Think of a visit to Costa Rica, and youll probably imagine zip lines and eco-lodges.

The room was open, a three-walled haven cooled by a breeze that sifted through the guava trees outside.

Suddenly, a loudpingrang off the roof, startling me.

A cabin in Costa Rica

A home in the Térraba region.Credit:Lebo Lukewarm/Courtesy of Intrepid Travel

Thats a nance, explained our host, Jeffrey Villanueva.

Have you tried it?

When I took a bite, the tangy flavor was electrifying.

Two women at a mask carving class in Costa Rica, one is the teacher, and one is a student

Carolyne Rivera, from the Térraba community, teaches a guest to carve masks from balsa wood.Lebo Lukewarm/Courtesy of Intrepid Travel

We are trying to preserve what our ancestors left us, Villanueva said in Spanish.

Foods like these, grown in the soil worked by his forebears, serve as threads to the past.

This is me, he said.

A Costa Rican tribal member shares local customs and culture

Maleku tribal member Jaquíma “Elias” Elizondo-Castro teaches visitors about local culture.Lebo Lukewarm/Courtesy of Intrepid Travel

This is my culture.

But it was the bedrock beneath all this that had taken me there.

We may not all look Indigenous, but its a part of who we are.

Pair of photos from Costa Rica, one showing two people planting a tree, and one showing a colorful mask

From left: Helping reforestation efforts with Elizondo-Castro; wooden masks made by Térraba artisans.Lebo Lukewarm/Courtesy of Intrepid Travel

My custom tour had kicked off a few days earlier in the capital, San Jose.

In the museum, sobering displays show the shrinking territories and linguistic challenges these communities face.

Of the countrys eight remaining Indigenous populations, only four have living languages.

A woman holds up a glass at a communal table

Intrepid guests enjoy dinner outside Manuel Antonio National Park.Lebo Lukewarm/Courtesy of Intrepid Travel

As we walked, a gray-headed chachalaca, a tropical cousin of the chicken, skittered into the forest.

Villanueva told us stories about an Indigenous deity: Sbo put my people here to protect this river.

To us, this river is a living being.

Close up shot of a woman chopping bananas on a cutting board

Chopping bananas during a homestay cooking class.Lebo Lukewarm/Courtesy of Intrepid Travel

Her grandma changed her mind when the Boruca peoples collective knowledge began to wane.

The time has come to share it, Morales said.

Over the coming days we journeyed west with Cespedes.

We are all family now, Jaquima Elias Elizondo-Castro said.

Our way ahead is very difficult.

Our evening with Villanueva was the most memorable part of our trip.

The tide has shifted, Villanueva said.

I returned to his house, which no longer seemed so hot.

Seven-day private trips in Costa Rica withIntrepid Travelfrom $2,472 per person for groups of one to 12 people.