Bribri, Amubri, Soki

Yesterday was the longest and most intense day of the trip so far. We took our van about an hour up into the Talamanca mountains to the Bribri Indigenous Reserve.  There we met a local young man named Geiner (not sure of that spelling) who guided us across a large river on a small boat (right) to the public bus which took us to the town of Amubri. I first visited Amubri eleven years ago with friends from EcoTeach when they first visited the community to talk to elders about bringing student groups there. Back then, all of the houses were traditional wood thatched roof houses and no electricity. Now, they are all concrete with tv's and tin roofs.

From Amubri we set off down the road to visit the village of Soki. It was a hot, sunny day and several of the kids took advantage of the horses that our guides brought along. In Soki, the Bribri are hanging onto their culture, still living from the land and practicing their long-held customs and ceremonies. EcoTeach has great background information on the communities here.

After more than an hour, we came to the small village and went to one of the homes and sat on makeshift benches. There, local leaders showed us how they made chocolate for important occasions and gave us a delicious lunch of rice, beans, heart of palm, banana, and helecho (a fern-like plant), served wrapped up in a banana leaf. We then moved to a newly built traditional ranch where their kids sang us a song and then we participated in a sacred dance called the Sorbon (again probably spelled wrong). The kids from our group then sang a song from their school and taught the Bribri kids the timeless game of tag.

Most people here work in agriculture, harvesting bananas, plantains, cacao, and other fruit. They are part of a successful cooperative called APPTA which supports many local and indigenous communities. We hope to visit their chocolate processing plant later in the trip. A small amount of tourism also helps these communities survive. EcoTeach has built a new school and clinic and helped to bring clean water to two villages here. For many of us, the most enduring memory will be the hospitality of our new Bribri friends. Their gratefulness of our visit and openness to share their culture will be one of our most precious souvenirs.

(PS - Feel free to point out the irony of a complete lack of mention of turtles for our 100th post...)

(PPS - We didn't post any pictures of the Bribri people except for the guide as they request us not to take any.)