Veins and Arteries of a Country
By José A. Lagos

They extend from diverse directions towards the two oceans; some are short and restrained; others, long and with an impressive torrent of water. According to its geographical and economic importance the rivers mark the different regions in Costa Rica, and are known as slopes.

In each one of them, there is a river that characterizes it; for example, the Tempisque symbolizes the slope of Guanacaste; the Térraba the South Pacific and so forth.

From peaceful to turbulent

All at once, it is possible to see in San Carlos, to the north of the province of Alajuela, a river that runs placid and tranquilly throughout farms and pastures, permitting the livestock to approach confidently and drink of its water. A farmer fishes or travels towards his destination, sailing his own rowboat or outboard motor.

Those types of rivers are peaceful waters that exalt the landscape. Aptly a painter can find great pleasure in this work of art. In the margins, the pasturelands grow, the birds stop their migrations and everything around is in absolute harmony, precisely due to this source of life. Some of these aquatic arteries are the Tortuguero and the Parismina.

The contrast is caused by the turbulence of the rivers that are born in the mountain ranges, especially the Central Volcanic range such as the Reventazón that displaces quickly towards the Caribbean, at an alarming rhythm that overwhelms emotions. The Tárcoles also; although it displaces towards the Pacific. The crash of the waves against the rocks and slopes speaks of its power and force. Proof of this is the Rio Macho where a hydroelectric dam exists, one of the most important in the country. The water pressure is so great that it can move even the heaviest turbines or heavy machinery and illuminate cities such as Cartago, Paraiso, Cachí, Turrialba and more.

With these arteries one must behave with moderation and keep a respective distance; nevertheless, the most practiced sport is navigation by the rapids, among sprinkling waters and rocks that spread out from one side to another. This is the famous rafting activity made very fashionable in Costa Rica for the last 15 years.

Silent witnesses

The Large River of Térraba, to the south of the province of Puntarenas, in Golfito, has been a witness and main character in the social economic fight in this region. This artery saw (“and felt”), the arrival of the Banana company and allowed the fruit to sail to the Central Valley or, simply, to be transferred from one farm to another. The Térraba has been a mute witness of the social uprisings of workers along the decades of the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, the majority of the times prompted by the communist party of Costa Rica (No longer existing); and also, of the poverty in which the zone fell, after the departure of the Banana businessmen. The Reventazón, long, enigmatic and imposing, has testified of the development of the Costa Rican Central Valley; especially of The Guarco.

Paradoxically this river has not remained on the plain of testimony, but has starred in painful floods, destroying crops, populations, animal and human beings alike, after its volume grew with strong rains that characterizes this intermountain region. Likewise, by its waters Spanish conquerors sailed and explored the poorest province of Central America (Costa Rica), and then proceeded to colonize it. Other rivers of this temperament are the Sierpe and the Tortuguero.

Limits and controversies

The River San Juan, on the frontier with Nicaragua is viewed as a geographically and politically dividing line, between this nation and Costa Rica. The subscribed treaty clearly declares that, although it does not belong to the Costa Ricans, they can sail it freely. But, during the government of Arnoldo German, the Nicaraguans restricted their neighbors from traveling through it freely. “This slap” has been interpreted as “a dissuasive action that sought to deviate the attention of the internal problems that Nicaragua suffers towards the external, international, exalting patriotism falsely accentuated against Costa Rica.” The fact is that this “juggling” or bilateral strategy of the moment became a permanent inconvenience, entrenched and difficult to resolve.

On the contrary, towards the south, the Sixaola River, on the frontier with Panama, does not represent any type of controversy and has never done so in the past Panama Costa Rica history. The harmony and the comprehension have been, and always have been, the points in common between both nations and the Sixaola has contributed decisively to this relaxed climate.

From a scientific point of view, the rivers of Costa Rica favor the biologists, zoologists and naturalists, precisely because of the inexhaustible ecosystem that lives and survives thanks to its fertile rivers. An abundant quantity of trees of various species and plants of all types, bud and grow on both sides. When they overflow, due to the winter season, they irrigate the valleys giving them the necessary quality needed for the development of the crops.

The Tárcoles, for example, is a spontaneous nursery of crocodiles, really impressive specimens, that have attracted the world producers of television shows such as (“Animal Planet”), who have filmed them in this wild habitat. But, in every case, there are rivers in Costa Rica that need the State’s aid to be decontaminated and save the vegetable and animal species in danger of extinction. Tárcoles is such an example. The problematic part starts from the moment in which the rivers that cross the Capital, the María Aguilar, Tiribí and Towers, highly contaminated, flow into in the Tárcoles, making it impossible to visit and a lot less to admire. The four aquatic ways are dirty channels and not presentable to the national and international community.

But, putting this aside, rivers such as the Barranca, on the slopes of the Central Pacific or the Chomes, present the particularity that, in the winter, they are extremely plentiful and in the summer, they dry up, converting into “threads of water” that slide by, barely perceptible among the large naked rocks.

The northern arteries are special for sports fishing; those of the center, for river rafting down the mountains and expeditions; and on the south, for commercial and tourist navigation. Some of these last listed are so wide, that the opposite edge is barely discernible and others create waterfalls that have inspired beautiful stories and legends.

This it is a country of rivers, of veins and arteries that give life and beauty to its geography, and assures the wealth of the national landscape now and forever.