Costa Rica : Le joyau vert de l'Amérique Centrale - Biodiversité - Documentaire voyage - AMP

Named the Switzerland of Central America, the Costa Rica has much more to offer visitors than relative prosperity and certain tranquility. This fine strip of land pinched between two oceans has an insolent biodiversity, a protected Eden that exalts adventure scents. The country has 30 national parks to defend a unique environment in Central America, a tropical garden abundant and colorful. Delighted to share the treasures of his country, the population knows how to be warm and benevolent to guide us on this amazing journey. Costa Rica is undoubtedly the country of Central America that has the greatest notoriety, despite a population limited to 5 million inhabitants. Located between Nicaragua and Panama, it has the chance to be along two oceans, the Atlantic and the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean. San Rosé, the capital, which the locals affectionately nicknamed Chepé, is located on a plateau surrounded by volcanoes. The telluric powers have gradually erased the architectural heritage of the city. After the arrival of Christophe Colomb in 1502, Costa Rica was for nearly three centuries led by the Captaincy General of Guatemala for the Count of Spain, before accessing independence in 1821. The slogan of this country says a lot about its lifestyle, Pura Vida, which means both everything is fine and supreme happiness. Seventy years ago, Costa Rica abolished its army the day after a civil war. A rare decision that allowed it to invest in education, health and more recently in the preservation of the environment. The central market houses a part of the soul of the capital. It is a huge labyrinth, of which only the initiates know the stands, where you can enjoy copious pancakes served on banana leaves. This hedonistic state of mind is also found in the new generation of chefs, like Christian Madris, who runs the Almercate kitchens. We taste fresh fish from the Pacific and vegetables seasoned with Caribbean sauce. The fish we buy is 100% fresh, it comes from the region of Punta Arenas. The supplier delivers it to us every day at dawn, he has fished it and then brings it to our restaurant. We use quality fish and that's why we call the dish Pescaderia. All the other ingredients are harvested in the restaurant's farm, where we supply ourselves. The products are 100% fresh, here we only serve high-quality food. Carthago was the historical capital of Costa Rica. San Rossi is a recent metropolis. It is one of the reasons why there are few buildings with colonial architecture, which can be seen in other cities in Latin America. The buildings of more than 100 years are rare and have been renovated. San Rossi is a relatively new city, which is expanding more and more in the periphery. Among the volcanoes that surround the city, the Poas, although often hidden in the fog, remains the most emblematic. It is also one of the most active. By crossing the Pacific coast to the south, we reach large, almost uninhabited deltas, to finally reach the peninsula of Ossa. The frequent rain and the tropical temperature make this territory an immense biological sanctuary. It is also the territory of the tireless gold diggers, who continue to stir the sands and rocks of the El Tigre river. If Ossa is the richest area in the north of Costa Rica, we are still far from the legends that have circulated through the different stories. The work is hard, tiring and the chances of gain are very random. Alex has long led this life in the waters of the river, he has now stopped. All these people here, it's their daily work, since 1980. They grew up with it, they've been doing it since they were children, and that's how they make their families live. Especially them, they are real gold diggers. It's an adventure, it's the uncertainty, sometimes you find a lot of it, sometimes not much, and every day is different. Some days we really find gold, which makes us happy, we forget about fatigue, hunger. Other times, on the other hand, and most of the time, we don't find much. Oscar Lopez is 69 years old, he lives higher in the forest. He was also a gold digger at a time when there was no road, where people were riding horses. Since then, he has become a herbarist. He doesn't have much effort to make, here everything grows in quantity. On the other hand, you need experience to distinguish all these plants, which at first glance seem identical. This is an ampoula, it's used to clean the wreaths. This flower, you eat it and it acts. Ombre grande, it's a medicine against malaria. Against mosquito bites, when you have a cold or a fever. You cook a leaf like this one and you drink it, it's quinine. Smell this one, it's jamaica. It's a good anti-mosquito. You put it on and there are no more insects. It's used on the body with olive oil. For the bamboo, it takes at least 15 