Cahuita, Costa Rica UofA 1977
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ROF= Ring of fire Odyssey MEF-H = Marine Expeditionary Force- Hargus
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Cahuita, Costa Rica 1977 University of Alabama students
University of Alabama students in Costa Rica, Latin America
Summer 1977 independent study
Cahuita, Costa Rica
Summer 1977 in Costa Rica... rode the jungle train from San Jose down to Limon -- pronounced "Puerto Lee- Moan" -- on the Caribbean Gulf of Mexico coast. Also see the post about the train (when done) through the Latin American jungle to Limon; it was not your average train. People came for miles just to see this train station.
Took a bus/ cab on down to Cahuita... about 10 miles north of the Panama border. This was a tiny outpost town on the gulf of Mexico. Primitive by most standards... dirt roads, no maintenance, potholes the size of a car -- very common in the out areas. A few concrete block houses at the main intersection of town. Turn right/ south for a mile of so and come to "Hotel Lam"... the only place to stay in Cauhita, and maybe the most going concern of a business. It was a hotel, store in the lobby, post office, only TV in town... ect/ everything.
The rooms upstairs had a latch lock on the inside, some room had a hinge for a padlock which most of the students had. This was raw wood plywood from the wood floor up to about 2 feet from the ceiling,... then it was 2 feet of mosquito net. No AC... AC... there wasn't even electricity but a hanging 40 watt bulb in the hall. The beds were wooden makeshift 2x4 frames and some old horrible excuse for a mattress that looked like some 400 pound guy had wallowed out the middle and threw it away.
You didn't need sheets 'cause it was a sweltering 110* in the Costa Rican jungle. No windows except for the "plush" rooms. If you opened the windows at night some mosquitoes carry you away. There were mosquitos that could stand flat footed and Honk a chicken. The shower down the end o9f the hall near the stairway was like most Costa Rican places; a cold water pipe for a shower-head. The water was lukewarm for about 15 seconds- from the jungle heat- then cold. Floor was raw concrete w/ mold/ leftover grungy soap discarded on the floor. light in the hall way,... and some centapeds/ millipedes?... and other bugs often crawling on the walls or wet dark corners.
Remember the screen walls for the upper 2 feet then stapled to the ceiling?... well... you could here everything in every room. Every turn over, every yawn, every snore, every whisper,.... and yes... every Honk! It was interesting to hear the gossip of the ladies next morning. We should have awarded the "Best Honk" by vote.
On the right of the Pilsner "Hotel Lam" sign was a run down room that had a juke box. No bar. You bought a beer in the lobby. There was no open container ordinance. Some of the ladies danced with a few of the Tico guys, and was ok until they served a lemonade to one of the girls with a crab claw in the glass. They giggled/ chuckled so we didn't know if it was a prank,... or some cultural thing we didn't understand.
Had to walk out and see the ocean/ Gulf/ beach. The ocean air was thick w/ the rotted seaweed smell and it was a somewhat dirty beach although it looked beautiful for a mile reaching around a point. Coconut trees all along the jungles line. Cold crisp salty ocean. Felt good after poor Tico showers for a few days; finally clean!
There was a small river flowing out to the sea. it was about knee deep to get over to the rest of the beach and there was a Brahma on the other side.
Some Tico kids were swimming/ playing in the lagoon pool of the estuary river that emptied into the sea. Probably their parents told them to stay out of the rough ocean surf.
These Costa Rican kids were having fun swimming in the river inlet to the ocean at Cahuita.
Kids are the eyes to the culture.
The Brahma bull decided to take a beach stroll. Brahmas were all over Costa Rica and the couple of times I had a piece of small steak it was not anything like US steaks.
After swimming in the ocean, hung my wet cutoffs on the bedpost... changed into dry cutoffs and went downstairs and out of the "hotel" Hotel Lam. On return, found my room had been entered and my cutoffs hung on the window sill as -- they had been dripping through the floor,... onto the cash register in the lobby. Life is interesting isn't it?
In the 3rd window, that's my wet cutoffs hung out to dry by the hotel owner so they would not drip onto the cash register in the lobby. The hotel Lam lady was a Costa Rican Tico... had some mixed Caribbean/ Asian bloodline; a really beautiful lady.
