Amazing Quest: Stories from Costa Rica | Somewhere on Earth: Costa Rica | Free Documentary

[Music] so [Music] costa rica this small central american country boasts an extraordinarily rich biodiversity nearly one third of the land is made up of natural reserves and national parks [Music] on the west coast the long pacific rollers lure surfers from all over the world we meet eladio on this vast deserted beach bordering the virgin forest he's chosen to make a new life for himself here between the volcanoes and the sea manolo is an old lonesome cowboy he lives near the nicaraguan border in the region of san juan one of the most isolated regions of the country then to the south of costa rica where we'll plunge into the heart of the jungle in the corcovado the country's largest national park to meet claudine a biologist fascinated by this lush forest and its inhabitants i came a blend of science passion mystery and adventure [Music] costa rica the rich coast christopher columbus gave this name to this land he discovered on his fourth voyage to the new world costa rica is the realm of microclimates and a wealth of living species this small central american country owes its natural riches to its unique geographic situation for it straddles north and south america and is under the influence of two oceans crossing costa rica gives a speeded up version of the history of the world there is a chain of volcanoes running right through the middle of this small country that contains four percent of the planet's biodiversity costa rica is working to achieve a perfect equilibrium between economic development and respect for the environment it is hoping to become the planet's first carbon neutral country by the year 2021 costa rica's volcanoes present some of the country's most breathtaking landscapes these nearly perfect cones are constantly monitored of the 116 volcanoes that dot this land of mountain and forest five are active and can sometimes be dangerous between the caribbean sea and the pacific ocean the chain of volcanoes influences the country's climate and vegetation arid and dry in the east humid and lush in the west hey oscar my friend how's it this is the way in to the rincon de la vieja here nature rules rincon de la vieja is one of costa rica's most imposing volcanoes this morning eladio one of the local guides is accompanying oscar and eliase duarte one of the country's foremost volcanologists the three of them are setting out to climb the mountain right up to the crater i really like coming into the forest i enjoy it here because it's cool i'm usually in the dry forest in the sun here it's cool and it rains a lot there are tall trees and it's green i feel a lot of energy i feel good it recharges my batteries and gives a boost to my morale [Music] due to the influence of the cloud banks that drift across the country from east to west rincon de la vieja has a number of facets the virgin forest is home to lush vegetation and a wide variety of wildlife land of pumas and jaguars this jungle is also the realm of hundreds of species of birds and invisible snakes the ring cone's most recent eruption of steam and ash was in 1997. the ground bears the traces of 20 000 years of volcanic activity this cascade of magma boulders covered with vegetation is the only way up to the summit by the north face two months ago an american came hiking up here he got up to the summit of the volcano and as of yet they still haven't found him they don't know if the crater swallowed him up or if he got caught in a mudslide they looked for him by helicopter american specialists came the top guides were out searching for him people like oscar here a lot of rescue workers came even the red cross came with dogs but there's no trace of him he disappeared we can't see the summit that's 400 meters higher up for it's shrouded in clouds as it is most of the time eladio oscar and eleazar know very well that they have about one chance in four of the ring cones crater being visible in this landscape that looks like the mouth of hell they can only hope that eliezer the volcanologist will be able to carry out his observations there are few morals all along the path to the summit the volcano emits gas from this hole it's mostly water vapor 96 97 water how hot is it 70 degrees celsius it's mainly rain water and when it falls it trickles down and hits a hot spot then it evaporates [Applause] making the effort to observe and enjoy the beauty of nature this spot is so charged with energy just knowing you're so close to this giant to such an ancient volcano it's a long climb it will take five hours since they've left the forest the wind has started to blow and the temperature has dropped about 10 degrees celsius [Music] [Music] [Music] the rincon de la vieja volcano is almost 2 000 meters high the chilly wind is blowing at 100 kilometers per hour the crater remains hidden in the clouds but no matter every time eladio reaches the summit he feels the same exhilaration these are such special moments in life moments when you grab the sky in your hands and you seize the immensity of the universe and the beauty of nature and to experience that with my old friend oscar it's fantastic isn't that right oscar [Music] these volcanoes lie on a vast chain of mountains that runs all the way up south and north america from the southern tip of chile all the way up into alaska between the caribbean sea and the pacific ocean costa rica is situated at the intersection of four tectonic plates it's a zone of sliding and grinding where volcanic eruptions and earthquakes take place regularly around the volcanoes nature is thriving and that's why eladio has chosen to live here at the base of the volcano many boiling springs act as barometers of the ring cones activity these bubbling cauldrons are made by rainwater that percolates down into the magma chambers where the water and mud are heated as in a gigantic boiler costa rica's volcanoes are all closely monitored the samples that alias air is