years for it to reach this size. This is bamboo. Yes, it takes 15 years to get this hardness and this thickness. The turmeric, which is widely used in Indian cuisine, also helps. It's a good treatment for veins, blood and also for coloring hair. The forests of the Ossa Peninsula are the ideal habitat for the lazy. It's a fascinating animal. It spends most of its existence suspended on a branch. It is in this position that it lives, that it sleeps, that it feeds and even that it reproduces. It has an incredibly slow metabolism, which is worth its natural phlegm, as well as its name. In Costa Rica, the most common species is the lazy brown-throated with three fingers. Unfortunately, it is an animal on the verge of extinction. The show does not only take place in the trees. On the ground, there is an incredible activity. These thousands of ants can travel several kilometers through the forest, digging in the way of sophisticated galleries, to reach their habitat. Some of them can cause very painful bites. Even more curious, the lazy ants, or leaf-cutters, cut and carry plants that are pruned in the anthill and cut into small pieces. They will be used to grow a mushroom, which the ants feed on. The queens, on the other hand, can reach impressive sizes. They are constantly sheared. Going up to the center of the peninsula, we reach the Corcovado National Park. Osa alone represents 1.5% of the world's biodiversity. Its primary forests are the richest and best preserved in Central America. Apart from the world, these few farms, are the only ones in the world that have been preserved. Karen Garo Vargas takes care of Dalila this morning. For all of them, this school represents important efforts. If you want, we can look for her in the dictionary. And the sum of ... This ... This is the sum of the farms. This ... I live in the city center of Puerto Jimenez. I drive an hour and a half, because I drive very slowly. I make the journey every day. Before, I could not move and I had to stay there. I slept at Dalila's, my student, because the road was in bad condition and it scared me. These are family fathers who help the school. It's called the Education Assembly. How long does it take to get from here to your home? Half an hour. So a one-hour walk every day? And if it rains? I have to come with an umbrella. In this province, there are 13 varieties of space, from the forest of mountains to the forest of clouds. There is a tropical climate where the rains follow each other, causing more than 500 species of trees to sprout, which sometimes intermingle. The ficus aurea is like this overgrown forest. It develops in the canopy from a tall tree, to finally strangle it and take its place. The rain alone does not do everything. The forest is home to the 26 sources that the peninsula has. Life is everywhere, most of the time hidden. We progress in the forest with caution, if only for the few 200 different species of reptiles that we feel there, like this spearhead. Many plants are endemic. They participate in the superb of all this crop. This ceiba is gigantic. It pierces the canopy to more than 45 meters in height. It is difficult to estimate its age. According to the locals, it would be at least 500 years old. At nightfall, the calls of the toucans resonate at the top of the trees, on the other side of the peninsula, on the Pacific coast. A few vultures enjoy the last rays of the sun. On the east side of the peninsula, the forest turns into a mangrove, reaching the Gulf of Dulce. It is here, in Aguas Ricas, that we find the Nubian Indians. The indigenous people of Costa Rica represent only 2% of the population, that is, just 64,000 people. Mariano lives here with his family, in a community of 200 people. Before entering his farm, you have to purify yourself in the smoke of a termite nest. You know, it's a custom. A long time ago, people left, and when they came back, they did this ceremony. There were two reasons for this. One was to avoid transmitting diseases, and the other was to chase away the bad spirits that could follow you. These were the two reasons. The family tries to live as much as possible from what they produce, like the rice that must first be peeled. We start by peeling it like this, as we do. And then we blow it. In a second time, we wash it again. And we continue to peel it, until the rice is completely clean and without scabs, to be able to use it to cook. To take care of himself, Mariano uses a lot of the plants and trees around him. This is a cedar. We use it against the bites of wild animals. To use it, we take the bark, boil it, and once it's cooked, we take the water and drink it like tea. Mariano tries to pass on to his children a part of his cultural and spiritual heritage, already diluted in the exodus that the Nobe Indians experienced at the end of the 1970s. Mariano is a shaman. He has a certain number of powers. Here, he demonstrates