The hotel lobby had the only TV in the town and villagers would come every day to watch the 3pm to 6pm broadcast. It was THE event of the town/ village. Some of the TV was like Sesame Street, then the Costa Rican news.
Went over and talked with a local Tico sitting on the steps of his house across the street from the hotel. nice guy. With my limited Spanglish began talking w/ him. When you talk to local people, ask them about their family, their life, their home, the town... take a real interest in them.... give them some respect... they will open up to you and you become friends. Avantio? / Antonio? was his name? His Son sitting on the steps. He was as proud of his home and family. ... and he took me out snorkeling to catch some lobsters. Avantio was a good man. He is my friend for life even though we'll never meet again.
Later walked out about a 1/2 mile to the beach / gulf.... beautiful rounded cove with 5 to 6 ft waves... a really hard pounding surf. powerful waves. Coconut palm trees lined the beach. Walked with a cute girl... Susan from Gadsden , Alabama... about a mile down the beach. Stunningly beautiful. Hot bright sun, stiff wind breeze of 20 mph, cold surf. Had walked in the surf. I liked this lady. Held hands. A good walk. I kidded Sue... wanted her to hold up a coconut up like she was drinking coconut milk like a native TICA.
At the tip / point of the cove... about a mile, turned and headed back. about half way back saw a huddle / group hunched over something and walked over. Thought they caught a shark. It was a drowned Tico... A Costa Rican guy had drowned in the hard surf. It was a mean surf... not for tourist swimming. Really rough and tough with a lot of wind. At first glance... they had him on his stomach working his arms like they were making him swim. This wasn't right. I knew from the scouts... from the Marines... the basic first aid they were not helping him. He was going to die right there. In the huddle I asked... ?how long has he been out? I didn't want to try to revive someone who'd been out 20 minutes with oxygen depletion of the brain... a split second decision here.
someone interpreted in Spanish... a minute or 2 from the surf. I turned him over immediately, pointed his chin upward , and started giving him mouth to mouth resuscitation. about the 3rd breath,... he threw up into my mouth... gross... I spit out and went right back to breathing in while pushing his stomach / chest. He coughed and threw up some more... I knew this was good. It was purging water out of his lungs. ... he was expelling the bad stuff from his body. He was coughing up water and vomit, spitting it out, i knew that was good. Showing sings of coming back to life.
Another American guy... older asked was he drowned??? and started helping me. The Tico continued spitting up. He's breathing somewhat now... and rolled onto his side... we continued to press and push his stomach. more coughing out water and he's coming to life... then the reality hit me. He was drowned and would have died there had I / we not done CPR. Tico was stunned, incoherent... but responsive... and stabilizing. After a few minutes... His friends were there with him... no more I could do... I got up and Susan and I walked back to the Cahuita hotel Lam.
About 30 minutes later, the province police / beach workers brought him out, past the hotel, in a red jeep, onto the nearest hospital/ clinic. I never knew who he was. Over the years I just wondered... ?did I save a life? ?Did this guy eventually have a family and were happy? I hope I had a tiny hand in that. I was thankful that what I'd learned in the scouts and Marines actually worked and made a difference in someones life. I saw that life was so frail and fleeting... the only moment is right now. 5 minutes of different time would have been a life gone. I'm glad I knew what to do. That day changed my life. Every day is precious!
Susan and I hooked up a year later. Over the years I wondered a few times about the Tico guy. ?What became of him? ect
***
In the 1st year married - 1978 - I came home one day and said to Sue "we've got some money saved up, we need to buy this new stock going public called "Home Depot". "Oh no, we're going to buy curtains. They will be an investment in the house."
Those curtains wound up costing over $1,200. and that was only 3 rooms. I don't see how they could have cost that much. maybe I didn't know how to "shop for a bargain". Home Depot went public at $12/ share.
Over the years of growth and adjusted for splits HD topped out at some $290,000. ... from $1,200 to $290k,... a 290 to 1 bagger; a pretty good call. Years later when Sue & I split up; I wondered about something else.
?Susan, What do you suppose those curtains are worth now?
You never drink twice from the same stream.
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