Pictures & Talk Of Gold!!!

Buenas Tardes,

Just wanted to put out some photos that I had not included in prior posts. And after I describe those images I have a story to tell that amazed me, and one that hopefully you will find more than just interesting.

First, the photos. The red headed bird at the top is called a Lineated Woodpecker. I took this photo from our front porch, the tree it was in was about 15 feet from me. The beautiful flower below it was hanging from the tree outside of our back door. There were a number of these flowers, but this one stood out to me. Next to it is a pic of Ricardo, the guide we had when going through the Manuel Antonio National Park. Without him we wouldn’t have seen 25% of the animals that we did. Thank you Ricardo.

The next two rows of photos are from the city of Atenas. We both like this area a lot and wouldn’t be unhappy to find a house to rent for next winter around there. The first two of these pics are typical street scenes that could be from any city or town that we have been to. People sitting and talking everywhere, and outdoor markets with fresh fruit and vegetables for sale are a staple of a downtown area. Colors, aromas, and friendly people are something we have become accustom to, but we do not take for granted. The meals in the next row are a lunch we had in Atenas, bought at one of the many sodas (cafes). On the left Deb had beans and rice, salad, and ceviche (cold soup with fish or shrimp). Ceviche is wonderful. Lime based, refreshing, and tastier than I imagined it would be. Deb could eat this soup every day. On the right side I had fried fish, rice and beans, salad, mango/corn salad, and fried plantains. We each had a fresh fruit drink, cold and not too sweet. No sugar added! None needed. The total price for this lunch was $9.50.

The last row shows a group of  trees and bushes from the park in downtown Santa Barbara, and a sunset from our porch. The beauty of these pics needs no description.

And now, the talk of gold.

There are thousands of expats in Costa Rica, many from the USA, many from the rest of the world. There are also a number of publications online written by some of these expats. The stories in them are usually about the specific region or area that the author resides in. Any number of topics have been covered, and they normally are very informative and somewhat humorous, or at the very least, interesting.

Deb and I read one of these as often as we can. It is called the Golden Gringo Chronicles. The expat who writes this has been here for decades and lives in Grecia. This city is located about 30 miles west of here, and has a large expat population in the area. He is a man who obviously loves Costa Rica. He loves America too, but wouldn’t leave here without an extremely good reason.

His latest publication included a story about gold. I will summarize this story as much as I possibly can without losing sight of the lesson we can all learn from this tale. So, here goes.

A Canadian gold company, Gold Mining Ltd, proposed an open pit mining operation near the Nicaraguan border. After nearly 15 years of discussions, environmental studies, and haggling, in 2005 the company was granted a concession. This meant they could indeed start mining. But it wasn’t going to be that easy. Environmentalists started filing lawsuits that stopped the mining temporarily. So the company started suing the Costa Rican government for $1.1 billion, lowering it to $94 million, claiming a loss in their profits because of these delays. Seems like the company might not have told the truth, the whole truth, so help them God. The way companies extract gold from mines is to use either mercury or cyanide! Oops. The government then passed laws that make it illegal to use either mercury or cyanide in ANY operation in this country. This was done in 2010. The company lawsuits continued until 2015. They were all shot down, and the company finally ceased all business here at that time. No mines were dug, no mercury or cyanide touched the earth. The environment here holds a special place in the hearts of the people. The government got PO’d, and didn’t bend to the threats and lawsuits of a multinational company. This is a country that could use the jobs and money that the mining would have brought, there is no doubt about that. But instead of lowering their beliefs and being short sighted, they said no to the money and yes to their environment.

I am an American. I served in the Army. I raised my family and paid my taxes. I do indeed love America. I look at this one instance of a government saying no to money and lawsuits, and rallying with their citizens fighting for the health of the people and the health of their land. I am in awe of this. The government of a poor country knows what is most important for their long term survival. America is now allowing leaky pipelines containing tar sand oils, giving national monuments to large energy companies to exploit for profits, and allowing coal mines in West Virginia to dump their waste and sludge into rivers. Oh the lessons we could learn from this small “3rd World” country. I am not trying to preach to anyone. I am wondering out loud though, “What the hell are we doing?”.

Pura Vida,

Deb & Tim.