TWECS COSTA RICA 2018: A day in the jungle

Dr. Dan Bernet Sr. and Dan Bernet Jr.

“It’s been twenty minutes and you are already sweating through your shirt!” said my dad, the older guy in the photo above.

We had just arrived and set up a clinic in Cabecar, a small village five hours East by bus from San Jose. When we arrived there was a line of indigenous Cabecar people waiting outside the “clinic”; a converted community hall / church.

The Cabecar are an indigenous group that live in the mountains of Costa Rica. Most of the community lives and works in a cooperative banana plantation that sells its crop to larger produce companies. The Banana plantations span an immense amount of space, to get to the clinic many had to walk on winding mountain roads for 2-4 hours. This commute culminated in fording the Chirripo river on foot, which is around 80 meters across.

My dad and I are continually amazed by the folks we meet on trips like this. The hardships they endure daily would be considered insurmountable by many in our home countries. While we are surprised by how much we sweat after toiling for twenty minutes, they cross a river as part of their daily commute without batting an eye.