Chirripo Trip (November 29-30, 2012)

Submitted by Eduardo:

Chirripo Trip

There is no better way to dig deeper into the culture of a certain country than visiting their indigenous people.  One month ago, that is exactly what I had the amazing opportunity to do.  Memories are formed when you experience something that you have never experienced before. 

Five of us men, including me, set out on an early Thursday morning on 

November 29^th, 2012 

in order to drive 2 ½ hours on dirt road until it came to a dead end.  Daniel, one of the directors here at our school, led our group to a destination deep into the mountains of Costa Rica called Chirripo to visit and minister to the indigenous people of Costa Rica.  Once we reached the end of the road we ate lunch and tightened the straps on our backpacks in preparation for the long trek ahead.  

The only way to get to the small village, called La Colonia, is to walk 3 hours down a mountain.  The walk was beautiful as we stopped many times to take pictures of the breath-taking views.  

The part that was interesting was the boatloads of mud we had to walk through.  Immediately when we started descending down the hill we came in contact with the slippery muddy ground. 

Keep in mind that we were going downhill, which means I fell several times, including right at the beginning of the trail. 

I finally got the hang of walking on the muddy surface downhill as I learned the technique of the indigenous, which I would like to call “Mud Surfing.”  It is easier not to fall if you slide down the muddy parts instead of trying to step down them.  In certain parts of the hike I was literally walking in mud that came up to my calves. 

Before the hike, our group arrived at the location where the road ended, and where we left our car.  We met up with the pastor of La Colonia and six other indigenous people from that town.  We brought lots of food and practical things to use as gifts for the people of that town.  One of the indigenous, named Enrique, joined us on our trek.  He was carrying 12 liters of milk on his shoulder and an acoustic guitar in a case in his other hand.  

I had no room to complain at all during the hike once I felt how heavy that milk was that he was carrying.  After walking for about 2 hours we arrived at a small river in which we had to cross several times as it wound across our path in 8 different places along the way.  

We then arrived to the largest part of the Chirripo River.  The only way across this river by either walking through it and getting completely wet or using a manual cable car system built by the indigenous themselves.  It was scary yet effective.

We arrived at our destination exhausted and starving.  We stayed in a large cabin the indigenous built for doctors that come to their village 4 times a year to treat people who might be sick.  

After eating some food and resting it was time to have an evening service in their small church building.  There is no electricity at this village but they do have a solar panel they use to light up their church and the cabin at night.  

The church service lasted 2 ½ hours including 2 sermons, many long prayers, lots of music (two acoustic guitarists) and fellowship.  I had an opportunity to share my testimony in Spanish.  Spanish makes up 70% of their language and the other 30% is a language called Cabecar that originated with the indigenous of Costa Rica.  I actually read my testimony out loud because I was too nervous to try to just speak Spanish without a reference.  I learned something very special during that church service.  I was so accustomed to the “North American” way of worship.  That experience helped me to realize that those indigenous people are my brothers and sisters in Christ!  We may come from very different places and cultures but we are sons and daughters in Christ and that bond is something very deep that we all share. They live in a part of the world that not very many people know about or even care about.  These people are very poor yet they have so much joy in Christ!  It helps me put a lot of things into perspective. 

It was a short trip because the next morning we packed up and headed back to our car.  The 3-hour trek down the mountain was nothing compared to the 4-hour trek up the mountain that we were about to experience.  It seemed like it was never going to end.  Up and up and up we climbed.  We climbed in mud, through rivers and over large rocks and tree roots.  I thought I was going to die at several points.  When we made it back to the car Daniel bought us each ice cream at a store in that area to celebrate the great feat that we had just accomplished!  Gracias a Dios!