a trap intended to drive away the evil spirits. The corn is extremely important. For us, it has been and continues to be important. The corn has always been important to us. The corn has been used and is still used to make chicha, our traditional drink. We can also make atol in the kitchen. We can make stuffed sausages, we make pancakes, we make papillotes. For all these reasons, the corn is really important. We return to the centre of the country, in Carthago, the capital of Costa Rica, until 1823. For a whole people, it remains at least the religious capital. The earthquakes of 1841 and 1910, caused by the volcano Iradzu, destroyed almost the entire city. The old cathedral did not resist, but it remains an emblematic place in the city. On each main square, we are sure to find a walking merchant who offers a very special ice cream, called Picos Copos. After the earthquake of 1910, the new cathedral, Notre Dame des Anges, was built a few hundred meters further. Completed in 1924 and particularly large, it was the first of its kind in Central America. It combines the elements of Byzantine, Spanish and colonial architecture. It houses a statue of the Black Virgin, adored by the Costa Ricans as the patron saint. Thousands of people from all over the country converge there every year on pilgrimage. In early August, they come to thank or ask the Virgin for favours. A little further north, the valley of Orocy is a natural crossroads, bathed by many water sources. It is an agricultural land, dominated by fruit, vegetable and coffee plantations. The church of San Rose de Orocy was one of the very first built in Costa Rica. It dates from the time of Spanish colonization. Built in 1767 by Franciscan monks, it is dedicated to Saint Joseph. Heading towards the Atlantic Ocean, we reach Puerto Limón, the most important port on the Caribbean coast. All along this coast, the atmosphere is more relaxed, the cultural and musical influences more mixed. Christophe Colomb threw his anchor there for the first time in 1502. In the Vargas Park, a monument highlights the work of the pioneers, who, in 1867, built an iron path to connect the high plateaus with the port of Limón to export coffee and bananas. Today, a large part of banana and pineapple exports are still made from Limón. Cruise ships also stop there regularly. Going up the coast to the east, on the border with Panama, we find Puerto Viejo, a city with the image of this Caribbean atmosphere that attracts visitors. Located at a distance from the country, this enclave used to be a pirate's lair. Then, Panama, nearby, used it as a banana port. It is only in the 1980s that a road was built to connect Puerto Viejo to the capital, San Roce. Faced with the influx of visitors, the inhabitants defended their beach against any intrusive real estate project, with the creation of a natural reserve. Today, Puerto Viejo has developed thanks to tourism, and in particular thanks to surfing. The atmosphere in the village is unlike that of Hawaii or Indonesia. We find the essence of this Caribbean culture when calypso groups like Junior Emilio Alvarez's take place in the village's party room. The elders then put on their beautiful clothes to go and enjoy these moments of nostalgia. Originally from Nicaragua, Junior has been playing regularly in Puerto Viejo for 25 years. The calypso does not come from Costa Rica. The calypso comes from Africa, from Jamaica, from Trinidad and Tobago. That's where the calypso started. It happened a long time ago, when the Jamaicans came to install the railways on the train. Before, they had tried to bring people from other countries to work, but they couldn't stand mosquito bites, malaria, and people were dying. That's when they brought the black people from Jamaica, because they knew traditional medicine remedies. And they played the calypso with a box of cigarettes. That was the beginning of the calypso in Costa Rica. Donia Elena Spencer is part of one of the oldest families in the village. The calypso has always been present in her life. These are our roots. This is the music we have in our souls. Everyone dances it, from children to adults, everyone. Here, people smile. We are kind. We have good food. And it's a pleasant feeling. Life is beautiful. By diving into the forest, you first have to go up the Telide River, then sneak between the rocks of the Yorkin River to reach the village that houses 60 families of the Bribri ethnic group. The river runs along the banana trees that are in Panama. But to reach the village, there is no road. It is the pirogue, where the Yorkin walks on foot in the dry. The village is nestled in the forest. As far as the collective memory can go, the Bribri have Aztec origins. It is estimated that there are about 11,000 Bribri spread over three reserves and several villages in the region. They grow cocoa, bananas, hunt birds and raise pigs. They