The Battle for Paradise
Surfing, Tuna, and One Town's Quest to Save a Wave
Jeremy Evans
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Imprint: University of Nebraska Press
Published: 10/2015
Pages: 240
Subject: Sports and Recreation
eBook ISBN: 9780803284708
DESCRIPTION
CORRECTION: Regarding the book, The Battle for Paradise by Jeremy
Evans, the following correction has been made on page 163 in
paragraph three (3) to wit: "Weston once worked in concert with
government officials in a pre-planned sting operation, complete
with marked bills: Weston, whose role in the operation involved
paying a bribe to the Golfito mayor for a concession and then
documenting the bribe as a way to expose the mayor as a corrupt
government official, was a former cocaine dealer, according to Dan,
and someone who illegally acquired possession of his sawmill
property." Pavones, a town located on the southern tip of Costa
Rica, is a haven for surfers, expatriates, and fishermen seeking a
place to start over. Located on the Golfo Dulce (Sweet Gulf), a
marine sanctuary and one of the few tropical fjords in the world,
Pavones is home to a legendary surf break and a cottage fishing
industry. In 2004 a multinational company received approval
to install the world's first yellowfin tuna farm near the mouth of
the Golfo Dulce. The tuna farm as planned would pollute the area,
endanger sea turtles, affect the existing fish population, and
threaten the world-class wave. A lawsuit was filed just in time,
and the project was successfully stalled. Thus began an unlikely
alliance of local surfers, fishermen, and global environmental
groups to save a wave and one of the most biodiverse places on the
planet. In The Battle for Paradise, Jeremy Evans travels to
Pavones to uncover the story of how this ragtag group stood up to a
multinational company and how a shadowy figure from the town's
violent past became an unlikely hero. In this harrowing but
ultimately inspiring story, Evans focuses in turn on a colorful
cast of characters with an unyielding love for the ocean and
surfing, a company's unscrupulous efforts to expand profits, and a
government that nearly sold out the perfect wave.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jeremy Evans is a former daily newspaper reporter whose eight-year journalism career garnered numerous awards for his outdoor and sports writing. He is the author of In Search of Powder: A Story of America's Disappearing Ski Bum (Nebraska, 2010) and currently teaches English at Lake Tahoe Community College and South Tahoe High School in California.
REVIEWS
"Congratulations to Jeremy Evans for telling the truest story so far about Pavones, the iconic end-of-the-road place where human greed and conflict threatened to destroy exactly what brought people there."—Drew Kampion, award-winning author and former editor of Surfer and Surfing magazines
"Jeremy Evans tells the true story of surfers, tuna, drug lords, and jungle fever in the backwaters and blue bays of Costa Rica. For anyone who has traveled the surf coast of Central America, The Battle for Paradise is a must-read."—Serge Dedina, executive director of Wildcoast and author of Wild Sea and Surfing the Border
"The waves of Pavones rifle down a long left-hand point break, and for this reason they have become some of the most iconic waves in Costa Rica. However, as incredible as the waves are, the story behind the town is what will truly leave you gasping for air."—Kyle Thiermann, professional surfer