Warner Rojas, the first Costa Rican to successfully climb Mt. Everest, and hiking expert Giovanni Rodríguez on Wednesday kicked off a coast-to-coast trek across Costa Rica to raise awareness about climate change.
The duo began walking in the Caribbean port city of Limón and will finish at the central Pacific beach town of Jacó – a journey of some 270 kilometers.
Rojas and Rodríguez are part of a team of ambassadors from Earth Hour, a global event that began in Australia in 2007 and invites consumers to take action against climate change by switching off lights for an hour.
Using the motto, “I’ll do it if you do it,” both climbers made a personal commitment to challenge people and institutions to take action against climate change.
In March, they announced the challenge: “We will cross Costa Rica from coast to coast if 50 employees from Banco Nacional headquarters commit themselves to not using the elevator for one week,” they said.
The bank’s public relations office announced that so far, 85 employees have accepted and completed the challenge. Now it’s the hikers’ turn.
“We’ve decided to visit areas that have made significant contributions to the country but have been forgotten in recent years. Each one of us can contribute to improving the lifespan of the home that we all share,” Rojas said. “We invite you to set personal goals and walk with us on this journey.”
“Walking from coast to coast means we’ll be visiting lots of different climates, from tropical rain forest in Limón to the Pacific in Jacó. The route is intended to involve different ethnic groups in our country,” Rodríguez added.
