Costa Rica surely has plenty of trails, waterfalls and adventures that are off-the-beaten-path, but did you ever consider a rodeo? When I was in Costa Rica in June, my travel buddies and I were headed to Manuel Antonio and we stopped in a rural town just off the highway to check out a rodeo.
I’ve never been to a rodeo in the US or anywhere else for that matter and aside from what I had seen on TV, I wasn’t sure what to expect.
Rodeos are really popular in small towns through out Costa Rica and during holidays the rodeos become very elaborate with bull fighting (except the bulls aren’t harmed) and horse performances. The one we went to wasn’t very elaborate, but there was probably about a hundred people in the stands. The crowd was all locals from the town so we sensed that this rodeo was definitely off the tourist trail.
During the rodeo, there are several men standing within the ring, waiting for the bull and the rider to come out to be chased by the bull. Of course there was someone holding a red cloth to aggravate the bull, but he didn’t pay attention to him. Once the rider falls off of the kicking bull, the bull starts to chase after the people in the ring until someone lassos him and brings him back into his chute.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9oXcxij2-U
In Costa Rica, the bulls, whether it’s a bull fight (las corridas) or a rodeo, do not get harmed unlike bull fights in other countries, but rather the people who are in the ring are the ones more likely to get injured.
Where to see a rodeo in Costa Rica?
- Nosara
- Palmares
- Puntarenas
- Zapote
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