worship a god, Sibu, supreme god creator of the earth and man, and they rely on the power of the shamans. Their cocoa, which grows in the forest, is used for cooking. In this common kitchen, we receive guests, prepare cocoa and, above all, the casado, the essential dish with rice, plantain bananas and salad, often accompanied by chicken. The cocoa beans require attention. They must be roasted but not burned. The cocoa beans are obtained in this way, which is not yet chocolate but already tasty. Elio Cortito, the village chief, likes to share with visitors his relationship with nature. For us, this place has something sacred, something important, something we need. The animals, the trees, all nature, we say that Sibu, Sibu is our god, Sibu gave us everything so that we take care of it. He gave us everything so that we take care of it and taught us how to take care of it without hurting it, to live there but also protecting it. For example, the birds, they have a chief to take care of the birds, there are chiefs to take care of the animals and we have a system. If someone hurts an animal, he will have to confront the chief. If he is hurting it, the chief will punish the responsible. It's like that for the birds, the fish and when we go hunting an animal, it's for the family, it's to feed us, so it's okay. When it rains a lot, we have a big hut to weave the roofs of their houses. After walking along the Atlantic coast to the north, we are now in the region of the Sarapiqui River. On Sunday afternoon, in the village of La Virguen, we play football even when it rains. The show is as much on the field as in the stands during this meeting which opposes an exploitation of pineapple to farmers in the region. The richness of volcanic soils combined with a hot and humid climate make it a perfect region for pineapple, which is the second fruit after bananas, the most exported. The descent of the Sarapiqui River allows you to discover a particularly rich life with a wide variety of birds, such as this aringa which stretches under the rain. It is a florile of improbable colors, of red-headed green pikes, of cranes, of all kinds of toucans, of trogons, of macenas. You often have to have the eye to distinguish them. The caimans generally take a nap while remaining vigilant about the appearance of a prey. The iguanas, on the other hand, are everywhere, both on the ground and at the top of the trees. Recently, the floods of the Sarapiqui have caused the descent of the river in rafts over several kilometers. Continuing our journey west, we enter Maleku territory, one of the eight ethnic groups that have survived the ups and downs of history. Maria Lilian Silva, in the village of Palenque El Sol, decorates this morning the calabashes that will then be sold in the village's shops. For us, the Maleku is a kitchen utensil like a plate, a glass and a spoon. I think we still have a bit of tradition. We have lost a lot of it, but we preserve it. There is a small school here that teaches Maleku and its culture. We try to preserve it. I have a daughter and I pass on my traditions to her. I do the same with my grandchildren. When I am with them, I pass them on and teach them how we used to live. That is, the TV, the Internet, or other comfort elements will not take away my culture or my tradition. I have my dialect and my culture. We continue our journey west in the Dupala region, next to the Tenorio volcano. Gerardo Sororzano exploits a cocoa plantation. During the season, he harvests two tons of beans a month. Sweeter, the bananas are only used to attract potential insects. The cocoa tree is the only tree whose flower grows directly on the trunk. All flowers do not bear fruit. Only a very limited number will turn yellow or red containing the beans. This is the cocoa fruit when it is ripe. The fruit arrives about six months after flowering. Once dried, we have about 15 fruits per kilo. In each fruit, there are about 40 seeds and they are all about the same size. How much does a kilo cost? The dry kilo is 1,200 colones. Yes, that's 1.70 euros. This cocoa is used to make real chocolate, unlike industrial products that are content to use palm oil and aromas. However, it sells less well. Gerardo gradually diversifies the cocoa nuts, considering the enthusiasm of Europe and the United States for the water of this fruit. This is where we dry them, for about 12 to 15 days. It depends on the temperature of the sun. Then we pack it and it's ready. To get about five quintals, it takes, let's say, four days. Two days to grind them and two days to separate the seeds. With such aromas, we can only wish Gerardo many more harvests. Biragua is the gateway to the national park of the Tenorio volcano, which likes to hide in the mist of the tropical climate. The waterfall of the Río Celeste is particularly spectacular. The presence of aluminum silicate gives it an incredible color. To