Finding Our Family Again: Week 11 -- C's Trip to Chirripo

I was very blessed to have the opportunity to hike into a remote indigenous reservation to work with the Chirripo tribe. Two of the team members were teachers, myself and a kindergarten teacher from Switzerland, and worked in the school; the rest of the team consisted mostly of a group of teens from Pennsylvania whose main objective was to construct a concrete dining area for the schoolchildren.

Just getting to and from the pueblo, Sinoli, was a task. First, we rode for two hours in the back of a small cattle truck over pot-hole filled roads. Then, upon reaching Quetzal, we trekked down the mountains for six hours. We hiked through the rain on a fairly treacherous path that consisted of small to very large rocks, lots of mud, and quite a bit of horse poo. We slipped and slid our way down for several hours, crossing probably a dozen small rivers and streams, until we came to our big river crossing. Fortunately, it hadn't rained much in the days prior, so the river only came to just above my knees. We braved the current and slippery boulders underneath and forded the river with only one casualty (the tiny Swiss girl was swept downstream a bit).

The final stretch of the hike was steep and uphill, which was tricky in mud, but we eventually made it to our little cabin. Roaches and bees scurried from every corner when we opened the door, but we proceeded to unpack and rest our weary bodies.

Our cook only made it an hour into the downhill trek before having to turn back (thankfully her legs started giving out before she'd gotten too far into the jungle). Since she wasn't with us, one of the Ticas and I took over cooking duties. Our first order of business was to organize the food, which was placed on the open shelves that had been covered in roaches and then sprayed with a good half-bottle of bug spray. The meat for the next few days was put in a pot with water and left to sit in the window for the duration of our time there. We proceeded to prepare the standard Tico fare -- arroz y frijoles.

After dinner, we went to the village church. The rustic building was lit with only candles -- there is absolutely no electricity in Sinoli -- and the Chirripo Christians were playing their traditional music with a guitar quartet. Our group presented a drama about Jonas, the teens sang a few songs for the congregation in English, and the pastor preached a sermon. Afterwards, we prayed for the sick and our leader gave a small message.

Seeing these people -- these people who live in complete squalor, who don't know what it means to brush their teeth, who may or may not have a doctor visit their village once a year, who are discriminated against in their country, who are covered with lice, who eat one meal a day, who get married at 14 and have baby after baby, who live in huts woven from cane and sleep on dirt floors, who bathe once a week in the river and wash their clothes at the same time -- praising God, was a sight to behold. Wow. There's so much we take for granted; what faith these people have to trust and love God when their lives are so very hard!

Breakfast -- arroz y frijoles, por su puesto -- was made before bed and left to sit out for the night.

We woke early in the morning (I was excited to see evidence of mice near my sleeping pad) to the sound of pigs rooting around the house and roosters crowing. The Chirripo have lots of animals running loose, so chickens, turkeys, horses, pigs, etc. were everywhere. Hilariously, the house next to us also welcomed the morning with some loud Pitbull rap music.

After eating and drinking coffee brewed in a sock :) (for real!), we set off to help at the school. The teens went off to spend hours doing hard labor, and la Suiza and I worked with each grade level at the school. We presented a skit about the lost sheep, sang songs, did a craft, and played games. The kids were extremely sweet and enjoyed the break from their normal routine. Even though there was a language barrier between the children's native tongue of Cabecar and Spanish, it was a great time. Being in the classrooms was great!

The rest of the time we tried to keep dry, unsuccessfully, and spent time at the church and with the people. I spent time the following morning playing futbol with some adorable children, praying that God would send them some dentists and doctors.

The hike back was awful, I'm just gonna say. It makes me tired to even think about it. Since we hiked down the first time, the way back was up, up, up. But first, we had to cross the raging river. Our leader sent our things and the weakest of the team members across via a zip line. Several teammates were thankful to not have to cross via the line because it did not look very safe at all. While crossing the river, which was probably waist-high due to the intense rains the night before, the person holding my right hand was forced forward by the current, and I ended up slipping. Fortunately, the indigenous guide had my left hand and had a SOLID grip on me (I thought he might squeeze my hand off; I'm thankful for his strength, though, because without it I may have been swept down the river).

After the six hour hike uphill, we finally made it out of the reservation and back to civilization. The entire walk up, I thought about the Chirripo women who hike out a few days before they give birth so they can reach a hospital. Then they hike back with a newborn . . . unbelievable. I also watched little children and moms hauling things like sinks and rolls of tin for roofs, and I couldn't help but admire their strength and determination to survive and maintain their culture.

Sidenote: This particular Chirripo tribe learned about Jesus in the 70's when an American missionary brought his family to live among the tribe. The missionary translated the Bible into Cabecar, and now there are many Christians in Sinoli.

The following pics are not in chronological order . . . sorry!

Esta pizarra muestra la differencia entre las dos idiomas -- Cabecar vs. espanol.
Los estudiantes aprenden espanol en la escuela.

Nuestra cabina

Una clase de las indigenas

El sitio del proyecto de construccion

Un ejemplo de una casa. Ellos tienes un piso de tierra y cocinan con fuego
adentro su casa.

Un corredor entre de los edificios differentes en la escuela.
Es necessario por la lluvia.

La caminata arriba

La cocina en nuestra cabina

La concina en la escuela (school kitchen). Ellos cocinan en las mesa que
tiene piedras y usan fuego para preparar la comida.

Que lindas!

This pic is big in hopes that it shows the zip line. On the other side of the river is a wooden structure
that supports one side of the line; the other side is connected to several trees on the mountainside. When people
cross, they sit in a sling-type contraption and pull themselves across.