carefully gathering will be analyzed in his volcanic and seismic observation laboratory in san jose the capital you have to be very alert and wary here in it's very beautiful all the colors and all this activity the internal dynamics of the planet that emerge one for the national parks the other for the volcanoes and sometimes the two hearts beat is won because a lot of national parks are also volcanoes it's a double joy the volcanoes are the pride and joy of the costa ricans and they're used to living with the threat of an eruption this is why eliezer comes regularly to take the pulse of these living mountains [Music] it's 5 a.m and in his home halfway between the sea and the volcano eladio is ready for action it's time for him to head for the pacific and hit the waves today i'm going surfing and this is going to give me the energy i need i think there'll be good waves there's a swell coming from hawaii in california that comes in at pena you get great waves when it's like that breakfast is important a good pinto will keep you going all day bueno costa rica along with australia is the only place on earth where there are dry tropical forests like this one it's a paradise for all sorts of reptiles iguanas boa constrictors it's also home to these arboreal acrobats the white-faced cappuccin monkeys i find it so moving entering into a sanctuary the spot is incredibly beautiful this place plays a very very important part in my life [Music] i've never been abandoned by your eyes [Music] at least an hour and a half bucking along this rough track through the forest to cover only about 10 kilometers eladio is still eager to go surfing you have to earn the pleasure of riding the waves at the end of the trail we discover these wild deserted expanses on the pacific coast [Music] here on the northwest coast of costa rica is the pena bruja beach with its famous witch's rock as soon as the surf is up eladio heads for this beach surfing is his second religion pena bruja is a paradise or at least it is [Music] one day i foreign that i was at the end of my rope i was burned out i wasn't an alcoholic my life was a mess i was tormented i was unhappy i had a job and i had money but one day i decided to come here to recover to get back in touch with myself the force drew me here i had known about this spot for 35 years i remember the first i'm an animal among all the other animals of the forest a few years ago after a motorcycle accident eladio realized that he had reached a point where he had to turn his life around or lose it so he said goodbye to the city and its dissipation the alcohol and cocaine in 2000 eladio wanted to get clean he left san jose the capital and came to live here in a bungalow near the beach and he lived alone there for five years i love surfing alone in this paradise there's no one around to hassle you [Music] i feel totally at peace [Music] so eladio was born into his new life on this beach it's an existence reduced to the very essentials the sky the sea and the surf [Music] so [Music] this spot is good for you for everyone young and old alike this place is magic it's like a clinic for the mind surfing has made eladio a free man at peace with himself these wide open vistas have allowed him to bounce back that's the magic and force of this spot somewhere on the pacific coast of costa rica [Applause] on the other side of the chain of volcanoes that makes up the spine of the country lies a vast territory that most costa ricans know nothing about the region of san juan is a land with no roads leading in this is a land of thick humid mist a warm sticky mist that influences the character of the people who work the land of the san juan region foreign [Music] this is where manolo lives he's foreman of a ranch of more than 700 hectares with as many head of cattle in these humid tropical latitudes time relaxes the men have to put up with the torpor and they take on an easy going lifestyle this is where i grew up my life is here my life is cattle-raising the city just wasn't for me living here is the most wonderful thing in the world i have my daily routine every day i get up at 5am and i go to bed at six in the evening i don't even have a television [Music] when i'm on foot i can't do a thing with them but on horseback i get right into the middle of the hurdle the cows can get aggressive with you we're never on foot except in the corral because there we can take a stick to defend ourselves but here i'm always on horseback and any one of these cows can come after you [Music] the spirit of the far west and cowboys hovers over manilow's ranch [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] and they know me pretty well cows are like that some are bad tempered and they're only plastic with me but otherwise with a stranger well they can get nasty you can get yourself tossed right over that fence [Music] [Applause] [Music] it's hard work roping all these calves [Music] has been living here far out in the country near the nicaraguan border for 30 years the farm he manages belongs to a rich family in the capital manilow is the foreman he's in charge of everything he is in fact the boss to live here one has to be able to put up with extreme isolation manolo has no running water or electricity in his house and the nearest village is more than half an hour away by rough track so getting sick is a very bad idea but manilow swears that the only thing he ever catches here is a hangover once in a while [Music] manolo's farm has a particularity it's the last farm in costa rica the last piece of property before the nicaraguan jungle from the boundary here back to the farmhouse there are 700 hectares and on the other side there you have nicaragua this little plaque marks the boundary between costa rica and nicaragua and this border has only been open for the last 20 years before then without any problems without any passports completely free [Music] manolo dreams of a world without borders a utopia perhaps and yet 60 years ago costa rica made the