The Rain and the Sea
By José Francisco Brenes Zuñiga
Costa Rica is renowned for its lush and vast biodiversity. It’s no surprise to admire the greenery of its mountains, with a faint aroma of coffee, and the majesty of its national parks. This rich life is intrinsically tied to the quality of our water, which has even been considered a reason behind our Blue Zone. This vital connection also includes the rainy season. Let’s be honest: what would a visit to the rainforest be without rain?
The relationship between the rain and the sea in Costa Rica creates a unique life cycle. The giant trees of the primary forests fall into the river courses and are carried out to sea. During this journey, some trees, towering over 90 feet tall, become a refuge and food source for microorganisms, mollusks, and small fish. My best fishing days have been next to these structures, which, over my years of fishing, I’ve called "jackpots."
These structures gradually become attractive stops for pelagic fish. The first to arrive at this feast are the almaco jacks, alongside the hardtails, who take charge of keeping the crabs and other small inhabitants of the structure in check. Then the Pacific bonitos arrive, and at that moment, the rules change. This is when the pelagics proclaim, “This is mine by right!” In this way, the tree that once held a toucan in its branches now has brown boobies perched on them. Tripletails seek shelter in the shadows with triggerfish. This entire life structure sometimes gets abruptly decimated when faced with the unstoppable force of yellowfin tuna.
At many moments, blue marlin unleash their attacks, which are easily identified by noticing the dorado leaping along the structure in a desperate bid to survive. Sometimes, this results in a headache when trying to catch a marlin, as the abundance of mahi-mahi prevents you from setting the lines in the water without them taking a bite first—though this is a good problem to have, considering it solves the question of what's for dinner.
I have seen these stages unfold over considerable periods, reminding me of my father’s words: fishing is never the same twice. The amount of fresh water along the shores becomes a perfect nursery for the humpback whales that visit us every year, with the intention of nurturing and guiding their calves. This duo creates a fascination for those who get to admire them along our coastline.
All the forms of life that constitute 5% of the world's biodiversity praise the few hours of rain each day during the rainy season, sometimes in the morning, sometimes in the afternoon; one can never be certain. What I can say with complete certainty is that coffee tastes different while I write this article and watch the rain through my window.
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