Nomadic Narrative

I’m starting to think that community-based rural tourism might be one of the keys to a more peaceful future. Most of us are convinced that international travel creates the kind of understanding needed to develop compassion. And we certainly need compassion in this period of globalization and rapid change. Not all kinds of travel enable the authentic connection required to really walk away with a deeper understanding and tolerance for other ways of living — a kind of experience that may even encourage you to transform the way your live back home. (Read previous post about rural tourism characteristics here.)

Community-based rural tourism appeals to people who travel to learn a little bit more about how people live, think, and believe in other parts of the globe. It’s very much connected to the ideas of responsible travel and slow travel. If you don’t see yourself planning your whole trip to Costa Rica around rural tourism, consider just a day or two. Jump outside of your comfort zone and experience life from a new perspective — our world depends on it.

Here are some community-based rural tourism options I discovered at the fair and a map of Costa Rica:

• ACTUAR, the Costa Rican Association of Community-based Rural Tourism, is one of the more well-known agencies supporting this type of tourism. Check out their Web site at www.actuarcostarica.com for several tour packages.

• SIMBIOSIS Costa Rica Tours also offers several options at www.turismoruralcr.com

• Coopesavegre R.L. www.coopesavegre.com is on the Nicoya peninsula where you can raft the Savegre River, hike to the Cerro de la Muerte and spot Quetzals along what is called the “Route of the Quetzal.”

• Interested in the art of artisanal fishing? Go on a guided tour on the Tárcoles River near Quepos on the Pacific. (506) 637-0210

• “Journey to the roots of Guanacaste” as this rural tourism adventure is described at www.tendalcommunitytours.com One-day tours are available — a great option for those staying the night in Santa Cruz, Guanacaste.

• Visit the 900 hectare Karen Mogensen Reserve in Jicaral de Puntarenas on the Nicoya Peninsula. www.asepaleco.org I want to hike to the waterfall pictured in the brochure just to see if it’s really that spectacular!

• If you’re on your way to summit Chirripó, visit www.chirriporural.org for a list of community-based rural tourism projects in the area.

• Many people come to Costa Rica to experience the rainforest and the beaches. There are also several indigenous communities looking to rural tourism to rescue their fading cultures. The Boruca in the southern zone are famous for their textiles, carved masks and the “Little Devil’s Festival” at the end of the year (Read my pre-Boruca trip post here and the travel feature story I published about the Boruca here. Learn more at www.borucacr.org. To visit indigenous communities in the Talamanca region, write to the asociacion.fincaeducativa@gmail.com.

• ASEDER www.aseder.org is helping people in the Osa Peninsula organize community-based rural tourism projects. A few are: www.laleonaecolodge.com, www.dantacorcovado.net, and www.osapalmaslodge.com

• Not far outside of San José in La Argentina, Pocora, Limón, you can visit several families who have joined together to create a rural tourism project to share their customs, values, and traditions. Email: kfonseca@earth.ac.cr

See you out there!