#Puerto viejo rape free

“In August, Ghana’s Ashanti king came to Puerto Viejo. Old people considered them as pirate legends,” says Maitén. “As Afro-descendants, taking care of the sea means also discovering the past hidden in the abyss and giving voice to our roots,” says Maitén, who is interested in submarine archaeology. “The pandemic teaches us that the reef is not so fragile, it only needs better waters,” says Isaac Baldizón, a marine biologist, who works with the centre.

Our constant monitoring showed that the reef was alive.” “Also, companies took advantage of it and proposed projects of oil exploitation or dock constructions that we stopped over the years. “Saying that the reef was dead was an excuse for not taking care of the ocean,” she says. Through constant coral monitoring, they were able to correct the local misconception that the reef was dead due to pollution. “During the lockdown, when all the activities stopped, we saw more corals and animals than ever: also the seahorses were back,” says Ana María. Then I got involved in the centre, and it became a family to me.” As Afro-descendants, taking care of the sea means also discovering the past hidden in the abyss and giving voice to our roots Maitén Moore, 14ĭuring the pandemic, with schools closed and online lessons not accessible to all, the centre became increasingly important for the young divers. I complained about the selfishness of people who didn’t want to give up their habits that are detrimental to the planet.

“When I was little, I expressed my frustrations to my grandfather. In the future, she hopes to run a project to protect sharks, her favourite animal. She has just finished high school and has enrolled for an oceanographic university degree. “As sea ambassadors, we bring to the earth what’s hidden under the water,” says Anumí, 18. There are some requirements to participate: getting good grades at school, learning to cook a Caribbean meal as a part of cultural preservation, carrying out beach cleaning, becoming a sea ambassador and fully participating in the centre’s activities.

#Puerto viejo rape free

Supported by the United Nations Office for Project Services (Unops), the centre has so far offered 200 free training courses in open water and rescue diving, underwater archaeology, and coral monitoring to young people. Photograph: Courtesy of Ambassadors of the Sea Community Diving Centre Royer Colomer, president of the dive centre (left), with young divers Esteban Gallo and Anumí Sassaroli. Not any more for the youth of the centre, who dive with a purpose,” says Suárez. “Here, scuba diving has always been an activity for tourists, too expensive for locals.

Her love of the sea started in childhood when she learned to fish, swim and walk almost at the same age. The idea for the centre came from María Suárez Toro, a Puerto Rican journalist and fisher who arrived in Costa Rica 50 years ago. The centre took us out of this context and opened doors in sea protection.” We don’t have opportunities, most of my classmates are involved in drug dealing and petty crime. “It’s not easy to be young in Puerto Viejo. Now he is setting up his own business: a mechanical workshop to fix diving equipment. “I was one of the four founders with my brothers and my neighbour,” remembers Esteban, 24. Not any more for the youth, who dive with a purpose María Suárez Toro Here, scuba diving has always been too expensive for locals. Adir Garrido, Maitén Moore, Anumí Sassaroli, Esteban Gallo and Salim, as well as almost two dozen local divers, are part of the Ambassadors of the Sea Community Diving Centre, a non-profit organisation created in 2014 to provide opportunities for young people to do conservation work, such as seabed cleaning, reef monitoring, water pollution analysis, and underwater archaeology.