The Ying and the Yang

Every now and then you’re lucky enough to experience a couple of days in your life that stay with you and remain etched in your memory. You revisit these moments and they shape you in ways you might not recognize at the time. And when I look back, they often have a fuzzy, surreal quality to them. Sometimes they involve personal growth and other times they’re just alcohol filled, sun-soaked days that draw you closer to those around you or make you realize something important about life. For me, these times have always been experienced through a deep connection with friends, family, or people you meet while traveling but forge a real bond with nonetheless. For me, traveling is all about capturing these experiences and feelings.

In late November, I had one of those weeks.

Through my boss at Habitat, I got an e-mail from someone looking for people to serve as bilingual tour guides for 4 days in Guanacaste. An organization in Costa Rica that puts together volunteer vacation tours for small international groups. This time however, the client was a major company that wanted to bring 150 plus of its employees down to do volunteer work and team-building and corporate development. They needed to hire about 12 additional bilingual staff for this project. Enter Chris. I sent in my resume and my supervisor gave me the week off and I was in. The pay was great but the icing on the cake was the all-inclusive hotel we stayed at.

The company (we’ll call it Acme so I don’t have to keep referring to it as “The Company”) is big on social responsibility and also wanted to use volunteering as a means to promote a greater sense of cohesion. Acme is a large fragrance and taste company that creates everything from perfumes (apparently companies like Dolce and Gabana don’t actually make their fragrances, they contract that out) to the flavor of sports beverages and toothpaste. Most of its staff is based in France, the U.S. and to a lesser degree Latin America. Recently Acme purchased one of its main competitors so the company is really two organizations that merged but with very distinct corporate cultures. Part of the idea behind bringing the staff to Costa Rica was to break down the cliquish nature of the France and American staff. This differences between both groups were palpable and interesting. If you’re still reading this, thank you. It’s boring but critical to have some relevant context.

Our group left at the crack of dawn from San Jose on a Sunday. It was a random collection of people differing in age and background. It included bilingual tour guides, facilitators for the team-building sessions, and support staff that coordinated logistics. In all there were 19 of us.

After driving all morning we arrived at the Paradisus Resort in Playa Conchal. I had read about it in my LP Guide and the description didn’t do it justice. As I passed the golf course on the way in, I wondered whether it would live up to the hype. It’s a sprawling complex that is perfectly manicured and houses 8 restaurants, a golf course, a couple of bars, several pools, a conference center, a day spa, and bungalows and hotel complexes, as well as residences. It has that plastic Disney feel; every little detail just so, every space clean, every tree perfectly manicured, everything over the top. Having lived and traveled in Costa Rica for several months now, the contrast with everything else I’ve experienced is that much sharper and surreal. The resort consists mostly of two story bungalows and a VIP building laid out along the large complex and connected through asphalt trails.
The best way to picture the Paradisus is as a combination of a retirement community in Florida and a luxury cruise-liner. To top it off, it’s on one of the nices beaches in Costa Rica. A fleet of pick-up trucks turned taxis continually circulate throughout the complex and take you wherever you want to go, even if it’s 40 meters away.

I didn’t fully grasp the all-inclusive concept initially. The little wristband they give you is the key to all the food, alcohol and overindulgence you can handle. I gained about 9lbs in the 5 days I spent there!

There were several volunteer projects: building a nursery, painting a school, teaching environmental workshops to school children, and planting trees. I co-led a group of about 60 volunteers in the reforestation project with a Tico named Hector. At the last minute, the work site had to be changed because the original arrangement broke down so they had to scramble to find a new site. Luckily they did but planning and organization was sacrificed. Hector and I were given a brief tour of the site on Sunday and basically told, “Here’s 1000 trees, just plant them here, here, and there.” We worked at an animal rescue and refuge called Monkey Park. The goal was to help reforest the property that had previously been a ranch by planting fruit trees as a food source for the monkeys and other tree species for shade and shelter. But it wasn’t as simple as planting a tree somewhere, each tree had a specific spot in order for it to survive and serve its purpose. Unfortunately, there was only one person with a forestry background to guide us. Hector and I pulled through though and after two and half days of work our group had managed to plant 800 trees. I also learned about the importance of having food when leading a group of people in a project. Everything can go wrong but you can adapt and adjust, but if the food is late or isn’t sufficient or good, people will straight up murder your ass!

The cultural dynamic was quite interesting because of the strong differences between the French and American group. Individually, there were exceptions, but as a group, the French were far more demanding and difficult to deal with. There was always something wrong or not to their liking. I knew what we were in for when I picked up the first group at the airport. We brought a large bus with a staff member from the hotel to expedite the check-in process which included issuing everyone wristbands. Well someone from the French group didn’t want to put it on. I guess he felt it was tacky or didn’t match his stylish outfit. He finally acquiesced but only after much protest. I thought, your life must be pretty good if that’s what you’re going to complain about. The only cool place I got to visit in my last job was upper Montgomery County. This guy gets flown to an all-inclusive five star resort in a tropical paradise on the company’s dime for staff development and he’s in a crappy mood? Are you kidding me?

The Americans by contrast were much more relaxed and easy-going. I guess more of them realized that they had it pretty good.

The final night included a jungle rave party complete with a Cirque du Soleil type show, two Djs, fire jugglers, face-painters, fire works, and a Brazilianesque samba band. It was a nice way to end the experience.

After 5 days of planting trees, a canopy tour, some beach time, partying (part of staff development!), eating and drinking like a Roman, it was time for a return to some semblance of reality. A few of us from staff decided to spend a couple of days decompressing in Playa Grande, about 30 minutes south. It was the antithesis of the Paradisus. Playa Grande consists of a tiny community that attracts surfers from around the world. It’s also known as one of the nesting grounds of the Giant Leatherback turtle. It felt relieving to not be responsible for anyone except myself or waiting for the next activity. The day we arrived, we were lucky enough to witness a double rainbow and see one of the giant turtles lay eggs at night. A park ranger leads you along the beach and eventually you reach the main attraction. To behold this gentle giant depositing its genetic legacy on the beach with millions of bright stars as a backdrop is a moving experience. The trail they leave when they come to literally looks like car tracks. We stayed for a couple more days and I got to practice my surfing and enjoy the spectacular sunsets. It was the perfect counterpoint to the Paradisus.

Pura Vida!