Jaco Surf school personel and CRUZ ROJA of Costa Rica took blazingly quick professional action to save the lives of ten teenage tourists playing in the rough surf of Jaco Beach, a world famous surf destination yesterday afternoon.
one lucky teen out of TEN waits for surfers and RED CROSS to search the high waves for their friends.
I was present to film this and will post an edited version in HD soon, for now here are a few pictures.
JACO SURF SCHOOL Owner Gustavo Castillo, Founder, Instructor, saved ten tourists from drowning at the same time
The most shocking aspect for me to witness was the ungratefulness and ignorance of the tourist group which had been warned by several other lifeguards on the beach that afternoon of the serious currents.
As is typical of drowning and near drowning events, for many of the teens present it was their first experience in the ocean. Some of the teens were in visible shock after the event as they walked off the beach while others appeared to brush the event off in denial of the near tragedy.
However for the most part the typical tourist group seemed unimpressed as did the few typical gringo bar flys present that shrugged unamused by a grateful tourist bystanders applause for the guards success and safety.
Not only did the tourists appear ungrateful but they crassly displayed their lack of social skills leaving the lifeguards, ambulance personnel and surfers without so much as a thank you, let alone an offering of a drink or lunch!
Seeing the exhaustion, fear and redness of these tourists lucky to be alive shows you how brave real beach professionals are and in what great shape they maintain not only their bodies but their environments.
CRUZ ROJA lifeguards beach transport, when you see them RESPECT, they are Professionals
These details escape many MEDIA Outlets abroad when “Costa Rica” makes “Bad” news but being here for over ten years has given me a lot more perspective.
Costa Ricas RED CROSS are VOLUNTEERS!!!! They DO NOT GET PAID for saving you or to get trained. Minutes later the RED CROSS Lifeguard was seen tooling around town on an old bmx bike, superhero humbly hidden from our view.
Gustavo Castillo and his guardian angel gcastillo@jacosurfschool.com
CRUZ ROJA LIFEGUARD posing with grateful tourist bystander
Hero Lifeguard CRUZ ROJA http://www.facebook.com/seco.herrerasamudio
I personally applaud these guardians of the sea wherever they be for life and death and friendship come and go on these waves everyday as they calmly gaze the beach waiting to be the real superheroes again in a humble unsung way.
Tourist should realize that their behaviors are connected to many other peoples lives. Who would be crying if one of our Hero Lifeguards died in the line of an unsung heroic duty?
Swimmers are clearly warned in JACO
Be a responsible tourist when at any destination local or otherwise please. One last bonus picture for those who would like to know the TEN Commandments for being a Super Hero Surfer. Thanks for following.
Lean, Love, Conserve
Ten Commandments of surfing
Costa Rica Nature Conservatory 
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Kudos to all those who responded! Maybe the group leader could get the parents of those teens, to make a donation to help train other lifeguards
Thanks for your comment, it is a nice possibility. In the least it would be good for the many school age tourists traveling here to realize the true humanity of the “strange” people they will see all over this country. It should be an eyeopener for us all to to see that even a single qualified lifeguard can organize multi person rescue events.
If someone saves your life, especially unpaid, imho you owe them a serious debt & should do what you can to care for them right back. If you’re a teen on a trip, lunch is good – but also get to know them! Keep in touch with them! Clearly the ‘saviors’ are ethically way above most people & are worth knowing. They definitely changed your life by making it LONGER. Maybe later when you & your new soul-to-soul friend get older & you’re more successful, you can do something important for THEM. Think how much richer our lives can be by accepting those who come into it in such a significant way.
Awesome of you to comment.Hopefully it’s not everyday you have to meet someone who saves your life. My intention is for everyone to realize for a at least a moment how helpless we all our to deeply thank every individual involved in our moment to moment well being. This may be a bus driver taking you to school, a polite taxi driver, or for that matter even the “bad” examples that let us choose to act differently. It’s gratifying for me to understand that humble campesino families are eventually the backbone behind practically any type of tourism in the world, which means we all can and do make a palpable difference in the world and its future. Awesome of you to comment.
Humility – this could be the keystone in all human relationships. Placing yourself above others by failing to acknowledge the roles they play in our very survival impoverishes everyone. If no one plants the corn, we starve. Someone must maintain the water supply. And protecting the lives of strangers is holy. Money doesn’t make a person better than someone else, it just tempts us to build a wall to keep others out.
I was there and have been in the same situation as the kids in hermosa beach down the road. If those kids can just learn from the experience and pass it on or help someone else that is all they need to do. Of course be thankful but there isn’t any expected monetary value every associated with anyones life and it is the last thing you think of after your ass is grass in the ocean.