You can see a map HERE
My neighbor Kristen, who is a Peace Corps volunteer coordinator lead the way as she had been to the island before and knew a volunteer living there. Getting there was half the fun! First we drove from San Jose to Puntarenas - about 1.5 hours away. We parked the car in a secure 24/hour parking lot and then walked about 5 blocks to the docks to find our boat to the island. A small passenger boat takes two trips a day from Puntarenas to Isla Chira. It was a pretty sturdy boat with a few other families on board. And, don't worry mom, they gave us life jackets just in case! A one-way trip on the boat was about $7 USD.
The boat trip lasted about an hour and then we pulled up to a small dock on one end of the island.
Once everyone had exited the boat, we all piled into the only form of public transportation on the island. This big yellow school bus, straight from the states, drives from one end of the island to another a few times a day. I was amused thinking about how this old bus found it's way to a small island in Costa Rica. It is a mystery!!
Life on the island is very different and hard to fully grasp at times. There were schools, and sturdy houses, and even a small clinic. However, there were no restaurants, no grocery stores, and only one bar! The only place where people buy things are little stores called pulperias. These are small stores run out of houses that carry a myriad of goods. The options are very limited, but everyone just makes do with what they find there. The primary source of income for all families on the island is fishing. But everyone there is relatively poor. Most people never leave the island because the $7 boat ride is too expensive.
A small pulperia with children out front.
We rode the bus to the other end of the island - only about 12 kilometers, but an hours trip. There we met up with the Peace corps volunteer, Whitney, and got settled into our accommodations for the night. Whitney's host family owns cabinas - basically small rooms for rent. Kristen and I decided to pay a little more for a/c, thank goodness, so it was $14 a night for each of us. Not bad! Downstairs in the family's home was their pulperia and upstairs were the rooms for rent. The family's living space is off to the right in this photo.
Whitney had to work that afternoon, so Kristen and I rented bikes from the family and rode about 6 kilometers to the women artisan's shop. Assisted by another Peace corps volunteer, this group of women create jewelry and coconut crafts in order to earn income.
The island was HOT and the bike ride there was not so much fun. Once we got to the artisan's shop, we met Warren. We paid him to ride his bike to a near pulperia to get us some water. He was such a nice little guy.
Kristen and I after our bike ride across the island.
As I said, the island is only about 12 kilometers from one end to the other. There is only one main dirt road that connects everything and houses are off this road for the most part. There were sometimes clusters of houses, but I really could not make out any towns. However, as Whitney showed me, there are many little townships on the island.
Another interesting point of life on the island is that there really is not anything to do after nightfall. So Kristen, Whitney, and I bought some items from the pulperia to make spaghetti with. We were able to use the family's outdoor kitchen to cook. This was an experience! This kitchen is outdoors with a wood burning stove and gas burners. There is a sink outside as well. But, what was baffling to me, was that this family had a very nice full kitchen indoors...that they never used!! I was told that outdoor kitchens are very common out in the campo, or countryside, of the country. Very rustic to say the least!
On Sunday morning we got up early - because no one on the island, including the roosters, knows how to sleep in! We rode bikes to a small beach with mangroves on it and hung out there for a while.
Then, Kristen and I got back on the school bus and rode the hour trip to the other end of the island to get back on our boat to Puntarenas!
It was a really fun weekend and great chance to see a totally different type of life. While the island lacked the entertainment and conveniences that we are all so used to, everyone there was very happy. It's a safe, tight knit community of hard working people who really appreciate life. Definitely something to ponder and it makes you appreciate what you have.
<3,
Amber
My niece told me that if the birds are "tweeting" then it's time to get up (even if it's 5:45 am) so they must have the same idea there!
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