All that Glitters

On any afternoon, Paolo could usually be found on the porch swing. Today was one of those days. His sister Caprina even decided to join him. Sra. Yiguirro was nowhere to be found, as rain drenched the bird garden. Paolo and Caprina swung on the porch and watched storm clouds passing overhead.
Even though they didn’t find gold, the Spanish conquistadors did not give up on Costa Rica. The lush forests, rugged hills, and tropical rains beat them back. Even now, Costa Rica’s jungles were as dense as the Amazon. The few Spaniards that remained in Costa Rica found the lifestyle irresistible. It was the pure life – long beaches, beautiful weather (most of the time), and an abundance of natural gifts.
In addition to the Spaniards, Jamaicans also came to Costa Rica. They mingled and married with the native Mesoamericans, forming a rich cultural melting pot.
This melting pot was experienced in the wide variety of cultures among the Costa Ricans. Alicia Magombo’s ancestors came over from Jamaica by way of Spanish slave ships. Many slaves worked the cacao fields. After slavery ended in Costa Rica, her family struggled to become college educated and leaders in Costa Rican society. Alicia’s grandfather even worked at a factory that produced cocoa powder.
Paolo’s father opened the front door and joined his two youngest children on the porch.
“Paolo, do you want to go to work with me today?”
“What are we doing?”
“I have to do some paperwork. I figured you might want to tag along.”
“Sure,” said Paolo.
“Can I come, too?” asked Caprina.
“Of course,” said Sr. Vasquez.
They loaded into the truck and away they went. They waited for the hourly motorboat, which took them up the coast to Tortuguero. The children went with their father to the staff house. He unfolded his laptop and began typing. Meanwhile, the children sat in front of the television.
It wasn’t too long before both Caprina and Paolo were bored.
“Papi, may I take Caprina to the turtle pens?”
“Most of the turtles are gone.”
“They are?”
“They leave right before rainy season begins. You can visit Alicia, if you want.”
“That might be fun,” said Paolo.
“May I go, too?” asked Caprina.
“It’s up to your brother.”
“Come on,” replied Paolo.
Caprina took her older brother by the hand and let him lead her to the Crocodile House at the back of the Reserve. The ‘Croc House’, as everyone called it, looked likea smaller version of the ‘Treasure Chest’ at the front of the park. The only difference was that only a dozen or so visitors were at the Croc House, versus the hundreds that flocked to the Treasure Chest.
“Hola, Alicia!”
“Hola, Paolo, Quien es?”
“Es mi hermana, Caprina.”
“Hola, Alicia,” said Caprina.
“Me gusto,” replied Alicia.
She took Paolo and his sister to one of the rooms of the Croc House closed to the public. Just like the Treasure Chest, the floor was covered with mounds of black sand. There was also a wheelbarrow filled with volcanic rocks.
“What are you doing?” asked Paolo.
“We’re making a wading pool for the caiman.”
Alicia pushed the wheelbarrow to the center of the room and parked it next to a plaster basin. Paolo had seen this before. Sra. Yiguirro’s birdbath looked just like this one, only smaller.
“Caprina, do you want to help?”
Caprina nodded excitedly.
“I need you to pound these volcanic rocks into a fine powder.”
“How do I do that?”
Alicia dumped the contents of the wheelbarrow onto the ground in front of Caprina. She grabbed an iron pole leaning against the wall and handed it to Caprina. The pole was as tall as Caprina (and about as heavy, too). As Caprina struck the rocks with the end of the pole, they broke into smaller pieces of lava. In no time at all, a glassy black powder covered the floor in front of Caprina.
“Paolo come with me. We need to fetch more volcanic rock.”
“Did these rocks come from Arenal?” asked Paolo.
“I’m not sure which volcano they came from.”
Although the lava could have come from any one of thirteen volcanoes, these rocks came from Poas, the nearest volcano to the Reserve. A great many rocks in and around Costa Rica came directly from erupting volcanoes. Gabbro, Obsidian, pumice, and granite were all once hot magma boiling deep in the earth. The different rocks were formed depending on the eruption and how fast the magma cooled.
When Alicia and Paolo returned with the wheelbarrow, volcanic ash covered Caprina from head-to-toe.
“What did you do to yourself?” asked Alicia.
“You told me to smash the lava, so I did.”
“I guess that will do,” chuckled Alicia.
Alica scooped the black powder into the wheelbarrow and then went outside. When she returned, the wheelbarrow was filled with dirt.
“What now?” asked Caprina.
Alicia tilted the wheelbarrow on its side. Dirt spilled onto the ground, followed by the volcanic powder from earlier.
“Paolo, grab us some shovels from the corner so we can mix the dirt.”
