So you think this is paradise eh?

A couple of days ago I ventured on the “quad” (that’s a four wheeler to all south of the equator) to the little town 6km south of me to Dominical.

6km is not very far, but it is really when every 20 secs you have to stop or slow down to 2nd gear just to get though a humongous pothole. (which is usually a pond because of the rain). It’s the only stretch of road (Quepos – Dominical) from the USA to South America that is still dirt. Yet. it dosnt stop the articulated trucks going down it. making it all the worse. This road I tell ya makes going anywhere a real “effort”

It was in dominical that I met a man called mike. Mike has been sitting in his hammock on the beach selling home made baking for 20 years. he runs the dog rescue for dominical. And apart from that. Well…. I have no idea.
I mentioned something about how lucky I was to be able to come and live in Paradise for a couple of months while I write. And his reply was… “so you think this is paradise eh? Then tell me. how come everyone here is so sad? How come there is so much “drama”? I sit here everyday and just watch the soap operas unfold. Its actually quite depressing”

It got me thinking… and I realized how much I had been told about the real Costa Rica already but had blocked it out behind the palm trees. After all Costa Rica, (the real one. not the tourist retreat one) is a 3rd world country, with huge problems, that is being advertised to the dreamer at a huge price.

For example. Let me share with you some of the realities of this place.

Tico (costa rica native) vs. Gringo (American)
There is a huge problem down here with the clash of the cultures. Land (especially beach front) is being brought up by Gringo’s and sold for $500,000 and up. Which is all very well. Except half the time this peace of beachfront paradise that you have just brought has no access road, no water, no electricity and a huge cockroach infestation. The prices have now made it such that no Tico can possibly “better” their living situations by moving house because its just not financially realistic and ill tell you why.

The minimum wage in Costa Rica is 400 calonas/hour. (that’s about 75 cents US) if you have a good job then you get about 700 calonas/hour (roughly $1.40 USD).

A town up the mountain not far from where im living (not sure of its name) came to its demise a couple of weeks ago. You see, some Gringos had purchased some land above this town, but it wasn’t flat enough for them, so they had been bulldozing it to flatten it out. In the course of this bulldozing, they had put the left over dirt to one side. Along came, mother nature, and the raining season and dislodged the dirt down the hill and into the path of the river that runs from the top of the mountain in the sea by where I live. (this is the paddock by the sea that was whipped out.)
The river with its more than normal water level had to go somewhere… so it re routed itself into this town. Literally whiping out EVERY house there. (most of which had been there for 50 years.) these people, now homeless, could go and live with friends and families, but with their wages being so low and prices of building going so high (cause gringos will pay a lot for a house to be built so why do it for next to nothing?) they cant afford to. So they only thing they can do to get assistance is go and live in the local school. (just down the road from me) this is the only way that the government will have to acknowledge their situation and give them new houses. Meanwhile, this was 3 weeks ago. And none of the local kids can go to school! Because people are living in it!. which means that their parents have to stay home and look after them. which means they cant go to work. Which means they have less money coming in than usual.
And all because A HILL WASN’T FLAT ENOUGH FOR A MANSION!

I would keep going. But quite frankly I think that’s enough for one day.