to San José:
We stopped again at the Restaurant Ellis on the way home:
The weekend was relaxing, yet exhausting. It was emotionally draining to witness the high levels of poverty and homelessness in Limón in just the two days that I was there. Also, we came across a fatal accident on the way home. Although we waited in traffic for one or two hours due to the accident, it was a small price to pay in comparison with the family and friends of the two people who were killed in the accident. The students in my program are very supportive of one another, and we are able to process these emotional struggles together.
I think this is quite enough for one post. I will post again soon with an update on my emotional progress (which is much better now) and my classes, etc. I hope you all have a great remainder of your week!
Love you,
Erin
Summary: I went to Limón this weekend. I toured plantations, listened to speakers, and went to the beach. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot, but it was also emotionally exhausting at times. Hopefully you had time to look at the pictures!
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