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Sunday
02 March 2003
The
Bribri Indians.
By Paul Hovinga
Near
Puerto Viejo de Limσn you΄ll find an Indian
reservation called Kikφldi.
It
is the home of the Bribri indians, proud people who, so
it is said, were the only ones in Costa Rica to give
Columbus a hard time.
We
are being welcomed by Lucas, a very sympathetic and
spirited Bribri. He is proud of his people and of the
legacy their ancestors left them and very much
determined to pass it on to their offspring and to
anyone who is interested. First Lucas shows us the
iguana farm. A typical example of how the Bribri respect
nature. They used to eat iguanas. When the number of
iguanas diminished rapidly and extinction was to be
feared they not only decided not to have them for supper
anymore, they also started a breeding farm for iguanas.
Successfully so, for at this moment 1200 iguanas per
year are being released into nature again and the Bribri
changed their diet into chicken. In the reservation the
Indians live off what nature has to offer. They have
been doing that for thousands of years and, listening to
Lucas, you will be impressed by the simple logic of this
kind of life. The first and most important thing you do
when you live like that is: respect nature. Of course!
It is your source of air, water and food and if you mess
with it you'll have to suffer the consequences. Iguanas!
Lucas
will take you on a rough hike through their habitat to
their house in the reservation. When we went there it
had been raining for three days in a row and we were
slipping and sliding to get there. At moments like that
you realize that we live in heaven. The Bribri just have
to deal with the situation which, in our view, looks
very much like a survival training. Life goes on and no
one said it would be easy. Fortunately Lucas stop
frequently on the way, for us the chance to catch our
breaths and for him the opportunity to explain the use
of medicinal plants. When your next door neighbor lives
on a 20 minute walking distance, the Bribri doctor is
likely to live 3 hours away. You'd better know a lot
about those plants then.
The
Bribri women have prepared a typical lunch for us.
Seated on home made wooden furniture we eat from a
banana leave a wonderful selection of chicken, bake
banana and palmito. Can you imagine? The original
cuisine of Costa Rica without rice and beans! I will
spare you the sad stories about the treatment the
Bribris receive from the government, about
discrimination and neglect. All I know is: this is the
original culture of the country and I am very glad I had
a chance to get to know it!
Baula
tours have an exclusive agreement with the Bribri for
this tour. It is very intense, physically and mentally.
That's why they picked a nice and comfortable hotel, El
Pizote, to let you relax afterwards. At night Puerto
Viejo invites you to their many shops, bars and
restaurants, which forms a
nice contrast with the previous adventure, and the next
morning the beach, right in front of the hotel makes
this trip to a complete success.
Without
this experience your perception of Costa Rica will be
incomplete!
Paul
Hovinga is a travel consultant. He and his staff will
help you design your perfect holiday in Costa Rica.
Contact them at
baulatours@racsa.co.cr
or
tel. (506)
256-9792 fax (506) 221-0346
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