Pura Vida

Costa Rica
Jan 9, 2018
4 min read

I may be the only woman alive who is happy to have a scar. This scar is special. It's a window providing insight into who I am and how strong I can be. It's also a reminder of an unforgettable adventure.

When I was 17 years old I went on a service trip to Costa Rica with about 15 other teens. The focus of this trip was to help the communities we traveled to and immerse ourselves in a new culture, while also having some fun and adventure. We traveled to seven cities all over the country to protect sea turtles, build village facilities, and teach English classes. We also had the opportunity to go whitewater rafting on the Pacuare River, zip line through the rainforest, learn to surf, and of course, experience the “Pura Vida” lifestyle the people of Costa Rica live everyday.

Before the trip began, I wrote in my journal that I was most looking forward to learning how to surf. Little did I know, that was going to change my life.

After 10 days of work we had 2 days off for surf school. My group arrived at a small village on the Pacific Coast a few hours after leaving the last city. The Pacific Coast of Costa Rica is known for its fantastic surf and its “undiscovered” feel. I was thrilled to be there; it was what I had looked forward to the whole time. We emptied out of the bus and rushed to the campgrounds where we would set up for the next couple of days. None of us could wait for the next morning.

The sun finally came up. We all put on our swimsuits and rash guards, ate breakfast, and then ran out to the beach to meet our surf instructors. The beach was breathtaking. It really did look like no one had been there before us. It was so bright and clean and perfect and the water was incredible. I had never seen the Pacific Ocean before. We learned a few techniques on the beach and quickly we were ready to jump into the ocean. On my first try I was able to get up onto the surfboard. It wasn’t great, so I grabbed my board and swam back out to my instructor for another try.

Just when I was ready to catch the next wave, I felt a pain that was tremendous and increasing rapidly. In a strange, surreal way my foot was going numb while the pain intensified and travelled up my leg. As I shouted for help the instructors raced towards me. Rushing me to the surf shack they plunged my leg into near boiling water. I thought my skin was being incinerated. What was going on? I had been stung by a stingray and boiling water was necessary to denature the venom. (Yes, the same thing that killed Steve Irwin.)

Everyone was shocked. Apparently, stingrays hadn’t been seen in this area for years - lucky me. The instructors huddled together to decide what to do next. I was still in shock when a native Costa Rican appeared. Communicating only in Spanish, I learned he was a healer. My foot and lower leg were enormously swollen and there was a blistering open wound on one side of my ankle. I was given two options: I could go to the hospital that was about two hours away, or I could let this man help me immediately. At this point I figured, why not? I decided to trust this unknown man and try natural healing.

All of a sudden, he produced a large knife and cut a branch from a nearby flowering tree. He lit the branch and waved it around me, gently blowing ashes toward my wound and quietly humming. He made a horrible tasting tea with bee’s honey, and some unknown ingredients. I was told I had to drink the entire cupful. I'm not sure how I was able to swallow that awful concoction, but I did as I was told.

Perhaps from exhaustion, but more likely due to the tea, I slept until morning. Much of the swelling had gone down, although the site of the sting was an ugly, open, silver dollar sized wound. As I sat there feeling sorry for myself something suddenly came over me. I was not going to quit. I was told by the instructors that you aren’t a real surfer until you have been stung and today I was going to be a real surfer. I couldn’t walk very well, but that day I hobbled out to the beach, hopped on my board (regardless of my newly acquired fear of oceans), paddled out into the ocean and surfed the beautiful waves of the Pacific.

You never know what is going to happen next, but it is still important to live life to the fullest. I learned how important it is not to let something so small change the way you live your life. This reminded me that I am strong and can accomplish anything I put my mind to. My Costa Rican adventure really was an experience to last a lifetime.