decision to disband its army in order to improve its health and education systems it's the only country on earth to have laid down its arms the rio san juan is a legendary river it's a natural frontier between the two countries and flows from lake nicaragua to the caribbean sea in the 18th century it was a hideout for caribbean pirates then in the 19th century during the california gold rush the gold was shipped through here from san francisco to new york it was a safer route than the far west and above all it was shorter than the route through the strait of magellan on the southern tip of chile a few years later they were even considering making this river a canal to link the atlantic and pacific oceans the canal was eventually dug in panama [Music] and here's how manolo lands in this out-of-the-way spot of el castillo in nicaragua it's as simple as that for manolo el castillo is the big city it's his sunday outing i love to come here i come once a month i do my shopping i stay over a day or two then i head home we're back in costa rica there are very few roads in this isolated region the rivers are the best way to get around and to go from one country to another manolo doesn't need a passport when he leaves his ranch here everybody knows this local character who never pretends to be what he's not 33 years old and still rolling if only manila's car could speak at the end of the road is de pocosol it's the closest village to manilow's ranch the only place where he can have a little human contact the grocer the main street the school and the bar [Music] manolo comes to town at least once a week just to break the monotony of his isolation [Music] the bar is steeped in melancholy but it's the only place to get a cold beer [Music] time to head back to the ranch manolo always manages to find someone to help him start his ancient jalopy they will all win my eyes are still good the windshield wipers don't work anymore but so what i just stick my head out the window [Music] yes [Applause] so this has been manila's life for 62 years his love for the earth for the animals for the sentimental ballads his grandmother would sing a simple existence that flows along peacefully from day to day [Music] so [Music] in the south of costa rica is the osa peninsula piece of the world that juts into the pacific ocean known for its rich biodiversity this territory is home to the largest rainforest in central america it's a veritable biological corridor protected by the cocovaldo the country's largest national park the osa peninsula is the wildest region of costa rica [Music] claudine sierra is a biologist and works for the university of costa rica she was born in argentina about 10 years ago enchanted by these tracts of wilderness she decided to settle here in costa rica claudine could have spent her life in a laboratory but she prefers the challenge of the field she has lived in europe knocked around india and south america and was a professional dancer travel and encounters have nourished her life for quite a while now i a blend of science passion mystery and adventure there are lots of rivers like this one here full of waterfalls and flowing into the pacific ocean further downstream there are prospectors because there's a lot of gold in these rivers [Music] about 30 years ago the osa peninsula was seized by gold fever prospectors flocked here by the thousands tumultuous time the prospectors in their camps were operating completely outside the law then in the late 1980s the costa rican government decided to crack down and they destroyed all the prospectors camps inside the national park [Music] the osa peninsula and the corcovado national park are vital lungs for the planet claudine is working so that these exceptionally rich spaces don't vanish from the face of the earth my missions in the park consist more in working with the people than with the plants and animals in order to protect the wildlife daniels my work with the community with the local population and with the rangers is aimed at improving the protection of the reserve while respecting the local inhabitants i'm not doing a kind of police work it's a question of changing the mentality of the different communities claudine has focused through university studies on the indigenous communities so that they may continue to live in their environment while preserving nature her numerous missions in the forest lead her to work with people living far removed from the modern world in the forest a few kilometers from the edge of the corcovado national park there are a few groups of gold prospectors still camping in this jungle the rivers feed the dreams of those that life has shortchanged for these wretched of the earth the forest is also a last chance we start at five in the morning and finish at five in the afternoon we often come away empty-handed no gold sometimes we get lucky but it's still hard we spend the whole day moving rocks the gold is stuck in the mud in the stone we have to wash them really well so that the gold drops into the sand then you can get it out it's gold dust is a national treasure i've already found nuggets weighing 20 21 and even 50 grams we were working in another spot and there we just kept finding chunks this big but i can't tell you where it is reality or fantasy prospector's tales are still the stuff of legends up to eight meters of rain can fall here between september and december these prospectors living in the heart of the rainforest are not completely illegal they are tolerated the river where they're working runs only a few kilometers from the corcovado national park 45 000 hectares of jungle and mountain that the costa rican authorities are trying to preserve from man's rapacious appetite in 1975 only a part of the osa peninsula was classified ecological sanctuary claudine knows that there's a lot more work to be done before everybody here becomes aware that gold is not the only treasure of this wilderness territory puerto jimenez is the former el dorado of