Costa Rica is not always 'Pura Vida'

The title already says it, I did not experience only 'Pura vida' in Costa Rica. I feel like sharing my following story, because after what happened I was looking myself for blogs where people would tell about their story/ a same certain experience where I could find comfort and understanding in.

It was my day off, the 5th of April 2023. My friend and I decided to go to this beach called Playa Arco. It was a beach that closes off when it was high tide, but you would be able to get back through a forest path and it was a beautiful beach so people said. Our friends went there too and even saw whales!! So we packed lunch, I baked pancakes and we took some fruit with us. We drove with the other volunteers to Uvita, where they dropped us since they were going to a waterfall instead. My friend and I crossed the main road in Uvita and hold up our thumbs in the hope someone would stop and take us for a free ride to the beach since taxis are so expensive and buses are not that reliable. Eventually, a man stopped, he had a Rottweiler who was so excited for us to greet him. It felt safe to get in his car so we took the ride. The man behaved a bit odd or better said strict towards his dog because the dog really wanted to cuddle with my friend and she was okay with it but the man was not.

Anyways we passed the beach and were looking where to stop since it was an adventure to get there. We stopped at a path that would lead us to a beach next to Playa Arco. From there we had to walk back alongside the beach. And so we did. We arrived at the beach and the guard told us in Spanish that we were too late to get into Playa Arco. The tide was supposed to be too high already. I only got the concept of the conversation but luckily my friend is from Spain and speaks perfectly Spanish. My friend did not believe the guard, because the internet had told us that we had time. So we started walking from that beach and the view was absolutely amazing. I could look so far and wide across the horizon. The ocean was blue and the beach seemed to not have an end point. It was also quiet. I remember seeing maybe two couples. I told my friend that this beach would already be great for me to spend the day, but she and I also wanted to try to get into Playa Arco anyway. So we continued, and after some rock climbing to a dead end, we found a forest path where people came out. It must be the path to Playa Arco we thought. And, yes it was we made it! The tide was almost high so we were lucky. We checked the beach out and checked how we felt about being there while the tide would lock us in. I felt okay about it there were more people and it looked really beautiful. We found a nice spot under some palm trees where we could lie down without getting completely baked. It was a very hot day and it felt magical in a way. The sun shining on the sea made it look glitterish. The sounds of the waves crashing and the crickets in the forest behind us. We spend hours swimming, talking about life, meditating, and trying to open coconuts. I am not a person that can stay very long at the beach but I managed quite well, I checked in a few times if my friend felt like leaving but she wanted to stay longer. So we stayed till 4 pm and that was when I really wanted to go. I did not want to wait till the tide was low again because that would mean we would stay at the beach till sunset and maybe dark, and I knew that was not safe. We packed our stuff and found a naturally made shower with ice-cold water coming from a river out of a bamboo pipe. We took our bikinis off and showered. After we got dressed and started the hike up through the forest. By that time we were the only ones left at the beach. It was a beautiful hike. The ground was filled with brown leaves and a small river was on the right of us. I stopped to show my friend an iguana on the river.

We continued walking and I was walking up front and suddenly my friend made a funny noise. It felt safe until it was not. I felt a hand on my shoulder and I was pushed on the ground on one knee with my face facing the ground. A lot of Spanish screaming. The cute bag that I bought in Thailand was pulled from my arm, I remember thinking 'My phone'. For a second I could see a man with his face covered with a green bandana and he had a gun on my head. I shortly saw my friend with a Machete on her throat and a man behind her. The man that was holding me pushed me again with my face to the ground and pushed my head with the gun. At that moment I thought that he was probably messing with us to try to scare us and that the gun was probably fake. Afterwards my friend told me there was a safety lock on the gun. I felt him pulling on my ears and screaming in Spanish. I did not understand what he wanted I hoped that he was not going to touch me. Apparently, I said 'no por favor, no por favor' so my friend said. Then I heard my friend her voice saying in Spanish that I could not speak Spanish. 'He wants your earrings, give him your earrings' she said. I felt immediately safe hearing her. I took my earrings off as quickly as possible with shaky hands, one he had already pulled out. He gave a last push and then they run off back to the beach while screaming 'go, go' in Spanish. My legs felt like spaghetti and I could not stand up and run straight away. We looked at each other, completely in shock. I said we have to go, I do not want to stay here any longer. We grabbed each other's hands and started walking up the path while trying to realize what just happened. 'Okay, that just happened..' 'We are okay..' What the f*ck'.. were the first thoughts I can remember. When we got up the hill my friend could see police cars on the main road, they were doing regular car checks. My friend started running towards them, I did not even try. I thought they would not be able to help us anyways.

Finally, after two hours at the police station, filling in forms, the police officers gave us a drive home. I did not want to see anyone, because I did not feel like being in the spot and explaining at that moment. The first nights I was afraid of falling asleep fearing nightmares. Also, the fear that I would see them at my window. Luckily I had no nightmares. I feel lucky we got out untouched and alive. It happened in only seconds, but it left a mark that I will share more about in one of my next blogs!