A Beautiful Surprise
It was close to the end of our month in Costa Rica. This was back in February of 2018. We had traveled in a big circle from San Jose to the Nicoya peninsula then across to La Fortuna and on to Puerto Viejo before ending in San Jose again. We were staying just outside of Puerto Viejo in Cocles. The Caribbean side of Costa Rica was mellow and easy going, just like the Caribbean sea. By comparison, the places we visited on the Pacific side felt a little more wild and reflected the more untamed Pacific ocean. During our week in the Puerto Viejo area, I got into the habit of waking up early and riding a bike along the road that hugged the coast. Most mornings I would get up and explore for an hour or so and then make my way back to be with my family as everyone started to wake up. On a sleepy Sunday morning I left before sunrise and headed to Playa Punta Uva to watch the sun rise on the Caribbean. What happened next was a beautiful surprise.
I arrived at the far side of the playa and realized that there were other people out on the beach already! No one had their beach towels or umbrellas set out, these were locals who seemed to be carrying on with their weekly routine. After I stashed my bike in a secluded spot along the beach, I started to walk towards the crowd of locals to see what was going on. At first, I thought maybe they were just enjoying an early morning swim but then I noticed that most people had something in their hands and a group of people were getting ready to push a boat out from the shore. It started to become clear that everyone was working together to catch fish early in the morning. As I started to get closer to everyone, I could see that the items in their hands were actually spools of fishing line. Some of the fishing line was on an actual spool and others had their fishing line wrapped around plastic bottles acting like a spool. What was unfolding in front of me was a beautiful view of the local culture and I felt so fortunate to see something so real.
I did my best to be respectful of everyone. I didn't want to make a scene or be any more of an obvious tourist than I already was. I stuck to the back of the beach and stayed out of everyone's way. The beach here was beautiful. I found a small freshwater stream coming out of the jungle and it formed a stunning, still pool of water. The pool showed me the reflections of the event in front of me. In the still water there were colorful leaves and flowers that had fallen from the trees along the stream and the edge of the beach. The whole situation was really pretty magical.
As I sat and watched everyone at work, I started to recognize a pattern to their process. A small boat would go out from the beach and they would throw a net to catch small baitfish. When their buckets were full of baitfish they would come back to shore. The bait fish was shared among all of the men and women fishing along the beach. I don't think there were any more than a few fishing rods being used, it was mostly spools of fishing line held by hand. They would hook the baitfish and then throw the line out as far as they could to catch the bigger fish. When a bigger fish was on the line they would wind their spool, or bottle, by hand and put the fish in a bucket. It was a magical dance to watch. If I had to guess, this is probably pretty common in areas along the coast where there are small towns and villages, maybe even at coastal cities. For me, being landlocked my whole life, this was all new to me. It was beautiful to watch.
I stayed low and at the periphery of the beach and the freshwater pool. I could have watched this for hours. I never lifted the camera to my eye but instead opted to take a range-finder approach to taking photos. The reflections on the pool of water could have been a never-ending source of photographic intrigue. Towards the end of my time in that amazing place, I found three women working together near the end of the beach. The reflection pool gave me a unique view of them. I snapped a few photos over the course of several minutes. Some showed waves crashing in the background and some showed them putting the bait on the line. Ultimately, the photo that struck me the most was the one that showed the central woman mid-cast, another woman in the process of reeling the bait in, and the last woman working to get the bait on the line, all while the boat is drifting into the frame. To me, this photo summed up that morning perfectly and I will cherish it forever.
Photography is always at it's best when you least expect something. You experience something real and you're present to capture a moment in time. This family trip to Costa Rica, exploring both coasts and the lands in between, was filled with magical moments. There's something so special about this country and the people here that it can't be explained without actually being there. Out of all of our moments, this one is one of the most authentic and I am so grateful that I was able to experience this community culture.
