Sergio Zuñiga, Artist in Residence at Hotel Diria, Tamarindo, Costa Rica
I had another coffee at Buon Appetito and prepared to leave Tamarindo, Costa Rica intending to drive south on the unpaved roads alongside the Pacific ocean on the Nicoya Peninsula. While driving I kept noticing the endless advertisements for this or that ‘eco’ (as in ecologically sound or sane) housing or apartment complex development. The entire peninsula is being rampantly developed with vacation houses for foreigners all with the tag-line of being ecologically sound. I’m not sure if this is to assuage the guilt of the foreign buyers for destroying the turtle habitat, a and beaches (Tamarindo gives ear infections due to the raw sewage during the rainy season entering the sea), while contributing more trash, power consumption, and pollution. Or perhaps the requisite ‘eco’ label is just a result of the developers responding to the Costa Rican governments extremely successful branding of Costa Rica as some sort of ecologically sound country. Either way, the clear-cutting of the land, sprawling development, parade of SUVs, and raw sewage going into the ocean don’t correspond with the message.
Taiwan Amistad Bridge from Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica
Near Monteverde, Costa Rica
To be fair, the countryside is not strewn with garbage as it is from Mexico to Nicaragua. While driving I crossed three rivers fairly easily and then cut east across the Pan-American highway and from Las Juntas the dreaded end-of-pavement sign appeared. The roads became rocky, as I wound slowly up through the central mountains towards Monteverde – one of the “7 Wonders of Costa Rica”. Narrowly missing runny over a male iguana in full flight from a small dog I was again wondering about the sustainability of Costa Rica’s environmental message as well as my part in destroying it.
And without a further thought I roared down the hills when I found pavement again and drove in the dark unable to see much through my dirty visor’s glare as I passed trucks on the single lane Pan-American highway. I found the San Jose airport by mistakenly driving right into the arrivals lane and half an hour later had found a (non-love) hotel in which to spend the night before picking up Kai at the airport at the ungodly hour of 6:30am tomorrow.
Tamarindo Beach Morning, Costa Rica
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Sun Also Rises on Tamarindo, Costa Rica
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Taiwan Amistad Bridge, Costa Rica
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Near Monteverde, Costa Rica
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Near Monteverde, Costa Rica
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Near Monteverde, Costa Rica
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Near Monteverde, Costa Rica
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$4 coffee, Monteverde, Costa Rica
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Near Monteverde, Costa Rica
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Sergio Lopez, Tamarindo, Costa Rica
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