better understand the phenomenon of this color, we have to go upstream through the forest. This is a unique chemical phenomenon that occurs at the level of the Tenorio volcano, a meeting point between two non-colored rivers, the Quebrada Agria, which has an acid pH, and the Río Buenavista, which is loaded with aluminum silicate particles. Under the effect of aluminum silicate, a beautiful blue is reflected. Below, gas emanations accompany hot water, whose composition would make any bath dangerous. The forest is full of life, like the amazing frog with red eyes, or this frog here, tiny but venomous. As for this snake, it is better to avoid being on its way. Coffee is still one of the pillars of the country's economy. Most of the plantations are located in the central valleys, like here, in Naranjo. The cooperative Esperetu Santo has 200 hectares where it produces its own coffee. It also transforms that of many small producers of the surrounding area. Harvest spreads from the end of November to the end of February. A tedious task, because you have to take care of all the crops. The bags are carried to the cooperative located below. Here, a small producer brings his daily production, which is evaluated and weighed. The technician checks the presence of green cherries, which will be thrown away. He evaluates the weight of the delivery by measuring the height in the tank. The cherries will be washed, pulped to extract the seeds, and left to ferment for about 24 hours. The seeds are then dried. There is now a phase that requires a lot of precision. Torrefaction. The ovens are located in another building of the cooperative that can be identified with the eyes closed by looking at the characteristic aromas that emerge from them. Torrefaction is an operation that aims to cook the coffee seeds at about 200°C. The coffee is then mixed with green, beige, brown and finally with black, according to the desired result. All the know-how of the torrefactor lies in the very precise control of the cooking time by constantly observing the evolution of the color of the seeds. This operation will fix the color and, above all, the aromas of the coffee. When it is judged that the torrefaction is finished, the seeds are roasted to prevent them from continuing to cook. They are then placed on a natural fabric. As we head to the Pacific coast, we reach the Rincon de la Vieira National Park, named after the volcano. It is also a privileged place to observe the birds. The slopes of the volcano are dotted with rivers and waterfalls. Since the arrival of the Europeans in the region in the 16th century, the eruptive activity has been regularly observed. About twenty eruptions have been recorded. The last dates back to June 2017. The summit of the volcano, at an altitude of 1,916 meters, is not accessible. Toxic emanations emerge. However, on its flanks, the activity is just as important. Considered the third most active volcano, it is one of the most voluminous in the country. Still to the west, flows the Tempiscué river, located about fifty kilometers from the sea, at the height of the village of Puerto Humo. It is a whole wetland that is protected by a national park. The Palo Verde houses a multitude of birds. Sedentary or migratory, they find abundant food and a refuge to reproduce. However, crocodiles can be cumbersome neighbors. The park protects part of the river Tempiscué, where salt water meets fresh water, where the forest of Feuillus meets the humid tropical forest. The region is floodproof in the rainy season. The area absorbs the overflow of rivers and the effects of large tides. Mangroves, lagoons and swamps form a unique ecosystem in this part of the country. The pink spatula is one of the most emblematic inhabitants of the Palo Verde. Its long beak allows it to search for food in a very efficient way. Thirty kilometers from the ocean, Santa Cruz is the last large town before the sea, where farmers and fishermen live. In popular restaurants, the cuisine is prepared in the middle of customers. It's quite a show in itself. Rice, fish, plantain banana, everything is simmering for a long time. The tables do not fill up. The food is delicious. Closer to the seaside, the surroundings of Playa Negra are a curious mixture of farms, rustic bars and hotels. Farmers, surfers, tourists and even swans meet here in a certain harmony. The Pacific coast all around Playa Negra is still protected from real estate pressure. If the beaches are not frequented, it is the quality of the waves that attracts the attention of many visitors. Some do not hesitate to compare this coast with what was the North Shore of Hawaii fifty years ago. A sweetness of life The coast sails all around of bays and almost deserted beaches. Like this magnificence of the pirates, ideal to conclude this journey through a country faithful to its reputation of Pura Vida, an obvious sweetness of life.