the costa rican gold hunters this quiet little town has become the unavoidable stopover for travelers in search of adventure it's the gateway to the national park claudine is going to spend a few days in the virgin forest at serena the post of the forest rangers it would take several days on foot to get to sirena on the pacific coast so the easiest way to get there is by plane and the only plane in the region belongs to alvaro he's the only one to fly over corcovado [Music] [Music] um [Music] this is serena's airstrip a tiny clearing hacked out of the jungle claudine did warn us in the final moments before we land everyone falls silent in the cockpit [Music] alessandro is the head of the ranger station the park rangers are the guardians of corcovado and these two know each other well they traced 80 kilometers of trail in the forest together to encourage ecotourism but alessandro has other problems right now he's tracking poachers and illegal prospectors where are the patrols right now there's one down in the lower part of the park near the lagoon another in the ringcon and another here near the ranger station it's around here there are three patrols do you think it's enough no there are only six rangers in each patrol alessandro grew up in the jungle he knows it like the back of his hand before he became a park ranger he also was a gold prospector i was seven years old i made friends here now alessandro has chosen his side he's with the defenders of nature don't you feel a little bit like a cop now with respect to your old friends i have problems with them sometimes they tell me you used to be a prospector you know what we're like you've betrayed us i tell them that it's time to stop looking for gold i talk with them try to convince them and in the end some of them do follow my advice but others continue this morning alessandro has visitors a group of tourists with their guide have just landed only a few motorboats come here to selena when the pacific swell allows it cocovaldo is a paradise of vegetation in the midst of this lush greenery the ranger station provides accommodations for travelers eager to experience the primeval forest these visitors mostly young backpackers from all over the world can lodge here for a few days this setup brings in some money for the station and that helps the employees protecting the national park [Music] we feel like we're on an island here there's no direct means of communication with our families if there's a problem or an emergency our families call the office in puerto ri if we had the telephone or internet that would put our minds more at ease [Music] so [Music] [Music] the forest is an ideal setting to find oneself claudine was a top-level modern dancer now practicing yoga allows her to achieve a harmony with the universe that surrounds her [Music] practical yoga yoga gives you a particular feeling depending on whether you're doing it indoors or outdoors it's an encounter with yourself however when you do yoga in a place with very high vibrations and that gives you very special feelings claudine spent a lot of time traveling around the planet she wanted to see the most beautiful things the earth had to offer after finishing her studies in biology she embarked on a career of professional dancer but her love of nature caught up with her and claudine accepted a mission from the costa rican government to study the ecosystem of cocoa island a deserted paradise lost in the pacific ocean she stayed there for eight years giving of oneself and accepting to become one with nature this is what claudine has learned from her profession and her experience a certain idea of harmony between man and his environment claudine is going to spend the night on the beach in a few hours she'll be meeting an expert on sea turtles having a job that allows me to always be in contact with nature is in fact an excuse it brings back feelings from my childhood when i was little we used to play in a big garden that for me was a magical and mysterious forest this is an isolated and wild spot where the animals roam around freely if you're really lucky you may catch sight of a puma five different species of sea turtle have been coming to lay their eggs here on the beaches of costa rica for millions of years this animal straight out of prehistoric times and capable of crossing oceans benefits from the protection of scientists claudine is going to patrol the beaches of corcovado to observe the sea turtles along with eric he works for a sea turtle protection program tonight they're looking for a specific rare endangered species the loggerhead turtle eric wants to attach a tracker to one but they don't find any this time however they do see some more common turtles that came up on the beach to lay their eggs on this moonless night this nest with its eggs nearly ready to hatch was recently raided the eggs have to incubate for 55 days here the eggs are 50 or 51 days old and when they're close to hatching like these so tomorrow morning the birds would come and have a feed claudine and eric move the eggs a few dozen meters away in a few days they'll hatch and the lucky ones will make it to the open sea only one turtle in a thousand reaches adulthood i'm proud it's important to work for a worthy cause like sea turtles which are nearly one-third of costa rica is protected territory it is the only country to have reconciled economic development and respect for the environment so the corcovado national park is a very special place we could protect the planet a little better without corcovado and places like it our future seems very bleak but corcovado does exist [Music] you

Channel: Free Documentary

Views: 223,310

Keywords: Free Documentary, Documentaries, Full documentary, HD documentary, documentary - topic, documentary (tv genre), somewhere on earth, amazing stories, amazing stories from costa rica, amazing quest, costa rica

Id: 2RDrpXErDcw

Length: 52min 6sec (3126 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 14 2022