Caribbean Costa Rica #4: Visiting the Bribri Community of Yorkin

The main reason we decided to visit Caribbean Costa Rica this year is that my son, Greg Batchelder, is currently doing his doctoral research in Medical Anthropology with the indigenous Bribri who live on the Yorkin River in the mountainous jungle inland from the southern tip of the country.
You can learn about the culture as well as Greg's research at his blog: http://anthropology.ua.edu/blogs/gregbatchelder/

Visiting the Bribri was one of those incredible opportunities that we like to take advantage of.  It turned out to be the most favorite part of our holiday, an experience neither of us will soon forget.  I'm dividing this post into several narratives, with relevant pictures following each text section.

Getting from the coast to the community entails a 45-minute or longer taxi ride (preferred over standing on the local 'chicken' bus) and then another 45-60 minute up-river trip via dug-out canoe -- only recently propelled by motor.  The boats are to this day constructed from a single huge tree trunk, dug out with chainsaws. While fairly primitive, they're very stable and quite comfortable.  The rivers are challenging, often low water requires poling across sand bars, and high water can turn into treacherous rapids.  And of course, it's the rain forest so it's bound to rain while you're on the river!

As luck would happen, our trip up-river included a small, and embarrassing, mishap: the motor was torn from its mount while going through a shallow spot and actually fell in the river!  Our guides were able to drain the water, dry it out, and get the thing running and we continued on our way through the incredible scenery.

Boat motor running again & we're on our way!

We landed safely and were greeted with big smiles and people anxious to meet Gregorio's mother.  We trudged through the mud up the path to the community buildings and our 'lodging'.  Greg had warned me that the accommodations were 'primitive' (I think he might have been secretly concerned that dear-old-momma might consider the Holiday Inn  to be roughing it).  We were pleasantly surprised: the cottages/rooms have solar electricity, running water (which is very pure), full bathrooms with shower, sink, and flush toilet which even has a seat; the beds and pillows are decent; each porch has a hammock *!  Everything was just fine!

The Stibrawpa is the Eco Tourism endeavor

See the rest of our visit with the Bribri on my next post: Caribbean Costa Rica #5