A Rare Find!
So OK, a lot of nature tours these days are busloads of people being shown three monkeys, six birds, and the town dog. And then it’s bus ride (2 hours worth) back to the hotel or cruise ship. An exception to the “typical tour” is Robert the Gringo’s Paradise Tropical Garden on the Rio Claro (near Golfito, Costa Rica). The place is just a little north from the Panamanian border and a few miles inland from the coast… or $15 by taxi from Golfito.
I did mention Robert’s bit of paradise in my post on the recent Azamara sailing, but I thought another shout out was in order. When the United Fruit Company left Costa Rica in 1985, Robert and his family stayed behind to make Costa Rica their home. They bought a nice piece of land on the Rio Claro and started a wonderful garden and planted palm oil trees to pay the rent.
Now Robert gives tours of his paradise and only asks for a donation in the collection box. And if you call ahead Robert will lay out a table of many of the plants and explain their many uses and properties, and share many local folk remedies. Obviously, the information is presented as “folk stories” and no medical advice is given.
So if you want the “real deal” of a tropical tour, look up a local legend… Robert the Gringo. And tell him Dr. Dave sent you.
Dr. Dave (Roberts), Anthropologist, Photographer, Historian... Dr. Dave has worked in the field of applied anthropology for over thirty-five years from a conference speaker and published author, to a field researcher... from the Caribbean, to Central and South America.