We visited Cabo Matapalo on the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica. It was great. We met a fabulous guide Rodolfo. He described how his family owned a large tract of land (finca) in which they grew many fruits and vegetables for sale. However, his family sold the land to pay for school for his seven brothers and sisters.
“Do you look at the land now and regret that. There seem to be smaller lots and more resort style tourists moving in”
“No, because I have so many more opportunities now. Also, many of the new land owners coming from rich countries allow the land to return to a forest state which provides more habitat for native wildlife.”
It seemed like he was ok with the changes; however later we passed a house and scowled: “Some of the people move down here for Costa Rica, yet they change everything, they pull out native plants and trees and plant things that are harmful. Look here this vine is killing everything it grows on. And there, look, there is no path for arboreal mammals to move from tree to tree. Why move here if you want to change everything about it.”
And later we had this exchange: “People complain why I charge so much. I ask them to go shopping. They comeback and tell me everything is so expensive. Right I say, that is why I have to charge a lot for my services. I have to live. The change is like upgrading from 3G to 4G, it costs more, and you can’t stay at 3G if everyone else goes to 4G.”
Towards the end of our time with him he also noted: “There are less and less Ticos here. I don’t even say ‘Hola’ when walking down the street anymore. And granola? No one would have wanted granola 20 years ago, now our stores stock food that is not typical. This also drives prices up.”
He was describing a process of gentrification. Many of the for sale signs we saw said that: “For Sale” by USA firms such as Century 21 or Caldwell bankers. Many did not say : “Se Vende Lotes”. Many of the hotels, AirBB, and were owned and operated by ex-patriots. All with stories of finding their way to Costa Rica and falling in love with it and staying.
“I finished my last tour with the Grateful Dead, and decided to come here.” “I’ve always dreamt of the of the Jungle, and when I came here, I found what was in my dream.” “I left home at 16 to surf. I came to here, and never left…that was 30 years ago.” “I was hired for a a director position, and decided to take a vacation before getting behind a desk. I got here, and decided I didn’t want to leave.”
We went to local’s market on Friday night. We expected local goods and wares for locals. Instead of a farmer’s market-like environment, there was jewelry and handicrafts, homemade soaps (proudly bragging they were now in the airport), and ice cream. All but two vendors were Tico, the rest had relocated there from up north. Moreover, the market resembled Telegraph Ave in Berkeley rather than a local market where people bought and sold items they both grew and needed. We saw mostly gringos, talking English, who were shopping for trinkets rather than weekly needs.
A lot of people we met who relocated there seemed to have been broken and looked towards Costa Rica for healing. Were they in turn draining Costa Rica?