Alicia grabbed a garden hose and sprayed the dirt and ashes until they turned into black mud. Then, she sprinkled a small amount of cement powder on the mud.
“Now let’s stir it up,” said Alicia.
They churned the mud with their shovels until it was completely mixed.
“Who wants to build the walls for the caiman pond?”
Caprina and Paolo both raised their hands, fighting to be chosen.
“Okay, you can take turns,” said Alicia,
So Paolo and Caprina took turns placing the volcanic rocks and securing them in place with the mud-ash-concrete mortar mix. Before long, every stone was in place.
“When can we add water?” asked Caprina.
“It takes a few hours to dry.”
“What will we do until then?”
“We’ll take a lunch,” said Alicia.
They walked to the cafeteria inside the staff house. Alicia stopped just in front of the counter and turned to the Vasquez children.
“What do you want to eat?”
“Let’s get some Jamaican Jerk,” suggested Paolo.
“Is that okay with you, Caprina?” asked Alicia.
“I don’t know. I’ve never had any.”
“Then you must try some. You will like it very much,” said Alicia.
Alicia ordered three skewers of barbecued jerk chicken and three bottles of mango juice, too. The chef pulled the skewers from the grill and presented them to Alicia.
“They look fine,” replied Alicia.
The chef wrapped the skewers in wax paper and handed one to each person. He also gave them their mango juice. Caprina picked a place to sit next to the window. Paolo and Alicia sat with her.
“This doesn’t look like barbecue. There’s no sauce,” said Caprina.
“Jamaican jerk is a dry rub. Before the chef grills the chicken skewers, spices are rubbed onto the pieces of chicken. The word jerk is short for ‘jerky’, just like beef jerky.”
At first, Caprina took just a small bite. The char-grilled spices were blackened by the flames, but she could still see the dark orange spice covering her chicken. The spices tingled on her tongue and burned as the taste hit the back of her throat. She gulped down her mango juice, washing the hot taste away.
“You okay?”
“Mmm-hmm,” replied Caprina as her eyes watered.
Caprina finished her bottle of mango juice long before she finished her skewer. She took her bottle to the water fountain and filled it to the top. She drank her bottle of water and filled it again as she finally finished eating her first spicy Jamaican Jerk chicken skewer.
“That was good,” said Caprina.
Alicia chuckled but Paolo remained silent. He stared at a waterfall just outside the window.
“Alicia, what if we built a waterfall for the Croc House?” suggested Paolo.
“I think that would be a fine idea.”
After everyone finished their snack, they returned to work. Alicia fetched a water pump from the equipment locker at the Croc House. She connected a hose to one of the water faucets in the Croc House and led it to the wading pond. She attached the water pump to the end and Paolo positioned the pump so water would flow down the side of the lava rock wall and into the pond.
“They gave me some shrubs which we could use to hide the water pump.”
The arranged a planter of ivy so its green leaves disguised the pump. Now, the edge of the wading pond looked like the cliffs near Paolo’s house.
“Now, can we turn on the waterfall?” asked Caprina excitedly.
“Let’s give it a go,” said Alicia.
She turned the faucet until water trickled down the sides of the wading pond.
“It’s beautiful,” said Caprina.
“I think so, too,” said Paolo.
“You’ve done good work, but there’s one thing missing,” said Alicia.
“What?”
“Caiman babies.”
Alicia and the children went into one of the other rooms of the Croc House. She loaded the wheelbarrow with aquariums full of caiman.
The returned to the wading pool and moved the tiny green amphibians to their new home. The caiman swam around the pond, getting used to their new environment.
Paolo watched the caiman as they splashed around. The water-soaked walls of the wading pond sparkled in the fluorescent light of the Croc House. It reminded him of Sra. Yiguirro’s birdbath outside his bedroom window.
“May I take some of these volcanic rocks home with me?” asked Paolo.
“Why on earth do you need these?”
“I think they’d look nice around the birdbath at my house.”
“You can take as much as you need,” replied Alicia.
They loaded an empty burlap bag with rocks before everyone returned to the staff house. When they arrived, Sr. Vasquez was already there, talking to other zookeepers as he waited for the children.
“What do you have there?” asked father.
Paolo explained his plan to his father and his father agreed to help. Paolo carried his sack of volcanic gems to the motorboat. As he rode home, he thought of Christopher Columbus and the conquistadors who left Costa Rica behind. He wondered how anyone could make such a big mistake. Paolo was beginning to see the riches of Costa Rica everywhere he looked.Paolo and Caprina fell asleep, Certainly, their dreams were soft and sweet, filled with visions of wildlife and wilderness – and the great treasures buried in every corner of the rich coast.