This article is one of a series on life in the campo, or country living in Costa Rica, as my wife and I* experienced it on our visits and after moving to Costa Rica. Each is a sort of time capsule, the stories evolving with us as we have lived more experiences and delved deeper into the culture.

If you have paid for a guide for fishing in Costa Rica, I am sure your experiences will be different from mine. I love to fish, but I guess, so far, I am too cheap to pay for a guide. What is happening is that I express my interest in fishing, so Ticos of every age, always eager to help, take me fishing. The results are classic Costa Rica.

The first time I tried to go fishing, my plantation manager said he would take me. I took one look at his fishing pole and noticed he uses cable for fishing. Now I personally prefer ultra-light, so the difference was remarkable, and I proceeded on remarking on it.

Fred: Your pole has pretty heavy line.

Hector: Yes.

Now, a little aside here to explain an interesting thing in Tico culture that I have observed: They do not like to tell you that you are crazy or wrong, so you kind of have to worm it out of them.

Fred: (Showing him my fishing rod, obviously proud.) Do you think this pole will be okay?

Hector: Yes (but with hesitation).

Now I know I am in trouble. The hesitation was either: a.) he was trying not to laugh, b.) he was trying not to hurt my feelings, or c.) something distracted him. Time to try a different tack.

Fred: What kind of fish are we going for? (Hoping to get an idea of the size.)

Hector: Whatever bites.

Fred: What are they called?

Hector: (Says a bunch of names of fish in country slang, and then says he does not know what they are called in English.)

Desperation is now setting in. Of course, I have no idea why I should be worrying; there is no where to buy more equipment. Finally it occurs to me to ask the real question.

Fred: How big are the fish?

Hector: About your size. (I'm 6'2'' and 195 pounds, by the way.)

I still don’t know if he was pulling my leg, because we never did get there. Hector and I, with three of Hector’s friends or cousins (same thing), piled into the rental 4x4 we had. Hector said one of his friends knew a great place on the Rio Frio to fish, so we would go there. We proceeded to head straight to the river via dirt roads.

According to Hector, the fault was with the rental vehicle (ha!) that he got stuck no less than 10 times. I found out the reason for the three (maybe former) friends. They were used to push the vehicle out. Hector would not let me push the vehicle out until the end, when he got it so stuck that even I had to help. (Note to self: Always grow beard; it makes me look older, so I get out of pushing.) Of course, I have seen Hector get a horse stuck before, so I don’t believe him when he says it was not his fault. We never did get to the river.

When we arrived back, the car was so muddy that my wife did not recognize it coming up the driveway; it had changed from a bright blue to a color similar to Rust-Oleum. Thankfully, where we were staying at the time had a power washer. Even after it was cleaned up, when we returned the vehicle, the rental people were not pleased: We forgot the roof! We still got our deposit back, because Hector said, “What do you expect in Costa Rica in the rainy season?!” (Notice who does not have a speck of mud on him!)

*We are Fred and Amy Morgan, originally from the US. We bought a dairy farm in Costa Rica to plant trees in its pastures, then later caught a dream of turning all the land we can to permanently protected, sustainably maintained forest once the plantation trees have been harvested for profit. Along the way, we made it possible for our former partner to realize his dream of starting a business of his own in his native land. He is featured in many of the earlier stories.

To read more about Finca Leola S.A. and how you can also invest in trees and at the same time help with reforestation, go to Own Trees with Us.

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